First Fruits Offering

Deuteronomy 26:1-2

"When you have entered the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name "

About a week ago I was talking to Nancy about my garden. I was telling her that my garden is doing well, but it is interesting because I think that after you harvest the first fruits your garden will never look as good. I think things just grow better the first time around no matter how much you tend to them. I never knew this about a garden before. She said, "Thats why we are supposed to give our first fruits to God."

That little comment I have thought about SO much. Its so true. We are supposed to give God our first fruits. You can see in the picture, the first one of my garden looks amazing. It is green and lush and producing all kinds of fruit. In the second picture (which is my garden now) it has the remains of some of the first harvest and its kinda dead on the bottom and although it is still producing fruit, it is not like the first at all.

This is the same for our relationship with God. We are called to give Him the best of us, our first fruits. The Lord is refining my heart so much right now to show me that I am not doing this like I should be. I like to read my bible before I go to bed but a lot of times I fall asleep in the process. This is not giving God my best; the first fruits. I need to find the time of the day I am at my best, and come to the Lord with that heart. Whether it is in the morning, all day throughout the day, or not so late at night.

The thing is, I am still growing when I am not giving my first fruits. I am still producing fruit like the state my garden is now, but I am not flourishing the way I could be. I could be going deeper, and my heart could be flooded more, if I came to the Lord at my best. If we do, we look like that first picture of my garden before the Lord. We are beautiful, bright, full, attentive and ready to produce even more fruit through growth. God is totally showing me what my potential is and what our relationship could look like as I learn to obey His commandments more.

We are called to do this in everything we do. It was even revealed to me this is what the sabbath is. Sunday is supposed to be our first day of the week where we come to the Lord in rest, with an open heart, being prepared for the week. It is giving God our first fruits.

I pray that the Lord would also show you girls how to give your first fruits in your life. Whether it be with money, time, energy, etc. We are created to bring glory to the Lord and we need to think about this at all times. How can we be worshiping and serving our Lord better?

Lord, help us to come to you with our best and to sacrifice what we hold most dear and recognize that it was never ours to begin with. I ask that you would refine our hearts so that we would be motivated to do whatever it takes to give you the first fruits of all we are and do. We need you Father, and most of all we want you. Please invade Holy Spirit, form our hearts to need more of you. Let us be pleasing in your sight as your creation. In your precious Name, amen.

Love you girls,

Natalie

Refuge

“Be my strong refuge, to which I may resort continually..” Psalm 71:3

Recently when I was going through recovery from surgery my prayers became very redundant. They would always be along the lines of …

“God please help me, just this one time, please Lord help me get through this pain.”

A few hours later I would find myself praying the same prayer. I had to laugh, I was kidding myself to pray as if it was my last final prayer. Around day two I remember praying, “God I know I keep praying for you to help me just once, but I am going to need you again and again.”

As we read in Psalm 71, we can go to God continually. No matter how many times we call on the LORD He will always listen to our cries. I have the tendency to triage my problems. If I feel like there is a “big problem” I send out a mass prayer text. If I feel like it is a “small problem” I feel as if I can handle it on my own. I would never want to annoy God with my small request. The funny thing is that in comparison to God all of my “problems” are small.

If you or someone you know is going through a difficult time, encourage them to go to the LORD. If they say that they already have, tell them to go again and again and again. Tell them to wait at the feet of Jesus. Hold tight to the promise that we can go continually to the LORD and that He is our refuge.

Refuge- Noun: shelter or protection from danger or trouble. A place of shelter, protection or safety.

When I think of the word refuge the first thing I picture is battle or war. And sometimes in life we do feel as if we are being attacked from all sides. During these times remember that God is our refuge. When my life is falling down on all sides, I feel as if I need to be doing something tangible to fix my problems. Time and again, God lovingly shows me that my strength is found in the LORD, not myself.

The LORD is our Refuge, we can find peace in Him.
The LORD is our Safety, we do not have to fear.
The LORD is our Shelter from the storms of life.
The LORD is our Protection from harm.

Prayer: “LORD please be our refuge, hear the cries of Your daughters and help us to speak of Your righteousness.”

Response: How have you seen God as your refuge?

