No Way of Escape

Therefore he (king of Syria) sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas my master! What shall we do?” (2 Kings 6:14-15)

There are times in our lives when we feel as if we are surrounded on all sides. Family trouble, finances, loss of a job, problems at home, ect. We all know what it feels like to feel defeated. Just as the servant asks in the above verse, we ask God, “What shall we do?”

The proceeding verses in 2 Kings Chapter six gives Israel step by step instructions of what to do when you are surrounded on all sides by your enemies. I believe these words are applicable in our problems today.

Verse 16- “Do not fear” We have to know and believe that God is bigger than anything that we could ever go through.

Verse 17- “Pray” This is our greatest weapon- direct communication with God. Just as I was writing this I thought about that game show where you can phone a friend for help. We can do that same thing through prayer to God. But the difference is that God is God. Nothing or nobody is as wise, strong, powerful or perfect as our God.

Verse 17- “Behold, the mountain was full of horses and Angels of fire all around.” God has Angels surrounding His people. Pray that God would open your eyes to see His power and His protection all around you.

Verse 21- “Seek counsel from godly people.” When you are going through trials, go to a godly woman or man of the LORD and ask them for counsel. If you do not have a mentor or someone to go to, God is always faithful to bring someone into your life or be the counsel that you need.

Verse 23- “Be generous to your enemies.” I know that this may be the hardest step. But we are commanded to love our enemies. Through our love, God is showing His love and mercy to people who he also loves.

I know that this passage of scripture really ministered to me. I know that life can present itself with problems, worries, or questions that seem to have no way out. When you find yourself just as Israel did when they woke up surrounded on all sides by Syrian army, remember these truths:

God is Faithful (Genesis 12:1-3)
God is Faithful (Deuteronomy 7:9)
God is Faithful. (Hosea 11:12)
God is Faithful. (1 Corinthians 1:9)
God is Faithful. (2 Corinthians 1:18)
God is Faithful. (1 Thessalonians 5:24)
God is Faithful. (Hebrews 10:23)
God is Faithful. (1 John 1:9)
God is Faithful. (Revelation 7:5-8)
God is Faithful. (Genesis 1:1-Revelation 22:20)


xoxo-Ashley

The Power of God Through You

We are so small. We are capable of nothing on our own, and would literally not be here if it weren't for our gracious and powerful Lord. There are so many times I feel like I am wasting time not doing enough, not doing the right things, not finding my purpose here on this earth. I think this is fairly common among everyone though, and not just Christians. We all want to feel like we are needed for some reason or another, and that there must be more to this life just here on earth.

Obviously as believers, we know we do have a higher calling than just living and breathing for our short life here and then dying. We have so much more to look forward to. But in the meantime, it is sometimes hard to not feel lost and unsure of where your life is headed. Honestly, I feel like I plan my days like a week ahead of time. Yeah I know what I'm doing maybe one day next month here and there, but I don't have a 5 year plan. And even if I did, I know that my plan wouldn't ever really turn out the way I think.

Yesterday while listening to Francis Chan online, he had mentioned the verse James 5:17 (which he said was one of his favorite scriptures in the bible). It reads,

"Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years."

At first, I was thinking, that is your favorite verse? Huh? But then he explained it saying he loved how it says that this great prophet was a man (or woman, in our case) just like US. Here was this prophet we've all known about who did amazing, powerful things for God, and he was just a regular human. He prayed that it would not rain, and with his faith, it didn't. Crazy. And although we may not be praying for the same things, we are still capable of having God's power work through us.

So, I was reading this morning, chugging (slowly) along in my bible. I am in 1 Kings and today I read chapters 15-17. Guess what 1 Kings 17 is about? Um... ELIJAH stating there would be no rain for 3 years. Um, coincidence? As I read it, I didn't even remember Francis's words from the night before until a little after. I was just blown away that this man, who had great faith and obedience, could state that there would be no rain because the Lord told him to. And there wasn't. He let the power of God work through him because of his great faith. And then after my brain started working I was like, Wait!! I just heard this!! Now it all comes together for me and I think the Lord is trying to reiterate to me just how much power He has and how strongly He can work through me if I let Him. It makes me realize I am not here on earth just to eat and go to work and play with Puppy, etc etc. God has work and plans for me and I need to be daily acknowledging His presence in my life. Thank you Lord.

