Waking Eve

Her husband has full confidence in her

2011-03-16T15:03:00.002-05:00

"A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.
Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life....

She is clothed with strength and dignity, she can laugh at the days to come.
She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children arise and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her:
'Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.'

Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

Refresher Course

2010-07-07T15:52:00.007-05:00

With all of the desires, demands and deceit that constantly pull at our hearts, we need continual refreshers, reminders as to life's purpose. With a flesh as stubborn and strong-willed as a two year old in full tantrum, I must re-train myself daily as to why I exist and why God has given us all that He has. And He has certainly given so much...

Blessings in the physical realm:
Born in America
Freedom
A Bible
Parents that love
A husband that adores
Children given by God
A home to live in
Food, clothes, cars
Health
The list could go on & on...

Blessings in the spiritual realm: (Ephesians1)
"Every spiritual blessing in Christ"-
Chosen
Made holy & blameless
Loved
Predestined
Grace
Redemption through blood
Forgiveness of sins
Given Holy Spirit to seal inheritance
The list could go on & on

BUT WHY? WHY has God blessed us in these countless ways? This is where my reminder lies... tucked away in Ephesians 1:12

"...in order that we...might be (exist) for the praise of his glory."

Lord remind me that I exist for the praise of your glory. All that we are, all that you have given us is for that very reason. For the praise of your glorious Name. Without this truth and perspective daily guiding us, life makes no sense. I become central & that is a far cry from the design we live safest by. May we keep eyes fixed upon the One who's praise & glory we were created for.

Come Awake

2010-07-02T14:32:00.003-05:00

This song reminds me of a scripture the Lord impressed upon me years ago. Psalm 88:12 says "Are your wonders known in the place of darkness or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?"

The Lord has called us to wake up and see His wonders. To behold His glory. If we don't hear from the Lord, feel His presence, sense His work, see His hand moving in our lives... Could it be that we are in the land of oblivion? He IS near. He Is here. It's time to awaken from the land of oblivion and behold our God. We are created to stand in awe at the wonders of our God... the righteous deeds of our Savior and GIVE HIM GLORY FOR IT.

Awaken my heart Lord to see. Come awake and praise your God.

The Secret of Burning

2010-07-01T21:34:00.002-05:00

"It's the secret place that lights our fire, that sets us burning. God's word is fire (Jeremiah 23:29), and His presence is totally engulfed in fire (Ezekiel 1:4, 27). When you approach God, you are drawing near to the great blazing inferno of the ages. To be set on fire, you must get close to God. When you feel cold, distant, and 'out of it spiritually', it's time to retreat to the closet, place yourself before the fireplace of His word, and allow the intensity of His face to restore your fervency.

The secret to staying ablaze for Jesus is not responding to altar calls (as good as those are); it's not in having someone lay hands on you and pray for you (as valid as that is ); it's not in listening to a good teaching tape of the latest worship CD; the only sure source for staying white-hot is devoting yourself consistently to the place-of-the-shut door. It's the place where 'the spirit of burning' (Isaiah 4:4) ignites your soul as you gaze upon His glory with an unveiled face (2 Cor. 3:18).

Do you desire greater compulsion for the secret place? Invite the Burning One, the Holy Spirit, to ignite the eternal flame of His fiery jealousy in your life."

Secrets of the Secret Place - Bob Sorge

He Has Spoken to Us

2010-06-23T17:06:00.003-05:00

"In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to US by His son..." (Hebrews 1:1)

We no longer need a priest to speak to God on our behalf, there is no longer a curtain to separate us from His presence, no cloud of glory to tremble at from a distance...

He now dwells among us. He hears us. He speaks to us. Will I slow down to listen? To hear. To experience. To see.

Lord slow my busy heart. Beckon me to your feet that I may hear what you would say. Align my will with that of my God and my King.

2010-06-03T15:22:00.001-05:00

"The lips of the righteous know what is fitting,
but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse."
(Prov. 10:32)

The Secret of Listening

2010-05-18T05:22:00.002-05:00

"There is nothing more glorious in all of life than hearing His voice! Hearing God's voice has become the singular quest of my heart, the sole pursuit that alone satisfies the great longings of my heart.

For this reason I strongly advocate for a prayer life that is comprised mostly of silence. It's a great delight to talk to God, but it's even more thrilling when He talks to us.

I do not mean to give the impression that hearing God's voice is my daily experience in the secret place. Far from it! Most days I come away with unfulfilled longings, unrequited initiatives, unanswered prayers, unrealized aspirations, deferred hopes, and incomplete understandings.

But then along comes one of those days- you know what I mean- when heaven leans over and God speaks a word directly to your heart. He breathes upon a portion of scripture and personalizes its meaning precisely to my felt need. Oh what glory! That moment is worth all of the knocking and seeking of the preceding days. I will endure moments of silence if He will but speak one creative word from His mouth to my spirit."

(Bob Sorge from Secrets of the Secret Place)

Don't Waste Your Life

2010-03-11T18:25:00.004-06:00

Speaking to a large conference in regards to not getting sucked into the cultural lies and distractions that surround us, John Piper said the following:

"You're gonna join them, unless at this stage of your life you make some very radical decisions, commitments, choices... About where your treasure is.

Do not assume that you will not be sucked in. Because every stage of your life in this Disney-Land called America, there are powerful forces working to get you to waste your lives. It will take a massive work of grace to rescue you from the clutches of this culture... To which many of you are totally enslaved."

(John Piper- In reference to his book entitled Don't Waste Your Life)

2010-01-21T09:02:00.003-06:00

"When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I AM He." John 8:28

This is true in our lives as well. Until every other exalted thing in my life is torn down, leaving Christ alone lifted up to His rightful place of supremacy, I will never understand who it is I am dealing with. I will never understand the God whom I claim to worship.

Tight Fists & Prayer

2010-01-16T12:02:00.003-06:00

“If anyone shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.” Proverbs 21:13

R.A. Torrey in his book How to Pray says this in regards to our attitude of giving and it's relation to prayer:
“There is perhaps no greater hindrance to prayer than stinginess, the lack of liberality toward the poor and toward God’s work. It is the one who gives generously to others who receives generously from God. ‘Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6: 38) The generous man is a mighty man of prayer. The stingy man is the powerless man of prayer…

Many a man and woman who is seeking to find the secret of their powerlessness in prayer need not seek far; It is nothing more nor less than downright stinginess. George Mueller was a mighty man of prayer because he was a mighty giver. What he received from God never stuck to his fingers; he immediately passed it on to others.”

Oh Lord may we be openhanded- looking for ways to give what you have placed in our hands. Where I am tight-fisted, reveal my attitude of greed and help break the fingers that so desperately want to cling.

The Influence of a Mother

2010-01-14T21:01:00.002-06:00

How can eternity influence a mother's daily tasks? I think you'll enjoy this 2-minute clip from John Piper. So so very good:

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/MediaPlayer/2988/Audio/

What is Your Quest?

2010-01-09T23:04:00.002-06:00

"Nothing can replace the confidence and authority that comes from hearing from God. Hearing God's voice has become the singular quest of my heart, the sole pursuit that alone satisfies the great longings of my heart."

(Bob Sorge: Secrets of the Secret Place)

Aim for Heaven

2009-12-10T14:53:00.006-06:00

Hope is one of the theological virtues. This means that a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not... a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do. It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is.

If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next... It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth "thrown in": Aim at earth and you will get neither."
-C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." Colossians 3:1-3

Voice of the Martyrs

2009-12-07T15:07:00.000-06:00

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4: 16-18

So easy to forget that our bodies are wasting away while we are here. Morbid... but true. The only renewing we have is in Christ/spiritually/inwardly. Outwardly in every form we are living in imperfect tents awaiting what is to come in Christ. This is just not the place they were created for. So until the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lamb (Revelation 5) comes back to have complete rule and kingship- Romans 8 says that we will groan and long for what is to come.

But we can forget that this is not the place to set up our kingdoms... It is the place to long for, welcome in, pray earnestly for, work toward, anticipate, and bring glory to the Kingdom of the One who will soon reign. It's time I lay down the crown I feel so entitled to wear... Lay it down at the feet of the only One worthy to wear it.

Lord, remind us that this is not it. This life, this great life overflowing with one blessing after another from your gracious hand is a plot, a ground, a time to give glory and honor to our God. May we not lose heart in the waiting. We anticipate the day when our jaws will drop in your presence and we will then see "THIS is our God!"

- I wrote this as I sat reading a Voice of the Martyrs update. This email was so hard to read as a mother, thinking about your child ever being tortured. And of course, I wandered- Why? And then He reminded me of the verse from this morning... That there is a greater glory at stake. What we see now is temporary so we hope for what is eternal in Christ.

http://www.salememail.com/specialoffers/VOM_Persecution/VOM_persecution_watch_full.aspx?id=2

The Groaning in the Waiting

2009-12-03T08:37:00.006-06:00

As I woke this morning, snuggled up with my three and a half year old, my heart felt strangely heavy within. I couldn't put my finger on it. As I scanned our day and the joy of the upcoming weekend, I could not for the life of me understand the tension & frustration within my spirit. The joy that I should have woken with lay masked beneath layers of discontent & longing.

Longing for what?

As joy seemed so distant, I quickly opened to words of truth to help make out the confusion.

"We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." (Romans 8:22-23)

The New Living Translation says:

"And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.

We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)"

And in this the Lord reminded me. There ought to be a groaning. There ought to be greater longing for the "release from sin & suffering" that is to come. We have been given a "foretaste of future glory". For right now we see in part, but soon we will see & know fully.

I suspect that if there were no longing, no eager hope & expectation, we would indeed have staked our citizenship in the wrong land. We have far too long made earth our home, forgetting that this is our temporal plot to bring glory to our Creator.

In that reminder Christ graciously reassured that the longings will remain. This- He reminded me- is precisely why He has called us to put our hope in HIM and not in any earthly thing. No person or thing can bear the weight of my expectation. The idol will come tumbling down.

Seek Me.

Let Me fill your cup.

Enjoy the gifts I have given & the blessings at hand... but know that they are but a foretaste.

Giving & Prayer

2009-11-30T21:03:00.007-06:00

As I am reading How to Pray (R. A. Torrey), he goes through several hindrances to our prayers being heard & answered. Proverbs 21: 13 says "Whoever stops his ear at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard."

Torrey goes on to say that "there is perhaps no greater hindrance to prayer than stinginess" and reminds that with the same measure we use, it will be used with us as well (Luke 6:38).

"Many a man and woman who is seeking to find the secret of their powerlessness in prayer need not seek far, it is nothing more nor less than downright stinginess. George Mueller was a mighty man of prayer because he was a mighty giver. What he received from God never stuck to his fingers; he immediately passed it on to others."

Oh Lord refine my heart. Remind me that I am a manager of your wealth... It was never intended to be mine, to be hoarded. Break my fingers that they be released from all that I am gripping ever so tightly.

Jesse Tree

2009-11-21T09:33:00.005-06:00

Looking for a family Christmas tradition? This is one we started with our family last December and loved it. It is called a Jesse Tree & is THE best advent waiting calendar I have yet to see. This advent calendar starts in Genesis with the story of creation (on December 1st) and goes through the Old Testament until December 25th, when you celebrate the birth of Jesus.

It can be easy to view the birth of Jesus as an isolated story... All the while missing out on the grand story of redemption that God has been writing since creation. For after sin entered in the Garden, God has been wooing the hearts of His children back to Him. We can see this all throughout the Old Testament as God prepares the way for His Son.

Hebrews makes it clear that the endless, daily sacrifices that were offered up could never cleanse the conscience or make perfect. (Hebrews 9:9, 10:1-4, 11-12) But God had a plan... A better plan than the sacrificial system that could finally reconcile a sinful people with a holy God.

Enter Jesus. The spotless Lamb whose blood does cover. Blood that once for all would be sufficient. No more living with guilt. No more condemnation. No more sacrifices in hopes of being "okay" for that day. No more veil to keep us from the Holy of Holies- the very presence of God.

Through the birth, life, death & resurrection of Christ, we now have right standing with God. The story of the babe in the manger is huge. For this is the life that brought us life.

