Pray, Gird, Prepare

Nehemiah 4:10-23 KJV

10 And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall. 11 And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease. 12 And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us they will be upon you. 13 Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. 14 And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses. 15 And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work. 16 And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah. 17 They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon. 18 For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me. 19 And I said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another. 20 In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us. 21 So we laboured in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared. 22 Likewise at the same time said I unto the people, Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and labour on the day. 23 So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard which followed me, none of us put off our clothes, saving that every one put them off for washing.

The enemies of the Israelites did not give up! The Jews were starting to get discouraged and scared, but Nehemiah didn't let them stop working. Instead, he set some on guard and all the workers were equipped with weapons. Nehemiah also encouraged them.

Nehemiah reminded them about how great God is (14) and also how God would fight for them (20). He also was right there alongside them and was ready to go into the heat of the battle and fight with them. He never gave up on God's work.

He also made sure they were always read to fight if needed by the fact that they were always dressed and ready for battle if need be. They only took off their clothes to wash them.

When you are faced with challenges, how do you react? Do you go to God in prayer, gird up and prepare? Are you always on guard and ready to defend yourself? Nehemiah sets a good example for us to follow.

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Proverbs 11:14

Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.

It is wise to seek advice from godly people. When we seek the counsel of others, we gain their wisdom and may save ourselves some heartache. Remember, the heart is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9); therefore, seeking counsel will help us see if we are being deceived.

Wilt Thou be Made Whole?

5-27-18 Sermon

Freedom is . . .

Sunday Psalms

Psalms 51:1-19, KJV 

<<To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.>>

1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 

2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 

3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 

4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. 

5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 

6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. 

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 

8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 

9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 

11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 

12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 

13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. 

14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 

15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. 

16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. 

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 

18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. 

19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

Part of God's Plan

Plexus Journey, Part 2

I have been taking all products from the TriPlex for a couple of weeks and have seen some definite changes (you start slowly adding things in so your body can adjust).

• I started sleeping better after just a couple of days! I hadn't had a good night's sleep for at least a week before starting Plexus and I was able to sleep through the night most nights after. If I did wake up, I would just go to the bathroom and would be able to fall right back to sleep. Praise God! I wasn't sure how I would continue to survive on just a few hours of sleep every night.

• I have also seen extra energy throughout my day! I used to have to take a nap every afternoon and even then I was still ready for bed by 9 pm every night (not that I actually got to bed at that time). I now rarely take a nap and even when I do take a nap, it is only for about a 1/2 hour compared to the hour or two I was taking before.

• I have cut my coffee consumption at least in half! I enjoy coffee so I still drink it, but I don't feel the need to have it as I did before. Some days I completely go without it and when I do have it, I only have a cup or two at most instead of the three or four I was having almost every day.

• My nightly leg cramps went away! Part of the reason I wasn't sleeping well is because I would wake up with leg cramps. I have only had a leg cramp once since starting Plexus and I was a night after I know I didn't drink enough water during the day so I am sure it was related to dehydration.

• Warning! This one might gross some of you out. One thing my naturopath doctor has said for the past 12 years of knowing her, "If you eat three times a day, you should poop three times a day." This was always odd to me. I had thought I was good going once a day. Through the years, I would usually be able to go twice a day and I figured I was doing well. Well, when I started the BioCleanse, I noticed that I was going more and then I eventually actually got diarrhea. I stopped the BioCleanse (to make sure that was the cause) and the diarrhea stopped. I spoke with my sponsor and she said to just take it a little slower so my body could adjust. I now take it every other day and it seems to be what my body needs right now. I think my naturopath would be proud that I've been going three times a day!

• A positive side-effect that I wasn't expecting is that my bulging varicose vein disappeared! I only get that during pregnancy, but it actually has gone away!

•  Another side-effect that I wasn't expecting because I am pregnant is anything to do with weight loss. In the first trimester of my pregnancy, I had gained about 11 pounds. While that was more than I was hoping, I try not to stress too much about pregnancy weight gain. However, I have seen a loss of 6 of those pounds!