(Sorry for my very long absence here on the blog. I am sad I haven't written in awhile, but I am back. Love you guys!! Have a wonderful day!)

xtina.

Yahweh Had a Little Lamb

14"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." John 10:14-18

For two weeks now God has been drilling into me how He is my Shepherd and I am his sheep. Its crazy how when God wants to teach you something He puts it everywhere you are. Two weeks ago, I studied the name of God "Yahweh Roi," (Pronounced Row-EE) which is "The Lord is My Shepherd." That same week at church of course, my pastor taught on how we are the sheep and God is our Shepherd. And again tonight at church the sermon was ALL about it. Its incredible that God even spoke to anyone else's heart besides mine tonight because I know that sermon was just what I needed to hear. But God is that incredible that He can speak to everyone's heart at once. We serve a Mighty God don't we? He is so detailed to think of every last thing we need.

I have heard that the Lord is my Shepherd all my life but God has really been stretching me to see this in a different light. First He has reminded me that there is NO WHERE He wont go to get me. Remember the parable of the Lost sheep in Luke 15? He goes after that one, because you are THAT important to Him. He will not stop until He finds you and brings you home. I have blessed to be able to travel quite a bit of the world, and to think that God will go anywhere in it to get us is insane. The world is HUGE! No matter how far I go, He will go there, and bring me back. He promises that. Just like He promised that to Israel in Deut 30, when He scatters Israel all over for being disobedient, and then asks them to please choose life in Him, He says "Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back." I love that so much. We cant go anywhere to escape the our Good Shepherd because He takes pride in His flock and loves us so much.

Sheep arent the smartest animals, and really being compared to sheep isnt really that great of a compliment. But its accurate to say the least. When sheep get lost, they dont come home by themselves. The Shepherd always has to keep watch over them and constantly be leading them where he wants them to go. Sound familiar? And the thing about sheep is that they need a shepherd to take care of them because they are basically defenseless. What can sheep do to protect themselves? Nothing really. Run, thats about it. And I dont think they are very fast. So they need a keeper. And they are fearful because of their lack of defense. They are always scared they are going to be harmed because well, they can be so easily. So even if their shepherd is coming after them to save them, they are still fearful because they dont know the rest of the intention. They can't understand it is for their own good. This is us!! We are the same way. How many times has God come all the way from heaven to come get you and bring you home, and you freak out and think that He is going to harm you? I know I do just about every time. Because we dont get it. We suck at trusting God, but He is our Shepherd and watches over us daily, protecting us and feeding and providing a path of righteousness.

The most incredible thing about Christ is that He knows what we go through. Not only is Our Shepherd, but He is the precious Lamb of God. He has walked in our shoes.

15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Hebrews 4:15

He has been there. He chose to show us how to live, by coming in flesh, to show what it looks like to be a living sacrifice. This is so amazing. We are called to bring an offering to God, to be a living sacrifice, but God sent His son to be the ultimate sacrifice, the Precious Lamb that was slain, so we can live in His grace. I dont think it was a coincidence that God used to call the Israelites to sacrifice lambs to atone for their sin. And what was Christ? The Lamb who atoned for all our sin instead. We serve the Shepherd who loves us enough to take care of us and the Precious Lamb who was slain and was the ultimate sacrifice to allow us to dwell with Him. A perfect example of a living sacrifice. If He was just a King He would teach us His laws and leave us to obey. But He is a Shepherd too, so leads us to His will for our lives.

May Yahweh Roi, Our Beautiful Shepherd who watches over us, knows our every need and would lay down His life for the sake of our lives (and did!) be exalted and trusted with all that we have. May we know that "we are the the people of His pasture, the flock under His care" (Psalm 95:6-7) and that "He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart" (Isaiah 40:11). We are so taken care of by God. Its crazy.

I encourage you to all read Psalm 23 today. And really dwell upon the words we have all heard so many times. "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want...." Read the whole thing and may you lean into the promises and rest God desires for each one of your lives.

I love you girls,
Natalie

Goodbye

Hello Ladies,
On Wednesday night my Grandpa Frank passed away. It was something that that I will never forget in my life. What a man of God my Grandpa Frank was. He was more generous that I can even tell you, and has touched so many lives in his 88 years.

