Scripture Memory Workout for Dec 15th

THis is the last Scripture for 2009! Congratulations if you have hung in there. I know that some of you are memorizing but haven't been posting your verses, and that's ok. As long as you're learning God's Word!!
Please post your last verse here, and also share which verse has been the most meaningful to you this year!

Scripture Memory Workout for Dec 1st

We are at verse 23!!! Are you still memorizing? Has it gotten any easier as the year has gone on?
I find that I need to create word pictures from my verses as I'm learning them and get an image of the verses in my brain. How about you?
Post your verses here!

Scripture Memory Workout for Nov 15th

We are near the home stretch!!! Only 2 more after this one.
How has memorizing God's Word enriched your life this year?
For me, it has been a constant reminder that I need to set my mind on things above, and memorizing and meditating on His Word are the most important ways to do that. His Word is Truth!!
Let's hear your verses!

Video Devotional from Jennifer Rothschild - Emmanuel

This is such a great reminder from Jennifer, as we start to move into the Christmas season!

Scripture Memory Workout for Nov 1st

Let's finish this year off strong with Scripture Memory! Only 4 more verses to go. Post your verses here and be blessed as you memorize God's word.
My verses for this month are a continuation from Ps 103 and they are a great reminder that not only are we to memorize His Word, but also to obey!

Ps 103: 17, 18 (NIV)
But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD's love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children's children-
with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.

The Rear-View Mirror

I had to go on a bit of a road trip today. The sun was bright and the leaves were absolutely beautiful. I had my praise and worship music in and I was singing along – totally enjoying the moment. All of a sudden this changed! I had entered into a section of road that was under construction and the bright sun hi-lighted all of the road makings making it impossible to identify which lane was which. I quickly found myself looking around for cars and fortunately the traffic was light. But...when I looked into my rear-view mirror something interesting caught my attention – the lines could be viewed perfectly! I glanced ahead again and they still looked all mixed up as the sun hi-lighted the areas where the workers had painted over the old markings, making them seem real again. As long as I glanced into my rear-view mirror I could keep my car in my lane of traffic – I could see the way.

After I drove out of the construction area I was thinking about what had just happened and was reminded about a book I have just finished, The Sacred Romance, by Brent Curtis and John Eldridge. This book describes the relationship God desires to have with each of us. The authors speak of life being a journey and referenced what we need to take on that journey. The three main things we need are faith, hope and love. The authors often quoted from Pilgrim’s Progress and, at one point, described when Pilgrim lay in despair because he had forgotten – forgotten how he had overcome pain, hardship, terror and loneliness. “Hopeful” urged Pilgrim to remember, both all he had been through as well as the assurance he has from God who called him on the journey. The authors suggest that “life on the road requires recollection of our Lord’s past deeds on our behalf and His promise of continued faithfulness to us. We will need courage and patience and those are strengthened by remembering. We will need memory, which is to say, we will need faith. Faith looks back and draws courage; hope looks ahead and keeps desire alive.” Faith looks back...Faith remembers! Romans 5:3-4 “And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

So, on the road of life, when the way becomes blurred and not totally clear, we need to look in the rear-view mirror in faith, remembering all that God has brought us through and all of His precious promises to us. As we draw courage from that we can then look ahead again – to the often-times still blurred lines – and know where we are to go, trusting God all the while – for He IS trustworthy!

DISCIPLINE THE LORD APPROVES

I wanted to share with you a session from the Mom to Mom – growing together study that Linda Anderson wrote. In Linda’s devotion she addressed Eph. 6:1-4 and points out verse 4 which stood out in my mind:

“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord”. (NIV)

The Home and Christian Standard Bible puts it this way “Fathers, don’t stir up anger in your children, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord”.

And the version in “The Message” says “Fathers, don’t exasperate your children by coming down hard on them. Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master”.

Linda Anderson goes on to say that 1) we must be confident of our responsibility as parents, 2) careful in our discipline so to not provoke anger in our children. Colossians 3:21 says “Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged”. 3) We have standards in training and instruction that comes from the Lord. Hebrews 12:1-13 speaks about God disciplining his sons. “The Lord disciplines those he loves”.

Discipline begins with teaching, training and modeling
Discipline grows out of love
Discipline is for the child’s good
Discipline should begin early
Discipline should inspire and motivate – not exasperate
Discipline requires courage and perseverance

These are positive biblical principles of discipline.

I have been disciplined so many times by my Lord, but it always inspires and motivates me, and I feel it is out of God’s deep love for me and not anger. It is also for my good and so I will pass this on to my children.

My son the other day was concerned about his sister and came down hard on her with his advice. She got upset and ran to the other room. I followed her and told her that her brother loves her soooo much that he wants so much for her to listen to him for her benefit, but unfortunately says it in a harsh way. Her brother came in and I told him “although your intentions are good, you need to say it in a more loving way or else your sister will not hear the good advice and will be exasperated”. He hugged his sister and apologized and she immediately perked up.

I think we all need to be careful in how we discipline. My prayer today for myself and for you all is that we be “courageous and persevere” in the loving discipline that our heavenly Father himself approves.

We Have a Winner for the Scripture Memory Challenge!!

Way to go Siestas on all the memorization fo God's Word over the summer.
Every time you entered a verse on the blog that you were memorizing, your name was put in on a slip of paper and put into a box. Today a random draw was made of all the entries, from June till September.
And the winner is...........




Drum roll..........







Fanfare............







Tammy Brophy !!!!!








Tammy wins a $20 gift card to Starbucks. Congratulations to everyone for hiding God's Word in your heart!!! We are still keeping up the scripture memory in step with Beth's LPM Blog, so don't let up. It goes till the end of December.

Scripture Memory Workout for October 1st

It's officially Fall. Today in Ontario, it's a crispy cold morning, the sky is blue and the trees are turning shades of gold and orange and red.

When Fall happens it makes us sit up and take notice.

My Scripture memory verses for this week remind me that everything in this big world points to God's compassion and love for His children.

Ps 103:12-14 "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgression from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He knows how we are formed and remembers that we are dust."

What is your memory verse? How does it remind you of God's love for you?