Now, if I told you I have been faithful in taking all the products faithfully, then I would be lying. The ProBio 5 is supposed to be taken at night and honestly, I would usually forget. A week ago, I put the bottle on my bedside table with a bottle of water so that I see it before getting in bed and I have been faithful to take it every night since. 

I do drink the slim every morning when I get up and am doing my morning Bible reading/studying. I have found that I enjoy this much more than drinking coffee first thing in the morning and a bonus is that it takes much less time to make so I get more time with the Lord before children start waking up.

I will continue to share how Plexus is affecting my life and hope to maybe start sharing testimonies from others as well. I am surprised at the number of benefits I have seen in such a short amount of time.

Do you have a Plexus testimony to share? Please do so in the comments! Do you have questions about Plexus? Contact me and I will try my best to answer them!

Chicken in Milk

So, I was going to totally take a picture of our dinner the other night so I could show you how delicious it looks, but the family was hungry and I completely forgot until we were done eating. Picture or not, it was YUMMY!

Picture from Jamie Oliver's website

I base my recipe off from Jamie Oliver's Chicken in Milk. I found the recipe when I was looking for recipes to use up the extra milk we had last summer. We have adapted it slightly to use what was in the house. Our favorite way is to actually use chicken leg quarters (because the chicken is more infused with the flavor), but we do make it with a whole chicken (as we did tonight and as the recipe calls for). Other changes I make are using lemon juice, powdered cinnamon, powdered sage, and I peel the garlic cloves. Also, if we use the leg quarters, I omit the olive oil, but I do use it when using a whole chicken.

We love putting the "sauce" over cauli-rice, mashed potatoes, or even for dipping our biscuits into it. I find this to be a pretty inexpensive meal (especially if we use either one of our own butchered chickens or the leg quarters that I can get for $ .49/lb.). We almost always serve this with a side of peas.

I hope you give this recipe a try. Let me know what your family thinks if you do give it a shot!

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Proverbs 10:12

Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.

When there is hatred/anger in someone's heart, they will retaliate against anyone who has caused them grief (real or perceived). However, when someone is driven by love, they choose not to retaliate, thereby stopping the strife and covering the existent strife. Just as Christ stood silent against His accusers, so should we choose to stand silent at times.

Deception

5-20-18 Sermon

Someone came forward for prayer during the service. There will be no sound during the time hands were laid on her. Please continue listening to hear the remainder of the sermon.

Marriage Moment Monday

It has been a while since I have done a Marriage Moment Monday. My heart has been burdened lately for marriages because I hear of at least one couple, every week, that is struggling.

To start back into posts about marriage, I want to share links to a couple of good posts from another blogger.

The Important Four Rules of Communication That Will Strengthen Your Marriage

Honoring Christ & Our Husbands

Sunday Psalms

Purpose of Life

Plexus Journey, Part 1

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 KJV

 16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

For many years as a mother, I put my own health by the wayside. I would spend my time and money making sure my children had what they needed. When it came to a tight food budget, I got them their healthy foods and ignored the foods I needed for myself to get healthy.

I have realized that through this all, I was not being obedient to Christ. How can I properly do His work if I'm too tired or unable to do it? I needed to get healthier.

I started looking to Plexus 2 years ago, but couldn't do it because some of the ingredients were things my nursing daughter would react to. Once she was weaned, I looked into it again and even tried a few samples and saw energy levels go up, however, at that time, other expenses came up and I couldn't justify the cost.

At this point, it is still a financial sacrifice, but I had been able to sell some extra items around the house that I had purchased at a low cost and turned a profit.

I am now pregnant again and struggling with low energy, trouble sleeping, leg cramps, and poor digestion. I also felt God's peace about moving ahead. Once I felt God's peace, I asked my husband his thoughts. We discussed it and then he thought and prayed about it. He then told me to try it.

I started with the Triplex combo pack about 3 weeks ago. I will post again
next week on the changes I have seen during the past three weeks.

If you have questions about Plexus, please feel free to ask! Even though I am just beginning this journey, I will try my best to answer your questions!

