Wednesday, June 10, 2009
My new Nephew...
Well I can't see him in person just yet as an ocean separates, us so I'll just have to brag about him instead. This little one is Ashton, born on Saturday morning to my best and oldest friend Sally. Can't wait to hold him! Sal - he looks too much like his Daddy!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Inhale.
Inhale,
Breathe deeply.
Fill yourself with me.
Exhale,
Let it go.
You are free.
Watch,
Look all around.
I'm ever present.
Stop,
There is no need.
I ask very little.
Inhale,
Breathe deeply.
Fill yourself with me.
Breathe deeply.
Fill yourself with me.
Exhale,
Let it go.
You are free.
Watch,
Look all around.
I'm ever present.
Stop,
There is no need.
I ask very little.
Inhale,
Breathe deeply.
Fill yourself with me.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
The Value of Motherhood
"She senses the worth of her work"
(Proverbs 31:18 - Message)
Being a mother is a hard job! On a daily basis we perform countless tasks, many of which are things we do not enjoy doing, and most of which go unseen. When we become mothers our whole life changes, we can never return to who we once were because never again will we be able to imagine life without this precious one who has filled our hearts. However, in the daily grind of cooking, cleaning, changing dirty diapers and separating whining children it is all too easy to forget what it is being a mother is all about.
So what is it all about? For me, it is to raise my children to know the one true God, for them to have a deep and fulfilling relationship with Him and for them to know just how much He loves them. That is the goal I am working towards. That is why God has entrusted these four lives into my hands. It is not about the meals I cook for them, the clothes I wash for them, the house I clean for them...it's about the character that I build in them, the love I show them and the Christian life I model for them that matters. "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:14)
I believe that God is calling me, and all Christian Mothers, to a higher standard as Christ's ambassadors to our children. "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us" (2 Cor 5:20) Through us our children will learn what it is to be a Christian, they will learn of His immeasurable love for us and they will learn how to live a life of faith. Of course as Christ's ambassadors we are called to a higher standard of living. A standard that demands we live a purposeful and intentional life before our children. Letting go of these high standards set before us has consequences for generations to come. These standards include demonstrating the fruits of the spirit to our children, showing Christ-like behavior even in circumstances that make it difficult to do so, and modeling a relationship with Christ to our children.
So with that huge task God has set before me I am able to truly sense the worth of this work. It is the most important job on earth. It is the most challenging and the most fulfilling job I am ever likely to have. It is also an impossible job without prayer, without God's word and without His grace, but we hold firm to His promise to us... "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Matt 19:26)
So what is it all about? For me, it is to raise my children to know the one true God, for them to have a deep and fulfilling relationship with Him and for them to know just how much He loves them. That is the goal I am working towards. That is why God has entrusted these four lives into my hands. It is not about the meals I cook for them, the clothes I wash for them, the house I clean for them...it's about the character that I build in them, the love I show them and the Christian life I model for them that matters. "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:14)
I believe that God is calling me, and all Christian Mothers, to a higher standard as Christ's ambassadors to our children. "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us" (2 Cor 5:20) Through us our children will learn what it is to be a Christian, they will learn of His immeasurable love for us and they will learn how to live a life of faith. Of course as Christ's ambassadors we are called to a higher standard of living. A standard that demands we live a purposeful and intentional life before our children. Letting go of these high standards set before us has consequences for generations to come. These standards include demonstrating the fruits of the spirit to our children, showing Christ-like behavior even in circumstances that make it difficult to do so, and modeling a relationship with Christ to our children.
So with that huge task God has set before me I am able to truly sense the worth of this work. It is the most important job on earth. It is the most challenging and the most fulfilling job I am ever likely to have. It is also an impossible job without prayer, without God's word and without His grace, but we hold firm to His promise to us... "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Matt 19:26)
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Consider...