Woman with Needs - Woman with Gifts

We are all woman of need and if I asked you where in your life you find yourself most needy, what would you tell me? Perhaps at present you find yourself needy emotionally. Maybe your need can be described as depression, anger, or anxiety. Or perhaps yours is a physical need, a handicap or illness. There may be financial needs or spiritual needs. Sometimes I find myself saying; "I need a break", or "I need a vacation!" Other times I find myself in a more serious and desperate state of neediness that struggles with seeing any light at the end of the tunnel. Whatever might be your need today, it is a fact that we are all woman of need and that our needs vary from one another.

Psalm 40:17 says; "But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinks upon me." Psalm 70:5 says; "But I am poor and needy; make haste to me, O God!" And Psalm 86:1; "Bow down Your ear O Lord, hear me, for I am poor and needy."

David in these verses expresses openly his needy state before God. Being aware of our own needs in life is one thing. Being able to express our need to God and to others can be more challenging. Why? Because in sharing our need, we may expose our vulnerable side. It often knocks at the door of our pride and therefore requires brokeness, humility and a dependency on God and others to help us with our need.

God does promise to be there for us and He often uses others in our lives to help us in our time of need. From the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 Jesus calls those in their state of neediness whether mournful, broken, poor in spirit, or persecuted as those blessed with great promises. In Philippians 4:19 we read that God promises to supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

We are not only woman with needs but we are also woman with gifts and if I were to ask you what you consider to be the gift or gifts you have received, what would you tell me? Perhaps you consider your greatest gift to be salvation through Jesus Christ. God has also given each of His children one or more spiritual gifts. And as woman with these gifts, we are encouraged to use those gifts for His glory. James 1:17 tells us that "every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights..." Just as our needs as woman vary from one another, so too vary the gifts we are blessed to receive from our Heavenly Father.

How often do we acknowledge the Giver of every good and perfect gift we have? The very breath we breathe is a gift from Him. Even pain, struggle, and trials are gifts from God when we accept them knowing they are given with a greater divine purpose beyond what might be our present understanding. In Romans 5 we read that we "also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance and persevarance, character, and character, hope." Perseverance, character, and hope in our lives are gifts from God.

We are woman with needs and we are woman with gifts. (And by now you are probably wondering where I'm going with this!?) 2 Thessalonians helps illustrate how our needs and our gifts can be tied together beautifully when they are wrapped in the Father's love.

"Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work."

Our Heavenly Father loves us unconditionally and it is vital as woman with needs and as woman with gifts that we receive this love that He lavishly gives to each one of us.

It is the love of the Father that as woman with needs we are given an "everlasting consolation, an everlasting comfort and good hope by grace" that is able to meet our every need.

It is the love of the Father that as woman with gifts we can be "established", to make use of the good and perfect gifts we have in "every good word and work".

Without our Heavenly Fathers love, our needs could easily defeat us. We may lose our perspective of our good God doing that deeper work of refining and maturing our faith, as well as our total dependence on Him who promises to meet our every need.

Without our Heavenly Fathers love, our gifts could easily be considered as something we deserve or earned out of our own efforts. We may become prideful, keep our gifts to ourselves, not willing to share freely with others.

Our needs and our gifts need to be wrapped up together in the love of our Heavenly Father. Whatever situation you find yourself in today, consider 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17. May it be the encouragement to acknowledge your own need(s) and as well may it be the encouragement to use your gift(s) and all for the glory of God.

I Can't Believe I Did That!!

Have you ever been convicted by the Holy Spirit about sin in your life, repented and resolved to change, and then the very next day you go ahead and do it again?? Do you ever get on that merry-go-round cycle of sin-confess-sin-confess? I know I do. In fact, its something I struggle with regularly.
It might help you to know that the Apostle Paul also struggled in the same way. He wrote in Romans 7: 18-24 "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?"
If his conclusion to his dilemma was what he said in verse 24, I sure wouldn't feel much hope, would you? "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?"
Fortunately he turns the corner and gives the good news: "Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (v 25)
He goes on to say in chapter 8 that the law leads to sin and death, but the Spirit gives life and freedom!!
Question: Does the Spirit of God live in you? If the answer to that question is "yes", here's so more good news: "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you." (v. 9)
Could it be that I've been trying to "clean myself up" or do it all on my own strength?
I love verse 11: "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you", because it reminds me of one of my Scripture memory verses from this summer: "Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things" (Col. 3:1)
Those 2 verses tell me that because Jesus rose from the dead, the Spirit gives life and freedom to me. And because of Christ's finished work, I have also been raised with Christ. So when I let the Spirit have control, instead of trying to do it all myself, that's when I'll have freedom from that cycle of sin-confess-sin-confess.
Philip Yancey has said: "The proof of spiritual maturity isn't how 'pure' you are, but your awareness of your impurity. That very awareness opens the door to God's grace."
Oh God, empty me of "me" and fill me with Your Spirit, so that my sin nature won't take over, and so that I can live by Your Spirit!!

Scripture Memory Workout for September 15

it's that time again!! My, don't the 2 weeks roll by fast! I'm glad this is not a weekly thing, otherwise I don't think I'd have very many verses memorized. Two weeks is about perfect for reading the verses, saying them out loud every day, rolling them around in my head throughout the day, and meditating on them until they become second nature.

What verse do you choose for this 2 week timeslot? Give the verse, what translation you're using, and your name -- then let's encourage one another to hide God's Word in our hearts!!

How to Live The Christian Life

I am finishing a Bible study that I have been doing for the past couple of months - Conversation Peace by Mary Kassian. Week 6, Day 2 spoke about Jesus being our Teacher and referenced Psalm 32:8 – “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” The study explained that Jesus invited people to take on His yoke and learn from Him. It explained the “yoke” referred to the process of training a young bullock to plow, describing how “farmers harnessed it to the same yoke as a mature ox. The young bullock, which was dwarfed in size by the large animal, did not pull any of the weight. It merely learned to walk in a field under control, harnessed to a partner. The mature ox pulled all the weight and set the direction for the youngster, whose only responsibility was to walk alongside.”

