Shoestrings

A friend wrote the following on his blog and it was a good analogy to life. He said I could share it here.

She tried hard as she could to get the knot out of her shoestrings. She pulled harder and harder but the knot only got tighter. At last she brought the knot to me and in a matter of seconds the knot was gone. Just like us isn't it? We try so hard to fix our problems only to make the knot tighter. Why is our Father the last option? Why not bring your knot to Him now?! TTK!

--Billy Short

In Christ Alone

I was convicted of whether or not I was satisfied "in Christ alone" by reading a blog post made by another Christian woman. Am I living as Paul talks about in Philippians 4:11-13? Are you?

I pray you check out the post and examine your own life. You may find you are, or you may (like me) find that you need to learn to be content in ALL things.

In Christ Alone

Prospering

"Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and true before the Lord his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to see his God, he did it with all his heart. So he prospered."--2 Chronicles 31:20-21

If we do what is "good and right and true before the Lord", then we can't go wrong. If we do what we can for God with all our heart, we can't go wrong. The Lord will prosper us and what we are doing as long as we are doing it for His glory, in His way, and for Him with all our heart.

What are you doing right now? Is it "good and right and true before the Lord"? Are you doing it with all your heart? Take a moment and contemplate if you are doing what the Lord has truly called you to do. Think about how your life matches up with the commands of the Bible--God's Word. If you are living how God is calling you to live, then He will prosper you!

I'm not saying that you still won't face trials and hardships, but He will bless you beyond your wildest imaginations if you do all for His glory and you do it with all your heart. Start examining your life today. You may find that you are prospering because you are living the way He called or you may find that you need to make some changes. In either case, commune with Him and ask Him to either keep you on the right path or to show you the right path.

Blessed by God!

I feel very blessed this week! So many good things are happening to us. I am continually amazed at how good God is! I know that He loves me, and I know that He cares for me, and I know that He wants only the best for me, but it is still hard to fathom all that. Most people wouldn't think much about some of the things that have happened this week, but I see them as true provisions from God.

On Sunday, someone from church gave us a 1/2 bushel of apples because she was tired of canning apples and still had a 1/2 bushel left. I was able to can some pie filling and make some fresh apple crisp and still have apples left to either eat or make more goodies with. Also, a friend dropped off some things she was getting rid of that we needed and I was able to introduce her to someone who was able to help her with a health problem she had been dealing with.

On Monday we received a financial gift in the mail that was completely unexpected! In addition, it lifted our spirits to know not only that we are loved by friends and family, but that God is definitely at work in not only our lives, but of others as well.

Tuesday I picked up beef that my parents bought and are sharing some with us and with my brother's family. I was also able to pick carrots and someone stopped by and helped me finish picking them (my back was killing me!). I was very happy to send her home with some of the carrots as well and I made a new friend!

Wednesday I was able to get so much more accomplished than I thought I would and a friend called to tell me that she had started volunteering at the local INC, Spot and had been given store credit which she was giving to me because she didn't need anything.

Today we finished school early (because we actually got started early!) and I was able to run some needed errands and found some things we needed at the local resale store (where I used the credit my friend gave me!). I was also able to offer an ear to a friend who really needed to talk and I only pray I was able to comfort her as she has comforted me many, many times before. I was also able to help out my neighbor by keeping and eye on her property while she is gone.

This week we have also been milking my neighbor's goat that she is trying to sell as she is not living at the house right now and a milking goat is worth more than a non-milking goat so we are keeping that up for her.

It feels great to be able to be able to "pay it forward" with our blessings! God blesses us in so many unexpected ways that it just makes me look for more and more opportunities for Him to use me to bless others. It really is true what Christ told Paul, "'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" (Acts 20:32). My prayer is that God continues to use me to bless others and that my eyes be open to every opportunity He gives me to do just that and that I won't be too tired or too busy to see it and that I take full advantage of it. I pray that I can be Christ's hands to those He brings me into contact with. "To God be the glory for the great things He has done!"

The Healing Choice to Forgive

Great devotional here!

