Promise

I love the promise of this verse. If you read further it talks about keeping your feet on his path. That is the way that we turn to gold. We MUST remain faithful to HIM!!!

Choosing Praise

Job 1:20
At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship.

I find myself amazed at Job's response. He has just been told of calamity after calamity that his family experienced including the death of all his children. His response is not worry or complaint but worship! What a contrast to the Israelites wandering in the desert who complained about everything. What a contrast with today where as a society we tend to complain more than we worship.

I hope and pray that as life's adversity and inconvenience arise, I can say as Job did, "May the name of the Lord be praised."

The BOOK Club's Third Season

Wow, can you believe that we are about to embark on our third year of The BOOK Club?  I am so excited about our launch, scheduled for this Sunday in both services, plus Monday evening.  It is exciting to anticipate how God is going to move in the hearts of women this year.  See you soon!

Music Changes

Unfortunately, the music player that was previously available for this blog from playlist.com is no longer working for sites in Canada.  Therefore, a new playlist from grooveshark.com has been implemented.  However, this playlist does not have all of the same features and is going to take some getting-used to.  The playlist is now on the sidebar, not at the bottom of the page.  If you cannot see the playlist properly, you will have to click on the almost-hidden black "play" button to get it started.  The songs are not automatically randomized and that is one of the drawbacks of this playlist; however, it now contains over 600 songs for your listening enjoyment.  Someday if and when I have time, I will randomize the 600 songs.  If you have any questions about the new playlist, leave a comment after this post and I'll attempt to help you.

I Timothy 2:9-10

" . . . I want women to get in there with the men in humility before God, not primping before a mirror or chasing the latest fashions but doing something beautiful for God and becoming beautiful doing it."

~The Message~

Response to the Holy Spirit

How do we respond when we hear the Holy Spirit's voice? Acts 2 and Acts 7 give us two different reactions.

In Acts 2, Peter preaches his very first sermon. In vs 37 it says, "Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Brethren what shall we do?'" They were willing to listen and ended up getting baptized and receiving the Holy Spirit.

In Acts 7, we see a different response. Here, Stephen is preaching. He says similar things that Peter did. In this case the reaction was as follows. Vs 54 - "Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick and they began gnashing their teeth at him". They were unwilling to listen and ended up stoning Stephen to death.

Two extremely different reactions with two extremely different results.

The question is, "How do we respond when we hear the Holy Spirit's voice?" When we are 'cut to the quick' and we realize we have sinned, do we make excuses and come up with reasons why it's best to leave 'well enough alone'? Or do we go to the person, ask for forgiveness and try to mend a relationship?

When the Holy Spirit reminds us to read God's Word do we make excuses like, "I'm too tired," or "I don't have enough time," or "I'll do it tomorrow", or do we sit down and read?

In the middle of a moment with our children or co-workers or husband, when we are frustrated and want to lash out, do we listen to the quiet voice reminding us to keep our mouths shut and wait until we calm down, or do we ignore that voice and angrily vent, most likely damaging the relationship?

This really hit me. Everyday we hear His voice. What is our response?? Do we 'gnash our teeth' or do we ask, 'what shall we do'?

Boldness

I read Acts 2 today. I was amazed at Peter's boldness. I need that. I was also interested that he immediately started a) quoting the OT and b) reminding them of what they had done to Jesus.

Acts 2:12

Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"

The Holy Spirit came in a powerful way. Everyone noticed. The believers had power and gifts they didn't have before. The crowds noticed because the Galileans were speaking in various languages, proclaiming the Good News. With God's power through the Holy Spirit amazing things happen. People notice. Non-believers are puzzled and everyone is amazed. I want to continue to be amazed at the work of the Holy Spirit through me and around me through the community of believers.

Prayer

Acts 1:14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

The apostles and followers of Jesus are waiting for the Holy Spirit who has been promised to them. They walked with Jesus. They saw amazing things. They were promised a comforter, a counsellor who would come. They watched Jesus ascend into heaven alive. The last instruction they received was to wait for the Holy Spirit to come (verse 4 and 5) and a promise that when He came they would receive power so they could be witnesses all over the world (verse 8). So they gathered together and waited.