"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place..." Psalm 8:3
"In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him" Psalm95:4
"He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters....He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me" Psalm 18:16&19
"The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth, you founded the world and all that is in it" Psalm 89:11
"You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn" Psalm 18:36
"Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he has pronounced....He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth..... He remembers His covenant forever..." Psalm 105:5-8 Psalm 105:5&8"
"He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills" Psalm 147:8
"My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth" Psalm 121:2
"The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon" Psalm 92:12
Out in nature...
Might not have a great camera (yet...) but wanted to take some experimental shots today...I quite like some of these!
Perspective
This was posted by a friend of mine somewhere else in Cyberworld and I wanted to keep it here so I can read it often! I hope it blesses someone else as much as it did me!
Perspective is key... Kim Potter
Perspective is a vital part of the walk of faith. Perspective means ones point of view, belief or opinion.
It is very important that we have the same point of view as God has about our life, our children and our situations. Now, I am not saying it is easy to see things as God sees them, it will take practice but it can be accomplished.
Jesus only did what He saw the Father do - He only said what He heard the Father say - He was in continual agreement with God's perspective. As I was doing a Bible search on the word 'perspective' I was interested to find that the only translation I could find that had several scriptures with the word 'perspective' in it was the Jewish Bible. Jewish people understand the importance of seeing things from God's perspective.
Do you recall when Jesus was telling the disciples all that He would suffer and eventually die in Matthew 16? If so, you will remember how Peter said 'no way this is going to happen to You, Jesus.' Jesus replied 'Get behind me Satan; you are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God but the things of men.'
I have read this scripture many times, but today I read it in a different translation and it shed a whole new light - in the New Living Translation it says 'Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view and not from God's.' The Jewish Bible states it like this; Get behind me Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because your thinking is from a human perspective and not from God's perspective.'
We can see from these two translations - when we see things from a natural or man's point of view - or perspective, it is an obstacle and a dangerous trap.
It was a difference in perspective that caused the ten spies to return to Moses with a bad report, while Joshua and Caleb declared in faith 'we are well able to overcome and possess the land.' The ten saw from man's perspective, which became an obstacle to them and they never entered into the Promised Land and it was certainly a dangerous trap for them to speak out of their mouth because it sealed their fate forever.
Perspective is vital in the Kingdom of God. How you see things will determine much of your outcome because you will react based on what you perceive.
Do you remember when Elisha asked God to open the eyes of his servant? You see, the servant was afraid, terrified, because he was seeing from man's point of view and not seeing as God sees - but God opened his eyes and he saw that there was indeed more with them than with their enemy.
You see, that is always God's perspective -when an enemy comes against you - God always sees that there is more with you than with them. God always sees that you have the upper hand because He has the upper hand and He dwells in you. Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. The Bible even says that God sits in the heavens and laughs at the enemy because God knows the outcome - wouldn't it be great if we simply laughed at the enemy when he came against us? We would...if we saw from God's perspective.
God always sees you healed and whole. God always sees you prosperous and abounding to every good work. God always sees you as righteous. God sees you as victorious and triumphant because you are in Christ and Christ is in you - the question is, do you see from God's perspective?
Do you see yourself healed and whole and prosperous? Do you see a great outcome for your life, a wonderful future? Do you see your children walking with the Lord and being a blessing around the world? God does. Today, I ask that you seek God for His perspective, His point of view, opinion and belief concerning you. Then you choose to agree with His perspective.
His perspective will take you into the Promised Land - it will take you into the Eden Blessing. It will cause you to be at peace in the midst of storms knowing that He is with you - He who calms the seas is with you. His perspective will enable you to walk through the fires of life without even the smell of smoke. His perspective will cause the Red Sea to part on your behalf. Seeing as He sees - it's vital in the Kingdom of God.
Perspective is key... Kim Potter
Perspective is a vital part of the walk of faith. Perspective means ones point of view, belief or opinion.
It is very important that we have the same point of view as God has about our life, our children and our situations. Now, I am not saying it is easy to see things as God sees them, it will take practice but it can be accomplished.
