Disappointment

Why do we feel disappointment?

I was really struggling with this question all week. When something doesn't go my way I am disappointed, but why?!? I truly belive that I feel this way because our culture puts value on certin things.

My Pastor Brent was talking about Fortune, Fame, Pleasure, and Power. If we do not have these things then we are disappointed, and I am sooo guilty of this!

All of you, CLOTHE yourself with humility toward one another, because,

1 Peter 5:5 "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

The best example of this was to take off your bib, and put on an apron (a pink one, a polka dot one, a cupcake one, a green and orange one, or one with lace :)

There was a book written, I wish I could remember the author, that told the story about those who served others while at the concentration camps, and it showed that those are the ones that survived. When we serve others how can we be disappointed?

We need to VOLUNTARILY place ourselves under God's hand in humility.

1 Peter 5:6 "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may life you up in due time." IN DUE TIME.

Ask God, "what do you want to teach me today?"

He is Bigger Than Our Fears.

Hey guys, sorry I didn't post on my Tuesday.. but fortunately Mia who is full of wonderful insight did!

Anyways... this week has been really weird for me. I don't really know what it is, but I have been feeling very fearful this week. I am worried that part of my anxiety is coming back and that it will be hard for me to control (just being honest... even though I know this blog is public, haha!). I wanted to share something that Mia told me the other day that has really stuck with me and has actually helped me to calm down when I feel bouts of anxiety coming on. She just said, "God is so much bigger than that." And how true that is! It's soooo easy to be good with God when things are good. It's so easy to have little complaints, few prayer requests and an attitude of desperation towards our Father when our life is easy. Yet as soon as something overwhelming comes, we run to God. Not that this is the wrong thing to do, but shouldn't we always be desperate for God whatever our circumstance may be? When I think about my problems (and how insignificant they are) I put God next to them and just see how He is a million times bigger than them. How He has the power to throw those problems of ours out of the window so to speak. He created the universe, so why do I have such a hard time setting aside my worries to Him? In a strange way it's almost laughable when you think how much we stress about things we can't control, and how God has the ability to help us with them all.

I wrote down "God is bigger than all of my problems" and put it on my bedroom door this morning. It'll be the last thing I see when I go to bed and the last thing I see before I leave for work. This is truly the motto I need to live by with where I'm at right now in my life. He IS bigger, and not just by a bit. He absolutely covers those problems and has much more to give if I just allow Him to.

Thankfully, where I'm at in my spiritual walk is a thousand times different than where I was two years ago. I can honestly see the power of prayer, the benefit of turning to God, seeking Him, and I am beginning to finally understand faith. Of course I'm not even close to fully accomplishing complete faith in Jesus, but... I am getting there. Thank you girls seriously so much for your prayer. I am continually blown away by the outpouring of your care and love. I feel like God smiles down on it. This is what true friendship and fellowship is- it's like we are King David and his best friend Jonathan in the bible! Thank you!! Have a wonderful weekend.

love, christina.

p.s. the pic is of me planting a vine in samaria, israel.

Jeremiah 31:5:

"Again you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria;

the farmers will plant them and enjoy their fruit."

He Is Stronger.

I really sense that this past week has been a tough week for some, myself included, and I wanted to pass along this song. I want to encourage you girls and remind you that this is not our home. I know that is something that I lose sight of on a daily basis. I am being reminded that our God will never give us more than what we can handle, He is stronger than anything that this world throws at us. I know this is a song we have all probably heard before but let's meditate on His promises this morning, and continue to give Him praise, despite what may be going on.

Psalm 80:7

Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.

I love you girls,

Mia J.

Dying to Self.

Romans 6: 1-12

What shall we say then? Are we to continue to sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raise from the dead by glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like this, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like this. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives for God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God to Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.

Whether we recognize the seriousness of our sin or not, we know that we too have died to sin through our union with Christ. When He conquered the grave, we received new life in Him.

As believers we talk about "dying to self " on a regular basis, but what does this look like in practical day to day living? God is really showing me how selfish I am. Over the past few days I've been spending time praying for the Lord to change my heart, and I am being reminded that it isn't as difficult as we sometimes make it out to be.

Dying to self means exactly that -- dying to self.

Here are some practical ways that God is speaking to me this week in regards to dying to self.

• Dying to self means honoring the Lord in my thoughts, speech, and actions.
• Dying to self means seeing my sin for what it is.
• Dying to self means putting others before myself.
• Dying to self means spending time in the word regardless of how I "feel."
• Dying to self means spending time in prayer regardless of circumstances.
• Dying to self means sometimes just shutting up.
• Dying to self means being patient.
• Dying to self means being quick to listen and slow to speak.
• Dying to self means being able to take correction without becoming defensive.
• Dying to self means intentionally turning away from sin when being tempted.
• Dying to self means choosing to not engage in gossip.
• Dying to self means reaching out to those who are difficult to love.
• Dying to self means serving others.
• Dying to self means living up to God's standards, not the world's.

I am seeing that I spend way too much time talking about and praying for change. If we saw our sin for what it was, I don't think we would be wasting as much time as we are.

Think about that sin in your life that you are so desperately holding onto ... Christ died for that sin so that you no longer have to be enslaved to it.

May we see the seriousness of our sin, regardless of how little or big we may think it is. May the Lord continue to bring conviction over us,

and may we take this idea of "dying to self" and apply it to our lives.

Praise the Lord for His perfect love and grace!

Praying that we would be encouraged to live lives that are set apart for Jesus Christ today.

I love you girls,

Mia J.