He was diagnosed with cancer over two years ago and we have watched him slowly pass ever since then. On Tuesday last week hospice came in to take care of him. It was then that we finally realized that he was ready to go. I got to see him last Saturday as he was peacefully in his bed. We got to pray over him and we said our last goodbyes. This past Wednesday we received a call saying that we needed to come over to his house in Pasadena. We walked into his room, and saw him in his rented hospital room. He looked so peaceful. He was right next to the window and had the breeze and sunshine on his face. There was about 12 of us gathered around him praying, and singing his favorite praise songs (as well as Dean Martin, his favorite). The hardest part was watching my grandma kiss his head saying "It's ok Frankie, i'll be alright please go with Jesus." My grandma is a rock. Within an hour of us getting there, his breathing started getting deeper and louder. Hospice (angels) told us this was normal. His nurses spent hours with him at night reading his Bible to him, how amazing is that?! At 5:35 he took his final breath. One long breath and he was gone. He is no longer in pain and is now rejoicing in Heaven with his first wife and my Grandpa.

Please continue to pray for my grammy. This is her second husband that she has lost, but she is now 88. Her and Franko have prayed ON THERE KNEES every night since they were married 20 years ago. Wednesday night was the first night she had to pray by herself... still on her knees.

"The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk wprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death."
Isaiah 57: 1-2

90's theme songs...

Hi ladies,

I don't have anything super powerful or insightful to say tonight, but I have just been really trying to rest in God's perfect peace today (thank you God for granting me this!) I just wanted to encourage each of you to give your worries up to the Lord today, NOT an easy thing to do...

I was driving home and feeling a bit overwhelmed by some things when that totally cheesey 90's song "Fear not for I am with you, fear not for I am with you, fear not, for I am with you says the LORD" started coming out of my mouth. I have NO idea what possesed me to even think of that song and it wasn't until about 3 rounds in that I realized what words I was actually singing. HA I just started laughing that I was singing that cheesy song but also silently thanking God for sending me peace and a laugh at the same time. It was just the reminder I needed. FEAR NOT ladies, God is with you.

Now time to bust out the old 90's tunes..."My God is an Awesome God"...anyone??? hahaha Love you each so much! Love Megs

Joining with Heaven

I have been singing this song "Revelation Song" for the past week now on repeat. Over and over and over again. For those of you who dont know my music tendencies I take new songs and listen to them probably 100 times before I even think of moving on. And I am not exaggerating. Maybe the numbers are higher.

This song in particular has just ROCKED my world. This isnt a new song. I am sure some of you or all of you have sang it before or know it quite well. As I listened and sang along, I was reminded of what it will be like in heaven, when we see the creatures who never stop saying "Holy holy holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is and is to come." What a beautiful picture Revelation depicts for us, that we get a glimpse into heaven and the joy of worshiping our Creator who sits on the throne forever and ever and ever.

As I sing this song it brings so much joy to me because I am getting to join in with those creatures, angels, and heaven for a few minutes to sing the same words "Holy holy holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is and is to come." How powerful is that, that we can have a little bit of heaven here on earth and for those few minutes there doesn't seem to be any gap between the two places at all.

I pray you are all blessed by these POWERFUL words of this song.

Revelation 5:13- " Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them singing, " To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever!"

xoxo- N

Je-shush (by Kathleen)

Every morning I read to Bennett from his toddler bible. Nothing out-of-the-ordinary today. I sat down next Bennett eating his Kashi while I sipped my coffee and disgusting Dr. Oz green drink smoothie. I opened up to the New Testament and as soon as Bennett saw the picture of Jesus, he replied," Oh, Je-shush." Shocked, I second-guessed my precious child's intelligence by asking," WHO is that, Bennett?" He (again) responded," Je-shush." I cried. I thought the best day of my life would be when Bennett says," I 'wuv' you, mama." And that day will be pretty special but today certainly takes the cake. Nothing compares to God revealing himself in your little child's life. Not even an "I 'wuv' you."

God IS SOOOO GOOD!

Before Jesus’ crucifixion, He walked with the disciples, teaching them His ways. We read the stories of the disciples learning that Jesus is the Messiah. And then we see their faith increase and they BELIEVE that Jesus is the Messiah. As we watch them grow, we see ordinary men with immature faith, become the disciples that spread the gospel into the world and read how many were martyr’s for their faith.

After Jesus’ resurrection, He appears to the disciples. In each gospel there are different accounts of conversations that Jesus has with His disciples. Though each Gospels report is different, each message is the same. We are to go and make disciples of the world. I had to ask myself, “Am I making disciples??”