Jesus only did what He saw the Father do - He only said what He heard the Father say - He was in continual agreement with God's perspective. As I was doing a Bible search on the word 'perspective' I was interested to find that the only translation I could find that had several scriptures with the word 'perspective' in it was the Jewish Bible. Jewish people understand the importance of seeing things from God's perspective.
Do you recall when Jesus was telling the disciples all that He would suffer and eventually die in Matthew 16? If so, you will remember how Peter said 'no way this is going to happen to You, Jesus.' Jesus replied 'Get behind me Satan; you are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God but the things of men.'
I have read this scripture many times, but today I read it in a different translation and it shed a whole new light - in the New Living Translation it says 'Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view and not from God's.' The Jewish Bible states it like this; Get behind me Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because your thinking is from a human perspective and not from God's perspective.'
We can see from these two translations - when we see things from a natural or man's point of view - or perspective, it is an obstacle and a dangerous trap.
It was a difference in perspective that caused the ten spies to return to Moses with a bad report, while Joshua and Caleb declared in faith 'we are well able to overcome and possess the land.' The ten saw from man's perspective, which became an obstacle to them and they never entered into the Promised Land and it was certainly a dangerous trap for them to speak out of their mouth because it sealed their fate forever.
Perspective is vital in the Kingdom of God. How you see things will determine much of your outcome because you will react based on what you perceive.
Do you remember when Elisha asked God to open the eyes of his servant? You see, the servant was afraid, terrified, because he was seeing from man's point of view and not seeing as God sees - but God opened his eyes and he saw that there was indeed more with them than with their enemy.
You see, that is always God's perspective -when an enemy comes against you - God always sees that there is more with you than with them. God always sees that you have the upper hand because He has the upper hand and He dwells in you. Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. The Bible even says that God sits in the heavens and laughs at the enemy because God knows the outcome - wouldn't it be great if we simply laughed at the enemy when he came against us? We would...if we saw from God's perspective.
God always sees you healed and whole. God always sees you prosperous and abounding to every good work. God always sees you as righteous. God sees you as victorious and triumphant because you are in Christ and Christ is in you - the question is, do you see from God's perspective?
Do you see yourself healed and whole and prosperous? Do you see a great outcome for your life, a wonderful future? Do you see your children walking with the Lord and being a blessing around the world? God does. Today, I ask that you seek God for His perspective, His point of view, opinion and belief concerning you. Then you choose to agree with His perspective.
His perspective will take you into the Promised Land - it will take you into the Eden Blessing. It will cause you to be at peace in the midst of storms knowing that He is with you - He who calms the seas is with you. His perspective will enable you to walk through the fires of life without even the smell of smoke. His perspective will cause the Red Sea to part on your behalf. Seeing as He sees - it's vital in the Kingdom of God.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
New favorite song...
I love this song....
My Redeemer Lives, Nicole C. Mullen.
My Redeemer Lives, Nicole C. Mullen.
Who taught the sun where to stand in the morning
Who told the ocean you an only come this far?
Who showed the moon where to hide 'til evening
Whose words alone can catch a falling star?
Well I know my Redeemer lives
I know my Redeemer lives
All of creation testify
This life within me cries
I know my Redeemer lives
The very same God that spins things in orbit
He runs to the weary, the worn and the weak
And the same gentle hands that hold me when I'm broken
They conquered death to bring me victory
Now I know my Redeemer lives
I know my Redeemer lives
Let all creation testify
Let this life within me cry
I know my Redeemer, He lives
To take away my shame
And He lives forever I'll proclaim
That the payment for my sin
Was the precious life He gave
But now He's alive
And there's an empty grave.
And I know my Redeemer, He lives
I know my Redeemer lives
Let all creation testify
This life within me cries
I know my Redeemer lives
If you want to listen to it I just added it to the music player on your right (Song 24 I think!)
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