Songs of Innocence

-With love- Kathleen






Piping down the valleys wild,
Piping songs of pleasant glee,
On a cloud I saw a child,
And he laughing said to me"

"Pipe a song about a Lamb!"
So I piped with merry cheer.
Piper, pipe that song again;"
So I piped, he wept to hear.

"Drop thy pipe, thy happy pipe;
Sing thy songs of happy cheer."
So I sung the same again,
While he wept with joy to hear.

"Piper, sit thee down and write
In a book, that all may read."
So he vanished from my sight,
And I plucked a hollow read,

And I made a rural pen,
And I stained the water clear,
And I wrote my happy songs
Every child may joy to hear.

-William Blake (1757- 1827) Romantic Era

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The beauty of poetry is that it can evoke a different emotion in every individual that reads it. To some this poem may stir thoughts of the gentle Lamb, others may ruminate on the blessed writers of the sacred text, or perhaps you will just sit back and enjoy the beautiful work of literature written by a fellow believer. Whatever your route allow yourself to be inspired. Let the elegant words written by Blake flow from his pen to your wild imagination.

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Quote of the week: "It is not length of life, but depth of life." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

No Good Thing..

This week I have really just been humbled before the Lord to realize I have nothing to offer but my life and that everything that is good comes from Him. We truly have nothing to boast about but that He is our Lord.

I have two verses that have just laid heavy on my heart this past week that I try to remind myself of throughout the day.

I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord, apart from you I have no good thing" Psalm 16:2

"Whom have I in heaven but you? And the earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalm 73:25-26

That second verse is so powerful. May we be reminded that all else will fail, this earth is not our home, and the Lord is the only thing that is good and sustains us.

I love you girls. Thank the Lord today for being our ONLY good thing.

Xoxo- Natalie

Mia Face....

Mia if you are reading this....POST!!! You have officially been invited by ALL the members to join in our posting! Please bless all of us with your words of wisdom! What did Natalie call it..."Mornings with Mia"! I love it!! Come play!!

-Megs

Falling short of Gods blessings.

In Exodus God takes the children of Israel out of Egypt, showing them amazing miracles. God promises them a land flowing with milk and honey- modern day translation: I am going to take you to the most amazing gorgeous place where you will have everything you could ever want. On the way to this cool place Israel complains and loses their faith in God. They eventually give into idols and worship other gods. Modern day translation: God gives us promises, it takes longer than we want, so we say, “fine I will do my own thing.” We stop reading our bibles and going to church and start getting sucked into the world of materialism, entertainment and sin.

In Numbers God has given Israel favor and they have conquered many great nations. Today this would be God allowing us to move up in our jobs, move closer towards our dream house, becoming rich, at the same time as having our families grow.
All this background takes us to Exodus 32.

In verses 1-2 Reuben and Gad, two tribes of Israel, want to settle in a land just short of the promise land. It is like being promised an ocean front beach house but realizing that 7th street is looking pretty good and you feel comfortable there.

In verses 3-5 Reuben and Gad ask if they can stop at this place because they have a lot of livestock (cars, boats, and toys) and the land would be good for all of their stuff.

In verses 6-7 Moses asks them why they are being stupid and giving up short of what God promised.

In verses 8-15 Moses tells them why they should not quit short of what God promised them. Moses gives examples of people who had stopped short of what God promised and how God cursed these people.

In verse 16-19 Reuben and Gad do not listen to Moses’ warnings, they continue to convince him that they have fully thought this through, weighed the pros and cons, and have decided to accept less than what God has promised. Even worse they promise to help all of the other tribes make it to the Promised Land. This would be like saying we will pay for our portion of the gorgeous beach house, we will even help you build it and negotiate all of the contracts and then instead of staying we would rather go to 7th street. Crazy right??

This always blew me away, they had seen all of the miracles that God did bringing them out of Egypt and yet they stopped short of the gift that God promised them. I know we can feel this same way. Israel thought they were going to receive the promise land soon after God brought them out of Egypt. Instead, the eleven day journey turned into 40years. I would have been asking why God had not fulfilled everything that He said He was going to.

The Lord has been teaching me that we can come to Him with everything. This means our fears and disappointments. If only Reuben and Gad would have said, “God we know you are faithful you proved that to us when you showed us all of the miracles in Egypt. God we know you provide, you proved that to us when you sent manna down from heaven. God we know you are perfect and holy, you proved that to us when you purified our people and built the temple. God we know that you are taking us to a land flowing with milk and honey, but why is it taking so long? We are afraid you have forgotten about us.”

If Israel would have come to God, not with a complaining spirit, not with a spirit lacking faith, but with a humble and broken spirit, God would have comforted them and brought them peace. God would have spoke to them and showed them why it has taken so long and still given them the Promised Land.

God can handle the fact that we don’t know what He is doing, as long as we trust the Lord He will replace our spirit of worry with a spirit of peace. We may not always get a detailed list of why God is doing certain things in our lives but He does promise His peace.

27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. 28"You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. (John 14: 27-28)

xoxo
Ash B

How do you love God?

Imagine claiming that you love your sweatheart but you don't spend any time reading his/her letters to you or talking with him/her?

How do YOU love God?

Not only have we not given thought to this commandment, we have not obeyed it.

1 John 3:13 "Dear children, let us not love with words or tonge but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hears at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything."

1 John 4: 12 "No on has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."

I love this "Whoever lives in LOVE lives in God."

To love God means to want to be with Him, isn't that was Psalm 84 is about? A plea to live in the presence of God.

Take From Me My Life

I was listening to worship music this morning and Third Day came on, who I absolutely love, and it was this song. It's so simple, yet the words are powerfully written and such a challenge to actually live out. Love you all, have a great day. :)

love
xtina

God has a plan for me...right?

