New Look!

Yes, if you've been here before, you probably noticed the new look of this blog! Oh man, I found a great little place to find cute shabby chic decoration for your blog... shabbyblogs.com. So, I am so proud of myself, I got this cute background picked out, I install it. I go into the template choices on blogger and I change it, so my header color would be different. BIG MISTAKE. All of the work I had previously put into making my blog a 3 column blog went right out the window... Arrg!

So, if you have never messed with HTML's and such on a blog, then this conversation is pretty boring, but let me just say a LOT of super hard work was flushed in the 1 second it took to click on a button. And I was slightly frantic, to say the least!

So I went to work! And after over 3 hours hard work, I think I can live with what I came up with. If you like it, please let me know!

I also have to tell you, I just COULD NOT figure out why there was one certain problem happening and I could NOT fix it (I will spare you the long and boring details). I looked over my work like 10 times, I changed some numbers around... Did a little tweaking here and there... but NOTHING! I was so frustrated! That's when I stopped and prayed. Yes, I prayed about the LOOKS of my blog, and that God would help me figure out the problem. I took a walk and checked in on my boys, all asleep and snuggled in their beds. When I came back, I did a little changing of a few things that I hadn't tried before, and WA-LA! It worked! Within 1 minute of sitting back down at my computer! I nearly cried, and then I thanked my AWESOME God, who sees no request too small.

So, if you get nothing else from this entry (especially with all of the crazy HTML talk), please remember, no request is too small for God! Especially when you BELIEVE He will actually do it for you. Because my friends, He CAN do ANYTHING! He can move mountains, and He can fix blogs! We serve an awesome God! =) Am I right?!

Lots more fun stuff coming up! Keep checkin' back!

Jesus

John 14:15-20 "If you love me, you will obey my commandments. I will ask the Father, and he will give you another helper who will be with you forever. That helper is the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept him, because it doesn't see or know him. You know him, because he lives with you and will be in you.

"I will not leave you all alone. I will come back to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. You will live because I live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father and that you are in me and that I am in you. "

Thank you Jesus, for your Indescribable Gift.

You Can Be a Minister of God

Once, a person who I love dearly told me that they trusted the teachings of another person because they (the person I love dearly) weren't as knowledgeable in the Word. I told the person, at the time, that they didn't HAVE to be more studied then this person they were listening to. At the time I used 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, which states:


"But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God."

God chooses the underdog! Thank you, Jesus! Because in the grand scheme of things, I am nobody. I stay-at-home with my kids, I try to make life better for my family, and try to treat my husband the way he should be treated. In Hollywood standard, I am a hillbilly, I am middle America, I am blue collar... nobody.

BUT!!! TO GOD, I am someone! I am beautiful, I am a part of His Kingdom, I am raising up children to spread the gospel to even more people in this world, I am weak- but HE is my strength, I am poor- but HE is my treasure, I am nothing- but to HIM I am EVERYTHING! I myself am empty, but in Christ, I am FULL of the HOLY SPIRIT! God uses people like me and like you, to bring down the elect! We don't need all of that book knowledge, we need the only thing that can bring true knowledge- GOD! His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Cor. 12:9)!

Then last night at our Bible study, these verses stuck out to me:

2 Corinthians 3:5-6 "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."

God is our sufficiency! He has made us MINISTERS of the new covenant!!!! We are ministers??? WOW! God wants us to go and preach the new covenant! Not because WE are sufficient, but because HE IS! So what is the new covenant? Let's start with the old covenant. The old covenant is the covenant made with Moses on Mt Sinai, which is the 10 Commandments. The NEW covenant is God living in us, the Holy Spirit, so that we can go directly to God. We no longer need a mediator ( like when they used to have to go to the High Priest, and then the High Priest would go to God for them, often offering a sacrifice for the sin). The New Covenant was sealed with the blood of Jesus, who was the spotless lamb, offered as a sacrifice for our sins.

So if we are the ministers of the new covenant, what does that mean? A minister is "one who serves". So, we are doing some footwork for the Holy Spirit! Everyone already has the Holy Spirit, but we need to tell the Good News of Jesus and what He did for us, and then help people realize that they too can have a relationship with God. Going to Him daily, walking with Him, talking with Him.

Isn't that awesome news? The dear person I told you about in the beginning may not be knowledgeable according to some people's standards, but according to God, there is no better person to talk to then this dear person! Not that knowledge of the Bible is bad, because it is not bad! We should be reading daily, and absorbing daily! BUT, God wants us to be meek, pure in heart, peacemakers, merciful, poor, slow to speak, loving... because in our shortcomings... THAT is when the Lord gets to SHINE!

Let HIM be seen, and not us.

Giving with Liberality

I was on my way home today from getting my baby immunized (he's a tough boy!), and I was listening to the Christian radio station in our area. I think the program is called Money Wise. It is put on by Crown Financial.

Anyways, I had no idea it was a "money" show, or I probably would have flipped it! I like to listen to music in the car! Anyways, for some reason, I listened.

The speaker was a Mr Robert Morris, a pastor from Texas. He was talking about giving. He referred to Romans 12. In Romans 12, it talks about the gifts of the church body. And I have read the parts like, those who have the gifts of prophesy, let us prophesy. For those who have the gift of ministry, minister. He who exhorts, exhortation. But then there is a part, verse 8 says "... he who gives, with liberality..."