Join us in making a Jesse Tree this December as we anticipate "The Word made flesh who made his dwelling among us." (John 1:14)

Making A Jesse Tree:

1. For each of the 25 Days of Advent, you will make an ornament for your tree. For example, Day One is a SUN for creation, Day Two is a MAN for Adam, Day Three an APPLE.... You can be as creative as you want with your ornaments. We've added googley eyes to our animals & people- just for a fun extra effect the kids enjoy. Make your ornaments as basic or elaborate as you'd like them to be.

2. Starting on December 1st, read the scriptures for that day. (included at bottom of blog post)Then the first ornament is hung on the tree. By Christmas Day you will have completed the Jesse Tree & will have a tree full of ornaments that tell the redemptive story of God's pursuit of man... Beginning with creation in the garden all the way through the birth of the One- the tiny babe- who would come to reconcile us & give us right standing with a Holy God.

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1: 14

Scriptures for Jesse Tree: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dc86hr5f_9hfvpnkcq&btr=EmailImport

For information on the history of the Jesse Tree: http://www.cresourcei.org/jesse.html

Right Action Follows Right Thinking

2009-11-17T09:23:00.003-06:00

There is a dynamic principle shown throughout God's Word, and no person will ever walk in victory unless he understands and operates in it: Right action follows right thinking. Where your mind goes, your life follows.
-Joyce Meyer

And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, acceptable and perfect will if God. Romans 12:2

2009-11-16T08:47:00.000-06:00

"I don't believe that one of us serious about God will forego this test. It's no 30 minute quiz; it's a lifelong essay test written in blood. Will we loose our hold on anything and anyone else as a prerequisite to following Christ in the intensity of aloneness? If you can answer quickly, I'm not sure you grasp the question's seriousness. . ."

("Beloved Disciple" by Beth Moore)

2009-11-13T08:25:00.002-06:00

"For I am not ashamed of the Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes- the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life."

Romans 1:16-17

2009-11-11T16:20:00.001-06:00

"In the beginning God made man in His image. Man has been making God in his image ever since."

-Mark Batterson, Wild Goose Chase

Taking Headphones Off

2009-11-10T12:07:00.005-06:00

Last weekend at a Lead Now conference, a music video was played when we first arrived. It was a Jars of Clay song entitled "Headphones". I could have stood up after that song, left and felt that it was sufficient. It spoke exactly what I needed to hear.

Sweet conviction. Refreshing refinement. Lord have your way.

The video was filmed in Dallas of a man sitting down to watch the news. At the sights & sounds of the tragedy he stands to leave, putting his headphones on.

"I don't have to hear it, if I don't want to

I can drown this out, pull the curtains down on you

It's a heavy world, it's too much for me to care

If I close my eyes, it's not there"

He walks down the street, passing a homeless man on the corner. The homeless man looks up at him, hungry & needy with anticipation and hope that maybe this man will be the one to reach out. The man looks away, passing the homeless man while eating his snickers bar, headphones on.

A little further in his walk a young boy sits alone on the curb holding a football. Clearly hoping for a friend, a father, a hand to reach out and love him. The self-absorbed man looks away, consumed with his music & his life... with his headphones on.

On the bus he sits across from a hurting lady. He knows He should offer hope. He wants to offer a word, a touch, some love... But his headphones are on. It's easier to just drown it out. It's easier to "pull the curtain down".

Do I live life with my headphones on? It's easier many times to decide I don't want to hear it. I can drown it out and go on with my life.

But is that what we are called to? Did Christ die to give us comfy lives, free from suffering, secluded from the oppressed & hurting?

Suffering is difficult to look at. But it's all over the Bible. To turn my nose to it is to turn my nose to the heart of Christ.

Our son's verse, a verse we have prayed and spoken over him since he was born, reverberates the heartbeat of Christ.

"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

(Micah 6:8)

I cannot act justly, love mercy and walk with my God if I am drowning out the needs around me. If I am oblivious.

Lord take off my headphones. I began praying this over the weekend. Take off my headphones. Make me aware of those around me. The needs, the desires, the hurts. Awaken my heart again to the lost. The oppressed.

Take off my headphones.

The very next day as I walked into Walmart I begged God "Take off my headphones".

As I walked through the checkout line, the woman scanning my groceries was HUNGRY. Not physically, but spiritually. Emotionally. She needed something.

I could have been a monkey with a wig on, inviting her to any church, inviting her to a cult even... and she would have accepted. She just wanted SOMEONE to extend an invitation.

Thank you Lord that you took off my headphones. Now she is coming to check out our church... And I know YOU WILL REVEAL YOURSELF. May she find what her searching heart is longing for... in You.

May we take off our headphones. In our homes, in our neighborhoods, communities, churches, in our cities, in a hurting world, with a global mindset... To pull back the curtain, STOP long enough to look deep into the eyes of the one in front of us, and extend a hand.

With our headphones off.

Give Us Eyes To See

2009-11-03T21:24:00.001-06:00

"Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees takes off his shoes,
The rest sit around it and pluck blackberries."

-Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Six Steps

2009-11-02T15:54:00.004-06:00

Six steps... How I long to get the place where my heart beats in worship so passionately, so brilliantly, that I cannot go even six steps without praising.

This is why he is called the man after your own heart. David could not take six steps without breaking out in worship. He got it. He understood the One we call God.

"So David went down and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. When whose who were carrying the ark of the Lord has taken six steps, he sacrified a bull and a fattened calf. David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the Lord with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouts & sounds of trumpets." (2 Samuel 6:13-15)

His first two items on the agenda as King: Conquer Jerusalem making it the city of God's people. Get the ark of God back to it's rightful place in the city of God's people.

In 1 Chronicles 13:3 he says "Let us bring the ark of God back to us, for we did inquire of it during the reign of Saul."

I wander what our motives & agenda would be were we crowned king & queen. What would my first priority be? Or what about each morning- What is my agenda for each day I've been given? That the glory of God would reign in me... or that I would reign?

Is it to have God's presence in my heart & my home? Is it to seek and worship the One... The Only One who is worthy.

Oh Lord may our hearts beat for the glory and honor of our King. Tear down every competing idol in our hearts, that YOU alone would reign as Lord and receive the praise due your Name. This holiday season... as Thanksgiving & Christmas approach, may our hearts & attitudes be FULL of praise. Give us the heart of David that cannot make it through breakfast, cannot make it through lunch, cannot make it through the afternoon & evening... without a heart overflowing in praise to our God.

2009-10-28T15:07:00.004-05:00

So dry & longing to hear Your voice
To feel Your presence
To make the choice
And push aside the things to do
Quiet heart, and hear from You

May not seem huge like some sins are
But hurry & bustle keep my heart so far

Far from what's central
Far from what's true
Keeps me searching and longing
For all but You

Settle my heart now
Wandering though it be
Till face set like flint
I'm content in only Thee.

-Writings from a wandering heart

The Gratitude Journal

2009-10-06T07:53:00.003-05:00

Beginning this week... A gratitude journal. A way to open our eyes and begin looking. We began early morning at Starbucks- and hope in anticipation to begin looking, seeking out Your hand.

"Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,

or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?" Psalm 88:12

How very easy it can become to live in the land of oblivion. Going about daily activities, mind consumed with the tasks at hand... And all the while missing the many blessings of your hand.

I love the way Ann Voskamp words this:

"I am seeing things I have never seen before, atuned and aware of this constant, endless stream of gifts from His hand. I am one waking from slumber....from the stupor of indifference and ignorance. I have sight, fresh and keen---the world is new and full of His gifts.Too often I miss Him, oblivious, blind. I don't see all the good things that He is giving me, gracing me with, brushing my life with. True, He is everywhere, always. But maybe, before The Gift List, I thought of Him as further off, not so close. When I started to see all the things that I love bestowed upon me, I started to see Him as near, present, everywhere, showering me with good things."

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2006/11/gift-list-thousand-things.html

May we began to pray for an awareness, a spirit that is sensitive & eyes that are wide open to your many graces. Your word tells us that you are near when the praises & thanks of your people are on our tongues:

"We give thanks to you, O God. We give thanks, For your Name is near." Ps. 75:1

"Let the peace of Christ rule in my your heart... And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly...as you sing psalms, hymns & spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." Colossians 3: 15-16

Grab a journal and begin jotting. Here is a glimpse of my first page... The first page of many:

1. Best friends racing on bike endlessly down the driveway

2. The sound of laughter as boys wrestle

3. Life growing within me

4. Quietness in Your presence- sweet refreshing stillness

5. A warm breakfast brought in by my man

6. A jog in the cool autumn air

7. Brother park

8. Pillow mountain

9. Morning hugs

Refining

2009-10-02T08:17:00.003-05:00

The raw peeling back of hard places in my heart. The unearthing of soil I would prefer sit untouched.

And then comes His Spirit... turning up hard places, hurts, frustrations, fears... I would rather leave well alone. But praise God He won't just let me be. It must be faced. It must be prayed through. And much must be removed.

As we read the Relationship Principles of Jesus at church, it is a touchy subject. One I would rather leave well alone.

And as I poured my heart out to the Lord asking Him "Why do I have to go through this? Why do I have to face these hurts & the junk within my heart?" He spoke so tenderly..."Would you rather I left you here?" "No sir!" "Well then press on with me".

So press on I shall. He is unearthing some tender places. But You are the safest One to tear through it with.

He designed us for relationships... Yes for connection & intimacy. But I'm starting to see also for refining. Lord help me to not shrink back from the work you want to do. Continue unearthing all the junk that must be removed, all the fears that I must be set free of, all the hurts I must lay down at your feet... Let there be no callous places within my heart. No matter how painful this journey.

"Enough"

2009-10-01T16:30:00.004-05:00

As I was recently thinking through the grace God has given, starting in the Garden... and running through the course of time... and all throughout my own life... He reminded me of how many times He could have ended the story. He could have given up on man in the Garden as two sinful people chose independence over trusting God. All throughout the Bible we see how even the chosen people of God rejected Him time & again.... Yet His faithfulness continued. And personally it amazes me the grace He has given, despite my ungratefulness and wandering heart. But yet, praise God, ending the story & giving up on us would not have been "Enough" for our God. He has given so far beyond. He has given more than "Enough".

This is a poem God spoke to me as I was journaling these thoughts. On the faithfulness & grace of an awesome God....

It would have been enough to let us go our way
To shake your holy hands in sorrow & dismay
“I had so much in store for you,
Such blessings yet to unfold.
But now that you have chosen sin
My blessings I’ll withhold.”

It would have been enough
To leave us wandering on our own
But instead Undeserved Grace
Is what we’ve been shown

Through vast deserts, scorching heat
Your own shade you did provide
You parted seas, came down in glory
On that magnificent Mount Sinai

It would have been enough to take us to the altar every single day
A dove, a lamb, a sacrifice we would have to slay
In hopes of there you looking down and forgiving us for that day
But instead praise God You had a plan, You said
“Oh there’s a better way”

This would have been enough but not for
The Truth, The Life, The Way
For our God revealed in loving kindness
His redemptive plan one glorious day

The day that God-made man in a horse trough was lain
The One who came to earth, the sinless spotless Lamb
Was born… to soon be slain

That would not have been enough, you said
For My purpose and plan I must fulfill
That’s why to have you by my side again
My Son will walk that hill

The Lamb was slain, the blood was spilt
And now one day you’ll see
The life you were created for
In My presence and glory

Now trust me child when I say
This story still unfolds
Tis not the end while here on earth
There’s glory yet to behold

But until my face you see one day
When you will worship and adore
Know that mud pies in the sand
Is not what you were created for

While on this earth ‘till I return (between the trees)
Endless enticements are all around
Know my child with eyes fixed on me
There my blessing will abound

Don’t start with here; Don’t start with now
For this land is not your home
The land, the life you are destined for
My child you will soon know

And until that day when faith is sight
Keep your eyes turned to the cross
Knowing earthly idols fades away
To soon become just loss

My precious daughter, heir to the King
In Me your calling stands
For nothing earth may bring your way
Will ever unfoil my holy plans

Further Still: Day 2

2009-09-22T15:21:00.000-05:00

Through a desire and conviction of the Holy Spirit to go deeper, I am sharing some ways I enjoy God's presence.