I was reminded of Colossians 2:6 “so then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, so walk in Him”. The first time I was brought to this verse it was connected to Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” The speaker (Louie Giglio) connected the two verses by explaining that we are to live the Christian life the same way we were saved – by grace through faith!!! That teaching was powerfully impressed upon me some five years ago – while doing the study, I got a “visual” illustration of how that looks. Jesus pulls all the weight, takes the entire burden and directs my path - as long as I remain yoked to Him! He promises His yoke is easy and His burden is light. What a delightful thought. I am learning to rest in this precious truth.

Let’s praise Him for His lavish love towards us!

Blessings,
June

Hungry? A Video Devo from Jennifer Rothschild

(Sorry that this is being posted so late on Monday.....I've been having internet issues!! - Judi)

Jennifer asks: "What is your favorite comfort food? If you know me even a little, you'll know that mine is usually dark chocolate! Food has a unique way of making up for emotional roller coasters, boredom and lack of energy. What about your spiritual food?"

September Chat

Please post prayer requests, comments and thoughts here. This is a place where you can feel free to chat up a storm!!

Siesta Scripture Memory Workout Verse for September 1st

Well Siestas, has this been a workout for you? Are you exercising your memory and also your spiritual insight by memorizing, meditating on, and repeating your verses over and over ? Have you run into any situations where one of your verses has popped into your mind at just the right time? If so, please share with the rest of us and let's be encouraged.

In the comments below, write the verse you chosen to memorize for the next 2 weeks, why you've chosen it, and don't forget to sign your name! Then either in the same comment box, or a new one, share anything that God has impressed on you from your verses, or maybe even an instance where you've been able to speak one of your verses into your own or someone else's life.

Under His Hand

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time." I Peter 5:6

If you come over to my house and meet my dog, TJ, the first thing you'll notice (after he quits barking at you) is that he loves attention. He honestly believes that every visitor to our house is there to see him! He loves nothing more than to sit beside you and have you pet him!

In the morning when I wake up, often I'll pat the bed beside me, call his name, and he'll come over from his sleeping spot and jump on to the bed beside me to get his ears scratched and his tummy rubbed. If I move my hand away, he'll thrust his nose under my hand, wanting me to pet him. As I think about that, I am impressed by God that this is how we should approach Him every morning.

Imagine how our lives would change if our first thought or action was not, "Oh no, another day," or "Am I late for work?" For those who have experienced loss, that waking moment may hold, "I wonder where he or she is," or "I miss my loved one." I have been told that smokers often think, "I need a cigarette," immediately upon waking.

What if our first action of every day was more like TJ's in the morning? Perhaps the Lord is impressing me, through this simple canine act, that the first thing I should do every day is to get my head under His hand, so that He can guide my thoughts and order my steps.

"Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:1-2)

When God's hand rests upon our lives, wisdom will enlighten our minds and integrity will direct our feet. Jesus said that He is light, and His light guides our paths. When the light moves, we move. Where He goes, we must go. We not only walk in the light, but we freely express the glory of His light through our lives. This is life under His hand.

When TJ showers me with kisses, I appreciate his enthusiasm and affection, but sometimes it's a bit much. However, now when he pushes his head under my hand, I turn my attention to him, petting his head as I contemplate God's truth. His move is not bold or boisterous, yet I notice him. I pull him close.

I have no doubt that God never wearies of our enthusiasm and affection, but I also believe that he notices our submission. "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you," wrote James, the brother of Jesus. (James 4:8)

Under His hand there is warmth and intimacy. When we press in toward God, it's like TJ nudging my hand. God responds with divine love. He presses in toward us. This is perhaps the most intimate relationship that mankind can have with Holy God while we are still alive on this earth. It is supernatural and life-changing.

Under His hand there is security and safety. If you ever see the owner of a cat or small dog encounter a large, threatening dog, you will see the same reaction: the owner will immediately pick up their pet and hold it close. When the owner holds their beloved pet, the animal is usually safe. With God, we are always safe when under His hand. The Psalmist declared, "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, 'My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!'" (Psalm 91:1-2)

We cannot live in the "shadow of the Almighty" without being close. It requires the kind of trust TJ has in me: simple, yet profound. He trusts me completely, even when his limited mind cannot comprehend my plans. He obeys me, for the most part, and his obedience is rewarded with the good things I bring him. I look for ways to give him joy -- though I am just a human. How much greater is a close relationship with the Creator of the universe when we trust Him completely? The joy He gives surpasses anything we could ever conjure on our own.

Maybe you didn't wake up today seeking to have His hand resting on your head, but you can start now by drawing near and He will draw near to you. Then tomorrow, and every day after that, begin your day by pressing closer to Him, submitting your will and quieting your mind. When we truly learn to live this way, we will begin to experience the transforming power of His abiding presence.

journeys

Some of you know that at the beginning of this summer, Jodi, Kelsey and I got to hike the Grand Canyon. It was truly an incredible experience, and as we sat on the rim of the canyon the next day, and now as we have time to consider some of what we went though on that journey, the Lord has been teaching me a lot.

Even while we were hiking, the Lord was pointing things out to us. We had to start out at 4:00am in order to finish our hike before the heat of the day…even as it was, by 11:00am when we got to the bottom of the Canyon the temperature was already 100 degrees F. I couldn’t help but think about spending mornings with the Lord. Time alone with Him, first, before the phone starts ringing or I check my email, to be poured in to and filled up before the ‘heat of the day’. If we had tried to hike between 10:00am and 4:00pm we would have suffered from heat exhaustion, struggled with dehydration and probably hurt ourselves. If only I could think that way about my day spiritually, that I would be putting myself in harm’s way if I wasn’t up early, spending my time with the Lord, before attempting to start my day.

Then, as we got to the bottom, all we wanted was refreshment. We needed cold water, needed to cool our feet…we couldn’t get from our campsite to the creek beside it fast enough. I don’t think I have ever thanked the Lord for water before in my life. Although it wasn’t exactly “still waters” (Psalm 23) He definitely made us lie down beside them. It was sweet refreshment at Phantom Ranch beside the Colorado. Cool water, and even a canteen for the mule riders that had air conditioning! How often does the Lord provide perfect refreshment after a time of struggling and hard work? It was exactly what we needed to get us ready for the next part of our journey.