Do you ever just feel lost and overwhelmed in life? And is it just me or does it usually just come out of left field? Just this sudden panic and feeling of where is all this taking me? What is my plan? What is God's plan? He still has a plan right? I know in my heart that God always has a plan for me but sometimes the wiring between my brain and heart don't always connect and I start to see this timeline in my head of what I need to get accomplished by a certain time and what should be happening that is not and before I know it I'm spiraling down to a scary overwhelming place!

I had (aka am in the middle of) one of those weeks... The combination of seeing my sweet, hard working husband begging to work for free (and recognizing that discouragement in his face through his "it's all going to be OK smile"), having not enough money to cover rent 1/2 way through the summer, realizing my dream of being a mom is still years away, family frustrations, my health...it just seemed like everything hit me at once and I am sad to say I became so discouraged. I kept hearing the Romans 12 verse over and over in my head. "Never be lacking in Zeal but keep your spiritual fervor" That is tough to do sometimes! I was aware I was not trusting completely in God and being in His perfect timing but I kept with my overwhelmed attitude anyways.

That night I went to sleep with somewhat of a heavy heart but the Lord literally invaded my heart. Those of you who know me know that because of my Lupus medication I have CRAZY, scary, horrible, awful dreams every night. My sleep is anything but peaceful! That night I dreamed God telling me to build a house. I said God I don't know how to build, I don't have any supplies, I don't have a place to build. And I heard him say again, build a house. In my dream I heard Christina's words "immediate obedience" so I walked outside and a man was there with all the supplies to build a house and gave me a plot to build on. I walked over and just started building a house. In this dream God was giving me EXACT specifications, "make the walls X inches by X inches" .... and so on. This dream was long and the entire thing was God telling me detailed specifics of how he wanted this house built (possibly because I had just finished reading all about the Arc of the Covenant where God gave specific measurements, materials, and colors to use on it... ha ha) I woke up feeling like I had just spent the night with God! Not sure what the "house" represents in my life hahaha not a dream interpreter! But I don't even think the house itself was the main point of the dream. I think it was God telling me to listen to him and that he will give me specific direction in due time. If nothing else, he was just letting me know he is with me, even in my dreams!

As if I weren't convinced, the following night I dreamed my pastor and pastors wife sat down and prayed with me and David for hours about life. Again I woke up feeling like I had spent the night talking with God! (Instead of my usual...people chasing and trying to kill me, me drowning, being hit over and over and in literal physical pain during my dreams!) I am not like Ashley who has these amazing prophetic dreams and has a beautiful clarity from God! This was just an overwhelming sense of peace though! In fact I have not had a scary dream in 4 days now! Praise God! In my dreams I have been applying what I'm reading in scripture and I do not say that to give me praise, I am fully confident that is of the Lord! He is literally invading my heart and changing not only my life when I'm awake but when I'm asleep too! Thank you Lord for caring and loving me! Can't wait to see what my dream will be tonight! ha ha

Love Megs

God's Glory Through the Battle

(King) David is basically the man. And I love that he doesn't even think it. There is something so memorable about the people in the bible that did great things and never acted proud or took the credit for it. David takes the challenge to fight Goliath, when no one else would and was criticized for attempting. Yet David knew all along he would be victorious because God was with him. With a single stone, he knocks the giant down, walks over to him, and cuts off his head. And through all of the praise and popularity he got from it by the others, David never took the glory.

My thoughts are a little jumbled and all over the place, but I felt like I learned so much from David and Goliath's story:

God fights our battles for us. Even when it seems like an impossible situation, view it from God's point of view. Nothing is impossible with Him. Criticism didn't stop David, as it shouldn't stop us. Even if we are doing something God has asked of us, people may still try to discourage us with negative comments. There are always going to be those people who oppose something we do in life, but we need to continue to do what we know is right. By doing what is right, we are pleasing God, who's opinion is the only one that really matters.

David takes off the armor the Israelites give him before facing Goliath because he's not comfortable in it. He realizes he doesn't need it to protect him, which made me think about all of the things in my life that make me feel safe and protected. While the Lord should be at the top of that list, so often it's not. God is our sole protector, He is all we need to survive. And above all, we need to understand that and embrace that.

Before facing the giant, David cries out to him, "I come to you in the name of the LORD Almighty. Today the LORD will conquer you. The whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! And everyone will know that the LORD does not need weapons to rescue his people. It is His battle, not ours." David gives the glory all to God, never once saying HE would kill Goliath or that HE was the strong one. He simply acknowledged that God was the powerful One that would save the Israelites from the Philistines.

To review, David's story in 1 Samuel 17 has taught me this:

1. Look at impossible situations from God's perspective. Nothing is too great a problem, too hard a circumstance, for God to intervene and rescue us.

2. Continue to do what is right in God's eyes regardless of the criticism from others. God's opinion is the only one we should care about.

3. The Lord is your protector. When seeking a safe place, seek Him.

4. Give all glory to God, who first gives us the ability to accomplish everything we do.

St. Agnes Eve

Deep on the convent-roof the snows
Are sparkling to the moon:
My breath to heaven like vapor goes:
May my soul follow soon!
The shadow of the convent-towers
Slant down the snowy sward,
Still creeping with the creeping hours
That lead me to my Lord:

Make thou my spirit pure and clear
As are the frosty skies,
Or this first snowdrop of the year
That in my bosom lies

As these white robes are soil'd and dark,
To yonder shining ground;
As this pale taper's earthly spark,
To yonder argent round;
So shows my soul before the Lamb,
My spirit before Thee;
So in mine earthly house I am,
To that I hope to be.
Break up the heavens, O Lord! and far,
Thro' all yon starlight keen,
Draw me, thy bride, a glittering star,
In raiment white and clean.