After listening to Mr. Morris's giving, and listening to how the Lord had blessed he and his family beyond what he could have ever imagined, I was inspired. First, I shed tears for how awesome God really is. How when we listen to Him and His call for us, He will "pay it back" 10 fold, and more. Mr. Morris has given his home, many vehicles, and cleaned out his bank account on many occasions, and the Lord is faithful to keep His promises. He has taken care of this man and really blessed him.

Can you imagine, the Lord asking you to give your home, your 2 vehicles, and all of the money in your bank accounts... And then you say "OK, Lord." And then, you do it!?

Am I THAT strong in my faith? Could I DO that? Could you???

I looked to the verse in Romans that Mr. Morris referred to. And read the words "giving, with liberality". Do I have that gift???

Liberality means broadness or fullness, generosity, bounty, or a state of being generous. When we give, do we give with bounty? Do we give with fullness?

In Proverbs 31:20, it says of this woman of God, "She is generous to the poor and needy."

In 2 Corinthians 8, it says "Our friends, we want you to know what God's grace has accomplished in the churches in Macedonia. They have been severely tested by the troubles they went through; but their joy was so great that they were extremely generous in their giving, even though they are very poor. I can assure you that they gave as much as they could, and even more than they could. Of their own free will they begged us and pleaded for the privilege of having a part in helping God's people in Judea."

I know we are beyond the "time of year for giving". And times are very hard for lots of people, probably even including you. But the Macedonian churches, gave even when they were very poor...

Or the poor widow in Mark 12:41-44... The poor woman gave more then the people who had lots of money.

Do make excuses for ourselves? "Well, what if times get bad and I NEED all of this stuff.... " Do we not trust the One who is in control of all of Heaven and Earth? Why do we put a limit on what God can accomplish?

This is enough of me ranting, but I have been convicted today. And I have somethings I need to take another look at. I also have a storage area or 2 that is getting very filled with blessings the Lord has given us. Time for some early Spring cleaning, people! Is anybody with me?

Lord- Thank you for opening up my eyes, my ears and my heart today so I could hear what YOU want for me. Thank you for being so faithful that You take care of Your people, when they heed Your call. Please, take these items that we are "cleaning out" today, and use them to bless someone. Please continue to keep our hearts soft, so You can continue to speak, and we can continue to obey Your call. I love You, Jesus. ~Amen

Great Reward

Mat 5:1-16 " Jesus saw the crowds and went up a hill, where he sat down. His disciples gathered around him, 2 and he began to teach them:

3 "Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them! 4 "Happy are those who mourn; God will comfort them! 5 "Happy are those who are humble; they will receive what God has promised! 6 "Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires; God will satisfy them fully! 7 "Happy are those who are merciful to others; God will be merciful to them! 8 "Happy are the pure in heart; they will see God! 9 "Happy are those who work for peace; God will call them his children! 10 "Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them! 11 "Happy are you when people insult you and persecute you and tell all kinds of evil lies against you because you are my followers.

12 Be happy and glad, for a great reward is kept for you in heaven. This is how the prophets who lived before you were persecuted. 13 "You are like salt for the whole human race. But if salt loses its saltiness, there is no way to make it salty again. It has become worthless, so it is thrown out and people trample on it. 14 "You are like light for the whole world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15 No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bowl; instead it is put on the lampstand, where it gives light for everyone in the house. 16 In the same way your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.''

Starting our Week

Right now, I am sitting at my computer (as I do MOST mornings) and 2 of my boys are watching a movie. It is also what seems like a gloomy day, it's rainy, actually it is starting to sleet. I think it is even supposed to snow. Depressing, right?

Mmmm, not exactly. While I am not a 'fan' of cold weather, by ANY means, I am very excited at the changes going on around us and in our lives.

This is our second week of my husband's new position, and things seem to be going really well. The boys absolutely LOVE that their daddy is home soon after they get home from school. I have to admit, it's pretty nice to hear him breathing beside me as I drift off to sleep. And as far as adjusting to doing my chores during the day instead of at night, I think THAT is going well also. I actually feel more "normal" doing things this way. Plus, I love to have my home cleaned, supper preparing, boys all "abuzz" about school, and I can actually get showered before he gets home. I am liking this!

We are also going through the process of hiring on a new pastor. Our pastor now, Mike, is stepping into associate pastor and in charge or the Youth Ministry, because his heart has always been in this position. And we are looking to hire a new pastor, his name is Lance. Over the past 2 months, my husband and I have gotten the privilege of getting to know he and his wife, and their daughter. I can just "feel" the excitement over this whole situation. Our church has healed from some "activity" a year ago, thanks to the leading of our pastor Mike. And now, we are ready to step into a new phase of growth. Our doors are bulging most weeks as we continue to bring the word of God to people in our community. The Lord has blessed and will continue to bless, especially under the leading of our new possible Pastor Lance. Lance's vision is so right on with what our church needs next, the Lord has given him a vision for the people here and how he can help to minister, and teach the congregation. It's all such a blessing!

I am also part of the Women's Ministry and we are starting some new things, that I am VERY excited about. I can't wait to see how these new things encourage and help the women of our church grow! Churches that do not have a ministry for women, is doing a huge injustice to it's congregation. Women are managers of their homes, and then also managers of the children. So in order for our homes to be glorifying to God, the woman need to have growth and encouragement also. I am thrilled to be a part of this.

I am also looking forward to spend more time as a family this week. Today was a full day of school, tomorrow is a full day and then the next 2 are half days. Friday they have off. Thursday we are going to actually keep the boys home, because we do not celebrate Halloween and their half day will be filled with Halloween activities. So we are just going to have some family time!

I am very excited to see what else this week brings.

Thank you God for blessing this week. Help us make this week bless YOU more than anything!