I have trouble waiting. I get agitated. I want to find out the surprise, especially at Christmas. I want to see the results of what I am waiting for good or bad. This group was waiting. As they waited they prayed constantly. Constantly, I don't think I do anything constantly. Maybe I would have an easier time waiting if I spent more of that time in prayer. They also waited together. I have found that waitin gtogether is easier than by myself. I wonder what things would I see happen if during those times of waiting I "joined together constantly in prayer" with others who were waiting? I wonder how much more of the Holy Spirits power we would experience as a community if we "joined together constantly in prayer" before we acted?

This verse definitly grabbed my attention and has challenged me in my prayer life. I can't wait to see what God does as I try to obey.

How He Loves

I have been impacted recently by how much God truly loves me.  There are so many references to God's love in the Bible and it is overwhelming at times to actually try to comprehend the extent to which God loves His children.  If I think about how much I love my husband and children and try to equate that to how much God loves me . . . and then multiply that amount of love by the biggest number I can imagine . . . that's how much He loves you and I. 

Some of you may be familiar with a song entitled, "How He Loves", written by John Mark McMillan.  Here is a video of that song, with lyrics, performed by the David Crowder Band . . . it is very powerful.  I hope it helps you put into perspective how deep the Father's love is . . . for all of us . . .  

Bless the Lord

Psalm 103
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his Holy Name.

"As for man, his days are like grass"

"But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting."

Sometimes we stop there....but if we continue to verse 18 it is a continuation of this promise. "His lovingkindness is from everlasting to everlasting....."

"to those who keep His covenant, and who remember His precepts to do them".

OK - hope you are with me ladies. The words covenant and precepts are referring to God's Word. It's pretty hard to keep His covenant or remember his precepts and do them if we aren't in His Word.

Yep, huge amounts of blessings - who doesn't want God's lovingkindness - when we read God's Word.

Psalm 119:35

Paths. We each walk our path and have coices to make. I love that when we walk the path that God has commanded we will find delight. When I start trying to do things my way I get overwhelmed and run down. When I pause and rely on God's strength I somehow manage to get through. It amazes me everytime and yet I know that God is always there waiting for me to turn to him.

Since I misplaced the lovely bookmark from Florianne, I have chosen this verse to memorize so I will remember to walk in the path of God's commands. I am finding delight in the Palsms and hope you are as well.

Psalm 102 Before and After

Hi Gang:

I really love the Psalms. I think it is possible to find a Psalm to fit any emotion. I read Psalm 102 a few days ago. Here's my journal entry.

"It's interesting how we read Psalms. During a very difficult time I recently experienced I would have related to the first half: body weak, moaning, grass withered, lonely bird on a housetop. Now I concentrate on the last half: (12) But Thou O Lord dost abide forever (17) He has regarded the prayer of the destitute (27) But Thou, art the same."

Emotions are good and we should feel things. It's all in HOW we feel them and what we do with them. It needs to be based on trust. We should enjoy life. Today I read Psalm 47 "Clap your hands...Shout to God with voice of joy". We do that because we love Him and trust Him. Other Psalms describe our destitution, our sadness, our pain, our anger, our helplessness, our weakness. We go to HIM because we love Him and trust Him. He never changes. He is always the same. He is faithful. We can go to Him.....no matter what. That's incredible.

Hello there. So I am new to this book club thing and really new to blogging. I am not a blogger but thought I would use this forum to share a little bit.

So last night was book club night. I really didn't want to go. I didn't read at all (well hardly) and I just didn't feel like going. Not because I would be judged since I know it is a safe place and not to worry about that, but I just didn't want to go. But I did. I didn't have much to share but I did share that I wasn't going to come but did. It was great to be honest and open and know that it was okay.

As I was running errands today I was thinking about when I could sit down and read and do the little "assignment" we were given. I was going to give it my all to get into the Word today at some point as the morning didn't happen. And as I was driving I was starting to feel excited about reading. It was a great feeling.

So I did read. I let Psalm fall open and I read Psalm 58 which about God judging bad people and that good people will be rewarded. I also read Aleph section in Psalm 119 and in verse 7 "Then I could truly honour you as I study your fairness and goodness". And as I want my children to honour me as their mother I really want to honour God as his child too, so I need to read.