He lifts me to the golden doors;
The flashes come and go;
All heaven bursts her starry floors,
And strows her lights below,
And deepens on and up the gates
Roll back and far within
For me the Heavenly Bridegroom waits,
To make me pure of sin.
The sabbaths of Eternity,
One sabbath deep and wide-
A light upon the shining sea-
The Bridegroom with his bride.

-Lord Alfred Tennyson (1809-92)

How Does Your Garden Grow?

I am growing a garden. And I am really excited about it. It is so fun to watch it grow and have something to talk care of. God willing it will produce some fruit at the end of the the season, but either way, it is fun to do.

This morning when I got up I knew I needed to spend time in the word right away. But for some reason I felt like first I needed to go check on my garden. I dont know if I was being disobedient to God's calling right away or if He was leading me there but either way, God works for all good and it spurred a lot of thought and conviction in me.

My garden looks great! My plants are growing like crazy and you wouldnt believe how much they grow in a couple days. It blows me away. And they just know what to do, with a little water, they grow. But my biggest problem has been weeds. They grow like crazy all around my plants. And there is TONS of them. It looks like grass all over and around my plants. I dont wanna pull all out at all because its a LOT of work, but I know I should. I spent a little time doing it around my eggplant because something is eating it, ( I think snails) and it has destroyed one of the parts of the plant completely, it ate the whole thing in one night! And its a huge plant. The other one is getting eaten as well. I need to do something about it, I just dont know exactly what yet bc it is my first time with a garden.

I watered my plants, then went into my room and truthfully did not really feel like reading or praying this morning. But I started praying for the Lord to just speak to me, that I would wait on Him and I heard..How does your garden grow?

I realized, like I have heard many times throughout my Christian life, that my life is a garden and God is the gardener. That garden that I am growing is helping me better understand God and my life in Him. If you dont water your plants, or for us dont spend time being fed by the Holy Spirit and having truth poured into your life, you will die. We are called to bear fruit, the fruits of the Spirit and at that I was really convicted.

Galatians 5:22-26

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Let me be real honest and tell you that I dont think that my life is constantly producing the fruit of the Spirit. I dont even think I knew all the fruits of the Spirit, and so how was I supposed to know if my life is producing those things? I like verse 25, "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." We are called to keep step with the Spirit, to live a life that shows that the Holy Spirit lives in us. Not sometimes, not when we see God's work in our lives and wanna celebrate, not when things are looking good and we feel good, but ALL the time. If the Holy Spirit truly lives in us, we should be bearing is fruit with our lives. It should be the essence of who we are. Girls, this is so convicting for me.

I feel like my life looks like my garden. The weeds all around it, so much that it overwhelms me to think of cleaning it up, but at the same time still growing. I know that I am growing, but my life is still engulfed with sin. And that eggplant that is destroyed completely in one night is like Satan who will take every opportunity, when we are least expecting it to tear us down and destroy.

John 15:2-8

¹"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ²He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes^{a]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[a]}so that it will be even more fruitful. ³You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

⁵"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.⁸This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Wow! Our Father really is our gardener! He takes the responsibility to prune our lives, to cut off the dead parts and allow us to keep growing in Him! BUT, if we dont remain in Him, we cannot grow, we cannot bear fruit, we cannot do anything. Our lives can only be fruitful if we remain in Him.

I was thinking about my plants and how much they have grown since I planted them. Its been about 18 days and they are drastically different. All it took was a little water and I have seen how much they have grown. I thought about my life, and how much I have grown in the past 18 days with the Lord. If we spend time with God, asking Him to grow us and nurture us through His Spirit and Word, shouldnt our lives look drastically different too? Shouldn't people always be able to see how much we are growing?

I cant say for my life that it is that different from 18 days ago. Due to my lack of doing my part really filling myself up with the Lord and bearing the fruit of the Spirit. But it should look different. If I remain in Him like He has asked and called, my life should look like those plants.

I read this verse and it blew me away. You all know I am obsessed with going to heaven lately and am struggling with feeling like life is even worth it at all here, but this was such a cool picture of what it will look like when we are whole, with our makers, bearing His fruit.

Revelation 22:1-5

¹Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ²down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. ⁴They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

Girls, if we wanna get to this place, this place of Holiness and Purity and Perfection where we see God's face we have to be set apart. We have to bear His fruit.

Mia had said to me last night, " I try to think about if someone looked at my life from the outside in and looked at my house, my bank accounts, my time, everything, would they know that I am a Christian? Would my life look set apart?" If they looked at your life, would they see fruit? Talk about conviction! Lets strive to be IN THE LORD, REMAINING IN HIM, so our lives will BEAR is fruit!

I love you girls! Now go bear some fruit!! :)

xoxo- Natalie

Casting our cares on Jesus

Spend time really casting your cares upon Him. He wants to carry all of our cares.

1 Peter 5:5-7

“God resists the proud. But gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all cares upon Him, for He cares for you.”

Hope in Suffering

I was reminded in church on Sunday of how much people are truly suffering. Whether it is money, health problems, relationship issues everyone is seeking hope. Peter talks about some different ways to help you while you are suffering. We don't need to sit here and memorize all 4 ways... but if you can hold on to just one of these ways it will emind you that there is a reason and there is something bigger than what is causing pain in your life.

