Musical Monday

  Turn it up! 

Happy Monday!!!

Sacred Sunday

For anyone who knows me, and for those who have looked close enough at my profile picture, you can see that I am turning gray at a young age. 

I am a worrier. 

 

I admit it. 

 

Worry is my recurring shame, my biggest sin, my unbearable weakness. 

 I have no reason to worry- He has proven to me over and over in my life that He has EVERYTHING under control and I have no reason to worry.  He HAS PROVEN that to me in big ways and in small ways, in ways that defy logic, reason, and the typical series of consequences for mistakes I have made.   And still--- I worry. 

((How glad I am that He does not give up on me and STILL chooses to prove to me

that He cares and that He has it all under control.))  

Now, here we are, my Military family, on the brink of another PCS, and I find myself tossing and turning, praying and pleading, and worrying and stressing even as I know in my heart and mind that my worry only hurts me.   So I turn, once again, to His Word and I draw comfort from Jesus' words as he entreats [me] not to worry.

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."  ~Matthew 6 v 25-34

 

I have asked for prayer from you all previously, and I continue to ask you to pray for me as I struggle through this transition period. 

 

Do you also struggle with worry and stress?  If you do, I hope the above passage helps you refocus your gaze on Him, and help you place your trust more fully on Him.  Let's place our worries at His feet, and move forward with peace in our hearts that He has this under control!

 

God bless you!

Musical Monday

Our lives are a serious of decisions from when we are really young to when we are really old.  Our choices shape us, who we were, and who we are at this moment. 

However, the choices we have made do not have to define who we become.  There is no shame that is too deep for Him to conquer.  There is no sin so great for Him to turn you away.  We are ALL sinners.  We ALL fall short of perfect, yet He still chose to die for us.

The greatest choice we can make, as creatures of free will who can act beyond instinct, is to turn to God, to accept His love, grace, forgiveness, and redemption.  That simple choice can wash away every choice we made or failed to make that we fear can impact our future negatively.

Have you chosen to follow Christ?  Have you let your past be washed away by His love, by God's forgiveness?  If you have not, and would like to please let me share with you more about His perfect love, and how to have a new future in Him.

God bless you!

Sacred Sunday

 

 In honor of Mother's everywhere:   HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Being a Mother means different things to different women because we are all mothers in slightly (or vastly) different circumstances.   We all love our children and do our best to raise them right.  We all struggle against outside influences and the effects they might have on the malleable minds of our youngsters. Regardless of how we choose to mother, we all become a jack-of-all-trades. We all take on multiple roles.  We all wear a dozen or more hats.  And we all do a bang up job, though much of what we do is never noticed or acknowledged.

God bless you, Mothers!

²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
²⁶ She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹ “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

~Proverbs 31 v 25-30

Fortress of Faith- Study Three: Pillars of Faith

Pillar One- God the Father

 

When we think of "father," no doubt we have many different preconceptions associated with the person who fits that role in our lives. 

 

What characteristics do we ascribe to men we consider to be "good" fathers? 

 

Do we think they must be strong, handsome, fearless, masculine, tough? 

 

Do we think they should be men who demand respect and honor? 

 

Have our experiences with our human father left us full of love or empty and wanting?

 

No doubt, we each have a little different idea of what makes a good father.  However, our God, our Heavenly Father, has set the bar for fathers.  He has been an example of the perfect Father, as well as offering us insights into the characteristics that drive His actions in our lives.

 

First, we must acknowledge that God is not just our Creator.  He did not just say "do it," and it was done.  He is omnipotent and omniscient and a million other things that make Him God.  However, He did not just make us to then leave us to our own designs.  Our Lord created us with the intention of having a relationship with us.  He created us with the intention of watching us grow, of leading us on our way, of reveling in our successes, weeping with us in our sadness, and carrying us through our struggles.  Our God the Creator did not create us and then leave us alone.  

 

Jesus acknowledges this fact when He instructs us how to pray.

 

“This, then, is how you should pray:

‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name', " 

~Matthew 6 v 9

 

Throughout Jesus' life among us, he repeatedly spoke of His Father in Heaven.  As young as a pre-teen boy who wandered off to be found among the adult men in the temple, Jesus described His own relationship with God as a Father-Son relationship.  However, in the prayer Jesus gives us, He makes it clear, that we too are children of God the Father.  We too have an opportunity to have that Father-child relationship.

 

Second, God our Father is not an absentee father.  The Bible is testament through its myriad of recollections that our Father is present in the movement of this life.  Psalms 121 v 5-8 speak of our God as one who watches over us, who cares about the lives we live, and the struggles we might face.  Psalm 85 v 5 and 1 Thessalonians 4 v 9 both speak of how our Father teaches us; He specifically teaches us how to love as He loved us.  Because of His love for us, the Bible also tells us that He sometimes disciplines us (Psalm 3 v 11-12), just as we would expect a human father to discipline his own child out of love.  The Bible goes on to speak of the presence of our Father, saying that He remains close to the broken-hearted (Psalm 34 v 18).  From cover to cover of our Bible, we can find evidence of a loving, but just God (Nahum 1 v 3)- acting just as a Father concerned for His children acts.