As I am typing this my daughter is asking me what I am writing and what we are reading. I told her Psalm and she said she loves Psalm and shared with me her favorite verse: Psalm 90:2 "I will say about the Lord, "He is my place of safety. He is like a fort to me. He is my God. I trust in him."

Very cool.

Growing in Faith

"By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him." (2 Peter 1:3) And where can I get to know Him? By reading His Word and listening to and obeying the Holy Spirit. "And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises." We are asked to build upon what He has given us - "complement faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others." (verse 5-7 from The Message). Alert discipline and passionate patience - an interesting choice of words for self-control and preseverence - puts a different perspective to it. The more I grow in this way, the more productive I will be. I need to submit to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to continually work in my life to make me more like Jesus.

In Hebrews 10 it talks about perseverence in the faith. "So let's do it - full of belief, confident that we're presentable inside and out. Let's keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps His word." We are asked to encourage one another in love and good works and gather together to worship as the day of His return draws nearer. I am encouraged by this passage and hope that it encourages others. Thank you Lord for your unfailing love for me and I can depend on you to keep your promises in whatever situation I find myself in.

Gal 4:9

Why, after finding God and hearing the Holy Spirit, would you want to go back to your previous life? That's the question Paul asks the Galatians in 4:9. That's how I feel a bit. I have allowed school and the start of fall to 'enslave' me a bit and I have not spent as much time in God's Word as I know I need. I miss hearing the Holy Spirit as much as I have. That's good. How sad if I didn't know what I was missing. This was a good reminder this morning

Worship My Heart Out

Hello, all!

I want to introduce something new that I've added to the blog . . . MUSIC!

If you scroll down to the very bottom of the page, there is a "box" of-sorts, called Worship My Heart Out.  This is a compilation of songs that I have put together which includes artists such as Chris Tomlin, Hillsong United, Matt Redman, Caedmon's Call, Michael W. Smith and many more!  You can listen through your computer's sound system.  The songs will play randomly, but to get the music started, just click on a song title and the music should start.  It's a pretty simple music player, allowing you to enjoy music all day long as you go about your day.

I originally put this together when our computer had no sound capabilities, so I was not able to pre-listen to all of the music; if you hear something questionable in terms of lyrics, please let me know and I will delete it from the list.  Contact me by leaving a comment and I'll take care of the issue.  Also, there is still space on the music player for additional songs, so if you have some suggestions for an artist not featured, please let me know and I'll look into adding them to the player.

I hope you enjoy the music!

Quick....Slow

I can't imagine how many times I have read James and I am still underlining words and verses that impact me in a new way. There were two ideas from the last part of James 1 that I found powerful this morning. If I want to receive God's word, I must put aside my sin (v21). I need to make sure I read God's Word with a clean, pure heart. If I want to be blessed, I need to look intently in God's word, abide by it and do what it says (v25). Intently does not mean a quick perusal. I looked up the word: synonyms are careful, attentive and absorbed. I then need to abide and obey. I can't just read and leave it. I need to actively practice what I read.

So today...
-quick to hear
-slow to speak
-slow to anger

Stories of Victory

1 John 5:4-5 For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

This is so cool! When we believe, we have victory because of Jesus. I am encouraged when I hear stories of others overcoming fear, worry, discipline issues, health issues and other victories. God is working through his Spirit and giving us victory. 1 John continues to talk about how we testify along with the Spirit. When we tell our stories of how we see God working in us and around us, we are acknowledging the work of and in agreement with the Holy Spirit. That is powerful. That is faith building victory.

Blind Man's Attitude

I love John 9. The Pharisees keep questioning this guy wondering who has healed him. They even ask his parents, who are too afraid to say much of anything because if they do, they could get kicked out of the synagogue. Finally this guy is fed up and basically says, "Look, I've answered the question a bazillion times. I'm not sure who healed me but I do know that once I was blind but now I see." The Pharisees are mortified, tell him he has no education so he shouldn't be trying to teach them (nice arrogance) and kick him out. Later Jesus finds him, tells him who He is and it says the blind man "worshipped him". Love it.