Peter 1:3- Our main focus is HOPE, through God's resurrection

Peter 1:4- Our INHERITANCE that we will receive in Heaven that is sooo much bigger than what we have here!

Peter 1:5- God's POWER and the trials he places in our lives that we will have to go through, but soon we will be rejoicing

Peter 1:7- Our relationship with him must be GENUINE; which keeps coming up for me.

One of the coolest verses I have is Peter 1:8 "Though you have not see him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy."

The Bible always talks about people who have seen Jesus first hand, and here we have an example of what WE are actually living out. A man we have not seen, yet we love him with everything we have.

PS Christina after I wrote this, I went to write to you on your facebook, an I think you have the verse up, so weird!

Happy Birthday Ashley!!

Just want to say a happy birthday to our favorite person ever- Miss Ash Bear!! love you and am so fortunate and blessed to have you in my life. You are a light and an inspiration to me and I thank God for your kind and sweet heart. You deserve an amazing 24th year!

love,

christina

A True Sacrifice

1 Samuel begins with the story of Hannah, her husband Elkanah, and Elkanah's other wife, Penninah. Having children to carry on your family name was incredibly important in this day, and for Hannah, who couldn't get pregnant, I felt like I could just feel her distress. She went to the Tabernacle and faithfully prayed to God about it, promising to Him that she would dedicate her future son's life back to doing the Lord's work. Being the almighty, answering, miraculous God that He is, He gave her the ability to have a child. She named him Samuel, meaning "heard by God," because he heard and answered Hannah's prayer. This goes to show us the true power of prayer. Hannah then fulfills the vow she had made to God and brought Samuel back to the Tabernacle, to completely leave him to accomplish the work God would have for him. Imagine that... having the undying desire for a child and finally getting one, all to give it back to God. Truly what we have is really God's, so who are we to claim it as anything else?

For our own lives, when we give to God are we giving just a token of our life, or a true sacrifice? Are we giving him the last 15 minutes we are awake or are we consciously acknowledging His presence throughout the entire day? Are we giving God a measly portion of our income and then squandering the rest on clothes? Tithing our money, time, and energy isn't just a challenge for some, or else churches wouldn't be talking about it as frequently! Would you be willing to give up one thing in this world you love the most if God asked it of us? Personally, it is hard for me to say that I would. And if it came to that point, I'd have to refer back to the story of either Abraham and Issac or Hannah and Samuel and use their examples as my encouragement.

It would be far in the future, but little Samuel would become the last judge of Israel; a judge who finally would be obedient and willing to be guided by God. He would be the next prophet since Moses, and he would also one day anoint Saul and David as kings of Israel. A lot of what we may do for the Lord may not show immediate results. A lot of prayers may go unanswered for awhile. But what we do know is that everything we do for Him has a purpose, and it will generate a blessing, either in our lives or someone else's, that comes out of it. What is important is that we strive to be obedient, continue to give greater sacrifices, and above all, understand that everything God gives us is all really His to begin with. Praise the Lord for giving it to us in the first place.

update: I've noticed I have been sounding a little like a broken record with the idea of giving up time to God and making difficult sacrifices to Him. I guess it's been on my heart lately and God is probably trying to tell me something!! :)

This One's just for fun...

I was reading this on my sisters blog and thought I would share it with you! It's from a little bit ago, but still so sweet. It made me smile...enjoy! (below I copy and pasted from Laura's blog)

Heavenly Chatter

Taylor: "Is heaven inside or out?"

Mommy: "I think it's both."

Taylor: "Do we get there in a car or the stroller?

"Mommy: (PAUSE) "Hopefully neither."

There's nothing like a three year old processing the mysteries of the heavenly realm. Lately, I've found myself answering questions like, "What's salmation (salvation)?" And, "Is Jesus here in my bed RIGHT NOW?"

One night last week Taylor and I spent half an hour just talking about heaven. She asked me to read her the part in the Bible where it talked about heaven. Sounds sweet and simple enough but try translating Revelation to a three year old whose only bedtime objective is to keep the questions coming.Together we opened Revelation and with Taylor leading the way tackled the important issues:

"How sparkly are the streets of gold?"

"Can we touch the gates made out of pearl?"

"What is pearl?"

"Can I bring my glitter glue pen to put on the streets to make it even more shiny? Will Jesus let me?"

"Is there a playground?"

"And what kind of princess dress will I have?"

"Who else will be there?"

"Is God my daddy?.. Is His name Trevor?"

I did my best (praying the entire time for simple but TRUE answers) because I know my daughter and I know she does think about these things and will be processing our bedtime converstion for a while... or forever.

And as only a parent can do, I spent the night worrying about it. Because worrying about our three year old's salmation is what we do. All night, I was sweating it out hoping I gave a succinct, simple and yet profound enough answer to, "what is salmation?" to carry her through all of life's challenges, trials, and tribulations.

Of course, by the next morning that part of our sharing time seemed to be settled just fine in her mind. Instead, day in and day out, over and over and over again, the number one question for Jesus coming out of the Blackann household is,"Can I bring my glitter glue pen with me to heaven?"

Thank heaven for little girls!
* * * * *
"And he said, I tell you the truth, unless you repent and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 18:3

Silly and cute but such a sweet reminder of viewing God through a child's eyes! So innocent...

Love Megs

" 'The Buried Life,' the New Bucket List "

“The Buried Life” is an MTV reality television show about a handful of good-looking fellows who travel around the United States inspiring Americans to “live out their dreams.” Essentially, it is a young man’s version of the Jack Nicholson film, “The Bucket List.” The cast created a to-do list to finish before they kick the bucket or get buried six feet under. Their recent accomplishment? Shooting hoops with the President. Nice. Scratch that one off the list.