Continue in the Work

Nehemiah 4:7-9 KJV

7 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth, 8 And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it. 9 Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.

The Israelites knew that people were getting angry that they continued to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. They knew that there was danger of those people planning of a way to stop them. Did they allow that to stop them? No!

Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.

They prayed for protection, took safety measures, and continued to work. They were not going to be scared away from doing the Lord's work.

What do you do when you are scared to continue with something God has called you to do? Do you just quit or do you pray and keep going? I know there have been times where I have allowed others to influence me into quitting instead of taking my concerns to God and asking Him to strengthen and encourage me.

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Proverbs 9:8

Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.

Not many people like to be corrected, but some take correction better than others. Some are so prideful that they get angry that someone dared to say they are wrong. However, the wise will ponder what was said and grow in knowledge and understanding and in the end, bet thankful for the correction.

Blessing

Mother's Day Sermon

5-13-18

Walk4Life 2018--Cadillac

Walk 4 Life 2017 (Eva was gone that day,
but a friend of the girls' joined us.)

My family walks together every year to help raise funds for Life Resources of Norther Michigan. Life Resources of Northern MI is our local pregnancy resource center, but it is much more than that.

Life Resources of Northern Michigan, Inc. seeks to serve with integrity and compassion as we provide Christ-centered information, education, and options because every life matters. Available services include: Pregnancy testing, limited ob ultrasound, STI testing, parenting classes for both mothers and fathers, peer counseling, material assistance, community referrals, abortion recovery support, and sexual risk avoidance education. All services are FREE and CONFIDENTIAL.

We would love your support as we walk this year!

If you click on the link below, you will be taken to our fundraising page. You can choose to give on-line or asked to be billed later. You can choose to give anonymously (where I can't see your name, but Life Resources of Northern MI will because they have to for tax purposes), or you can let us see that you gave.

Will you help support life?!

Walk4Life 2018--Cadillac: Will you help us raise $500 for Life Resources of Northern Michigan? | Walk4Life 2018--Cadillac :: FundEasy :: Online Fundraising Pages

Happy Mother's Day!

The Battle is Not Yours

Why Did You Have So Many Children?

I have learned a lot from Kelly Crawford over the years. I agree with her on this point as well.





Why Did You Have So Many Children?

How to Fight Fear of Man

Nehemiah 4:1-6 KJV

1 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. 2 And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned? 3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall. 4 Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity: 5 And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders. 6 So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.

Whenever we do something against the norm or against the wishes of others, the first step to get us to stop is ridicule. Nehemiah experienced the same.

Sanballat and Tobiah both made condescending remarks to the Jews in an effort to get them to stop building the wall. Did Nehemiah allow that to stop them? No! He didn't even combat their ridicule by responding to them. Instead, he took the matter to God. He allowed God to fight back for him.

He took it to God, left it at His feet and then they continued with the work. They didn't dwell on what others thought of them. They knew what God had called them to do and they did it.

I'm ashamed to admit how many times I allow fear of man to stop me from doing God's work. I need to be more like Nehemiah-ignore man, take it to God, leave it there, and then get back to work.

How do you react when the world seems against you following God's commands?

Words of Wisdom Wednesdays

Proverbs 8:13

The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

We know the beginning of knowledge is to fear the Lord (Proverbs 1:7). Here, we learn what the fear of the Lord is. We must hate what He hates.

3 Weeks of Sermons

I had difficulty uploading sermons for the past couple weeks. I finally got it to work today so I was able to get all of them uploaded.

5-6-18 Sermon-"Faith" by Abraham VanDunien

4-29-18 Sermon-"Not By Works"

4-22-18 Sermon-"Your Wilderness"

Working in Unity

Chapter 3 of Nehemiah is such an encouragement. Everyone worked together to accomplish something that would please God.

You have ordinary men and women (yes, even women worked (3:12)), priests, princes, and rulers all working on a section of the wall. They worked alongside each other and all worked until their section was complete.

There is one group of men who did not work (3:5), but others piked up their slack. It also seems that they picked up the slack without complaining. They saw a need and filled that need.