In Mathew:
Jesus says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. “ Mathew 28:19-20

In Mark :
Jesus says, “Go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them, they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Mark 16:15-18

In Luke:
Jesus says, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things.” Luke 24: 46-48

In John:
Jesus asks Simon, “Do you love me more than these?” (Referring to the other disciples).
Simon answers, “Yes Lord, You know that I love You.”
Jesus responds, “Feed my sheep.”
Jesus then asks Simon again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?”
Simon responds, Yes Lord; You know that I love You.”
Jesus said, “Tend my sheep.”
Jesus asks Simon a third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?”
Simon responds, Lord You know all things; You know that I love You.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”

In our Christian lives we have spent years, “walking with Jesus” and “learning His ways.” Our faith has increased and we believe that He is the Son of God. At times I wish I could stay in this place forever. But we are called to share the amazing truth that God loves everyone and that He wants to be the God of the world. I know that the church has a bad rap. And a lot of reasons are legitimate; greed, power, selfishness, hate, and sexual sin, have come into the church and defiled Gods image.
As Christians we are the Church, so we can change the image of the Church. In all of the Gospels the last reported message that Jesus told His disciples, was to go and spread the gospel, go tell everyone you know about Me, go feed the Gospel to My people, tend My people and care for them in My name. I believe that Marks account is the most amazing. Jesus says that the sign that we believe in God is that we will be doing God’s work; casting out demons and healing the sick.

God please help us to make disciples of your people.

Congrats Missy and James!!

Merci Beaucoup!

I wanted to tell you girls a HUGE thank you for loving on me on sunday and making my birthday just PERFECT! I truly mean that from the bottom of my heart. I had the best time with you girls. It was above and beyond anything I could have imagined! I just am blown away that my friends are even real. So THANK YOU!!

Fefe, all your hard work and GORGEOUS decorations was beyond words. THANK YOU A MILLION TIMES OVER!! It was seriously the most blog worthy amazing table I have ever seen in my life. I know you put soo much love, work and effort into it and I didnt miss a detail. I love you. Thank you for the little details that make the big picture so amazing. You are incredible. I love you so much. And Megs, thank you for all your help too. It came together sooo perfect!!

Missy and Becca. We missed you girls so much. Thank you both for your sweet texts. I wish you could have been with us but next time :) We have been so lucky to see each other so much recently. I love you both and cant wait to see you girls again.

THANK YOU again. I love you girls more than my flesh could find words for. Thank you for always pushing me towards the Lord and teaching me what it looks like to seek God with all that you are. I am so blessed by each one of you.

xoxo- Natalie

PS, I couldnt help but to update the the look of the blog with all these new easy cute template. Ristie if you hate it feel free to change it. I just couldnt resist and thought the change was cute! :) xoxox

Believe

Believe that God always honors faithfulness!Sam 2:30
Believe that nothing will separate us from the love of God! Rom 8:38,39
Believe that God will never leave us or forsake us! Heb 13:7
Believe that God believes in us and what we can do for Him! Phil 4:13
Believe that God can use anything to refine us for His purposes! 1 Pet 1:7
Believe that God loves an obedient spirit! 1 Sam 15:22
Believe that God listens to every single prayer we offer! 1 John 5:14
Believe that God is espeically near to the broken-heart! Ps 34:18

psalm 24

Psalm 24
"The Earth is the LORD's, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
for her founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.

Who may ascend the hill of the LORD?
Who may stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol
or swear by what is false.
He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior
Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob

Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
Who is he, this King of glory?
The LORD Almighty-
he is the King of glory."

How powerful is this scripture? Natalie encouraged me to be dedicated to memorizing scripture so I started going through the Psalms looking for a small one to start out with (haha yes that was my main requirement...sad I know) I decided on this one because I liked that it was short but powerful. The more I am memorizing it the more powerful and amazing it is becoming! Literally days after I decided to start memorizing this it seemed that every lesson I have been learning in every area of life is that my life is NOT MY LIFE! My life is GOD's! "the earth is the LORDS and everything in it, the world and all who live in it"...yup that's me! Nothing here is mine, my house, money, husband, family, my breath and life, my future kids...none of it is mine, it's Gods! Wow seriously how powerful is that! pheeew! What a relief! I feel like the weight of the world was just lifted off my shoulders! I AM GOD'S! I may not have the support of family right now, or children, or money... but God has me and I have him!