Kingdom Eyes

God has literally been BLOWING my mind lately. I cant even put in words how my heart has been feeling and the things He has been revealing to me. The coolest thing about God is the more we get to know Him, the more we realized we havent tapped into any of His abounding greatness. I wanna go deeper, I want to be a part of things that I dont even know are possible at this time. Thats my prayer for me and for you girls.

With that said, I wanna tell you guys about something that changed the way I view this life and I think will change yours as well.

This week, the Lord has placed new friends in my life. I wasnt even asking either, how cool is that! lol. My friend Sharina, (who I blogged about last time) has a friend who she has been wanting me to meet for months now. Her name is Tiffany Berkowitz. Because God is perfect, she actually is kinda connected to our group because she went on the world race and became really great friends with Kimi Cantrell. Anyways, I got to meet her the other night and the Lord totally spoke so much wisdom into me through her obedience to be a vessel and share what the Lord is teaching her. She encouraged me like CRAZY and just really poured so much love and wisdom into me. Wanna be challenged? Spend a night talking to Tiffany, there is a woman who knows the Lord.

We shared stories about just having our mind on the Lord and how when we hear God calling we have to be willing to obey and ready to hear His voice. She shared that the Lord has taught her she always needs to have "kingdom eyes" to be able to see past what we would normally see as humans, but to refocus her thoughts and heart to see things through the eyes of God with an eternal perspective.

This term "Kingdom Eyes" just kills me. It is SO rad. I want kingdom eyes, every single day. Every second of every day. When you have kingdom eyes, you dont see the annoying person in the car in front of you that wont drive fast enough, or the pissed off person who cut you off, you see lost hurting souls who were made in the image of Christ, and who DESPERATELY need more of Jesus. When you have kingdom eyes, you drive along the freeway and dont just think about your day and the stressful to do list. Instead you see the mountains that the Lord created and the trees that are starting to change colors just at the tips; orange and red and yellow, just because that's how the Lord called them into motion and thats how they worship their Creator. If you dont have kingdom eyes, you miss this stuff.

I go about my life all the time not even worrying about the strangers around me. But what if I had kingdom eyes all the time and the Lord revealed to me how to be praying for these people or even just to pray for encounters for them with their Creator? Maybe I am supposed to be the Jesus they see. How cool would that be if we just had an eternal perspective all the time. Girls, the more I dig into the Word and go deeper with the Lord, the more I realize this is not our home and our flesh is so temporary. We have a calling here, and our vision has to see past this life. It cannot be consumed with ourselves and our worries of each day. Each day, we have an opportunity to share God's love and spread this life of joy with others. I encourage you to do that. Ask God to give you those opportunities to see life through His eyes, to have kingdom eyes. Ask Him, Lord how can we bring your Kingdom here on earth today?

Lord, I ask for Kingdom Eyes for me and each one of my girls. God we desire to see past what we know on the surface, from what the world has taught us, but to have an eternal perspective, one that will change the way we think of others and of you Lord. I desire Lord, to have my eyes set on you, and that each one of us would not only see the things you are revealing to us, but to respond quickly. We have an opportunity to be used by you Lord. Help us to grasp what an honor that is and how when you call, its crazy if we dont answer. Holy Spirit take away the fear that is cultivated in our hearts and give us boldness and freedom in the Spirit. As we see more clearly the power of your grace and what really matters, give us spirits of boldness to step out in faith and share the love that you have so graciously given to us. Lord, we know its because you have given us a gift that we know you at all, so I ask we would not be hoarders of this gift, but share the joy and truth that you have overflowed our hearts with. God we beg for Kingdom Eyes. We dont want to have clouded vision Lord, but desire to have a clear perspective of what you are doing all around and how we can be used. We love you and are desperate for you Sovereign God. In your precious Name, Amen.

I love you girls. May the Lord flood your vision with Kingdom Eyes today.

xoxo- Natalie

Happy Birthday CHRISTINA CUPCAKE!

Happy happy birthday to you, RISTIE TWISTIE (aka Xtina)

To one of the most amazing, beautiful, loving and Godly woman I know: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! :) We are SOO beyond blessed to call you friend and sister in Christ. Twistie, your wisdom and love radiate from who you are ALWAYS. We thank the Lord for you today and for all the blessings that He has given you and flooded on each one of us through you. You truly are a joy to each one of us. Thank you for being such a compassionate and loving friend. Keep striving for more of Christ, He has only begun His great work in you!