The Lost Sheep

I read the following poem in a book I am reading right now on parenting. I thought it was very thought provoking.

It was a sheep--not a lamb, that strayed
In the parable Jesus told:
A grown-up sheep that had gone away
From the ninety and nine in the fold.

Out in the meadows out in the cold,
'Twas a sheep the Good Shepherd sought:
Back to the flock, and into the fold,
'Twas a sheep the Good Shepherd brought.

And why, for the sheep, should we earnestly long,
And so earnestly hope and pray?
Because there is danger, if they go wrong;
They will lead the young lambs astray.

For the lambs will follow the sheep, you know,
Wherever the sheep may stray
If the sheep go wrong, it will not be long
'Til the lambs are as wrong as they.

So, with the sheep we earnestly plead,
For the sake of the lambs today:
If the lambs are lost, what a terrible cost
Some sheep may have to pay.

--Author unknown

Great Insight from Another Blogger!

Check out this great blog entry. It really makes you think!

Trials and Tribulation

It must be a theme that many people need to hear right now! Here is another post from a different blog that also spoke to my heart today. May you be blessed!

Tribulation

I first want to apologize for being gone for over a month. We have had quite the time lately.

1. Our bathroom flooded which caused damage not only to the bathroom, but the hallway, master bedroom closet, under the kitchen cabinets, and hallway closet. We then had to deal with the insurance company to get that fixed.
2. We built an addition on the house to give us more space (not completed, but we can use it for storage).
3. Our goats were attacked by the neighbor's dogs and subsequently, the mama died. We are still waiting to hear from the prosecutor about if he will take legal action since our neighbor shows no remorse and still lets his dogs run loose (no animal control in our county).
4. Started our school year a few weeks ago.
5. Trying to preserve the bounty of fall harvest.

All these things have contributed to my lack of time to not only be on the computer, but do my own extra studies.

All that to say that this post on a blog I follow really hit home today. May you be blessed by it as well! I also read the following quotation today that fits:

Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors. African Proverb

Truly Free!

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death."--Romans 8:2

People always comment about how the life of a Christian is too strict, too structured, too boring. I'm hear to tell you that the life of a Christian is the only true, free life! Before I gave my life to Christ, I was enslaved to sin. I was "addicted" to pride, "addicted" to keeping up with the Joneses, "addicted" to self fulfillment. People can be enslaved to any number of things whether alcohol, drugs, money, or anything I listed above. Those are the true slavery of today. With Christ, I am free from all of those, Praise Him!

You might say that I have too many "rules" to follow, but those "rules" are guidelines to a better life. Let's just think about a few of the "rules".

No pre-martial sex--By not having sex before marriage, you are keeping yourself from a number of hurts: the hurt of disease, the hurt of a broken heart, the hurt of an unplanned pregnancy, and the list goes on. By not having sex before marriage, you have a special gift to give to your spouse. It will not only create a special bond between the two of you, but it will free you from thinking about how you "rate" against other people your spouse had been with. It will free you from wondering if your spouse is thinking about a previous partner while you are together. It will free you to be completely open and honest together without any pre-conceived ideas of what it is supposed to be like.

Tithing--By giving a portion of what God has given me back to Him and His minstries, then I am reminded that all that I have is not of myself. I am blessed beyond what I have given back. God provides for me when I see no humanly way possible (because there is no humanly way possible!). I am free from worrying about how something is going to work out because God is in control. I am free from the stress of "making ends meet" because I know that God already has provided for all my needs (and sometimes my wants!).

Not "partying"--I was never a big partier to begin with, but now I don't feel the "need" to go have a drink to have fun. When people decide to get "drunk" thinking it's the only way to have fun, they are losing so much more. They are losing control of their own senses. Some people go so far as to not even remember what they had done because of too much drinking. I can have fun just fellowshiping with my friends and the best thing is that I will remember all of it later! Another great side-effect of not drinking is the money that is saved!

I could continue to go on and on about the freedom one recieves when they accept Christ as their Savior, but I think you get the idea. Life with Christ is the true freedom!