Today I start with one of my very favorites: Praying Scripture.

If there is anything I want my boys to remember of me it is that their mama prayed. She sought God in expectation. I want them to remember countless ways God answered prayers & countless miracles we witnessed through our partnership of prayer.

Prayer is a powerful weapon in and of itself. Sadly though, as John Piper says, it is our most unused weapon in the arsenal. Oh that we would wise up to the enemy, to our flesh, to this carnal world system we live in and begin using this weapon of prayer. And what more powerful prayer can we lift up than speaking the very words of God?

When words do not come, when we are uncertain what to pray, when we seek the unleashed power of God over ourselves, our families, our circumstances,
may we begin to pray the very life changing, heart rending, power inducing words of the Living God. And watch as He. Comes. Down.

(Based on Ephesians 6)

Today Lord would you make me strong in the Lord and your mighty power. Help me put on the full armor of God so that I can take my stand against the devil's schemes. Help me wise up and know that my struggle is not against flesh & blood... We are engaged in full-on spiritual warfare and I must yield the weapons you have given in order to have victory in this battle.

May I stand firm with the belt of truth around my waist. Give me integrity Lord. Sow it in my heart, my thoughts, my lips. Your word says you desire truth in my inner being. May truth dwell in me richly.

Help me take up the shield of faith. Let me know you Lord and your Word so that when the enemy comes to distract and discourage me, I can walk in faith and belief. Without faith I know it is impossible to please you.

May I wield the Sword of the Spirit today, which is your Word. Sow it richly in my heart & mind that I would KNOW your truth which is my offensive weapon against the enemy.

(Based on Philippians 1:20-21)

I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but that you would give me sufficient courage so that now as always Christ would be exalted in my body. For to me, to live is Christ & to die is gain.

To live is Christ. Make that my hearts greatest desire that You would not be a part or a portion of my life. But that you would be my LIFE.

(Based on Psalm 119:33-37)

Teach me O Lord to follow your word and give me understanding that I may obey it with all my heart.

Direct me in the path of your commands, and may I find great delight in your presence.

Turn my heart toward your Word O God. In a society that does not honor You nor your Word, may I have a reverent fear for You and the commands you have given. Bind my wandering heart to Thee Lord. Take my heart Lord, Take & seal it, Seal it for thine courts above.

Turn my eyes away from worthless things Lord. May I begin to love the things that you love and hate the things you hate. Cast down every idol that is exalted above you in my life, that my eyes would be fixed upon You God.

Further Still

2009-09-20T14:52:00.006-05:00

There is a stirring within my heart to go deeper.

Last Monday morning in the dark, cold, rain a group of women gathered at Starbucks to do this very thing. Not content with mediocrity nor complacency, we gathered to go deeper.

Give us this day our daily bread...
May YOU God be my daily bread.
May I not put a bite of food into my mouth until my heart bows in submission to your authority for this very day.
May my hands not type a single text or email until they be lifted to the King in surrender for the upcoming hours.
May I not fill my cup until it is first filled by You.

How do we do this? What does this look like? For each one it will be as unique as we are. But the common thread is that we PURSUE the living God in the midst of our days.

For some that means rising while it is dark and stopping to listen. To bow. To beckon.

Ps. 119:147 "I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope is your word."

For many (including myself) who wake early to the sound of scurrying feet and hungry tummies, it is stealing some quiet moments with children by my side (Children's Bible in their hands, my own in my hand) while we seek God together.

Other days it means rushing to my "quiet place" on the couch,
journal, pen & Bible in hand as soon as children lay down for afternoon naps.

Whatever it looks like for you, may you beckon on further still.

Over the days & weeks ahead I will share ways I enjoy diving deeper. Variety is key. Who wants chicken everyday for lunch & dinner? We have a buffet of God's glory to revel in, to be amazed by. He has given us many ways to enjoy & SAVOR Himself.

May we not fill up on the nibblings of this world,
But instead feast at the banquet table of our God.

We have been created to know and savor Him. Pull up your chair today with eager expectation... and find your fill in Him.

Blessed Invasion

2009-09-12T16:33:00.003-05:00

Enthrall me Lord till none is left
to draw my heart from your safe cleft
Enthrall me Lord till none shines bright
save Christ alone till faith is sight

Invade my heart till you alone
exalted high rule on your throne
Invade the secret, shame & sin
let only truth and Christ within

Obsess this daughter with her King
my love for you, my offering
Obsess thine eyes with One who gave
His very life, mine own to save

Pour Out Your Hearts...

2009-09-08T09:34:00.005-05:00

"My soul finds rest in God alone;
My salvation comes from Him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation;
He is my fortress, I will never be shaken....

Find rest O my soul in God alone;
My hope comes from Him.
He alone is my rosk & my slavation,
He is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
My salvation & my honor depend on God;
He is my mighty rock, my refuge.

Trust in Him at all times,
Pour out your hearts to Him,
for God is our refuge."

Psalm 62:1-2, 5-8

2009-09-04T16:15:00.006-05:00

"I have set the Lord always before me.

Because He is at my right hand I will not be shaken...

You have made known to me the paths of life

and you will fill me with joy in your presence."

Psalm 16:8,11

This Is My Seed

2009-08-31T16:49:00.002-05:00

Written by Mary Bales:
Our family recently took a vacation to Red River, NM. We were amazed and captivated by God’s marvelous creation. I was able to spend some with God, surrounded by beauty and nature. In one of my quiet moments, God brought to my mind the words to "Desert Song" by Hillsong. (song below)

"This is my prayer in the harvest, where favor and providence flow. I know I’m filled to be emptied again. This seed I’ve received, I will sow"… (verse 4)

WOW!!! So many times, I turn to God in the desert, the fire & the battle. I pray for provision, strength & victory. I proclaim faith & hope. How do I pray in the harvest? or do I even pray in the harvest???? Do I feel that God has filled me to allow me to pour into others? Did God bless me with a harvest to love on others? So many times in the New Testament, Jesus demonstrates this very act of worship (Acts 10:45; Romans 5:5; 2Tim 4:6; John 3:16; John 19:30; Romans 8:32; Gal 1:4; Gal 2:20; Titus 2:11-14, and on & on).

As believers and followers of Christ, aren’t we called to follow the ways of Christ? Surely he has blessed us to pour into others.
But that was not enough, God was relentlessly pushing another issue…
"This seed I’ve received, I will sow"
This can be difficult to accept. Do we look at others and covet their "seed"? Did you have plans to do and have things in a certain time frame? Did God have different plans? Does your family look different than you hypothetically orchestrated? What about your career? Health? Wealth? Are we constantly wanting what others have?

I look at the example of my sweet Libby. She is 11 months old and we were told when she was 3 months old that she would be severely special needs. This is not how I pictured my 3rd child. Over the last 8 months, I have argued and wrestled with God. I have been angry & sad. I have grieved the "healthy child" that I had imagined. That day, God came through my ipod and said that this was my seed to sow. I would minister to others and love others, that I never would have been in contact with. I would have the incredible opportunity to witness daily miracles in Libby. I would see the hand of God all over my life & my marriage. I would find myself in a "harvest", that others may have considered the "desert".

It has been a daily struggle, and I still have moments of despair. However, God has a plan & a purpose for each of our lives. Psalm 139 says that He knew Libby before the foundations of the earth… He knew & gave me this seed. It is time that I stopped coveting what others have & rejoice in the blessings and miracles of my life. I am to love and pour into others. I am to sow what God has given to me. Most of all, I am called to glorify HIM, so that others may know Him.
"All of my life, in every season,
You are still God.
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship"

Written by Mary Bales

He Put a New Song In My Mouth...

2009-08-28T13:01:00.003-05:00

I waited patiently for the Lord:
He turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud & mire;
He set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.

Blessed is the man who makes the Lord His trust,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods.

Many, O Lord my God,
are the wonders you have done...
I desire to do your will, O my God;
Your law in within my heart.
Psalm 40: 1-5,8

2009-08-24T14:09:00.008-05:00

"Oh praise the One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead...
Oh praise the One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead."

We should hardly be able to sing this song without being flooded with gratitude, arms lifted high in praise to our Savior. We ought to be a grateful people. We have been redeemed from destruction... From ourselves. Sin had left a crimson stain; He washed it white as snow.

Unless a Kernel of Wheat Dies...

2009-08-21T11:53:00.006-05:00

What hope, refreshing hope & relief in knowing that God's power in & through us, our strength, our sanctification into the women Christ has called us to be... happens in our death. There is no end to the list of things I need to work harder at, to accomplish, to perfect.

But this is not so with God. It is not in the striving, not in the labor, not in self.

It is in death. In weakness. In surrender that we find strength & life.

I love what Ann Voskamp says on weakness:

I sit in last light on a Thursday, comforted that it's our Publican weaknesses that unlock the God-chamber, not strength, Pharisee brawn at the door.

The God bowed in the thorns perfects power in imperfect weakness, inverted strength that dies to rise, so He takes us in, the lame and unlikely. The strong soul-limp and the weak beggars straighten and fill. Healing happens in the splintered places.Blessed are the meek and I laugh, relieved.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness"
~2 Cor. 12:19

"I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds."

~John 12:24

Prayer: Why We struggle (& How Not to)

2009-08-19T16:03:00.005-05:00

Written by Ann Voskamp

The only reason we fail to pray is because we've made an idol out of self. I discover it on a Thursday picking up errant crayons, scattered legos, swiping up crumbs.

I can't stop. I'd like to. I keep glancing at the clock, knowing it's time to rest, to close my eyes and pause for morning prayer. Pray like Jesus and all Jews did through the centuries, like the fixed hour prayer of David , the set prayer times like Daniel, the particular hours like Peter and John and the Early Christians.

It's time to stop to pray, but I'm too busy cleaning house.

Snowball gaining ground, I'm rolling through, picking up one more stray sock, one more piece of paper, arms full and heavy with the gathering, shushing hungry soul with "soon... one more thing... soon..." and time sands keep draining away and soul withers gaunt.

Why doesn't someone grab me and tell me that a soul can shrivel up and die without prayer? That "praying is more important than eating because your soul is more important than your body." (Peter Kreeft)

I'm too busy feeding waist-swollen self, straightening dishtowels, wiping off crumbed counter.

Wipe down fridge, and then stove-top and it will just take a moment to slip in another load of laundry... and then I finally should be able to kneel down at prayer bench...

SomeOne grabs me. He shakes my mind shoulders and I'm winded, wet cloth in hand. Stopped. Hard stopped. I bow my head and wait for the inhaling.

"You okay, Mom?" Josh's washing dishes, sleeves rolled up, elbow-deep in suds.

I whisper it out the window, ashamed ... appalled... "The only thing that prevents me from praying more is me." The sparrows line the hydro wires out by the mailbox. "It's my own inflated sense of self-importance, the elevation of my work, of my agenda, that keeps me from prayer-communion." I turn to face him.

"That's called idol worship. I don't pray enough because I'm practicing idol worship."

I can hardly look him in the eye.

"You didn't know that, Mom?" He drops an enamelware bowl into sink, reaches for the scrub pad.

Really? Why didn't someone tell me that all my excuse making was nothing but a cheap cover for idolatry?

I guess He did.

I never notice it when I just pray after reading Scripture, early or late, when we pray before and after meals. Prayer's short, convenient. It's only when I began to follow the way of Jesus and the early church in fixed hour prayer, feeding my soul at certain fixed times like I eat at certain fixed times, and I was confronted with this consistent struggle to cease working and kneel in prayer, that I realized the true ugliness of my lack of prayer.

It's a startling, wrenching thing to discover that it's not time, or busyness, or pressing concerns that prevent one from prayer. The extent of prayer in one's life is a direct function of whether something else has been set up as more important than God.