Here's to 24 more years of friendship!

Happy Happy BIRTHDAY!! xoxoxox

1 Thessalonians 3:8
"For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord"

1 Thessalonians 3:13"May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with his holy ones."

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it."

Just somethin' to ponder (With love, Kathleen)

"Christianity has made the way most difficult, and it is only an illusion, which has snared many, that Christianity has made the way easy, since it helps people precisely and only by making the beginning such that everything becomes much more difficult than ever."

"If an existing person is to relate himself with pathos [i.e. with passionate inwardness] to an eternal happiness, then the point is that his existence should express the relation…yet no one knows it except the individual himself in his own consciousness….He needs only to attend to his own existence; then he knows it. If it does not absolutely transform his existence for him, then he is not relating himself to an eternal happiness; if there is something he is not willing to give up for its sake, then he is not relating himself to an eternal happiness."

"Although in the world we frequently enough see a presumptuous religious individuality who, himself so exceedingly secure in his relationship with God and jauntily sure of his eternal happiness, is self-importantly busy doubting the salvation of others and offering them his help, I believe it would be appropriate discourse for a truly religious person if he said: I do not doubt anyone’s salvation; the only one I have fears about is myself; even if I see a person sink low, I still dare not despair of his salvation, but if it is myself, then I certainly would be forced to endure the terrible thought."

"Suppose that a person with a deeply religious need continually heard only the kind of pious address in which everything is rounded off by having the absolute telos [i.e. eternal happiness] exhaust itself in relative ends – what then? He would sink into the deepest despair, since he in himself experienced something else and yet never heard the pastor talk about this, about suffering in one’s inner being, about the suffering of the God-relationship. Out of respect for the pastor and the pastor’s rank, he perhaps would be led to interpret this suffering as a misunderstanding, or as something that other people presumably also experienced but found so easy to overcome that it is not even mentioned."

"God rescues from delusion the person who in quiet inwardness and honest before God is concerned for himself; even though he is ever so simple, God leads him in the suffering of inwardness to the truth."

(Excerpt from "Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosphical Fragments" by Soren Kierkegaard)

Pray for Ashely!

Hi Ladies,

Let's pray for Ash Bear, she just had her tonsils taken out a few days ago and is in a lot of pain. She cannot take the pain meds b/c they are making her sick and she is also extremely nauseous. Please just pray for God to heal her whole body. Her Dr thinks taking her tonsils out may heal a lot of her other health problems. That is our exact prayer request, for a complete 100% healing! Please just pray for peaceful rest free from pain, for the hours in the day to pass quickly, for mental encouragement, for healing on her whole body, for the nausea and pain to go away. Ash Bear we all love you so much and it hurts us to see you in pain. Praying for a speedy recovery. Please let us know how we can help. Love Megs

YES!

Each day we are called to identify with the suffering Christ on the cross, and then be empowered by the resurrected Christ. We die to our expectations, our demands, and our fears and we rise to compromise, service, and courage.

(from Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas).

A person with Godly ambition has such a heartfelt determination to bring pleasure to God that it penetrates everything he does - every thought, every decision, every word, every attitude. Though he may fall periodically, even regularly, the God-pleaser strives to have this ambition rule everything he does (from Pleasing People by Lou Priolo).

Ladies, we have such a high calling on our lives.

More of Jesus and less of us.

Praying that the spirit will lead, encourage, and empower us to live holy lives.

Love you girls,

Mia J.

Pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge

I have a friend I met one random day at work who I just adore. It was totally God ordained. Her name is Sharina. (This is her :) ) If she would have gone to Vanguard she would have been one of our girls :) I absolutely adore her because of who she is and what she is about; being a follower of Christ, no matter where He leads her. She is one of those people that you instantly know that you are more than friends with, you are sisters in Christ and get to grow that friendship for eternity. We dont get to see each other often, but stay in touch through text and facebook and every time we talk she just pushes me more and more towards the cross. She challenges me by the way she lives. Its totally what I need. She gets Jesus, and the message He came to bring. More than that she shares it. She is a walking disciple and she is doing exactly what Jesus calls of His children.