As we started out at 4:30am the next morning, feeling refreshed, but sore, we started the journey upwards. This second day of the trip was hard, but strangely, after the work from the day before, and as our muscles warmed up a bit, it wasn’t quite as difficult. Maybe it was knowing a bit of what to expect, maybe we were just that little bit stronger from the day before…I don’t know what it was, but we made it to our 2nd stop earlier than we expected, rested for a few hours and then decided to finish our journey that day. We had approximately 4miles to go up 5000 feet in elevation, not just an easy walk. There were moments that we all struggled, had to stop, needed encouragement, needed food or water – none of us could have done it on our own. Having teammates walking along side you, pushing you on, sometimes pulling you up – so often we think that if we can do things alone then it’ll be easier…but really, we leave ourselves weaker than we could be with others. I mean, Jesus had 12 guys to walk with Him, Paul travelled with at least one companion and we are to be the “body of Christ”…why do we think we can do things alone? We learned while we hiked up that canyon that a ‘threefold cord’ (Ecc 4:12) is definitely much stronger.

But it was the final part of our hike that was by far the most revealing to me. We just got home from camps on Sunday, after 10 weeks of travelling from Southern California to Seattle to Thunder Bay to New Hampshire to New York I am longing for rest. To stop, to take time for myself…the great dream of our western society – to retire! The end of our journeys should let us rest and think about ourselves for once. But that’s not what the end of our journey brought. The last 1.5 miles, up almost 3000 feet, was in the complete darkness. Without our headlights we couldn’t see our hands in front of our faces. We lost all sense of perception, we had no idea how far it was to the top, couldn’t get our minds around the thoughts of continuing on as we’d round one corner of a switch back to find another one stretching out in front of us. It was a struggle every minute of that climb. Where do we get the idea that the end of our journey should be all about us? There’s no evidence of that in scripture. Moses died after completing what the Lord had for him, the disciples all suffered martyrs deaths and the one who didn’t (John) when he should have been in his retirement years after serving Christ faithfully his whole life, was instead thrown into exile! They seemed to realize that our retirement plan as Christians is eternity in the presence of God…why can’t I see that? That hike in the darkness was the most difficult, but let me be amazed by God’s sustaining power even more, and the joy of crossing that finish line was that much sweeter. I don’t deserve to rest, I am blessed by God’s ridiculous grace to be allowed to rest. Yes, He makes me take refreshment because He knows I need to be refilled in order to be poured out again, but if we stop thinking about what we are entitled to and start realizing that every drop of blessing or good in our lives is God’s grace…perhaps we can view our journeys just a little bit differently as we hike this year!

A PURE HEART

Purify my heart; let me be as gold and precious silver,
Purify my heart, let me be as gold, pure gold.
Refiner’s fire, my heart’s one desire; is to be holy, set apart for you Lord,
I choose to be holy, set apart for you my Master, ready to do your will.
(song by Brian Doerksen)

We need to purify our hearts in order to be ready to do God’s will. How can God work through us or use us for his perfect purpose if our hearts are filled with guilt, animosity or anger? These are things that Satan can use against us to steer us away from God’s will in our lives and from working effectively for Him.

Recently, I have had to ask God to purify my heart from this hurt and anger I have been holding on to. I knew I had to let it go to effectively move forward in my walk with God, but I was still hanging on to the hurt and anger. My awesome Christian mentor (my dad) has been praying for me and he pointed me in the direction of forgiveness and God spoke to me through my dad about purifying my heart so I can see clearly and allow God to work through my life…to have a pure pathway ready to do his will and receive his miracles in my life. It is liberating!

We are constantly bombarded with negative people, attacks of hurt, misunderstandings, and ignorance. Don’t let them consume you. We can’t be exempt from them, but have to face these issues in our lives and deal with them, pray about them and let them go. God will allow these negative things in our lives to stretch us and refine us and bring us closer to Jesus. Keep your eyes on Jesus and allow God to speak to you through his word and the people around you.

Psalm 51:10-12
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” (NIV)

God bless you all!
Tammy

August 15th Scripture Memory Challenge

Good Morning! I am in awe of God's goodness as I realize that since I've joined this Scripture Memory challenge, I've memorized 8 passages of Scripture! I love God's timing. It seems that He brings so many opportunities to put into practise, or to be mindful of the verses that I've memorized!
Today the verse I've chosen is Psalm 119:147-148
I rise before dawn and cry for help;
I have put my hope in your word.
My eyes stay open through the watches of the night,
that I may meditate on your promises.
I chose this verse because lately I've been experiencing a lot of waking up at 3 or 4am and being wide awake. Or lying in bed at midnight, not being able to get to sleep. I want to learn these verses so that I'll remind myself that I can cry out to God for help and His desire is for me to hope in Him and in His Word. I want to use that "awake" time to meditate on His promises.
Ok, so what's your verse, and why are you choosing it?
Judi

Waiting

There are certain situations and circumstances in life that make the process of waiting hard and maybe even unbearable, or at the very least, frustrating. Do you too find waiting hard? Just last week I was at the dental office waiting for my daughter to be finished with her yearly checkup. It was the end of the day with no other clients in the waiting room and as the time I had been informed that she would be finished had come and gone, more waiting ensued. As each minute passed I doubled the amount of times I looked at my watch as well as changing positions in my chair and of course, thinking of all the other pertinent things and places I should rather be attending to but couldn't. I had no other choice but to wait and it was frustrating.

I'm sure we could all come up with examples in life on the challenge of waiting. Of course, despite my frustration, I did survive the wait at the dental office. After all, in the scheme of things, this kind of waiting can be defined as nothing more than one of a hundred daily inconveniences we all face and somehow survive with not much thought after all is said and done.

But what about waiting for the bigger situations in our lives that fully depend on God to work? For example, when waiting for "Mr. Right, or waiting for healing either spiritual, physical or relational, or waiting for God's direction or confirmation?

Waiting on God to work in whatever situation we might be facing today is challenging. Oswald Chambers in his book "My Utmost for His Highest" stated; "One of the greatest stresses 'in life' is the stress of waiting on God." I believe waiting on God challenges my limited understanding of His ways and also challenges my desire to get out of a waiting situation by any human means possible.