Since when did I begin thinking my contribution to the world was so significant -- uncrumbed counters, unlegoed floors -- that I was so necessary, that I couldn't stop, slow, still and commune with Jesus? God's the One who keeps the world in orbit, keeps the river running, not the efforts of any human hands. It's okay to take a moment and close your eyes and pray. Just pause, and exalt God. Even if in the midst of children, if its to throw apron skirt over head to create a quieted island-moment of prayer. No one's so important that several times a day, even for a few moments, she can't become small, invisible, in prayer. I am slowly learning.

Since when did I start thinking that "it was too much to go up to Jerusalem," that idol worship in Dan was preferable --- a muttered prayer here or there while I go about the essential, real business of my day? Doesn't God's honor not only deserve, but command, that I grow still, leaf resting while river rushes on, that I may know that He's God... and I am not. I am slowly learning.

I step over swimming bags dropped in the dining room, leave scattered remains of a tea party in the living room. Just as things are, it's time. I want Jesus more than anything else.

When I bow, idols topple.

Lord God.... what keeps me from prayer with You?
It's a question I'd like to answer.
Because I'd like more communion with You.
How else does a soul live?

Written by Ann Voskamp

To Live is Christ

2009-08-18T10:42:00.006-05:00

"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or death.

For to me, TO LIVE IS CHRIST & to die is gain."
(Philippians 1:20-21)

Lord this is it... This is the desire of our hearts. Make it our life's ambition & prayer: to live is Christ. You are the first, you are priority, supreme, exalted, glorified...

Despite our self-exalting flesh, despite a self-absorbed culture, and against every lie of the enemy that aims to entangle & distract- May the cry of our life resound Christ, Christ, Christ. For You alone are the only One worthy of our life's ambition. You alone are the only One who removes the futility & hollowness from life. You are worthy of our utmost desire & submission. And so today we declare: To live is Christ. Be our LIFE.

I Will Rise

2009-08-12T10:55:00.000-05:00

The Toxicity of Grumbling

2009-08-12T00:00:00.005-05:00

Jennifer Rothschild in her book Me, Myself & Lies had this to say on grumbling & complaining:

"Sometimes we grumble to ourselves out of habit. Maybe we have a more naturally pessimistic personality or we learned to do it. But whether it is habit, disposition, or upbringing that contributes to grumbling, the real root is selfishness.

Philippians 2:3 says 'Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourself.'

"Complaining always reveals a lack of humility and plenty of self-centeredness...it shows our self-focus."

We were discussing this evening how many of us had never thought of the root of our grumbling being selfishness & pride. More than anything it reveals a sense of entitlement on our part. Lord cut that bitter root right out. Give us humble hearts that exalt You above all else, rather than ourselves. Replace our grumbling spirits with grateful hearts- And we praise you that through the power of God even the hardest of hearts can soften and joy begin to take root & grow. And this is possible because we pray it in the cleansing & healing name of Jesus Christ.

In Christ Alone

2009-08-11T19:33:00.002-05:00

Where Your Treasure Is....

2009-08-05T12:54:00.006-05:00

Making plans for this fall?? Mark your calendar for Treasured: A new women's Bible study offered for women of all ages and stages of life. Emphasis on building relationships and on personal growth in Christ as we dive into a Bible study from the Women of Faith series: Understanding Your Purpose.

Go online to http://www.fbccoppell.org/women for more details & to register.

Practicing the Presence of God

2009-08-04T20:43:00.003-05:00

Brother Lawrence penned the following words in his book The Practice of the Presence of God:

"Brother Lawrence told how to form the habit of talking with God all the time, referring all we do to Him. The secret: Ask God in a spirit of genuine diligence. After a little care and after a little time, we will discover that His love excites us to continual conversation with God with no difficulty."

Session Four: Me, Myself & Lies

2009-08-03T12:50:00.001-05:00

Siesta Summer Bible Study (Weeks 5 and 6) from LPV on Vimeo.

Let's Get Our Worship On...

2009-08-02T12:48:00.003-05:00

Coming Home to the Heart of Our Desires from LWEvents on Vimeo.

An Important Message from Beth Moore from LWEvents on Vimeo.

Guess who is coming to town???? Well not really OUR town, but the great city of Green Bay, Wisconsin.... Beth Moore! And guess who is simulcasting the LIVE event but our very neighbors at First Baptist Church Grapevine. Here's the scoop:

Date: Friday & Saturday, August 28-29th

Times: Friday night 7-9:30 pm & Saturday from 8:30-noon

Theme of Weekend: Coming Home to the Heart of our Desires

Cost: $25

Are We Obsessed?

2009-08-02T07:28:00.008-05:00

Obsession: To have the mind excessively preoccupied with a single emotion or topic.

In Francis Chan's book Crazy Love he spends a chapter discussing the profile of the obsessed. He says:

"The idea of holding back certainly didn't come from Scripture. The Bible teaches us to be consumed with Christ and to faithfully live out His words. The Holy Spirit stirs in us a joy and peace when we are fixated on Jesus, living by faith and focused on the life to come (eternity). While (the following) descriptions combined don't necessarily answer the question of what it looks like to be wholly surrendered to God, they represent important pieces of the puzzle. Hopefully you can begin to imagine and pray about what this looks like in your own life."

*People who are obsessed with Jesus aren't consumed with their personal safety and comfort above all else. Obsessed people care more about God's kingdom coming to this earth than their own lives being shielded from pain or distress.

*People who are obsessed with Jesus live lives that connect them with the poor in some way or another. Obsessed people believe that Jesus talked about money and the poor so often because it was really important to Him. (1 John 2:4-6; Matt. 16:24-26)

*Obsessed people are more concerned with obeying "God than doing what is expected or fulfilling the status quo. A person who is obsessed with Jesus will do things that don't always make sense to unbelievers.

*A person who is obsessed with Jesus knows that the sin of pride is always a battle. Obsessed people know that you can never be "humble enough", and so they seek to make themselves less known and Christ more known.

*People who are obsessed with Jesus do not consider service a burden. Obsessed people take joy in loving God and loving His people.

*People who are obsessed with God are known as givers, not takers. Obsessed people genuinely think that others matter as much as they do, and they are particularly aware of those who are poor around the world (James 2:14-26).

*A person who is obsessed thinks about heaven frequently. Obsessed people orient their lives around eternity; they are not fixed only on what is here in front of them.

*A person who is obsessed is characterized by committed, settled, passionate love for god, above and before every other thing and every other being.

*People who are obsessed are raw with God; they do not attempt to mask the ugliness of their sins or their failures. Obsessed people don't put it on for God; He is their safe place, where they can be at peace.

*People who are obsessed with God have an intimate relationship with Him. They are nourished by God's word throughout the day because they know that forty minutes on Sunday is not enough to sustain them for a whole week, especially when they will encounter so many distractions and alternative messages.

*A person who is obsessed with Jesus is more concerned with his or her character then comfort. Obsessed people know that true joy doesn't depend on circumstances or environment. It is a gift that must be chosen and cultivated; a gift ultimately from God (James 1:2-4).

*A person is who is obsessed with God knows that the best thing he can do is be faithful to His Savior in every aspect of life, continually saying, "Thank You!" to God. An obsessed person knows that their can never be intimacy if he is always trying to pay God back or work hard enough to be worthy. He revels in his role as a child and friend of God.

May we cease living as the status quo and begin living the profile of the obsessed. There is only One worthy and safe enough of our obsession... May we fix our hearts and minds on you Lord.

2009-07-30T16:00:00.010-05:00

"Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits-

Who forgives all your sins

and heals all your diseases,

Who redeems your life from the pit

and crowns you with love and compassion,

Who satisfies your desires with good things..."

Psalm 103: 1-5

As with all God-breathed and inspired scripture, these verses are so beautifully written in the perfect and most gracious order that our God works. We cannot come to Jesus without realizing our need for a Savior, without recognizing our sin & complete wretchedness apart from Him. But then comes the beauty of His working power. There is a process of healing, growth and sanctification that begins to take place as we place ourselves under the authority of God's love & grace. David portrays it magnificently in Psalm verses 3-5:

He forgives us all our sins... Praise you Jesus that there is now no condemnation in Christ. Your life paid the debt and your blood washed us clean.

He heals us... Oh the healing we are in need of! Thank you Lord that your love & grace bring the healing balm our hearts desperately need.

He redeems us... Thank you that what satan intended for harm, You can turn to good- for our full redemption:

"Our willingness to place ourselves in God's holy hands leads to full redemption. Full redemption is when the pain is treated and turned around so thoroughly that it not only loses it's power to do you harm but also gain the power to do some good." (Beth Moore- I don't know where I found this quote. I've had it in my Bible for years)

He crowns us... Girls we have been made royalty and are loved by the King. The scarlet letter has been removed and a crown of rubies placed upon our heads. He is so worthy of praise.

He satisfies our desires... In order to keep us healthy and whole, God in His sovereignty knows that He must be our greatest delight and satisfaction.

"We were created to treasure Christ will all of our hearts. One reason lust (and unhealthy addictions) reign in so many is that Christ has so little appeal. We default to deceit because we have little delight in Christ...Look, look, look at the most magnificent Person in the universe until you see Him the way He is." (John Piper- Pierced by the Word)

Lord satisfy us today in you. For you alone complete, bring joy, satisfy and quench our thirsty souls.

The Law of Disintegration: Guarding our Marriages

2009-07-28T14:36:00.005-05:00

In a recent article by Dr. James Dobson, he had the following insight to give regarding marriage and the law of disintegration:

"The natural tendency of everything in the universe is to move from order to disorder. If you buy a car, it will steadily deteriorate. Your body is slowly aging and dying. Your house has to be repainted and repaired. A business that is not managed carefully will unravel and collapse. ..

The principle that governs this drift from order to disorder might be called "the law of disintegration". The only way to postpone or temporarily combat its influence is to invest creative energy and intelligent design into that which is to be preserved.

Not so surprisingly, human relationships conform to this principle. The natural tendency is for husbands and wives to drift away from each other unless they work at staying together. To provide another analogy, it is as though they were sitting in separate rowboats on a choppy lake. If they don't paddle vigorously to stay in the same neighborhood, one will drift to the north of the lake and the other to the south. That is exactly that happens when marital partners get too busy or distracted to maintain their love. If they don't take the time for romantic activities and experiences that draw them together, something precious begins to slip away. It doesn't have to be that way of course, but the currents of life will separate them unless efforts are made to remain together.

I wish every married couple knew about the law of disintegration and actively protected their relationship from it."

(From the Complete Marriage & Family Home Reference Guide by Dr. James Dobson)

Lord guard our marriages. You designed marriage & families for your glory- which is why the enemy is on a clear mission to destroy this central core of Your design. Help us wise up against the distractions and schemes of the enemy. Fortify our homes. Your word says "the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him" (Ps. 34:7). May you have complete Lordship and supremacy in our homes and our marriages- and may you literally encamp around our families. Give us the creativity and love to intentionally pursue our spouse- that our hearts and lives would remain sealed as one.

Be Anxious for Nothing...

2009-07-24T14:23:00.004-05:00

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." Philippians 4:6

"So often we pray and then fret anxiously, waiting for God to hurry up and do something. All the while God is waiting for us to calm down, so He can do something through us."

-Corrie Ten Boom

More about the life of Corrie Ten Boom: http://www.corrietenboom.com/history.htm

Praying God's Word

2009-07-22T13:57:00.003-05:00

Praying God's Word by Beth Moore. This is a must have. Order it today. Give it as birthday gifts. Put it in every bathroom. It's a must read. As we seek to develop the mind of Christ, this book is a helpful tool in demonstrating HOW to pray scripture. Be prepared: This will rock your world!

Here is an excerpt from her book:

In reference to 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 Beth says that how we learn to "take captive every thought" is "we make our thoughts obedient to Christ every time we choose to to think Christ's thoughts about any situation or stronghold instead of Satan's or our own.What are Christ's thoughts? The Word of God revealed to us. I finally learned that the way we make our exalted, overpowering thoughts bow down in obedience to Jesus Christ is to choose to think His thoughts about the matter rather than my own or those influenced by the enemy. In this book I am sharing with you exactly how I began to think God's thoughts over controlling strongholds in my life....In praying scripture I not only find myself in intimate communication with God, but my mind is being retrained or renewed (Romans 12:20) to think His thoughts about my situation rather than my own. Ultimately, He resumes His proper place in my thoughts and life as huge & indomitable, and my obstacles shrink."
-Praying God's Word (pg. 7-8)

"Father, I desire to become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then I will no longer be an infant, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here & there by every wind of teaching. Instead, please teach me to speak truth in love, growing up in Him who is the head, Christ."