Watching these young men being interviewed really got me thinking. What is the point? What is the motive for doing all of this? Having a list of goals to accomplish during your lifetime like graduate school or owning a home is admirable. Having a list of nonsensical pursuits purely for the sake of saying,” I did that!” is kind of narcissistic. One hundred years ago, you never would have heard of such an endeavor. Case in point, several days ago I read about some of the major events in history from that week. I read about a nobody Grecian soldier who ran 25 miles from the city of Marathon to Athens to tell his fellow citizens,” We beat the Persians!” (one of the greatest empires in history). His wearisome journey became one of the greatest events in modern day athletics- the 26.2-mile marathon. I read about a Russian ambassador under Lincoln (1866) who after witnessing cruel and inhumane treatment to horses created an agency protecting animals (ASPCA) and later, mistreated children. I also read about the Confederate General Lee who humbly surrendered to Union General Grant. When resistance ensued from the North to the South, Grant graciously told his men,” The war is over. The rebels are our countrymen again.” Grant went on to become the 18^th President of the United States of America.

These men did not have “bucket lists.” They struggled just to get from one day to the next, to make sure their crops were harvested before the winter frost hit, to see that at least a few of their kids survived childhood and their wife, childbirth. These men were ordinary who when faced with insurmountable difficulty, rose to the occasion and became extraordinary. These men, these stories became defining moments in history.

So what I realized about the cast of “The Buried Life” is how empty their pursuits are. They think that if you jump out of an airplane, bike across the country or shoot hoops with the President you will have meaning in your otherwise mundane existence. But the truth is, life is not about what we accomplish. Life is about standing up for truth, seizing opportunity and loving the individuals we come in contact with. In Christian terms, life is about following God’s will and proclaiming the everlasting life that is in Christ Jesus. A nothing foot soldier, a forgot-about Ambassador, a General with an almost lost war, rose to greatness because of their greater purpose. They could have given into weakness or fear but instead, chose grit and determination.

So if you create a "bucket list" consider God’s will, love for they brethren and hope for a greater future when writing your "goals." Even if you never go down in the history books or play ball with Barack I can guarantee that if you live your life according to God's plan and purpose for humanity you will find fulfillment. No basketball skills required.

Yahweh Yireh

I have been studying the names of God the past 5 weeks and it is totally changing my understanding of God and my prayer life. I am reading a book called Praying the Names of God by Ann Spangler. You should all read it. It will change your life.

This week I studied the name Yahweh Yireh, The Lord who will provide. (Pronounced yah-WEH yir-EH) The Hebrew name raah (RA-ah, from which yireh is derived) means "to see." In this case, it is translated as "provide." We serve a God who is able to see the past, present and future, who works outside of time, and so is able to provide everything we need. The English word "provision" is made up of two Latin words that mean "to see beforehand." When you pray to Yahweh Yireh you are praying to the God who sees the situation before hand and provides for your needs.

The key scripture for this name is in Genesis 22:13-14 when Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac as an offering before the Lord. Just as he was about to sacrifice Him the angel appeared and told Abraham that now the Lord knows that he fears Him. In response, God provided a ram who's horns were stuck in the thicket, to sacrifice as an offering instead of Isaac. Abraham called the place The LORD will Provide.

We are called to trust God in all areas of our lives, and sometimes that means giving and sacrificing the things we hold most precious. But shouldn't those be the things that we bring to God first? Don't you think that God deserves our very best, the best things we have to offer? If you do agree with that, and believe that is true, look at your life and see if you are sacrificing your best to the Lord. I know I am not. Most the time it is because of my lack of faith and me wanting control, but we serve Yahweh Yireh, the Lord who has already seen into our lives and knows the outcome, so He knows EXACTLY what to provide for us to make it easy and bless us the most. We worry so much about our lives, yet need to be praying more to Yahweh Yireh, because He knows how to satisfy.

I am going to quote my devotional from this Friday because it really hit home for me and I want you guys to read the exact words.

"Scripture is full of the promises of God, and when we respond to him faithfully, nothing can prevent their fulfillment. That holds true regardless of circumstances. Think for a moment about Abraham's circumstances. God had promised his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in he sky and the sand on the seashore. But how could that promise be fulfilled if the first star, the first grain of sand, Isaac himself, were destroyed? Ironically, the promise was fulfilled precisely because Abraham was willing to act in a way that seemed contrary to its fulfillment. Had Abraham refused to obey God, he might well have forfeited the incredible blessings that followed."

It was like a light bulb went off in my head after reading through that ( I encourage you to read it again if need be to really get it, I had to..) We are called to give our best, trust in Yahweh Yireh, and respond obediently, then we will be blessed. But WE have to be obedient. If we don't do our part in obeying God, we are not allowing God to provide, and to bless us like He desires.

Tonight, read these scriptures and let Yahweh Yireh, remind you that He has provided, is providing, and will provide for you IF you are obedient in trusting and sacrificing where He is calling you. I encourage you to use this name tonight as you pray, it is so powerful to call on God using His names, when asking for specific things for you life.

Deuteronomy 15:4-5, 1 Cor 10:12-13, Matt 6:28-34, 1 Tim 6:17-19

I love you girls. May we trust in Yahweh Yireh and learn how powerful it is to call on His name specifically to provide for our lives.

xoxo- Natalie

I am the LORD your God.

In chapters 18-26 of Leviticus there is a reoccurring theme. God instructing the Israelites to live a certain way, perform a certain sacrifice, have a certain feast, or abstain from a certain activity/food/sin.