I'm waiting on God concerning a couple situations in my own life and just as I had no choice but to wait in that dental office, I also find myself with no choice but to wait on God to do His work in His way and in His time. So the question for me is; how do I respond in a right way when waiting on God?

I'm drawn to the encouragement of God's Word that commands I wait. Psalms 27:14; "Wait for the Lord, be strong." and 37:34; "Wait for the Lord and keep his way." and 62:5; "God alone, O my soul, wait in silence." Obedience to His command to wait allows God the opportunity to provide me with His all-sufficient grace, peace and strength to wait. And I really don't want to miss the blessing of all God promises to be for me!

I also need to respond in the right way when waiting on God by trusting Him completely in the process. The longer I find myself waiting, the more tempted I am to doubt God's purpose in having me wait and then determine in my own strength to work my way out of that waiting. Can I trust Him to complete that good work in me, even when part of that good work requires waiting on Him?

Waiting is hard but may we be encouraged today in the knowledge that our good and faithful God has a perfect purpose and plan to the waiting He allows in our lives and that ultimately by it, His good work will be completed in me and in you!

"But they who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31 ESV)

August Chat

Hey Ladies, this is the place, for the rest of the month of August, to write your random thoughts, post messages to one another, favourite verses, prayer requests.
In June's words: maybe a "chat" posting would be useful - people can read - or not, and respond, or not.
Let's continue to keep in touch!

Siesta Bible Study Gathering # 4

Wow, its hard to believe that we are at the end of our study.

If you haven't quite finished (like me), then grab your book & your Bible and catch up!! Then join us for our last "meeting".

Here's Beth's video - be sure to watch it start to finish - it is such a hoot!!!

Now here are the four interactives that Beth is giving us to do (copied from her Blog):

"First two from Week Five:

1. See pages 102-103. Book freak that I am, I loved the way Jennifer started the week with English author Huxley’s comparison of our memories to private collections of literature. Lock in on the graphic of the books on the shelf on p.103. Each person share the words they wrote on the first and last book.

2. See pages 112-113 where Jennifer talks about the unattractiveness of complaining. You might say, it’s like living our lives with rollers in our hair. Jennifer drew a very insightful connection between a complaining spirit and a sense of entitlement. In your gatherings, talk about what you think the term “entitlement” means and offer a few examples of it.

Second set from Week Six:

3. See p.126. As we wrap up our series, I want you guys to share your answers (even if you didn’t write them down) to Jennifer’s first questions: What’s the most significant thing you recognized about your self-talk so far? In other words, I’m asking you to share the biggest revelation you received through the study about your thought closet.

BTW, I loved Jennifer’s creativity in the interactive on p.130 about the colors in our closets. I like questions that really make me think and imagine. These are the kinds of question some of our personality types and learning styles love and others roll their eyes about. If you are the kind that loved it and you came up with a pretty creative color, share it! If you’re the kind that rolled your eyes, roll them one more moment while your sister shares. I love you both.

4. See the bottom of p.136. What is the most frequent song you’re singing right now to your soul to help you persevere and keep hope alive? I almost overlooked this exercise because we shared a post not too long ago concerning the songs that stir up our love for Jesus. This one’s a little different though. Jennifer is asking specifically about songs that stir us up to perseverance. Songs that make us essentially say, “March on, my soul, be strong!” What’s yours presently?

Siestas, I have loved EVERY MINUTE of this study! Thank you so much for participating! Be sure and start looking right away for the Bible study you’re going to do this Fall. We’ve got to plan for faithfulness and, to do that, we’ve got to stay in God’s Word! I will ask you late in August what you’re planning to do in September for Bible study so try to make up your mind by that time. Remember, accountability is KEY!!! "

Okay, this is our last session (sniff, sniff), so let's really put our hearts and thoughts out there and share some of the real stuff that God has been doing in us!!!

August 1st (oops - sorry) Scripture Memory Workout Verse

Time for our next verse in the Scripture Memory Workout! If you are doing the Scripture memory challenge, please post your verse here.
Even if you usually put your verse on the LPM Blog every 2 wks, please put it here too, to encourage the women in our group, and also maybe even to give others an idea of what to memorize!!

Monday Morning Devotional - Love is a VERB

Recently I read somewhere that "Love is a VERB" and it has stayed with me – almost constantly.
I also recently read a story on CNN. This story was about a young woman and her brother who were adopted by a man who had dated their mother. You see, the young woman writing the story had been adopted by a woman and now that woman had died. There were no family members who wanted the children so an old friend of their mother’s stepped up to the plate. He added the two children to his own family. I really identified with the pain in her story and sat in from of the computer and cried. Yet, I know my God, El-Shaddai, has comforted and healed me and could not understand why I was such a mess by reading that story. As I prayed and asked my Father to help me understand what was happening, He reminded me of the verse 2 Cor. 1:3-5 –

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

I told my Father that He has brought me through many things victoriously and the memories of them are in my head. As I touched my head as emphasis my hands slid down to my heart and I told my Father the memories were also in my heart. It was then, through my tears, that I spread my hands out before Him and said “Father, my head is engaged, my heart is engaged, please let all this flow out through my hands”. I then thought again of the phrase I heard recently – “Love is a VERB”.

God intends us to be His hands in the marketplace – to be the flesh and bones over His Spirit as He demonstrates His love to others and comforts them in their pain. I must die to myself and my personal selfish desires and allow Him to work in and through me. To offer through those hands a taste of Him - to the extent that others will see Him alone and taste of His goodness. Once they have really tasted of that Living Water there is absolutely no turning back – they WILL desire a full portion for themselves. We are but clay vessels containing that Living Water and it needs to be poured out.
Father, please grant us this day that we would forsake all save you. That we would fall more in love with Jesus in and through your precious word. May we love the Bride and the world as Jesus does.

Yours in Him
June

Beth's New Bible Study - "The Inheritance"

I was just on the LPM home site and saw that Beth has a brand new Bible study out!!!!
Check it out at bethmoore.org
If you haven't got a Bible study in place for your women's ministry this fall, you many want to have a look.

Week 6 - A Hope Filled Thought Closet

Post your comments, thoughts and questions here about Week 6 in the workbook. This is our last week! Boy, this has gone fast, hasn't it?