(Ephesians 4:13-15)

Lord I once lived in darkness but now you have called me into the light & into relationship with You. "Help me to live now as a child of light for the fruit of living in the light consists of goodness, righteousness & truth. Help me to seek You and find out what pleases You." (Ephesians 5:8-10)

"Father, please never allow me to be one who is always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. (2 Tim. 3:7) Your word says that she who trusts in herself is a fool, but she who walks in wisdom is kept safe (Prov. 28:26). Lord I have come to realize that I cannot trust in myself. My safety is in learning to trust in You. Please help me!"

Session Three: Me, Myself & Lies

2009-07-21T13:26:00.002-05:00

Siesta Summer Bible Study (Weeks 3 and 4) -Part 1 from LPV on Vimeo.

Siesta Summer Bible Study (Weeks 3 and 4) -Part 2 from LPV on Vimeo.

I Think You Will Enjoy This

2009-07-20T14:32:00.005-05:00

This excerpt part of Beth Moore's blog written today for her daughter Melissa. Today is Melissa's birthday and this is part of her birthday cheer from Beth. I found myself in tears as I love her attitude of submission to Christ and hope even through a painful health battle. Oh Lord increase my faith that even as I walk through the fire I would praise your holy Name...

From Beth:
We sang “Before the Throne of God Above” yesterday in the worship service. Knowing how much you love it, I could hardly get the words to come out of my mouth. I kept thinking of the lyrics in reference to the genuine trial by fire you’ve had this year with health issues attacking that little frame. Persevere, my sweet, sweet Child. I pray with all my heart that this is only a season and that God is going to bring you out of it twice the warrior that entered it. Please hasten to the finish, Lord Jesus. Restore Your young servant completely and bear such a harvest that she will one day look back on it as a gift in disguise from Your faithful hand.

Just in case you’ve forgotten any of the words:

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea:
A great High Priest, whose name is Love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.

My name is graven on his hands,
My name is written on his heart;
I know that while in heaven he stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look,
and see him there
Who made an end of all my sin.

Because a sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Praise the One, Risen Son of God!

Behold him there, the risen Lamb
My perfect, spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I am,
The King of glory and of grace!
One in himself, I cannot die
My soul is purchased by his blood
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God
With Christ, my Savior and my God

May We Be Bold Women of the Lord

2009-07-17T16:00:00.000-05:00

Nice Girls Don't Change the World, by Lynne Hybels

May we be dangerous women.
May we be women who acknowledge our power to change, and grow, and be radically alive for God.
May we be healers of wounds and righters of wrongs.
May we weep with those who weep and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.
May we cherish children, embrace the elderly, and empower the poor.
May we pray deeply and teach wisely.
May we be strong and gentle leaders.
May we sing songs of joy and talk down fear.
May we never hesitate to let passion push us, conviction compel us, and righteous anger energize us.
May we strike fear into all that is unjust and evil in the world.
May we dismantle abusive systems and silence lies with truth.
May we shine like stars in a darkened generation.
May we overflow with goodness in the name of God and by the power of Jesus.
And in that name, and by that power, may we change the world.
Dear God, Please make us dangerous women. Amen.
-Lynne Hybels

Lord take us past complacency and apathy. May we be bold in our pursuit of YOU and out of that, make us dangerous women who seek your glory more than the safety of the shores of mediocrity. Let us dive in and get our feet wet instead of fearing stirring up the waters. For no one ever rescued a drowning friend by sitting on the waters edge. We were never meant for the shoreline. Make us dangerous.

2009-07-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

"The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways,

but the folly of fools is deception."

Proverbs 14:8

July Summer Series

2009-07-14T08:33:00.003-05:00

With the summer well under way, some twenty-five (ish) women have joined together for a July summer series: Me, Myself & Lies by Jennifer Rothschild. God has blessed us with an amazing group of women who are hungry to grow & study His word. Open our hearts Lord that we may receive all that you have for us... For the praise & glory of your name.

"Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things... Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly...And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father." Colossians 3: 1-2,15-17

Looking For a New Routine??

2009-07-13T22:26:00.003-05:00

God where am I playing it safe and hugging the beam? Take me on from this place of safety & complacency Lord... give me a crazy love that is willing to live boldly for your glory.

The First Lie

2009-07-13T22:16:00.003-05:00

From C.S. Lewis's brilliant Mere Christianity:

"That was the very fall of Satan: and that was the sin he taught the human race. What Satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors was the idea that they could 'be like gods'. That they could set up on their own as if they had created themselves, be their own masters- invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God, apart from God. And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history. Money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slaves- the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.

The reason why it can never succeed is this. God made us: Invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Him. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about Him. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."

-C.S. Lewis

2009-07-13T08:08:00.000-05:00

The giant step in the walk of faith is the one we take when we decide God no longer is a part of our lives. He is our life.
-Beth Moore

The Power of Assumptions

2009-07-07T15:37:00.002-05:00

"Faulty assumptions are not harmless accessories we take on and off. They actually become the base of our thoughts and actions. They anchor the wardrobe of our lives. That's why it's very dangerous to assume something is true when it isn't. Faulty assumptions always reveal themselves in wrong thinking and result in erroneous action.

Begin considering your assumptions. Can you see how they influence your life?"

Another way Jennifer worded it was that "faulty assumptions are the root. Wrong thinking is the fruit." When we engage in faulty assumptions and make agreements (even things we have believed from childhood) within ourselves that are not true... the result is "troublesome thoughts and destructive emotions. You & I don't simply sprout the fruits of insecurity, anger, intolerance, low self-esteem, or defensiveness without something to first feed those feelings or thoughts. Feelings & thoughts are fruits. Assumptions are roots."

-Jennifer Rothschild: Me, Myself & Lies

2009-07-07T12:57:00.001-05:00

Siesta Summer Bible Study (Weeks 1 and 2) from LPV on Vimeo.

2009-06-30T23:05:00.001-05:00

Faith is not clinging to a shrine, but an endless pilgrimage of the heart, audacious longing, burning songs, daring thoughts, an impulse overwhelming the heart, usurping the mind- These are all a drive toward serving Him who rings our hearts like a bell."
- Abraham Joshua Heschel

That God May Open To Us a Door

2009-06-26T13:43:00.000-05:00

"Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the Word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account for which I am in prison--that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak."
Colossians 4: 2-4 ESV

Written by Tiffany Edwards:

Paul did not ask for prayer concerning his release, his health or anything else of that nature. He simple asked for prayer in regards to more opportunities to share Christ through his imprisonment. God does not call us to pretend as though we are not in pain or as though all is perfect in our little worlds. But He does call us to give thanks in all things and as we express our gratitude to Him and to those around us, the more others will be encouraged through our pain and through our heartache thus bringing glory to God. As a result, this will give us a platform to share Christ and to bring glory to the God that reigns above all things and above all schemes of man.

Father, I pray that I, like Paul, would see the value of my trials and the many opportunities that you give us because of our trials. Teach me how to pray that I may learn to see beyond my humanity to the heart of God who holds all things together. Give me a grateful heart, that rather than curse the one that crushes me, I will praise the God that lifts me up. May I see Your hand at work today in all things Lord, and may I have the heart to praise You for all you are going to do in me and through me regardless of the means by which You will use. Thank You that You are a God of circumstance and that in everything there is cause to praise You. Bless Your name oh Good and Wonderful God!

(Written by Tiffany Edwards)

From the Book: This is My Destiny

2009-06-24T09:14:00.003-05:00

True freedom will only bloom in your life when you put on the truth of who God says you are. Knowing who God wants you to be is not the same as practicing who He wants you to be. When life gets complicated and failures abound, turn your heart and mind back to the basics. Remember who you are in Christ, practice being who God says you are, and in time, you'll be walking in the hall of freedom."

- Dennis Jernigan (This Is My Destiny)

It is Time

2009-06-22T08:00:00.006-05:00

"You have stayed long enough on this mountain. Break camp and advance into the hill country..."
(Deuteronomy 1:6)

Where have you remained long enough? This verse has been resonating through my mind for days as the Lord has reminded "You have stayed long enough in this place. Break camp & advance."

We love to be comfortable. We can easily enjoy great time with the Lord, hear Him speak a word to our spirit, or enjoy a wonderful season of growth with Christ... and then set up camp there and sit. This can all to easily happen with our perspectives and presumptions as well. We presume God is a certain way (it's the way we've viewed Him our whole lives). We believe God to act a certain way (it's the way our believed God to act). We view life a certain way (a perspective we've seen life through for quite a while).

Oh that we would allow God to take us on from this place. It's time to break camp & advance. God is always after a fresh work in our lives. There is an adventure awaiting us , treasure to uncover, and power to behold... But it will not come if we remain at our tent. Ask the Lord to take up on from the place of comfort today and lead you up the mountain with Him. For that is where the glory of God dwells... and oh we want it.

R.A. Torrey on Prayer

2009-06-20T13:55:00.001-05:00

"Prayer is God's appointed way for obtaining thing, and the great secret of all lack in our experience, in our life, and in our work is neglect of prayer. James brings this out very forcibly in chapter 4 verse 2: "You have not because you ask not." These words contain the secret of the poverty and powerlessness of the average christian- neglect of prayer. The men God set forth as patterns of what He expected Christians to be- the apostles- regarded prayer as the most important business of their lives."

-R.A. Torrey (How to Pray)

Lord it is true that post resurrection, after you disciples "got it", their prayers lives, their passion, their influence & power exploded. Prior to your death & resurrection it is clear they hadn't quite "gotten it". They were still full of doubt, fear of man, and apathy. They were not fully convinced of the power & glory of God that was at stake... the glory that they were beholding. Oh Lord may we get it. Let us taste of your goodness, your glory, your power... And may it drive us to the kind of extreme & crazy love it drove your apostles to. Awaken a desire for prayer within your women. There are lives at stake, marriages at stake, families at stake, purpose at stake, power at stake. More than anything we we desire to fulfill all that you designed and created us for. Oh that we would see it begins on our knees & faces before a mighty, consuming God. Consume us Lord.

O Lord guard us...

2009-06-17T09:05:00.002-05:00

But as for me....

2009-06-17T08:00:00.004-05:00

"Yet I am always with you; You hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire but you.
My flesh and heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart & my portion forever.

Those who are far from you will perish; You destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds."

Psalm 73:23-28

Lord we praise you that you desire to guide us daily. Give us a hunger to walk intimately with you...To talk with you... To hear from you. For your word makes it clear that you guide us when you seek you. Remove the callouses from our spiritual tongues and give us taste buds that savor You and your word. May our hearts truly declare that You alone are our greatest desire & satisfaction. As for me, it is good to be near my God. Be near O God... Be near.

2009-06-15T14:05:00.001-05:00

The giant step in the walk of faith is the one we take when we decide God no longer is a part of our lives. He is our life.

-Beth Moore

He Waits to Be Gracious

2009-06-13T07:35:00.000-05:00

"Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him." Isaiah 30: 18

Written by Tiffany Edwards:

As you read through the 30th chapter of Isaiah, you will quickly realize that the nation of Israel (to whom the chapter is referring to) are 'stubborn children', a rebellious people, lying children, unwilling to hear instruction, unwilling and unwanting to hear about the Holy One of Israel. Yet, God continues in the same chapter and the same breath to extend His mercy--His undeserved, unmerited favor, upon a people so unaware of their desolation without it. As I look at my life, I am so aware of the fact I do not deserve grace this morning. Despite my stubborn, selfish ways, God still chose to meet me here this morning and encourage my wayward heart with His principles. May your heart be encouraged in knowing that although we are sinful, stubborn and at times unwilling, our God of mercy and grace is there, waiting and longing to be gracious. Blessed are those that long for Him!