And then the sentence following states, “I am the Lord/I am the LORD your God.” Skim through the passages of Leviticus especially chapters 18 and 19 and count how many times this phrase is repeated.

Obey my laws. I am the LORD your God.
Do not be sexually impure. I am the LORD your God.
Do not be defiled. I am the LORD your God.
Do not spread slander or endanger your neighbor. I am the LORD your God.
Do not curse the deaf or cause the blind to fall. I am the LORD
Do not give your children to other Gods. I am the LORD.
Follow me and do not live in your old lifestyle. I am the LORD your God.
Respect your parents and keep my Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.
Reverence MY sanctuary. I am the LORD
Do not worship idols or make gods. I am the LORD your God.
Be generous to the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God.

Do not seek revenge. I am the Lord your God.
I will give you an inheritance. I am the Lord your God.
Be Holy. I am the LORD your God.

As I finished reading Leviticus this morning I started to meditate on this theme. Think about why God would instruct His people and then say “I am the Lord your God.” As I began to read over what God was saying to the Israelites I began to understand why the Lord followed each instruction with “I am the LORD your God.”

In comparison to gift of GOD being their LORD nothing is a sacrifice. I do not feel like I can adequately put this into words. But I pray the Holy Spirit reveals this to you as you read through Lev 18 and 19.

God is saying I am your God. Meditate on this. Sit alone and hear these words… (Insert your name) “I am the LORD your God.” Now think of what the Lord has called you to do and then follow with the words “I am the LORD your God.”

“I am taking you to a new city. I am the LORD your God.”
“Quit your job. I am the LORD your God.”
“Move to another country. I am the LORD your God.”
“Set yourself apart. I am the LORD your God.”
“Don’t cheat on your taxes. I am the LORD your God.”

After reading it over and over again I began to notice a pattern. God is Holy. So he is the expert on how to be holy, how to be like Him. He also is OUR God so he can tell us what to do. It is as if He is saying, “I am YOUR God, You can trust Me. I have the best intentions for your life.”

Really pray about what the LORD is saying in these passages and in your life. He is telling us do good, because He is our God and we are His people. We are the children of God, we should share His heart for our neighbors, the lost and the foreigners.

The fact that we belong to the LORD should cause us to worship differently, live differently and give of ourselves and our resources differently. Yes there are blessing that are promised for those who do these things, but the ultimate blessing is calling the creator of the heavens and the earth the LORD our God.

I pray that as we grow in our love and trust in God we will be able to say..

I will do what you say. You are the LORD my God.
I will go where you call me. You are the LORD my God.
I will give anything that you want. You are the LORD my God.
I will be Holy. You are the LORD my God.

To my girls, may you continue to live lives that are set apart!
Ash B

Hearts of Flesh

Ezekiel 36:26

"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 11:19

"And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh.

What image comes to your mind when you read this?

For me it's a compilation of images. One of the images I can see are my closest friends trying every day to remember to break their hearts for what breaks God's. Remembering that to have a heart of stone we are being anyone but Ruth ( thank you christina). Ruth left her father, mother, and homeland to come live with people that she did not know. She is revealing her heart in an uncomfortable foreign way to be a heart of flesh for pelple she did not even know. Why is it that we can't even do this with people we do know?

My whole life I have thought I had a heart of flesh, but God has really challenged me to show me how much more I can grow, and to not only have a heart of flesh with those I know, but with those I do not know as well.

To be real, genuine, and feel in your heart what others feel is an experience you cannot explain. To feel in our hearts the pain and suffering that God felt for us, is something we can' t even imagine.

I truly believe we have been give ONE new heart, and we are becoming like flesh exposing the dirty, shamful, guilty sides of ourselves. Not only can we touch each other with these new hearts, but touch people we don't even know.

Why is it? This is the way it is... Love; such power. A surge of ballistic energy that never ends. He is the God, Love. He is Love. He is.
1 John 4:8 "...God is love." "This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His Son, His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him." (9)
Why does it have to be this way? Jesus... Why is this the way it is? How is that right?
Wrong question.
(11-12) Dear friends, since God loved us so much to send His Son to die [sacrifice], we, also, ought to love one another[action of love; an outpouring after the filling].


No one has ever seen God [faith]. but if we love one another, God lives in us [an indwelling of such a majestic God enjoying cleaning the home of our heart] and His love is made complete in us [Your love is incomplete without us?]
Your love is incomplete without us? Without me?i will remember this moment when you taught me about the life of living in the peaceful billows of Your constant love... especially for me.


And this is reality. I am not mistaken to live in a fanatical reality of mysticism, but in a foundational Truth of emotion bundled in experience with God, my love... Our love.

peaceandblessings to you girls as you are reminded of our time together. I hope this lil conversation whelms you into more conversation with our God, Savior and Guide.

Made Alive in Christ

Ephesians 2: 1-10 "Made Alive in Christ"

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. . Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions -it is by grave you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

I love these verses because it starts out telling us how weak we are, "All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts"...none of us are above falling into the temptations of sin and I think it is so important to be aware of that. We all have that innate desire to be selfish in sin, to be "objects of wrath" if you will. These verses end with such a sweet message of hope though! By GRACE we have been saved! Through faith, NOT our own works...it is a GIFT from God! WOW!!!