Monday Morning Devotional - He Lifts me Up

Ps 42:5 " Why are you cast down, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God. "
Ps 23:3 "He restores my soul"

In his book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, Phillip Keller explains that throughout the psalms, David uses language that every shepherd would understand.
Sheep are built in such a way that if they fall over on their side and then onto their back, it's very difficult for them to get up again. They flail their legs in the air, bleat and cry. After a few hours on their backs, gas begins to collect in their stomachs, the stomach hardens, the air passage is cut off, and the sheep will eventually sufocate. This is referred to as a "cast down" position.
When a shepherd restores a cast down sheep, he reassures it, massages its legs to restore circulation, gently turns the sheep over, lifts it up, and holds it so it can regain its equilibrium.
What a picture of what God wants to do for us! When we're on our backs, flailing around because of guilt, grief or grudges, our loving Shepher reassures us with His grace. He lifts us up and holds us until we've gained our spiritual equilibrium.
Have you been cast down? No matter what the reason, God is the only one who can help you get on your feet again. He'll restore your confidence, your joy and your strength!

The Father's Love Letter

As we've looked at the value that God places on us, His temple, here's a great video to watch as a reminder:

Week 5 - God in the Centre of your Thought Closet

As you work through week 5 in the MM&L book, please post your comments, questions & any discussion thoughts here. As "Bible Study Buddies", lets be accountable to one another.

I just finished watching Session 4's video. It's a .wmv file and you can download it from Lifeway for $4.99. I would highly reccommend watching this one if you can. My preference would be to have you all over to my place so we could all watch it together from my computer screen, but here's the link to the Lifeway page: click here

I was intrigued when I had a look at the listening guide fill in the blanks, so that's why I decided to purchase the video file. I'm really glad I did! She bases her message on the story of Namaan & his leprosy, and Jennifer has some really right-on things to say about sin in our thought closets. And also gives some good questions to ask our accountability partners.

Siesta Bible Study Gathering # 3

If you havent had a chance to see Beth's video on the LPM Blog, here it is:

Siesta Summer Bible Study (Weeks 3 and 4) -Part 2 from LPV on Vimeo.

Okay, here are the four questions for us to discuss together. I hope that over the past 4 weeks, we've had a chance to get to know one another a bit and develop some trust with one another. Some of these questions are tough, and demand true honesty! Here are Beth's questions:

1. Look at the top of p.57 and note the track Jennifer gave us from emotions to thoughts to actions. Discuss its relevance and any recent examples. At the bottom of that same page, she refers to “THINKING WITH OUR FEELINGS.” Discuss this familiar female propensity as well.

2. Turn to p.65 where we studied the woman with the issue of blood. In the first full paragraph, Jennifer writes, “We often face one defining circumstance that becomes the headwater from which other issues flow.” Would some of you be willing to share what your “one defining circumstance” is and how it tends to affect a number of different areas?

OK, this is not a discussion question but I want to mention it because it was one of my very favorite things and I’ve thought about it a ton since I read it. Take a glance at p.73 where Jennifer shares the story about being stuck on a plane and the little girl near her saying to her daddy, “I spy something good.” Did that speak to you, too?

Now, from Week Four:

3. Based on p.81. where Jennifer discusses what we say to ourselves when we talk to ourselves about sin: What has been your most recurrent conviction lately and what are you doing about it? (If you’re not presently doing anything about it, admitting it to your group is a start!)

Discuss how she ties up the point on p.87 with these words: “Never let the Enemy be more aware of your weaknesses than you are.”

4. Review p.88. Do you have a framework set up in your life for consistent accountability? Do you have at least one person in your life who holds you accountable in your pursuit of God and godliness and doesn’t just help you stay comfortable in your strongholds? Look at Jennifer’s statement: “The Enemy goes after the solitary and the silent.”

Discuss the fears involved in opening up to accountability and the solutions to those fears. What holds us back? Is it time? Exposure? Fear of confidence being betrayed? Talk about fears, solutions, and the importance of taking the chance.

I (Judi) have one more question to add and would love to hear all your answers on:
5. From p. 73, what was your answer to the first question on the page: "How have you benefited from the Holy Spirit's teaching?"

Let's have some great interaction that will make us feel like we're sitting in someone's living room having coffee (decaf)!!

How God Builds our Faith: A Dream

Today's devotional is from "Purpose Driven Connection"

“Now glory be to God, who by His mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes” (Ephesians 3:20 LB).

Faith is like a muscle: it can be strengthened. It can be weak or it can be strong, depending on how much you use it.

How does God build your faith? He uses a very predictable pattern and, if you understand it, you can cooperate with Him in developing greater faith. It’s like when the father, seeking help from Jesus for his son, said, “Have pity on us and help us, if you possibly can!” (Mark 9:22 TEV)

Jesus replied, “What do you mean, ‘If I can?’ . . . Anything is possible if a person believes” (Mark 9:23 NLT).

The first thing God does to build your faith is give you a dream. When God wants to work in your life, He’ll always gives you a dream—about yourself, about what He wants you to do, about how He’s going to use your life to impact the world.

There are many examples in the Bible of this.

• God gave Noah the dream of building an ark.
• God gave Abraham the dream of being the father of a great nation.
• God gave Joseph the dream of being a leader that would save his people.
• God gave Nehemiah the dream of building the wall around Jerusalem.

How do you know when a dream is from God or when it’s just something you’ve thought up yourself? The Bible tells us that God, “by His mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes” (Ephesians 3:20 LB).

In other words, if a dream comes from God, it will be so big in your life that you can’t do it on your own. If you could do it on your own, you wouldn’t need faith. And if you don’t have faith you’re not pleasing God, because the Bible says whatever is not of faith is sin (Roman 14:23).

God starts to build your faith by giving you a dream. He may be speaking to you now, but you just don’t recognize it for what it is. That dream you have—the idea, the concept, that thing you’ve been thinking about doing that would be of real benefit to other people—where do you think that idea came from?

God will never tell you to do something that contradicts His truth. In other words, He won’t give you a dream of leaving your family and kids and moving to Hollywood to be a movie star. If you’ve got that dream, then you can know it is not from God.

God starts with a dream as He works within your life to build faith.