 

Third, God our Father has all the attributes of the Perfect Father.  He is a prime example of what fathers should strive to be.  Our Father is strong, but loving (Psalm 62 v 11-12).  He is slow to anger, compassionate, and merciful (Psalm 103 v 8-13).  He is forgiving and good (Psalm 86 v 5).  Plus, He is not just our Father, but He is also open to adopting.  Psalm 68 v 5 says that He is Father to the fatherless.  Of course, this means two things- He is Father to all the literal orphans and left-behind children this world has seen and will ever see, and He is Father even to those who never call upon His name and join the Christian family. 

 

Finally, our Father does not expect nor demand perfection.  Though many people today shrug off Christianity condemning us all as hypocrites, because they mistakenly believe we must strive to be perfect to meet standards of perfection, which of course, we cannot come close to living up to.  No, He does not demand perfection, as most human father's do not of their own children.  On the contrary, He expects us to TRY our best.  He expects us to do the BEST that we are capable of.  He expects us to use the GIFTS He has given us.  Do our human father's not expect the same things from their children?   No, He does not expect perfection, and knowing that we are imperfect, He offers us forgiveness, mercy, grace, hope, and SALVATION.

 

Have you come to know our God to be your Father?

 

Would you say that you have a relationship with our Father?  What does that relationship look like?

 

Did you have preconceived notions of a harsh God, a distant God, one who does not truly care about you and your life?   Has that changed?  Would you like that to change?

 

This week, I challenge you to read the verses included in the text of this study.  Think on the ones that stand out to you the most.  Consider why they stand out to you.  Then practice praying to our Father as though you were speaking to your human father.  Consider if God the Father were physically in front of you, what would you say to Him?  What do you think He might say to you?

 

 God bless you!

Musical Monday

I want to take this opportunity to ask all of you to remember me in your prayers this week.  Nothing is wrong, I just have so much on my plate, and I find myself getting easily overwhelmed and frustrated.

Keeping that in mind, I draw much comfort from reading His Word, from prayer, and from Christian music.  So today, I wanted to share two songs with you that bring me comfort.  I hope they bring you comfort as well!  

Please... if you have prayer requests as well, please add it to the prayer wall... I want to pray for you!

Calling ALL Christians

In light of the news I have seen plastered all over my Facebook and Twitter walls today, I have had a heavy heart all afternoon.  "Pentagon: Religious Proselytizing Is Not Permitted"

I have previously written about my own struggles as a Christian while I was serving on Active Duty.  One simply did not share their faith.  I had been asked on numerous occasions how I was able to work through one struggle or another, or if I was simply cheerful, I would be asked why I had such a sunny outlook.  In real life... LOL... I hate saying that... I would share exactly how I get through struggles, or why I am joyful- because of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.   However, when those questions were asked of me while I was on duty, I knew I could not simply answer that way.  I would always have to couch my answer in some vague "Oh... Well..." hem and haw... "a lot of it has to do with my Faith..." 

Walking on egg shells...  We all know we are not allowed to "evangelize" in the Military.  Duh.  That is common sense.  However, if someone asks me about my faith, or WHY I am the way I am, I should NOT live in fear of sharing the TRUTHFUL answer to those questions.

Walking on egg shells...  Since 1999....  That is when I went through Basic where I was told I could not pray with others outside of Chapel, where I was told that if my Bible offended someone, I would not be allowed to read it again except at Chapel.

Now... walking on egg shells is facing the potential of walking through a land mine for Christians serving in the Armed Forces as Pentagon leadership sits down with a well-known anti-Christian group leader, Mikey Weinstein and entertains his plethora of anti-Christian rhetoric concerning new regulations for our men and women in the Military.

I am no longer serving.  However, my husband is.  I have hundreds of military friends all around the world serving their country, and serve our Lord.  They already walk on egg shells.  They already bite their tongues when an opportunity to share His Word, His Love presents itself. 

I have prayed and prayed today about how handle this news.  I know His will is going to be done ultimately.  I am praying for peace.  I am praying that the sense of foreboding deep in the center of my chest is replaced with the HOPE I know He has given me.  Finally, I have come to this conclusion.

Let us all get on our knees.  Pass this on.  Share with your friends.  Share it at church.  Post it on your Facebook page, on Twitter, whatever your social outlet is to get prayers out.

Let us all pray... Not just that this piece of military regulation falters, if it is His will, but more importantly, pray for Mr. Weinstein.   Let us start a prayer chain that lifts this man up to our Lord, to soften his heart, to wash away his hate or his anger or his bitterness, to offer him true hope and peace and truth.

Will you pray with me for Mr. Weinstein?

Military Women of God: Calling ALL Christians militarywomenofgod.blogspot.com/2013/05/callin…#prayformikeyweinstein #militaryfaith
— Christina (@cbands) May 1, 2013