Today I logged onto facebook and read this prayer that Sharina wrote. It was just so powerful I wanted to share it with you girls. :) I love you all and feel so blessed that the Lord allows us all to be sisters in Christ and grasp what true fellowship is, sharing in the understanding of the overwhelming goodness of the Holy Spirit. Praise God for His presence and that it floods our being with love and desperation for Him. I pray this encourages you girls the way it did me.

xoxo- N

Psalm 62:8

Trust in Him at all times, O people;

pour out your hearts to Him,

for God is our refuge.

Selah

I am established in Him! My identity is that whose image I was created! I declare that I am Yours, Abba Father. I declare that I am Yours Christ Jesus my Savior! Resurrect my soul! It is my will that my flesh be put to death and that I may carry my cross all the days of my life. I know that You have left this earth, You have sent Your Holy Spirit to reign in my soul and guide my thoughts and to convict me of that which is no longer in me but so eagerly attaches itself to me in hopes of victory. It is a battle I can not see, but feel constantly tugging. Wanting every bit of me that yearns for You. I am desperate for Your power. I am desperate! That Your Holy Spirit may bring the fruits that were lacking and bear the fruits of peace, joy, love, patience, kindness, goodness and faithfulness so that I may bring glory and honor to Your name and be a living testimony of Your grace. Let me not claim a denomination that has been set forth by man, but be a follower of the way, the truth and the life that set me free when I first accepted you into my heart and life. Let my church, let my roots, let my house of the Lord be in Your Word, the bondship in the unity of Christ and not in any man made thing or public figure. Let my church be within me Lord and let I take it with me wherever I may go to the ends of the earth! Let me dwell and rest and rejuvenate of the days when I was radically transformed and made a new creation. Because my eyes were opened. O YES LORD! And my ears were opened and now I can see! Now I can hear! May I never forget! May I never cease to listen! May I never cease to see the things that are of You! Now I can not deny the miracle that you have worked in me by making this heart of stone into a heart of flesh. I can not deny even though my mind is at battle. I ask Adonai and I commend Your Spirit, I invite you to break my double mindedness that falsely manipulates the truth that you have set before me. The evil one that perverts my thoughts and dreams is not welcome where Your holiness is! Lord, with Your mighty and Holy Name put the evil one away from me. Remind him that he was cast down by You and I am Yours! I ask You to heal, to restore my past hurts, anger and pain. The plots that are around me set forth by others to remind me of my past, I rebuke them in Your Name Christ Jesus! They no longer have dominion over my life, over my thoughts or over my dreams. There is no place for them in the plans that You Lord have for me which are plans for good! I am married to You. My covenant is with You, Lord. Lord I am Your bride, You are my groom. You are my romance, my desire, the love of my life and for all eternity. I am made whole in You and You alone. No one, no thing, shall separate me from Your love. Your promises are eternal, they never falter. Lord forgive me for my faltering, for my lack of luster, and bring back the sparkle to my eye. I am a desert and I thirst for Your righteousness like a barren wasteland thirsts for water. Be my water Lord and fill me up till I overflow! I have seen the joy that has come from You Lord! I have seen and I can not forget! That is what I crave! Lord I ask for you to bring that light which is You back into my heart, my life, my eyes, my soul, my thoughts, my dreams, my actions! Allow the stillness of the night to not bring loneliness but rather beckon worship. Allow the break of dawn to not make moans of another day, but rejoice in the gift of life and what it brings. How many times I will say Your Name to those who have yet to hear. Lord, remove the fear and doubt from my mind. Lord, remove the lies of death. Speak Your life into mine! Lord, allow the storms that gust in full force against me to not blow me over but to build strength as I press against them. Lord, allow my enemies to know my love for them and break down their walls and cold hearts. Restore their pain Lord and let there be reconciliation. Let the grace I impart through you be a testimony to them! To my family, to my friends. Let Your love reign supreme over any carnal love. A love that casts out fear! A love that brings healing and power! A love that unites! A love that conquers sin! Have Your will be done. Have Your will be done in me so that I may be all that You made me to be. With quickness and swiftness I cry out to You in prayer and earnestly, not because I am worthy, but because You Lord are faithful! Hear my cries, answer my prayers! Fill me with song and the gift of Your never ending mercy to flow from my lips.