You can view this devotional and more at www.purposedriven.com

July 15th Scripture Memory Workout Verse

Time for our next verse in the Scripture Memory Workout!
For you girls doing the MM&L Bible Study, how many of you are going to memorize Phil. 4:8 (I am - it's something I need to be reminded of) , or one of the other verses that have come up in the study?
I was struck by something Beth said in her post on the LPM Blog today:
"Scripture memory alone will just make you arrogant. Lapping up those Scriptures like they are the only spring in your desert will make you different"
Let's be sure we don't just memorize, but DO the thang as well!!!

Week 4 - Guarding the Door of Your Thought Closet

For those of you who are on week 4, please post any thoughts, notes, comments, questions or insights here!

Here's a message from Jennifer!

GPS - God's Practical Steps

I have a GPS. When they hit the affordable market I decided I wanted one. Not for guidance, as I had no idea what it was capable of, but for fun. Those who know me know that I love my tech “toys”. It was new and technological so I wanted one. A friend received a GPS from her husband for Christmas and showed me – explaining what it could do. NOW I really wanted one. Before it was for fun, but now it seemed a necessity as I am often on the road for my job. My friends must have thought it a necessity for me as well because they gave me one amidst my squeal of delight in Tim Horton’s!

For those who are not so technically inclined GPS is the acronym for Global Positioning System. It is pre-loaded with maps of North America (and other places if you want) and also has a directory of almost every conceivable store, hospital, gas station, ATM location and, definitely not least, all Tim Horton’s! No matter where you are at, if you need an ATM, gas station, car service etc, you just input that into your GPS and, voila, you have immediate directions from where you are at. When you are travelling you set your destination and it calculates the directions. When you miss your turn, which is very hard to do with the little voice repeatedly reminding you to turn, it recalculates the directions and gets you back on course.

Well, you have to guess that I “played” with it. The very first night, driving home I decided to use it. I kept making turns against what it was telling me to do and hearing “recalculating”. When I got close to home it told me to turn down a road I really did not think would get me to my route. I was so surprised to find a new way home! Wow, was I impressed. It also found a faster way home from the local grocery store I have been using for over 3 years!

Shortly after I received my GPS, I was going to Buffalo airport for a 6:30 a.m. flight so I programmed in the address and set out. Now, I have been to this airport before, but another neat detail about the GPS is that it gives you a very accurate, updated time of arrival and this is what I wanted. When I headed out at 3:30 a.m. I knew where I was going...until I could not get on the highway – the road was blocked for repair work. No fear, the GPS was soon heard to say “recalculating”. I followed the directions and was soon back on the route and heading to the border. However, the GPS had me going a way I had not gone before. So I proceeded to go my usual way ignoring the GPS directions. I crossed the border and heard MANY “recalculating”. There is another feature to this GPS and that is the “mute” button. I used it. I saw the little airplane logo and “airport” sign so proceeded to follow it. Did you know there is an airport in Niagara Falls? Well I did not. In my insistence that I was right and ignoring the GPS “recalculating” directions, this is just where I ended up! Here I sat 4:30 in the morning, no one around, dark and absolutely no idea where I was. I looked at the GPS and actually spoke out loud to it “okay, you win, take me to Buffalo airport. I will take every direction you give without question!” I rested in its directions and, within 25 minutes, it had me at my destination in lots of time. Amazing little gadget!

When I was removing it from its home on my car window and placing it in my purse, I had what seemed to be a nudge from the Lord. I thought about His Word that provides flawless direction for my life. It even “recalculates” when I decide not to listen to it (And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28). Just like the GPS, He gives me direction (Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21). I was convicted by the thought that if I only listened and followed the Lord as unfalteringly as I have this little man-made tool I could have avoided many wrong-turns. I wondered if I had “muted” the Lord’s directions at times when I was so very sure I knew the way. And, just as the GPS helped me discover better routes amongst the familiar, I am thinking that, by following the Word even when I am doing something so familiar, it can make my life more simple. One of the definitions of simple is “one thing”. By following the greatest commandment (one thing) from God, to love Him with my whole heart, soul, mind and strength, my life will then be well on the road to fulfilling the purpose for which He created me – His Glory!. (“Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he.” Isaiah 43:7, 10)

Oh yes, there is one more fantastic feature on this GPS tool – “Go Home”. No matter where you are at, you press FAVORITES and right at the top it says “Go Home”. When you press this the GPS instantly calculates the way home – from anywhere. How often have I made a mess of my life and try to clean it up before I go to God in prayer? I need to remember the GPS feature and simply “Go Home” – no matter where I am at, to just ask God to get me home! He will.

Finally, I have been convicted, just like I actually took my GPS on the plane to Florida, to take His Word everywhere with me; to work, when shopping, and any other “everyday” activities. So, I have another GPS – God’s Practical Steps, to follow that provides life direction.

May our lives simply glorify our Lord and King.

June

Week Three: A Wise Thought Closet

Please share here what you're learning about wisdom and truth this week, as you work through the homework of Week 3.

Siesta Bible Study - 2nd Session

So now that we've had 2 weeks to do homework since Beth had us figuring out our dog personalities, have you been able to get the first 2 weeks of homework done?

Have a look at Beth's video for this session, and then let's have some discussion!

Siesta Summer Bible Study (Weeks 1 and 2) from LPV on Vimeo.

If at all possible, please watch the video for your instructions for this week’s gathering but, just in case you can’t get it to work or can’t spare the time, here are the activities in writing:

1. (I think we've all had a chance to share this one during the past 2 wks) By now you’ve been well introduced to the concept of the study. We’re cleaning out our thought closets. On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you individually need this particular subject matter and why?

2. Look on p.13 at the quote in the margin: “Who I am and what I struggle with are not the same thing.” In what way did that statement resonate with you? What struggle do you most tend to define yourself by?

3. Look on p.23, Day 4 of Week 1 at the interactive where Jennifer says, “In your own words, describe worry.” What was your answer?

4. Go to p.44 in Week 2 and focus on the part of the study where Jennifer talks about “faulty assumptions.” I thought this part was incredibly insightful. What is one of your faulty assumptions?

HOW IS YOUR RACE GOING?