Who Are We That We Can Give?

2009-06-10T22:57:00.005-05:00

"But who am I... that I should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand...O Lord our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you."
(29: 14-16)

Lord help us to remember as King David did- that what we have & what we give are yours. Just as we would be foolish to borrow a friends car and then boastfully return it to them saying "Well you'll be glad to know I decided to bring the car back to you"- may we not think that what you have given with your own hand & blessed us with is ours for the keeping. Thank you that we can give as generously as we can. We are a blessed people indeed. "Yours O Lord is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven & earth is yours." (1 Chron. 2911)

The Voice of the Lord

2009-06-10T07:59:00.000-05:00

"The voice of the Lord shakes the desert... The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forest bare. And in his temple all cry, "Glory!"

The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; The Lord is enthroned as King forever. The Lord gives strength to His people & blesses His people with peace."

Psalm 29:8-11

Oh Lord how desparately we desire to hear from you today. We confess and tear down any faulty image of you that we have created in our minds. Your voice shakes up, tears down, brings healing, brings life, speaks truth, administers love, purifies, sanctifies, brings wisdom, gives peace...

For the voice of the Lord is "powerful & majestic" (vs. 4). For your great glory speak to your servants.

Dinner with Mrs. Graham

2009-06-09T13:38:00.002-05:00

In her book, Just Give Me Jesus, by Anne Graham Lotz (Billy Graham’s daughter) she tells the story of an evening her parents were invited to a prestigious dinner party in London. Her mother was seated next to the former head of Scotland Yard, Great Britians quivialant to the FBI. Fascinated she respectfully probed him for anecdotes. “As he opened up under her genuine interest, he revealed that the departments under his authority had included those for forgery and counterfeiting. When she surmised that he must have spent a lot of time studying counterfeit signatures, he corrected her. ‘On the contrary, Mrs. Graham. I spent all of my time studying the genuine thing. That way, when I saw a counterfeit, I could immediately detect it.’

In a society bombarded with counterfeit messages and seductive lies, we too must spend our time studying the genuine thing- the truth God has made clear to us in His Word- so that we can easily recognize a counterfeit when it comes our way. Cultural attitudes for our marriages, motherhood, jobs, purity.... can easily be accepted as they slowly creep into our mindset. Oh that we would be intentional about seeking the face of God, that He can keep our focus on the real deal & keep us far from any form of deception.

Praying Psalms

2009-06-05T22:28:00.003-05:00

"Yet I am always with you. You hold me by your right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire beside you. My heart and my flesh may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever...

As for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of your deeds."

-Psalm 73:23-28

Oh the POWER in praying scripture... Speak it. Pray it. Declare it.

Psalm 73 is a great scripture to pray:

Lord I praise you that you are always with me- holding and guiding me with your counsel. Lord I desire your counsel and guidance above all else. Would you drown out every other voice and distraction, that my spirit can clearly discern your leading in decisions we are facing.

I praise you that I can search this world over and find that there is nothing greater, nothing that satisfies like you. Be my greatest desire Lord. What does it mean for you to be the strength of my heart? Teach me by your Holy Spirit what this looks like for you to be my strength. Right now I need your strength in.....

As for me, it is good for me to be near God. Near You. Living in the Spirit and in continual communication with you. Oh I want this more than I want my next breath. Not only is life meaningless apart from you, but I am just steps away from the nearest pit when I am not in the closest of proximity to You. Your word says in John 15 that when I abide in you not only will I bear fruit for your glory, but I can ask whatever I want and will see answered prayer. This is fullness of life... This is freedom... This is the blessed life.

Today be my refuge and loose my tongue to praise You for your goodness & faithfulness to me. Let me praise you, praise you some more, and when I am done praising you... continue on praising & exalting my God. For you are the One who has set my heart free.

It Is Finished

2009-06-02T14:35:00.004-05:00

"Who is a God like you who pardons sin and forgives the transgressions of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea."

Micah 7:18-19

Lord we praise you that you delight in restoration. You never intend for us to wallow in the sin, guilt and shame the enemy loves to remind us of. Help us Lord to walk as the forgiven and not entertain the thoughts of the past. When thoughts of our flesh tempt and distract us may we turn our eyes quickly to you and hear the cry of your voice from the cross proclaim "It is FINISHED!" You have tread our sins underfoot so that we may bring you praise & glory with our lives. May we do so even today.

Living In Your Sweet Spot

2009-05-31T06:00:00.000-05:00

“Each person is given something to that shows who God is.” (1 Corinthians 12:7)

“Everything comes from God alone. Everything lives by His power, and everything is for His glory." (Rom. 11:36)

*Excerpt from Cure For the Common Life by Max Lucado:

“The breath you just took? God gave that. The blood that just pulsed through your heart? Credit God. The light by which you read and the brain through which you process? He gave you both. Everything comes from Him… And exists for Him. We exist to exhibit God, to display His glory.”

You have been gifted and blessed uniquely. The enemy would love to tell you otherwise. 1 Cor. 12:7 makes it clear that we have each been given “a special way of serving others”. You were uniquely formed and created & endowed with one blessing after another so that we would as Lucado says “make a big deal out of God”. In his words:

Use your uniqueness (what you do)

To make a big deal out of God (why you do it)

Every day of your life (where you do it)

And when we do this, we will be living in our sweet spot.

Lord reveal to me the gifts you have given me. Make me aware of the unique talents, skills, passions, gifts…that You have bestowed, and then help me use them for your glory.

2009-05-30T10:22:00.001-05:00

"There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark." -Helen Keller

Are We Fighting or Feeding the Monster?

2009-05-29T10:46:00.003-05:00

The following was written in response to a question posted 0n the blogsite http://virtuealert.blogspot.com/.

The question written in to the blogsite regarded a stronghold, addiction, habit, unhealthy desire... that we may pray about and ask God to take from us. Yet even after praying and struggling through it, the temptation is still staring us in the face. Why is that? Is God not hearing our prayer? Why after we prayed and prayed to have it removed are we still battling this same monster?

This one was taken right off our prayer wall and I think it's worth discussing because I think a lot of people are dealing with this. Here is what I have learned the hard way. If I'm struggling with something and it's not getting better, then I'm probably not really struggling with it. I'm probably feeding it. I'll explain.

Let's say this desire to have sex is like a monster that lives in your heart and head. Something in you wants the monster to go away but something else (hello sin nature) kind of likes it and wants it to stick around. So you pray and pray that God will take it away but instead of going away the monster just keeps getting bigger and stronger. What's the deal? You're praying but for some reason God isn't fixing the problem. Has He given up on you or are you not praying right or what? I think the place to start is to look at your actions and see if your actions are working against your prayer. Do you watch sex scenes from your favorite movies over and over? Do you look at things you shouldn't on the internet and TV? Do you let your mind wander into places it shouldn't go instead of taking every thought captive and obedient to Christ like it says in 2 Corinthians 10:5? If you talk about sex with your friends a lot and fill your mind with it via TV, movies, books, and the internet - then you aren't really struggling against it no matter how much you pray. You're feeding the monster and making it stronger so that it has more control over you every day. It's like if you pray that God will make you skinny but you eat 2 boxes of Krispy Kreme a day. Never gonna happen. So my question to you is what are you actually doing, other than praying, to fight this thing? Are you willing to sacrifice the things that keep you focused on sex or romance and shift your focus to Jesus? If you're feeling down on yourself read Romans 7 and you'll see that even Paul had monsters to fight.

When Jesus offers us freedom He always requires that we walk away from our sin, that we stop doing those things that are keeping us in chains. He offers Himself in exchange for the monster but you have to let go of the one in order to hold on to the Other. There isn't room in your heart for both. And remember this - some battles are long and hard but don't ever give up because in the end Jesus always wins.

Written by Jamie Lamb

A Purpose & Plan

2009-05-26T15:46:00.003-05:00

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mothers womb. I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in the secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before even one of them came to be." Psalm 139: 13-16

Written by Tiffany Edwards:

I was combing my 3 year old's hair and I asked her how she got to be so cute. She looked at me and shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know Mommy--I just am" was her response. I laughed and saw this moment as a teaching moment and began to quote the beautifully penned words of Psalm 139. As I told her about God weaving her little body together and choosing her name her face began to light up. I asked her, "Do you think God went, 'Oops--there's another baby!' ?" She giggled and said yes. I then told her that He did the exact opposite. He had her planned before the foundations of the earth were even set in place. He created her with a purpose, a specific plan and a life that only she could live. As she grew to know Him more and love Him, He would reveal that purpose and plan little by little until she goes home to be with Him in heaven. As the words spoken through me by the Holy Spirit fell on my little girl's ears, her eyes were bright and her smile was wide.

As she ran outside and I was processing the conversation we just had, I wondered how many of us needed to hear the same thing. I wondered how many people live and die without ever knowing that they were created for a specific purpose, the first of which is to know the One who created us and glorify Him through our existence (Ephesians 1:3-14). Even though she was only 3, knowing that she had a purpose and she didn't happen by mistake, made her radiant. Regardless of how old you are, knowing you have a purpose, that your short existence on earth was not a product of chance, is something that will change you from the inside out. My prayer for you this morning is that as you let the Psalmist's words in 139 penetrate your soul, that your heart would be radiant knowing that He formed you, He set forth the days of your life and He created you with a very specific purpose. Praise the Lord for His creative workmanship that resulted in you!

A Couple Quotes to Think On

2009-05-26T14:45:00.000-05:00

"Faith is not clinging to a shrine, but an endless pilgrimage of the heart, audacious longing, burning songs, daring thoughts, an impulse overwhelming the heart, usurping the mind- these are all a drive toward serving Him who rings our hearts like a bell."

- Abraham Joshua Heschel

"Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Grab life by the mane. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshiping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. Chase the lion."

- Mark Batterson

Psalm 119

2009-05-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

Blessed are they whose ways are blameless,
who walk according to the law of the LORD.

Blessed are they who keep his statutes
and seek him with all their heart.

They do nothing wrong;
they walk in his ways.

You have laid down precepts
that are to be fully obeyed.

Oh, that my ways were steadfast
in obeying your decrees!

Then I would not be put to shame
when I consider all your commands.

I will praise you with an upright heart
as I learn your righteous laws.

I will obey your decrees;
do not utterly forsake me.

How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.

I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.

I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.

Praise be to you, O LORD;
teach me your decrees.

With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.

I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.

I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.

I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.

Do good to your servant and I will live; I will obey your word.

OPEN MY EYES THAT I MAY SEE WONDERFUL THINGS IN YOUR WORD.

Psalm 119: 1-18

The Unsatisfied Soul: An Accident Waiting to Happen

2009-05-23T06:00:00.000-05:00

Excerpt from: A Woman & Her God (by Beth Moore)

An unsatisfied soul is an accident waiting to happen. Consider the saying, ‘Nature abhors a vacuum.’ Human nature also abhors a vacuum. It other words, we avoid feeling empty and always find ways to fill it. God created that void so we would seek Him. We are not satisfied by simply accepting salvation and then ascending to heaven when the time comes. Instead, God wants us to have relationship with Him during our lifetime. When we don’t, we set ourselves up for disaster. If we don’t find satisfaction with God, we will look for it somewhere else. We will default to one of two things: Subsistence living or substitute living.

Consider the word subsistence. One definition of the helpless is that they are poor & needy, ‘subsisting on the alms of others.’ The picture painted here is a beggar.”

We were created as needy people. We need to be loved. We need to be affirmed. We need to know we are valued & significant. These are not weaknesses. This is how we are wired. Yet it becomes a weakness when we look to people or things to fill what only Christ was made to fill. As Beth Moore illustrates, we are like people walking around all day long with an empty cup asking people to fill it up. We may go to our spouse, children, friends, and coworkers asking, “Can you fill my cup?”

“The problem is that we go to them seeking what only Christ was meant to provide. We can affirm one another, even fulfill one another, but it was God’s design right from the beginning that He alone would satisfy our soul’s desire. We were meant to thrive on the riches of His love. We were never meant for subsistence living.”

