March 18, 2026

The Struggle — Victory

March 5, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

~  Listen while you read, please!  ~
There’s a wreckage, there’s a fire; there’s a weakness in my love
There’s a hunger I can’t control
Lord, I falter and I fall down then I hold on to chains You broke
When You came and saved my soul…saved my soul
Hallelujah! we are free to struggle
 We’re not struggling to be free
Your blood bought and makes us children
Children, drop your chains and sing
So, why, Lord, do I still fail, do I wear thin?
Why do I still give in to temptation?
On my own, I am bankrupt, I don’t trust You or take You at Your Word
What You’ve promised, yeah 
Hallelujah, Death is overcome and we are breathing
Hallelujah, Our stone hearts become flesh that’s beating
Hallelujah, Chains have been undone and we are singing
Hallelujah, The fire has begun. Can you feel it?

~  Performed by Tenth Avenue North  ~
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Do we ever struggle some days!  Sometimes it may be a struggle to get out of bed, or to complete a task at work, or even to complete a task at home.  When we find ourselves at our wits’ end because we have been trying to do everything on our own, it is time to stop, pray, and give it to the only One that can help us through—God.
I know, that is such an easy answer.  But you know what, He IS the answer.  Yes, we are to do what we are designed to do.  But if we start whatever task that is laid before us by preparing our hearts and asking for His help on the front end—it will go so much smoother <and less making faces or sighing when we just want to throw something, even if it is the cat or child…ha, ha!>
Try for the next few days to start any thing you do with a prayer of thanksgiving and entreaty.  You will be surprised at how less stressful the project can go!
Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , ,

CHRISTLife — ThirtyEight: Bold and Confident

March 5, 2014 by

cl bold and confidentGod chose us.  He also chose us to do His good works here on earth, as we await His return.  And the most amazing thing about this is He seems to choose the most unlikely and unqualified people to carry out His most important works.

Do you know this to be true? And often the response to His calling is, “Are You sure, God? Me? Why?”  Unintentionally we limit Him by what we think we can and cannot do.  For what’s impossible to us is possible with God.  We just have to believe that He has called us and He has a mission for us to spread His Word to the world.

Feeling unqualified?  When He calls, He equips and qualifies us to do that which we so feel we aren’t qualified to do.  Let’s go to His Word and look at some of those He called…and their response to Him.  And how different the world would be if they had felt they couldn’t do it!

God calls Moses:

Moses was 80 years old when he was sent to free the Israelites from Pharaoh.  His response was something like, “Me? I can’t even speak well. Do You really think anyone would even listen to me?”  When Moses finally quit making excuses and obeyed, the way was paved by God through the Red Sea, across a desert and, finally, to the entrance of the Promised Land.  All along the way, God was providing food and shelter and water for these people who trusted Moses with their lives.

Have you ever thought about what could have happened if Moses has said no?

God calls Jeremiah:

Jeremiah was a teenager at the time that God sent him to deliver news to the Jewish people.  Because He was so young, he thought that no one would take him seriously.  But God did.  He said in Jeremiah 1:5,”Before you were born I set you apart.”  For 24 years, Jeremiah was at God’s call, and all he did was write books filled with God’s words. The first one was destroyed and Jeremiah was imprisoned. His feet were in chains and he was thrown into a pit. But God sent rescuers and made a way for all His messages to be delivered.

God calls Gideon:

Last one on my list today is Gideon—and my favorite, I will have to say!  God called him His mighty warrior!  He told him to save His people who were being attacked constantly by their enemies.  He also wanted Gideon to destroy the idol, Baal.  But Gideon, who was working in a wine press, hiding in fear from his enemies, had many excuses as to why he wasn’t God’s man.  He said that he was a coward and how could God use him to fight for His people?  Fast forward…God fully equipped Gideon to do so much more.  He used his weakness to prove God’s strength.

See?  You are ready for any task that God has laid in front of you.  You may not even know what you are called to do but know this—you are called to do great things!  And He will make sure you have everything you need to complete His will.  God calls you to serve with what you have and just as you are.  All you have to do is trust and believe Him,  and love Him enough to do what He says.