I just LOVE the 2nd half of this scripture! "who can ascend the hill of the Lord? who can stand in his holy place? He who has cleans hands and a pure heart. Who does not lift his soul to an idol or swear by what is false" OK! I can do that! We can all do that ladies! We can have clean hands and a pur heart, here comes the challenge for me...do not lift up your soul to an idol...ok I'm working on it! Or swear by what is false...OK! Thank you LORD for giving us answers in your word and tools to be able to obey and lead a life for you!

And lastly, what is this all for? Who are we having clean hands, pure hearts, no idols, pure love for?.... the King of glory - the LORD Almighty.

Megs

Robbing God

This week I have been studying the name of God, Yahweh Tsebaoth pronounced (Se-ba-OATH) also written in the Old Testament LORD Almighty. When we pray to God using this name, we are praying to the "Lord of Hosts" a God so magnificent that all creation serves His purpose. This is God that saves us in our battles, and fights for us in our storms. We can rest in the fact that the battles in our life always belong to Yahweh Tsebaoth.

I came across this scripture today as I was praying this name and it just really settled heavy on my heart.

Malachi 3:6-18

Robbing God
6 "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7 Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty.
"But you ask, 'How are we to return?'
8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.
"But you ask, 'How do we rob you?'
"In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. 12 "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.

13 "You have said harsh things against me," says the LORD.
"Yet you ask, 'What have we said against you?'

14 "You have said, 'It is futile (completely ineffective) to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD Almighty? 15 But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape.' "

16 Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name.

17 "They will be mine," says the LORD Almighty, "in the day when I make up my treasured possession (Or when God comes back). [a] I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. 18 And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.

You see, I have a lot things that I hold back from God, LORD Almighty, Yahweh Tsebaoth, who gladly fights my every battle, for some reason I am just like the Israelites and feel like I cant give him the offerings in my life He deserves. WHY!!??? I am so messed up! Just in the worship department alone, I am so sinful and selfish and I choose to worship other things, especially myself instead of God. He even says in the above scripture. "Test me, I will bless you so much that you will not have room enough for all of it!" And here I am like, umm naw I dont really feel like giving my all to you.

A couple weeks ago at Mia's church, the pastor was saying how we so often make God earn areas of our life. We say I'll give you this and see how you do and then I will give you the next thing. We give over areas of our life to God as if they werent already His to begin with. We rob God of things that were never ours. They were ALWAYS His. Our lives are NOT ours. End of story.

We serve a MIGHTY God. Yahweh Tsebaoth, that is so powerful that He rules over every other power in the material and spiritual universe. And this God is saying to us, "Surrender to me, let me fight your battles, I gotchu!"

May we no longer rob Yahweh, of the things that are His, and may we remember this week that God desires to bless us more than we can imagine if we just give Him what He deserves and calls of us.

I love you girls,
Natalie

Faith and Action

I am a planner by nature. I have my whole life perfectly mapped out… everything is going great, except that I am running two years behind schedule. Haha… I think it is funny that I still think I can plan my own future.

“Trust in the LORD with all of your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.”

This last year, countless people have emailed, texted, written, or spoken this scripture to me. I think God is trying to tell me something!

I can follow this scripture pretty well. I trust the LORD. I acknowledge the Lord. I know that God will direct my path.

But I have forgotten the portion of scripture that the promise is contingent on; “and lean not on your own understanding.” Here is where I struggle. I try to control my future and my life.

Over the last two years I have felt like I have moved farther and farther away from my career goals. But these past two years I have learned that God is faithful, He will never leave me, God has a plan for my life, and hardest of all….I am not in control.

Last night at church my pastor was talking about how faith and action go hand-in-hand. We, as followers of Christ, cannot have faith in God and then not do what he calls us to do.

God told Abraham he would have multiple descendants, and twenty plus years later God fulfilled His promise of giving Isaac to Abraham and Sarah. The 20+ years in between Gods promise and the fulfillment of His promise, is where Abraham’s faith was grown.

These past 2 years have been really HARD for me. And to say that I have been patiently waiting on the LORD would be far from true. I continually complain (and cry) asking God why he has forgotten me. I cannot imagine if God had me wait for 20+ years.

Patience is a virtue

…that I have not learned.