Substitute living is seen in when we fall into idolatry. We may not have a physical image that we bow to, but idolatry is when we worship or bow down to anything besides God. A person can become an idol to us. Our career can become an idol. The very gifts that God has given us- children, hobbies, careers, finances, friendships, a spouse- can become our hope, security and/or identity. And when this happens we are setting ourselves up for failure. The very thing or person we have placed so high & exalted as our hope will eventually let us down. Christ is the only one worthy of our worship & hope.

Satisfy my soul’s deepest longings Lord. Fill me today with you. Where I am seeking a friend, spouse, child, career, to fill my cup- Reveal that to me. Let me not confuse the gift with the Giver. You are the giver of life, the One who satisfies our soul. And today I choose you God to fill my cup to overflowing.

Who Are You Listening To?

2009-05-22T06:30:00.002-05:00

"Most of our unhappiness in life is because we are listening to ourselves rather than talking to ourselves."

-Martin Lloyd Jones

God's truth is the only constant, unchanging, rock upon which we can build our identity, our relationships, our marriages, our families. In times that our natural mind wants to do the talking & operating, we are wise to stop listening (to our flesh or the lies around us) and begin speaking God's truth over our lives (our situation, our marriage, our bondage). We act on what we believe, so we must guard carefully what we listen to.

Truths From a Childrens Bible

2009-05-20T09:00:00.005-05:00

And the Lord said to Moses, "I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God." Exodus 16: 11, 12

Written by Tiffany Edwards:

I have been a believer for more than 20 years and I must say that it has been in the reading of simple Bible stories and explaining the truth of God's word to my three and four year old that the truth and God's Word penetrates and pierces my heart in the most profound way...

The Bible story a few days ago was about the bread that fell from heaven. We have been studying the Israelites the last few weeks and I am always astounded by God's patience with them as they continue to grumble, slander one another and doubt God (none of which I am familiar with of course...) This time was no different. In just a short time, they had experienced God's powerful hand as he separated the Red Sea and then closed it on their ensuing enemies; provided sweet water when there was only bitter water available and now, just days later, they have the audacity to doubt and grumble yet again. I don't know about you, but when my children do this I begin to unravel and get angry with them for their ingratitude and doubt in regards to my care for them. It is not that God never got angry with them, but what speaks so loudly is His loving correction in response to their grumbling and His continued faithfulness in the midst of their infidelity and doubt. This story is yet another example.

They were hungry... they were thinking of Egypt and longing to go back--at least there they had food. Again, they doubted. Again, they grumbled. Again, God answered. They wanted food and God granted them their want. He provided bread from heaven in the morning and meat from heaven in the evening. My girls were astounded by this-- "God would send down treats and donuts if we ask???" Inquired my 4 year old Lanie. I smiled at her simple faith. I explained that God could and definitely does provide for us today in special ways, but that it probably wouldn't be anytime soon that she would see cream filled long johns with chocolate frosting falling from heaven...although, God is blessed by the simple faith of children so who knows...

Anyway, they were intrigued and I knew I had their attention, so I continued. "Do you know what they did? They gathered up enough food to last them a week and stored it away. But, do you know what God did to that stash of food?" Their eyes grew wide in wonder, I continued, "worms. God sent worms. They went to get their breakfast in the morning, and all they found was worm infested yuck." As I explained God's divine reason for this, the simple truth of God's word pierced my heart yet again. You see, these people had seen God at work in some of the most powerful ways recorded throughout all of history, and yet they continued to doubt. This did not change God's faithfulness, but he did know that he needed to teach them in the most concrete way to trust him in everything--so, he used their breakfast to teach this lesson. He wanted them to depend on him daily for their food. The fact they gathered and hoarded spoke volumes about their inability to trust God to rain bread from heaven for yet another day. Perhaps it was because they knew they didn't deserve it and for once they would actually get what they deserve...

As I am blessed with another day of life, health and blessing, I am overwhelmed by God's continued faithfulness for this whiny, no good, self centered woman who continues to doubt Gods care for her regardless of the care He has given in the past. There are so many times that I am tempted to hoard for fear that God won't continue to provide and it is in those times that my strength wanes the most and my own provision seems so inadequate. I am beginning to learn that God is faithful today and He promises to be faithful tomorrow, whatever that may bring. It is not up to me to know what tomorrow will be or if today will be my last--that is not important. What is important is knowing that God gives strength for today. He is faithful right now and will remain faithful evermore...that is all that matters and that is all I need.

His mercies are new every morning--and I am humbled that he would care enough for me to cover the ground under my undeserving feet with fresh bread directly from heaven to sustain me for whatever may come today. Praise His Holy Name!

Starbucks Sunrise

2009-05-19T19:27:00.006-05:00

What could be more refreshing then starting your morning off with a cup of coffee & time in God's presence? Come join us as we watch the sunrise & enjoy time with the Lord on Monday mornings in June. We will meet as a group for a few minutes and then break off individually to spend time in prayer & journaling for ourselves, our marriages, jobs, children... Gaining a vision from the Lord for the upcoming week ahead.

*Bring only your Bible, a pen & journal
*Starbucks in Coppell (Denton Tap next to Tom Thumb).
*Mondays in June starting June 1st
* 6:00-7:00 a.m.

Pressed Down & Shaken Together

2009-05-18T07:50:00.003-05:00

"A generous man will prosper; He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." Prov. 11:25

"Who am I that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given only what comes from your hand." 1 Chronicles 29:14

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Luke 6:38

Lord give us generous hearts. It is a Biblical principle that we will be blessed as we bless others. Not only this- We have been blessed so that we will bless others.

Remind us that it is by your generosity that we have received one blessing after another. Let us hold loosely to the temporary and pour into what is eternal. For the great glory that You alone are worth of.

Making Much of Him

2009-05-13T22:00:00.006-05:00

There is a concept we have mistakenly bought into as a culture and it is this: That in order to find life & joy, happiness and purpose we must look INWARD. We must make much of ourselves in the way of comfort, pleasure, self-exaltation, self-searching ... and that through this we will "find ourselves" and find happiness.

There is a concept central to the gospel. It is quite contrary to the lie we often believe- So foreign to our natural thinking and foreign to our culture that we must intentionally seek out God's wisdom, lest we forget it's truth: That God's chief goal is to make much of Himself. God's central purpose is to magnify Himself. It is why He sent His Son... For His glory. It is why He blesses us with all He graciously gives... For His glory. And until we get that, until we stop believing that life is about us and our comfort... The life of Christ will never explode in us. We will merely settle for so much less than all that God designed for us.

As John Piper says:

"Most people do not immediately see God's passion for the glory of God as an act of love. One reason for this is that we have absorbed the world's definition of love. It says: You are loved when you are made much of. God's love for us is not mainly His making much of us, but His giving us the ability to enjoy making much of Him forever. In other words, God's love for us keeps God at the center. God's love for us exalts His value & our satisfaction in it. If God's love made us central and focused on our value, it would distract us from what is most precious; namely, Himself. Love labors and suffers to enthrall us with what is infinitely and eternally satisfying; God. Therefore God's love labors & suffers to break our bondage to the idol of self and focus our affections on the treasure of God. "

In John 11: 1-6 we see this depicted in the life & death of Lazarus.

"Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary & her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, 'Lord, the one you love is sick.' When He heard this, Jesus said 'This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's son may be glorified through it.' Jesus loved Martha and her sister & Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days."

As Piper points out, it is clear that Christ's intention was not to spare the family grief. He was in no hurry to immediately relieve the grief- which can be seen in the fact that Jesus either let him die (by remaining where we was for 2 more days) or else tarried in raising Lazarus because something more was driving Him. He was motivated by a passion for the glory of God.

How many of us would have thought it cruel for Jesus to allow his dear friend's brother to die, with-holding His power to heal Lazarus. Many may even see this as harsh and unloving that Jesus did not bring immediate healing to take his friends grief away. Yet as Piper says "This shows how far above the glory of God most people value pain-free lives." But this is not true love. "Love keeps God central. Because the soul was made for God."

Lord forgive us for the times we believe life is about us & our comfort. Forgive us for foolishly thinking that your love is somehow tied to our happiness & that it can in any way change based on our circumstances. Help us to trust you in the unseen & uncertain, knowing that there is something BIGGER at stake... The magnificent glory of God and the eternal lives of mankind. Lord today let us take our eyes off of ourselves & fix them upon you. Let us make much of you today.

Who He Says I Am

2009-05-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

Why is it so crucial that we know who we are in Christ? Because we will act on what we believe. Knowing we have an enemy who actively seeks to undermine the value God has placed on our lives & the awesome plans He has for us when we are abiding in Him, we must be all the more actively & intentionally filling our minds with the truths of God's word- What He says about us, our purpose, our destiny.

"If my Father says something about me, even if I cannot see it yet, I can rest assured it is so... and begin to put on that truth... and walk in it. I can no longer blame someone else for how I view myself. I cannot make the old excuse 'that is just the way I am', because it is no longer 'the way I am'. I take back the stolen ground by simply being in relationship with my Father. His holy genes are not part of my inheritance from Him. I must simply stand and be who He says I am."

-Dennis Jennigan, This Is My Destiny

The Greatest Sacrifice

2009-05-10T07:00:00.005-05:00

This Sunday as we celebrate Mother's Day and all the love, joy, & sacrifices that go into being a mother, there is one sacrifice worth pondering. In a message by John Piper, he says this:

"When you think about yourself as a parent & your love for your child, imagine pulling your sweet child into your lap and saying 'You know I love you right? Well I have a mission for you my precious child. I have some enemies who hate me & deserve to die. In order to keep them from dying & to offer them hope, I am going to have YOU take their place.' When you think about God.... remember this. When you think about the Bible....remember this. Despite anything else you might get hung up or confused by as you read God's word, remember that fact. "

We could not imagine that as parents. Yet this is what the God of this universe did. He sent forth His Son to die the death we deserved so that sinful man could be given fullness of life & eternity in heaven.

His sacrifice brought fullness of life & hope. Are you living in it? We ought not waste such a precious gift.

Unquenchable Thirst

2009-05-07T07:00:00.002-05:00

"Why does God allow us to spend so much of life in the heat of battle? Because He never meant for us to sip His Spirit like a proper cup of tea. He meant for us to hold our sweating heads over the fountain and lap up His life with unquenchable thirst."

-Beth Moore, Praying God's Word

Wisdom- The Crown of Splendor

2009-05-06T07:00:00.003-05:00

"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left." Ecclesiastes 10:2

"He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; He who cherishes understanding prospers." Proverbs 19:8

"A man's wisdom gives him patience; It is to his glory to overlook an offense." Prov. 19:11

"By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; Through knowledge its rooms are filled and rare & beautiful treasures." Proverbs 24:3-4

Lord we ask you for wisdom. James 1:5 says that if we lack wisdom we should ask You who gives generously. Your word says that gaining wisdom is supreme... that it will protect us and be a crown of splendor upon our heads. (Proverbs 4: 5-9) In faith we ask you to pour out your wisdom upon us today- That we would be women of virtue & wisdom living with the favor & blessings of God upon our lives.

Godliness with Contentment

2009-05-04T07:00:00.002-05:00

"But Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction." 1Timothy 6:6-9

"Whoever loves money never has money enough: whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. " Ecclesiastes 5:10

Oh the things we think will "fill" our ravenous souls appetite. When does the endless cycle, the lust for more ever end? When is the heart fully satisfied? Jeremiah even speaks to how deceptive the heart is above all else (17:9). If I do not intentionally place my hope and trust in Christ (and do it daily... for I've noticed I will quickly default back to natural operation) then I will become like the words of Jeremiah, my heart will soon and all too quickly turn away from the Lord-

"Cursed in the one who trusts in man (or in money, in appearances, in a career, in friends, in myself), who depends on man for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert." (17:5-6)

That resonates with me: "He will not see prosperity when it comes". Without Christ, my souls ravenous pit will always long for more, more, more... all the while blinding eyes to the prosperity and joys before us. Contentment then becomes a choice as to where I am placing my heart. If left to ourselves, we can easily become the very people Solomon is referring to in Ecclesiastes 5:10: We will never be satisfied even with prosperity. There will never be enough income to satisfy our longs lists of wants, enough vacations, enough approval from man, enough things on our social calendar, enough status... there is never enough. Like a child, our natural flesh will always want "one more", especially if that one more is in the hands of someone else.