When we face a task that seems impossible, may we remember Nehemiah 3. When we work together in unity, we can accomplish much! Many hands make light work. We also need to remember that no one is above the work of the Lord and that everyone is capable of helping in some way.

Sunday Psalms

Psalms 4:1-8 KJV 

1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. 

2 O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah. 

3 But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him. 

4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. 

5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD. 

6 There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. 

7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. 

8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

Serving Unto Jesus

Over the years, I have marveled at how much this world opposes service. Yes, it looks like people accept it because they talk about how we have to pay taxes to fund the services for the poor, the public schools, etc., but in reality, they are seeking the easy way out. They just want to give money instead of giving of themselves.

When our family tries to serve our neighbors, they often insist on paying us. They tell our girls that they have to know what they are worth and then demand they receive it. My heart breaks for them because they do not truly understand love.

Matthew 25:40 KJV 

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

How do I regard my having run upstairs with tea, or having served breakfast in bed, or having continued for years to do this kind of thing for a diversity of people, as well as for husband and children? How do I look at it? Do I feel like a martyr? Let me tell you exactly how I see it.

First, I say silently to the Lord. . . : "Thank You that there is a practical way to serve You tea [or breakfast in bed, or whatever it is I am doing for someone]. There would be no other way of bringing You food, or doing some special thing for You. Thank You for making it so clear that as we do things that are truly in the realm of giving of ourselves in service to others, we are really doing it for You."

 ~ Edith Schaeffer, Common Sense Christian Living, pp. 88-89

I encourage you to seek ways to serve others. Serve them with your whole heart as if they were Christ because His Word tells us that is exactly what you are doing!

Be a Wellspring

John 4:14 KJV

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

My husband and I recently had the privilege to attend a Right to Life benefit dinner. One of the speakers spoke on how people desire to be loved and we should be spreading God's love to help fill their needs. My husband then connected that to this verse.

What is a spring? A spring is a place where water will come up out of the ground continually and on it's own.

I have yet to hear of a spring running out of water. It just flows out of the ground and usually starts (or adds to) a creek that goes out.

We should be the same. God's love is continual in our hearts and is should go out from us. It should flow and nourish others. It should join with other creeks and grow into streams and rivers and continue to multiply.

Another trait of a spring is it is natural and the water just comes up on its own. It isn't anything we do. Isn't it the same with God's love? He gives His love to us whether we "do" something or not. It is available to all if we would just accept it.

We should do the same. God's love is so great; it should just flow out of us to others. It should help nourish and sustain them in their needs. It should always be available to everyone. Others shouldn't have to act a certain way or do a certain thing to receive our love because it should be available to all.

I keep getting the image of Kitch-iti-kipi (The Big Spring) in my mind while thinking of this. Kitch-iti-kipi is actually a bunch of small springs right near each other to create a lake that then flows out into a river. It is a great image of what Christians can do if they work together to show love to the world!

Photo credit: ©2009 John Wanserski for Creative Juice LLC

A Good Leader and Encourager

Nehemiah 2:17-20 KJV

17 Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. 18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work. 19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king? 20 Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

Here we see the attributes of a good leader and encourager.

First, Nehemiah puts himself right in the people's shoes. He says "we" and talks about the whole nation. He doesn't say that he is better than them.

Then, he goes on to tell them that not only do they have God's favor, but also the king's favor. He joins them in the task of rebuilding. He gets his hands dirty right alongside them.

Finally, he again stands on God's promises! He knows God is for this project as evidenced by what has already occurred so he is not afraid of what the naysayers are saying.

Do we ever get discouraged when people of the world tell us we are being foolish? We need to stand on God's promises. He is faithful to uphold us!

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Proverbs 7:11 KJV 11 (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:

Here I see characteristics that we, as women, should not strive to have. Loud, stubborn, and not home describe someone who is not a godly woman. Honestly, the picture that comes to mind for me is the feminist women "protesters." Instead of being like that, we should strive to be quiet, calm, loving, and keepers of our homes.