If only I were more appreciative of God's gifts and blessings He has given me, if only I viewed being "rich with mercy" as higher importance than rich with worldly things. God has given each of us a precious gift, he has saved us! We were dead in our transgressions before He chose us. Lets reflect on that and praise Him for that! He has blessed us by simply choosing us! We seem to think we are entitled to so much more in life. God why did you let this happen or why can't I live there or have that. When we focus on those things and throw pitty parties, we are missing God's beautiful gift of grace, mercy, love, saving! That is why we call him our savior, because He has saved us through his grace! Praise God! We are choosing to follow God and make daily choices to follow Him, but at the end of the day, God says it is not our acts that save us, it is simply HIM and his love and grace.

All of Ephesians is just beautiful and so powerful! I encourage each of you to read through it this week, I know we have all read it before but what a great reminder it is of God's grace and mercy to us! I was humbled through reading these verses that it is not through my works that I am saved but through God!

Lord may we strive to be "rich in mercy" with others and forgiving with grace. Thank you for being our Savior and making us Alive in Christ! We are sorry for not always accepting your gracious gift. Thank you for choosing us even though we are unworthy.

Megs

I Will Give You Rest.

Continuing on through the book of Judges is a constant reminder that the things we turn to other than God for help or fulfillment will never satisfy. It is a cycle of the same themes over and over again- sin, judgment, and repentance. It is only until the Israelites have reached the end of the rope, the deepest pit of despair, that they finally reach out to God and ask for rescue. I think it's insane just how many times God takes them back. We are so fortunate for His mercy and forgiveness that He does the same for us.

I learned something else though this week while I was in prayer. I was pleading to God with help and strength in an area that I am struggling in, realizing that I cannot do anything by my own power but only through the power of the Holy Spirit. I was telling God that I know I want to seem in control of my life and not let it reflect to others very often that I in fact don't have much control over things, and it was if God stopped me in my prayer and asked me, "Why do you feel the need to be in control?"

It was a powerful moment because I felt like I couldn't really come up with an answer. Why do I want to appear to others and to myself that I am in control of my life? Perhaps it is the reason that I am in fact, not in control of my life, now matter how hard I try. The only real thing in control is the Lord. However, if I am not giving Him the reins to my life- the biggest areas where I'm weak and the things I try to control the most- I find that my life starts to inevitably spin out of control. It was a simple realization on my part that the harder I try to control, the more I find myself broken down and unable to deal.

I am blessed with the fact that God is truly in control of our lives, whether we want Him to be or not. However the consequences for not putting Him as our guide and consulting Him for help with our biggest struggles prove to be more harmful than we can imagine. I feel like the weight on my shoulders was lifted after I spoke with God that night, but need to remember to be asking desperately for His help every single day. This freedom is only the beginning for me as is the peace I feel knowing that God loves me so much to take on my struggles, sins, worries and cares. What a good God we have, and what a shame it is that it took me so long to realize this.

Remember that God takes it all for us.

"Then Jesus said, 'Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.'"
-Matthew 11:28-30

Not-quite-Monday's post- film review, "Bright Star"

Over the weekend I watched a very powerful movie, “Bright Star.” It was the kind of film that haunts you. It follows you through the night into the morning of the very next day repeating and replaying the powerful moments that caught your breath and caused your heart to cease beating for just a moment. The film is about a budding poet, the now famous, John Keats, and his fair love, Fanny Brawne. The young admirers fall deeply in love after Keats moves in next-door to Brawne. Later, they are separated by a tragic disease and eventually, parted indefinitely by even more tragic affliction- death. (Don’t worry I did not ruin the movie for you). The crux of the plot is their deep-abiding love. Love untainted by the world and other’s affections; love founded on emotional incitement not sexual attachment; love in its purest form.

I was moved by the plot of the movie and convicted by the underlying message, not by the director but by Keats himself. At the end of the film, Keats is advised to move to a warmer climate in an effort to cure his illness. Brawne and Keats spend the night before his departure together. She, basically, propositions herself to him. Keats replies,” I have a conscious.” (Wow, not sure I know a man alive that would do that today!). He then gently takes her by the hand, walks her to the bed, lays her head softly on a pillow next to his, wraps his arms around her thin waist and they begin to fantasize about their life after marriage, foreheads pressed firmly against one another. He tells her,” We will go to bed when the sun is still high and I will kiss your lips, your breasts, your waist.” She replies,” Everywhere.”

The film reminded me a great deal of the book of Solomon. Keats (and Solomon) were never shy in their description of love. They used elaborate language to describe their affections both emotional and sexual. Much of Keats’ relationship with Brawne was separated by distance so they were forced to write to one another. In fact, the film used actual love letters written by Keats to Brawne. His word usage was so magical that, honestly, it brought me to tears. Nowadays, couples fixate on chemistry, compatibility and other nonsense, instead, of focusing on the deep emotional connection that most often only comes through words and thoughts. Solomon knew that. That is why he wrote about his love in such elaborate detail:

“ How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Mount Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn, coming up from the washing. Each has its twin; not one of them is alone. Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon; your mouth is lovely. Your temples behind your veil are like the halves of a pomegranate. Your neck is like the tower of David, built with elegance; on it hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors. Your two breasts are like two fawns, like twin fawns of a gazelle that browse among the lilies. Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will go to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of incense. All beautiful you are, my darling; there is no flaw in you.” – Song of Solomon, 4: 1-7

Keats and Brawne never consummated their relationship. He died before they were to wed. But she stayed in morning for six years after his passing. Six years! People who are married barely mourn a year before they find another hussy to shack up with. Keats and Brawne were but young, innocent lovers and yet they created a love that lasted a lifetime. Oh, how drastically different relationships would be if only we practiced the self-control, respect and emotional (not sexual) intimacy that Keats and Solomon both swore by. I bet many of us would find the great love that our hearts seek. Love like Keats,’ that despite all odds, would last a lifetime.