  • Matthew 14:22  If you love Me, then look at me. Keep your eyes on me.
  • Matthew 16:4     If you love Me, follow me.
  • Luke 10:37          If you love Me, go and do likewise.
  • John 21:15-17    If you love Me, feed My sheep…tend My lambs.

And remember, there is only one that wants to see you fail. There is an enemy who wants to fill you with fear and lies and keep you silent so you won’t do the Lord’s work. But God did not give you a spirit of fear, “…but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV).

He gives you courage.  Courage is what will help you persevere.  And it’s God’s power that resides in you and gives you the confidence you need to go on and accomplish with victory the will of your Father in Heaven.  The Lord is your Shepherd, you shall not want for…anything!

Filed Under: CHRISTLife Bible Study Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Enduring Love

March 4, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo
Praise the Lord!
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
Who can list the glorious miracles of the Lord?
Who can ever praise him enough?
Psalms 106:1-2

“Who can ever praise Him enough?”  That’s an interesting question!  Did David with his contributions to the Book of Psalms praise the Lord enough?  And what exactly does enough praise look like to Someone whose love endures forever?  Has God ever said to anyone, “Stop! You have praised Me enough.”

I can’t list every glorious miracle of the Lord and I can’t reach the point of “enough praise,” but I can give thanks to the Lord for His love that surely does endure forever.

I was raised in a home where I knew of God.  I have a few memories of going to church. I can remember being baptized more than a handful of times as a child.  I also remember in my teen years, when I was struggling with my mental health, hating a God I neither knew or understood.  I was aware there was a God, but I did not understand His role and if He was such a good God why was my life the way it was. I can remember announcing that if there was a God He didn’t want anything to do with me and I didn’t want anything to do with Him.  He was the Creator of this game we call life and I didn’t want to play anymore.  I even began to believe the lie that I was a mistake and it wasn’t fair for Him to put me here and then leave me to fend for myself.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
Psalms 139:13-14

This was one of the truths of God’s Word that took me a long time to believe. I am not a mistake and God’s Word says that He took the time to put me together.  God took His time making all His creations, nobody was an accident.  His Word says that He knows the very number of hairs on my head.  God did not stick me on Earth and leave me to figure it out.  Quite the opposite- God put me here and was simply waiting for me to stop and listen to Him.
I may not be able to list all of the Lord’s glorious miracles, but I know enough of them personally and have experienced plenty of His grace to know that my God is good and His love does endures forever. For His graciousness I am forever thankful.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Thank You, Lord, for loving relentlessly and patiently. I pray that I may love the same way You do. Amen.

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Speak Life

March 4, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

  ~  Listen while you read, please!  ~

Some days, life feels perfect…other days it just ain’t workin’
The good, the bad, the right, the wrong—and everything in between

Though it’s crazy, amazing; we can turn a heart with the words we say
Mountains crumble with every syllable…hope can live or die

So speak Life, speak Life; to the deadest darkest night
Speak life, speak Life. When the sun won’t shine and you don’t know why
Look into the eyes of the brokenhearted, watch them come alive
as soon as you speak hope, you speak love, you speak…
You speak Life (oh oh oh oh oh oh) You speak Life (oh oh oh oh oh oh)

Some days the tongue gets twisted; other days my thoughts just fall apart
I do. I don’t. I will. I won’t…it’s like I’m drowning in the deep

Well it’s crazy to imagine—words from our lips as the arms of compassion
Mountains crumble with every syllable…hope can live or die

Lift your head a little higher; spread love like fire
Hope will fall like rain when you speak life with the words you say
Raise your thoughts a little higher, use your words to inspire,
Joy will fall like rain, when you speak life with the things you say.

Some days life feels perfect….

~  Performed by  Toby Mac  ~

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

What are the words you are choosing to speak?  Are they uplifting?  Are they helpful? Words that build someone up instead of tearing someone down??  Our words are powerful and what comes out of our mouths matters….

There are many Scriptures in the Word that show us just how powerful the words we speak are.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.
Proverbs 18 : 21

This Truth will work for the good or it can work for the reverse; depending on the words we are speaking.

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up,
as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Ephesians 4:29

But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.
Matthew 15: 18

You can tell the true heart of a person by the words that they speak.