After Isaac is born, some time goes by and God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. And Abraham is willing to do it. His faith in God was tested by his action to listen to God. If God would have asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac and Abraham would have responded, “God I love you and trust you, BUT….” Abraham would not have had faith in God. My old pastor always says, you cannot use the words, “but” and “God” in the same sentence.

God I love you, but…
God I trust you, but….
God you are faithful, but…
God your word says, but…
God you are calling me, but….

God is not our God if we are not obeying him. This is really convicting for me. This morning in the book Natalie and I are reading (“Wired for a life of worship”) we have been learning that we are ALL worshipers. Every single person, all day long, worships. The question is, who are we worshipping?

In the margin of my book I wrote:
“Even though I do not feel like worshipping, I should
because I will be worshipping anyway.”

This was really powerful to read in my own handwriting. The night before, I was feeling pretty depressed and I felt like I should read my bible. Instead I chose to watch the cooking channel for countless hours. Last night even though I did not “feel” like worshipping, I was worshipping. The sad thing is that I chose to worship TV instead of God.

I need to be continually reminded what our wise Megs taught us:
“Cling to what is good, hate what is evil.”

I love you girls!
Ashby

"L" is for the way you...

Hi ladies, I was reading 1corinthians 13, the love chapter and feeling pretty convicted about how I react very unloving to alot of situations. I decided to write down each word on a notecard (Ex "love is patient" on one card, "love is kind" on the next card...and so on) and I keep it by the sink so I see it everyday. I'm really trying to focus on responding the correct way in challenging situations. (sidenote...I have noticed I really suck at patience because I am still stuck on the FIRST card! hahaha) Anyways I started reading the chapter again and realized I really need to focus this kind of perfect pure love towards my God, not just people in my life. In my journal I went through and wrote out what that means for me in my life, how I can be more loving and respond in a perfect love towards God. The entry below is directly from my journal so it obviously applies to my life. Just thought I would share with you ladies though, hopefully it encourages each of us to concentrate our time and daily lives on perfecting the way we love our God. Talk soon, Megs



Love is Patient= waiting for ur will for a baby
Love is Kind- will give u the time &attention u deserve. Will be considerate &listen to u...not just talk
Love does not envy- will not be frustrated when things happen I don't understand. I know u have the power to fix it &choose in ur wisdom not to. Will respect and love that
Love does not boast/is not proud- will put YOU first &not boast in myself It is not rude- will stop coming to u when convenient or when I feel like it. But will faithfully be there It is not self seeking- will be thankful of YOUR will, not my own
It is not easily angered/It keeps no record of wrongs: will not blame you when things go wrong or not my way.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth: I will hate what is evil and cling to what is good. Because I love you, I love truth and light.
Love always protects: I will defend your name, I will be couragous in you LORD. I will speak about your love to others.
Love always trusts/always hopes: I will trust in your perfect timing for my life. I will trust and hope to one day be able to get pregnant and be a mom. I will trust you will be there no matter what, even if that never happens. I trust and place my hope in knowing you have given me the desire to be a mom and that will be fulfilled somehow.
Love always perseveres/love never fails: I will love you when I am joyful, when I am in trials, when I am hurting, when I am confused. No matter what, whether I understand what's going on in my life or not I will love you.



1 Corinthians 13:
1If I speak in the tongues[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Power of Laughter

Hello Beautiful ladies!!!!

So, I miss crawling into bed, and reading daily devotionals from my friends. When it was every day I think I took it for granted, because now I get sad when I see nothing. I like playing catch up on 4 entries, can we change this please?!?!?!

I really like this verse right now, Proverbs 31:25

"She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at all the days to come."

I know (thank you vanguard) that my defense is humor. When I am uncomfortable I crack a joke. I also find that God is humorous. His ways of showing me certain things always make me laugh.

There are many different translations of this:

laughs without fear of the future

laughs at the time to come

smiles at the future

rejoice in time to come

facing the future with a smile

Why are we so nervous and serious all the time. Let's remember to smile, laugh, rejoice and not fear ANYTHING that is in our future.

Just To Think About...

At church on Sunday, Mike Erre said a quote from the book "Great Is the Lord: Theology for the Praise of God" by Ron Highfield that I really liked:

"God is too transcendent for words but too important for silence. Let our speech, then, consist of confession and praise and our silence of penance and adoration."

How true this statement is and how powerful that truth is when you really think about it. Let it be on our minds today!

love,

christina