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."
Jeremiah 17:7-8

This is true contentment. One that chooses to place our hope in Christ instead of the temporal and deceptive whims our hearts. The Lord has used my sweet grandfather as a reminder to me of the words of Solomon- that we can spend our whole lives chasing after the wind, and miss out of true contentment and joy all the while. Coming to America from Germany his family had many social and economic hurdles to overcome. He is a hard worker, faithful and diligent at all he does. He worked his whole life to climb the corporate latter, but it became his life. He has provided well for his family and retired well, with plenty enough to outlive his 200th birthday (oh I hope you live that long Lou!). But yet so many times he reminded me of the fact that success and money is not all that our young culture thinks it to be. If our hope is in it, it will leave us disappointed.

Lord today let me choose to set my heart, my hope, my confidence in You. You alone fill all the desires of my longing soul. For you alone fill everything in every way (Ephesians 1:23).

The Beauty of Solitude

2009-05-01T09:23:00.004-05:00

"Come away to a quiet place" beckons the voice of Christ. The practice of solitude. John Ortberg in his book The Life You've Always Wanted calls solitude the "furnace of transformation":

"Solitude is the one place where we can gain freedom from the forces of society that will otherwise relentlessly mold us. According to a much-traveled analogy, if we put a frog in a pot of boiling water, it will immediately hop out. But put the frog in water that's at room temperature and heat it slowly, and the creature will stay there until it boils to death. Put him in a lethal environment suddenly and he will escape. But introduce the danger gradually, and he will never notice.

The truth is that the dangers to which we are most vulnerable are generally not the sudden, dramatic, obvious ones. They are the ones that creep up on us, that are so much a part of our environment that we don't even notice them.

The deeper truth is that we live in a lethal environment. American society is filled with ideas and values and pressures and temptations about success, security, comfort, happiness...that we will not even notice unless we withdraw on occasion. "

But how do we fight this temptation to be squeezed into the mold of society? By slowing down and making time, choosing to have time to be still & alone. Busyness becomes the enemy of our souls if we do not intentionally take time in solitude and reflection with the Lord. As Ortberg continues:

"The truth is, as much as we complain about it, we are drawn to hurry. It makes us feel important. It keeps the adrenaline pumping. It means we don't have to look too closely at the heart or life. It keeps us from feeling our loneliness. In solitude I get rid of my scaffolding. Scaffolding is all the stuff we use to keep ourselves propped up, to convince ourselves that we are important or okay. In solitude we have no friends to talk with, no phone calls or meetings, no television, music or newspapers to occupy and distract our minds... Just me and my sinfulness, my desire or lack or desire for God."
(From the chapter: An Unhurried Life)

Oh that we would enter into the furnace of transformation and get away with Christ. To push pause on our fast-paced lives. To reflect. To listen. Lord teach us to get away with you. Reveal to us the beauty and power in solitude.

This Day, Fix My Eyes On You

2009-04-30T07:30:00.003-05:00

"How can I repay the Lord for all His acts of kindness to me?
I will celebrate my deliverance, and call on the name of the Lord. "
(Psalm 116: 12-13)

"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul."
(Psalm 143:8)

"My eyes are fixed on you, Lord.
In You I take refuge."
(Psalm 141:8)

"A wise woman builds her house,
but with her own hands a foolish one tears hers down."
(Proverbs 14:1)

"A generous man will prosper;
he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed."
(Proverbs 11:25)

We honor & praise you for the deliverance and freedom you have given us. You have provided, protected, & poured out your own blood to give us life in you. You have been faithful, even through all the times we are faithless. You have broken the chains that once bound us and have given us peace & hope. Let us not forget your extravagant kindness & faithfulness. Lord this morning fill us with your love. We choose to place our trust in you instead of relying on ourselves or being swayed by our emotions. Let my hope be in you- For you alone are worthy. In decisions we are facing, we ask for your direction. As Psalm declares we ask that you would show us the way we should go- Give us clear direction, wisdom & discernment as we seek you. Lord our eyes are fixed on you & because of that we will not be shaken. (Psalm 16:8)

2009-04-28T08:48:00.007-05:00

Pictures from the Retreat:

Click on the picture above to see the retreat photo album.
Thank you Courtney!!!!!

Psalm 91

2009-04-28T07:47:00.002-05:00

¹ He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

² I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."

³ Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare (enemy's traps)
and from the deadly pestilence.

⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

⁵ You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,

⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.

⁸ You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.

⁹ If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the LORD, who is my refuge-

¹⁰ then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.

¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;

¹² they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

¹³ You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

¹⁴ "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

¹⁵ He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.

¹⁶ With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation."

Lord let me dwell in the shelter of the Most High today. Let me rest in the shadow of the Almighty God. When fear, discouragement, insecurity, temptations, pain...come my way, let my first impulse be to turn to you. Let my hope and trust be in you. For you alone can save me from the enemy's temptations and lies. You alone are worthy of my hope and trust. Command your angels concerning my family to guard us in all of our ways today. I praise You that you love me and that when I call upon you, you will answer me. Truly are you my deliverance and my honor. Satisfy me today in your presence.

Waking Life

2009-04-25T19:08:00.008-05:00

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;

I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." Ezekiel 36:26

A chance to start new. Fresh. To have a clean slate. This is what makes New Years such a joyous occasion. It provides a fresh start and the hope of newness for the upcoming year. Spring offers the same hope as bulbs bloom and life awakens again.

The beautiful thing though is that we don't have to wait until New Years to have a fresh start. Christ offers to give us a new heart and replace our heart of stone on any occasion. Lamentations 3:23 says "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

The forgiveness, compassion, grace, love and mercy of our God never runs dry. We can trust that at any time we sense a hardening of our hearts, a staleness in our relationship with Christ.... my goodness, even a complete deadness in our relationship with Him, that He is more than willing to take what is dead and bring life. That is what He is in the business of... Bringing life to that which was dead.

That is in essence the reason for this website: Waking Eve. The name of the first woman, Eve, means "LIFE". I am partial to thinking this is because when God created woman, LIFE exploded. We brought some color to the table. We brought some bounce to Adam's step. Amazing isn't it that after all the earth was created, all the beauty of nature, all the wonder that God sculpted with His very hands, all of the unique and magnificent animals that were created, and even the wonder of the first man that God formed and breathed His very life into.... After all of this when God took Adam's rib, formed woman and breathed into her, He decided her name would be "life". Life awakened. Adam took a second glance. (And a third I'm sure!)

But then after perfect intimacy and relationship with one another & with God in the garden, sin entered the scene. I believe that the first lie that man & woman bought into, is the same lie we are being ensnared by today. It is in essence that they need not depend on God for life. As Jeff VanVonderen says in his book Families Where Grace Is In Place, the lie was that "Control was better than dependence". The sad thing is that even as believers in Christ, as children who have walked with God most of our lives, we are believing this lie. And it is sucking the life out of us. It is rendering us ineffective in ministry. It is making us no different than the rest of the world.... because we are still trying to run the program. We are attempting to do it on our own. We are stopping to be refueled at the table of the world, instead of going to the VERY SOURCE of life, the very source of peace, the source of wisdom and love and all blessings.

C.S. Lewis in his brilliant book Mere Christianity wrote on this very thing:

Oh Lord we desire to be awakened. We desire to experience the fullness of life, joy, peace, blessing, love, purpose... that we were designed for. We settle for so much less. Awaken our hearts and refresh our spirits. Where we are turning to other things for life, for purpose, for hope- let your Holy Spirit shed light on that. Give us the wisdom to see where/when we attempt to run on our own fuel. And in the powerful name of Jesus, we ask you help us break this self-reliance... the very lie and curse that began in the garden. Be our source of life. Refuel our empty tanks. Refresh our weary spirits. You are fullness of Life & fullness of Joy. You are the very thing our hungry hearts are longing for. Awaken our hearts to more of you.

Further Still

2009-04-24T07:25:00.001-05:00

There is a phrase resounding in the deepest corners of my heart...beckoning me to come "further still". I have never been satisfied with my complacency. There are seasons that I find myself growing stagnant with the Lord, doing my normal quiet time with Him and even enjoying worship, but yet there is still a nagging ache in my heart for more. An ache to come "further still".

Today as I was thinking and dialoguing with the Lord about this, He had me pick up a book from off the shelf. You know when He's whispering in your spirit for you to do something, and although for the life of you you cannot figure out why, still you press on to heed that voice. And so up on the top of our entertainment center I reached to grab a book that sits among others for decor. It's a book I haven't touched since college and I didn't even remember the name until it was in my hands: Further Still. It is a compilation of poems and writings by one of my favorite authors Beth Moore.

One of the things that consistently blows my mind is the dailiness of God. He is always about His glory, and so when His children listen, we can be sure He's going to show up & speak a fresh word to us. Today was no different. As I curiously picked up the book to see what in the world God had for me, I didn't have to get through page 3 to figure it out. I wanted to share this with you as this is my hearts desire for this new year:

"Life can be almost unbearable at times, can't it? The one and only thing that has gotten me through my hardest times has been turning them into invitations to go further still with God. With few exceptions, the writings in this volume that will seem the deepest were drawn from the well of pain. Sometimes our "further stills" come from the excruciating diving push to move from any hint of complacency into the brisk current of the river of God. I write this introduction to you on the second day of the new year. I just told God this morning that I want to keep going further with Him. I never want to grow stagnant or satisfied with my current knowledge of Christ."

And this is the first writing of the book:
Further Still

"In that lonely place no friend can go
No brother can help, no loved one can know

I must crawl on while you stay
Further still, just watch and pray

In that lonely place the cup is fought
To sip the pain or choose my lot

To claim my rights or cast them down
To gain my loss or scorn my crown

Life pivots there in Further still
Face to the ground fighting His will

Can't choose to return the same who went
Once further still, The old is spent

So remember me and stay close by
I'll need you soon right by my side

And pray me back Til He has won
And throat is parched from "Yours be done!"

(Based on a passage from Matthew 26: 36-39)

Nisi Dominus Frusta

2009-04-17T14:00:00.004-05:00

"Without the Lord, frustration".
A simple Latin phrase coined from Psalm 127:1-2

"Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat- for he grants sleep to those he loves."

There is nothing more frustrating than feeling our work in useless. Each of us desperately desires to know that the work we "rise early and stay up late" for has a purpose. As an employee we need to know that the hours we put into our jobs is accomplishing something. As a student, we need to know that the hours we pour into studying will pay off. As a mother I need to know the blood, sweat and tears of motherhood is not empty.

While few things seem precious and sacred in our world these days, our time is still a commodity few want to squander. How disparaging to look back over our lives and see that all we poured ourselves into was meaningless....a chasing after the wind. Yet God's Word tells us that unless His hand is on the work we set about doing, we are spinning our wheels. John 15 is also clear in it's profession that we will have fruitful lives only when we remain in Him.

As Dave & I raise our children, are we doing it in our own strength? Even the best of intentions will be much work all in vain. As we raise our children are we inviting the Lord to daily give us wisdom into the building of this home? Are we spending time with Him to receive the direction we need to guide this family as He desires? Even on a daily basis I can see this truth lived out: When I start my day with the Lord and reshift my focus from myself to Him, and then live the day with Christ in the mix ("Lord what do you want us doing today? How do you want us spending our time, finances...? How can I creatively get your Word into my babies hearts?) there is much clarity, insight and direction.

Babel is the perfect example of this from the Old Testament. Genesis 11 says the people of the city set out to build a city and tower "so that we can make a name for ourselves". And what was the result? The same thing that results in our families when our focus in not on the Lord & living for His great glory: there is chaos and confusion.

"Without the Lord, frustration". Lord remind me of this when I set about my day on my own agenda. Apart from you it is all empty.