There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Proverbs 12:18

May my tongue be of the wise and not with rash words like a sword. In times of frustration, when we are tempted to speak rash words, this is when we need to dig deep and call upon the help of the Holy Spirit. The kinds of things that God asks us to do are not possible without Him! That is why He tells us that apart from Him we can’t do anything.

I tell you, on the Day of Judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak….
Matthew 12:36

This Scripture is what I call having a ‘healthy fear of the Lord.’  If I know that I will have to give an account of the words that I am speaking, than I am more careful with what is coming out of my mouth…

This next Scripture is one of my favorites on words:

Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
Proverbs 16: 24

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Heavenly Father, I ask for myself and anyone reading this that You would empower us by the help of the Holy Spirit to speak life, hope, and healing; and to be a people that lift others up with our words and not a people that tears people down.  I thank You for the help of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese Medallions

March 3, 2014 by

2014-03-02 19.11.32

It is almost spring!!!  Yes, yes…I KNOW…it is still snowy (I have looked outside!).

In the produce department, we are starting to see the return of the spring vegetables!  So here we go!  For the next few weeks, we will do a mini-series featuring spring vegetables…last week we featured an Asparagus Pasta Bake.   Today’s recipe is a salad with roasted beets, and baby lettuces such as arugula and kale.  YUMMMMMY!  Enjoy!

Roasted Beet Salad with Warm Goat Cheese Medallions

2014-03-03 00.58.19

Ingredients:
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (I used honey balsamic)
1 tablespoon honey
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3-4 medium beets, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
2 cups fresh arugula
2 cups baby kale
1 head romaine, chopped (or your favorite lettuce blend)
1/2 cup sliced almonds or pignoli
8 ounce log of goat cheese
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup almond meal/flour
1/2 cup sliced almonds, finely chopped (by hand or with a food processor)

Directions:
Goat Cheese Medallions:

  • Place the goat cheese log into the freezer ‘til firm (10-15 minutes).
  • Remove from freezer and carefully slice with thin, sharp knife into 8 rounds.
  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • Whisk together the egg and water.
  • Spread the almond flour on a paper plate, and the chopped almonds onto a separate plate.  Coat each goat cheese round with almond flour.
  • Dip each round in the egg wash and then roll in the chopped almonds to coat.
  • Place the coated goat cheese rounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
  • Bake for 10 minutes. Turn them over and broil on the top rack of the oven for 2-3 minutes, until the almonds turn golden brown. (Watch carefully!) Remove from oven and set aside.

Beets:

  • Line a baking sheet with foil. Raise oven temp to 450.
  • Whisk the balsamic vinegar and honey together in a small bowl to blend.
  • Slowly whisk in the oil. Season the vinaigrette with plenty of salt and LOTS of pepper.
  • Toss the beets in a small bowl with the 2 T of evoo and just a drizzle of the vinaigrette; thoroughly coat.
  • Place the beets on the foil-lined baking sheet and roast ‘til the beets are slightly caramelized, stirring once or twice, for about 30 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Salad:

  • Toss the lettuces along with a small amount of the vinaigrette in a large bowl ‘til lightly coated.
  • Season the salad, to taste, with additional salt and pepper. Place the dressed salad onto a large serving plate.
  • Arrange the beets around the salad.
  • Sprinkle with the nuts and top with the warm goat cheese medallions.
  • Serve with the extra vinaigrette on the side.

♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

God loves you!  ♥  (Don’t ever forget that!)

♥  coleen

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

CHRISTLife — ThirtySix: Nurtured, Satisfied, and Secure

March 3, 2014 by

cl nurtured satisfied and secure

Today let’s go to one chapter in the Book of John to be reminded of the Truth.  The one I would like us to focus on is Chapter 17; this is the record of Jesus’ prayer to His Father.  This prayer was offered to God immediately prior to Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, unlawful trial, torture, crucifixion, and His death.  Jesus, knowing of all that was imminent, took the time—not to ask His Father to help Him to prepare, He didn’t go hide somewhere, He didn’t do anything for Himself—He took the time to pray for His disciples…and you and me.  Listen to His words of love.

Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.

Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

And this is the verse that speaks to the value, the enormity, the security of God’s love for you (for me, too). Isn’t this so amazing?

I in them and You in Me, in order that they may become one and perfectly united,
that the world may know and [definitely] recognize that You sent Me
nd that You have loved them [even] as You have loved Me.
Verse 23

I AM who God says I am! We have been staking our claim to this Truth, these righteous God-ordained images throughout our study, true? So, based on the words of our Lord Jesus, let me ask you a question: Since you ARE loved by Almighty God—Jesus SAID so—how secure is that love?

I pray the following prayer of Paul’s over each of you…perhaps you could take this into your heart/personalize it with your name…and believe it. <3

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father…that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you, ______ , to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, and that Christ may dwell in your heart, ______ , through faith; that you, ______ , being rooted and grounded in love, may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you ______ may be filled with all the fulness of God. ~ Ephesians 3:14-19

Filed Under: CHRISTLife Bible Study Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

First…Praise the Lord

March 3, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Praise the LORD!
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good,
for His steadfast love endures forever!
Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD,
or declare all His praise?”
Psalms 106:1-2 ESV

If when we drop to our knees and pray, what if our first words were those that showed praise to the Lord?  How would that affect the rest of our prayer?  Wouldn’t our hearts be more likely to keep our wonderful God as our focus and keep us in tune to the fact that He is more important than the problems that we bring to Him?  Israel often messed up, yet God was faithful to them.

The psalmist opens this psalm in wanting the emphasis to be on God—praising Him and reminding the people of God’s steadfast love before he went any further.  And to answer the psalmist’s question, “Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD or declare all His praise?” well, we can try, but we would never ever be able to list ALL of His great deeds or ever be able to finish praising Him for Who He is and what He has done, is doing, or will do.

When I am overwhelmed by God’s goodness and faithfulness, my problems seem to diminish; and I rest on the fact that God is able.  He can take care of difficulties, problems, and unknowns.  Where I cannot, He can.  “He can” so much better than all of us in all generations put together.  So, maybe our role in coming to God is to focus on Him and then, after we praise Him, lay our burdens and requests at His feet.  Be mindful to remember His faithfulness to you in the present and the past as you come to Him.  Remember how He has carried you when You have needed Him – even when you didn’t deserve it. Remember how He forgave you when you asked for forgiveness when you messed up and sinned—even when you didn’t deserve it.  And rest assured that He will continue to be faithful forever.

Our circumstances will continue to change, but God never does!  Our response is to praise Him forever!  Praise Him in prayer!  Praise Him in life!  Praise Him in heaven!

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Dear Lord, we praise You!  O Lord, we thank You for loving us and giving us grace in spite of what we deserve!  We lay at Your feet the great concerns of our hearts in which the Holy Spirit is bringing to our hearts and minds at this very moment knowing You are able to take care of them, Lord!  Touch these matters in such a way that it is obvious to us and those around us that You intervened and made a difference.  We can all give You, and You alone, great glory and praise!  In Jesus’ precious Name we pray.  Amen.

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: , , , , , ,

In Your Hands

March 2, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

 ~  Listen while you read, please!  ~

The dawn is breaking and I can hear Your whisper on the breeze
The world is waking and I am here to meet You on my knees
When I’m with You my soul finds rest ‘cause I can leave it in Your hands

The day keeps coming pulling me a million different ways
I’m always running but never seem to catch the things I chase
When I’m with You my soul finds rest ‘cause I can leave it in Your hands

Every sorrow, I leave it in Your hands
Every sickness, I leave it in Your hands
All my failures, I leave ‘em in Your hands
Amen. (I leave it in Your hands)

So I am laying the weight of all these burdens at Your feet
No more waiting ‘cause You’ve already won my victories
In Jesus my soul finds rest ‘cause I can leave it in Your hands

Every promise, I leave it in Your hands
Every healing, I leave it in Your hands
And my future, I leave it in Your hands
Amen. (I can leave it in Your hands)

It’s Your hands that form the mountains
Your hands set boundaries for the seas
And in Your hands You hold tomorrow
The same hands that took the nails for me

Every sorrow, I leave it in Your hands
Every sickness, I leave it in Your hands
All my failures, I leave them in Your hands
Amen. (I can leave it in Your hands)

Every promise, I leave it in Your hands
Every healing, I leave it in Your hands
And my future, I leave it in Your hands
Amen. (I can leave it in Your hands)
…I can leave it in Your hands

~  Performed by Unspoken  ~
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
I love this song for the confession of the Truth that it is!  Where would we be if it were not for choosing to ‘leave it in His hands’?  We can proclaim our trust as the psalmist did.

But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord,
I say, “You are my God.”
My times are in Your hand…
Psalms 31:14 and 15

These could easily have been similar words to what Ezra voiced in his prayers to his God.  Ezra was a man “uncompromisingly righteous” (I Kings 8:32).  God worked many things through the life and ministry of the priest Ezra and it was very apparent that Ezra’s life was in God’s hand (verses 6, 9, 28).  Most notably were the events which led to Ezra being commanded to come before King Artaxerxes (the son of Ahaseurus (Xerxes)—yes! THAT Ahaseurus…the husband of Esther!) to write a most important letter to be carried throughout the kingdom which determined that much wealth and “things” were acquired for the beautifying of the Temple in Jerusalem. (You can read the whole amazing record here.)

On the first of the first month he started out from Babylon, and on the first of the fifth month he arrived in Jerusalem, for upon him was the good hand of his God.
For Ezra had prepared and set his heart to seek the Law of the Lord [to inquire for it and of it, to require and yearn for it], and to do and teach in Israel its statutes and its ordinances.

Ezra 7:9 and 10

Ezra wrote (“scribed”) the king’s decree and also accompanied the letter throughout the kingdom. He thoroughly understood the magnitude of this event and praised God saying,

Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers [said Ezra], Who put such a thing as this into the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, and Who has extended His mercy and steadfast love to me before the king, his counselors, and all the king’s mighty officers. I was strengthened and encouraged, for the hand of the Lord my God was upon me, and I gathered together outstanding men of Israel to go with me to Jerusalem.

Verses 27 and 28

God’s hand accomplishes small and mighty things!  The point is not in the enormity of His blessing but the point is His sovereignty!  Our God has had the entire world and the lives of every person ever born ‘in His hand’ all along.

The prophet Isaiah was given many strong encouraging AND admonishing words to speak to God’s people.  He had told them just how to pursue God when fasting and they chose to do it their own way…and they did not receive the things they were asking of the Lord.  And Isaiah plainly told them why “the Lord’s hand” was against them.

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened at all, that it cannot save,
nor His ear dull with deafness, that it cannot hear.
But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.
Isaiah 59:1 and 2

We, as well, must always have the true fear of the Lord in our hearts compelling us to believe (and obey!).

Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest,
any one of you may seem to have come short of it.
For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word
they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.
For we who have believed enter that rest….
Hebrews 4:1-3

God’s heart (and His accompanying hand of provision and blessing) is to always provide what is good and best for those who seek Him. As Unspoken sings, “every sorrow…sickness…failure as well as every promise…healing…and our future” are best left in His hand.  Amen?

Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind
and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.
In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him,
and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.
Be not wise in your own eyes; reverently fear and worship the Lord
and turn [entirely] away from evil.

Proverbs 3:5-7

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Praise and Honor

March 2, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!) O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!
Who can put into words and tell the mighty deeds of the Lord?
Or who can show forth all the praise [that is due Him]?
Psalms 106:1-2 AMP

Praise the Lord!  What emotions or memories does this bring to your mind?  For me it is several things, such as when I found my dad who had given me up to my maternal aunt for adoption.  You see, I come from a line of misfit women.  And when I say misfit, I mean that in an endearing way.  The woman who raised me was the oldest of three girls. There was Pat, Mandy, and Linda.

Linda was the youngest and my biological mom.  Mandy, the middle sister had three boys.  Pat, the oldest, was the one who was stable, responsible.  Mandy appeared to be as well, but she had a hidden problem—she abused alcohol and drugs…mostly prescription ones.  Linda sought love in the wrong places.  You see I was the oldest child of at least five children.  She gave each of us up to families who could not have children of their own.

I was given to Pat and FA because Pat had a hard time carrying a child to full term. She had two live births and one of those died due to eating rat poison at age 2 or 3 years of age.  That’s when the idea came for Linda to abandon me and for Pat and FA to adopt me to help fill that void (plus she felt responsible for caring for me).  Then she was able to have Terry, my 1st cousin.  We were raised as brother and sister. Even though we are not that close now, we were when we were kids.  We fought like kids, loved like kids and grew in the Lord together.  Other things happened and I could see then a pattern of abuse.  Physical, mental and other abuses abounded.  I was determined, when I found out about curses, I would do everything I could to stop it from affecting my family.  I do what I can through God’s nudging to help others who seem to be stuck and trapped in an unending cycle of abuse.

Deuteronomy speaks of blessing and curse.  You do this and you receive this as a reward; you do that and you receive that as a curse (chapter 28).  I have learned that I should honor my parents.  No matter what they did, they were working out of their hurt, their pain, and their love.  God is the ONLY perfect parent.  He gave us imperfect ones to help us see that we need Him to grow and learn to love others no matter how they treat us.  Just as He loves us, we are to love them—unconditionally.

When I first married John, my second husband, I was so broken, hurt and discouraged.  I SO wanted the love that was written about in books and told in movies.  You see, I bought the lie about what love and intimacy truly is.  You cannot have these without fully seeking and know God.  I had heard a pastor speak one time about how women from broken relationships have a hard time with intimacy for whatever reason.  How we need to give ourselves to our husband as a gift, with a bow on.  While I have not done this yet, I want to.  When the time is right and I know I am doing it for ‘us’.  God gives you people to steer you in the right direction and right path.  I have found that in my 18 years of being married to John.  I have not been easy to deal with and, while he has had his moments, we have stayed commited to our vows.  We love each other in such deeper ways that I am in awe and wonder.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Father, thank You for Your love. Thank You for being patient and loving me when I hated everything and everyone. Forgive me for not knowing You more deeply than I do.  I want to know You with an intimacy that surpasses all my understanding.  Let me focus on You and be in continual prayer.  I love You, God.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: , , , ,

CHRISTLife — Week Eight

March 2, 2014 by

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Here we are, friends, coming down the homestretch!  This is week 8—the final week of our CHRISTLife study!  Y’know perhaps ‘homestretch’ is not the right word.  Truly this is not the destination but rather the launching pad to living our lives with the mindset ‘I AM who God says I am!’

Born-again and given a new identity in Christ, we have total sufficiency in Him (2 Corinthians 3:5).  And this week, Mrs. Myers puts before us that “…righteous, holy living is consistent with the persons we are now. It isn’t something foreign to us that we have to produce out of duty or even gratefulness. Rather, as we choose to follow Christ, we can expect to live a holy life because of who Christ is, what He has done, and what He has made us through our new birth.”

We ARE who God says we are…who Christ has enabled us to be!  Some of these images we will consider this week are:

  • Nurtured

Casting the whole of your care…on Him, for He cares for you
affectionately and cares about you watchfully.
1 Peter 5:7

  • Satisfied

I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
Psalm 63:5

  • Secure

He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
Psalm 40:2

  • Competent

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10

  • Bold

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13

  • Confident

And your ears will hear a word behind you, saying,
This is the way; walk in it,
when you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left.
Isaiah 30:21

  • Purposeful

…for it is God who is at work in you,
both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
Philippians 2:13

May I encourage each of you, friends, to believe and take hold of these Truthful images that we are looking at each day this week.  They are who you are (me, too!) because of the indwelling of Christ!

In this song, I Lift My Life Up, the lyrics go “When I hear You calling out…I follow now wherever the road may go.”  We, too, can make this commitment knowing that God has already enabled us!  This is who we ARE!  And, God has not left us alone to figure out what to do with these enablements. We have His Holy Spirit inside us helping us to remember that I AM who God says I am—nurtured, satisfied, secure, competent, bold, confident, and purposeful!  All for His glory!

I lift my life, lift my life up
I give it all in surrender
I lift my heart, lift my heart up
You can have it forever
All my dreams, all my plans
Lord, I leave it in Your hands
I lift my life, lift my life up
Have Your way in me

Filed Under: CHRISTLife Bible Study Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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