If you are an athlete, you know that excellence in a sport depends on your efforts and your willingness to train and work at it. It takes discipline in training your body properly to achieve optimal results. Spiritual growth is like that too. What is your spiritual training program?

Do you “run like a man running aimlessly”, or “fight like a man beating the air”, says Paul to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 9:26. I underlined the word aimlessly above because success, motivation, perseverance all come alive because of an aim, a goal, a purpose. In verse 24 the apostle Paul “runs in such a way as to get the prize.” In verse 25 Paul says the world does it “to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”

Our race as Christians should never be aimless!

Recently I was having a mundane week because I had a sore foot and could not walk anywhere, and so I called out to God in prayer, “Light a fire underneath me Lord! Keep me moving, keep me working for you. Help me never to cease seeking your will and guidance in my life!” Even when we cannot move, we can be working for the Lord in prayer, or on the phone or computer, or reading, and oh yes, memorizing scripture!” There are so many ways we can be training spiritually.

1 Corinthians 9:27 “I discipline my body like an athlete training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.” (NLT)

God has created each one of us with special gifts and talents to use for His glory. “For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”. (NIV) Ephesians 2:10. How are you using your unique gifts in your race? Isn’t it wonderful to know God planned our race. He gave us the talent and helps us with the training. Galations 5:7 says “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?” (NIV) Don’t let anything or anyone stop you from running the race that ends in God’s loving arms.

How is your race going?

Sincerely,
Tammy

July 1st Scripture Memory Workout Verse

If you are doing the Scripture memory challenge, please post your verse here.
Even if you usually put your verse on the LPM Blog every 2 wks, please put it here too, to encourage the women in our group, and also maybe even to give others an idea of what to memorize!!

Week 2 - Filling Your Thought Closet with Truth - Comments and Discussion

For those of you who have books and are into week 2, please share your insights, comments and questions here. The rest of us will join you very shortly.........today is a National Holiday in Canada, called Canada Day, celebrating the birth of our country.

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Jennifer Rothschild on Dr Phil Show this Thursday

Jennifer is going to be appearing on the Dr Phil show this Thursday.
This is a re-airing of a previous show, but it's very inspirational if you haven't seen it.

Grateful for a Funeral Service

Note: Sorry, I meant to publish this Devotional by Michele this morning - my excuse is that I forgot that we switched the Devo day to Mondays instead of Tuesdays to accommodate the bi-weekly Bible study sessions! - Judi

Two weeks ago my husband and I attended the funeral service of a fellow believer that we had come to know from several years past. Now without sounding morbid, I must confess that I came away from the service realizing how much gratitude I've developed for the opportunity to attend such a service for a fellow pilgrim of whom God called home to be with Him. Of course, there is also much sorrow and pain for those of us who are left behind to grieve the loss of those we've come to know and love here on earth. Such sorrow is a huge part of our humanity and to be embraced openly and freely.

Yet amidst such sorrow, I've discovered that the funeral service of a fellow believer is truly a celebration of a life in Christ. This life in Christ is the same life to be celebrated every day by each one of us who have come to know and love Him personally.

My gratitude for the opportunity to celebrate this life in Christ at a funeral service can be expressed in three ways;

1. Gratitude for the reminder

2. Gratitude for the challenge

3. Gratitude for the encouragement

First, I'm grateful for the reminder a funeral service gives in that our life on earth is so short. Psalm 39:5 says; "Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths and my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapour." Although it is only God who knows and ordains the days given to us here on earth, He has made known to us that these earthly days are as handbreadths. The time of an earthly life we remember at a funeral service reminds us of this truth and it ought to lead us to the second way I'm grateful; which is the challenge to make my life on earth count for eternity.

2 Corinthians 5:14 says; "and He, (Christ), died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves but for Him who died and rose again." Is my life in Christ being lived utmost for Him? To be honest, I find the weights and sins in my own life so easily waste precious time and opportunity I've been given on earth to live the life I have in Christ. We need to be challenged continually to "...lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith." (Hebrews 12:1-2a)

Third, I'm grateful for the encouragement I receive from a life in Christ celebrated at a funeral service. It is encouraging to reflect on the past days lives by a fellow believer who leaves us with memories of their own spiritual journey. A journey filled with joys and sorrows, struggles and blessings. All of which we are able to relate to some degree or another, and therefore draw encouragement from as we experience this thing called life together. It is also encouraging to reflect on the future glory days that have become reality for those whose lives we celebrate and one day too will be our own glorious reality!

And finally, this is the greatest encouragement of all found in 2 Corinthians 5:6-8; 6:1a; "For we know that if our living earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens...always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him."

C.S. Lewis has said; "Those who have done most for the present world have been those who thought most of the next."

To be honest, I really don't want my gratitude to be based alone by the need to attend the funeral service of a fellow believer. Instead, my prayer is that this reminder, challenge and encouragement would be the truths that my life in Christ are being lived out day to day.

Living our lives with the perspective of eternity in mind will give us the strength for the challenges of today and the encouragement of hope for the eternal glory that yet awaits each of us! Now wouldn't you agree that this is alot to be grateful for?

*** Week one – What’s In Your Thought Closet - COMMENTS & DISCUSSION

My workbook had not arrived but I found a link where I could download Week one homework. If you still need your workbook or the homework for week one you can download it here:

I am packing to move and finding stuff I did not even remember I had – stuffed away in drawers and boxes (from previous moves I might add). Wow, I was sailing through the study until I came to some thoughts I totally did not realize I was thinking. On page 12 of Day 1 we have an exercise and I could not think of any negative thoughts I had towards myself. BUT...I was so eager to do the homework I started Day two and was on page 14 whenI started finding things I did not remember I had said – SAY – to myself. I had to stop the study right there and determined to use today to actually listen to myself. I am going to try to note in a small notepad when and what negative words I actually say to myself. The enemy seems good at helping me hide these negative words in a back corner of my “thought closet” and forget they are there. I am really looking forward to this study!! It is going to be challenging for me but I am already excited at what Jesus can, and will do. Because I am recognizing how difficult this is going to be for me, I am purposing to pray for each one of you by name every morning. I know Jesus will help us to clean out our closets – He is able to do exceeding abundantly more than we can ever ask, dream or hope! Lets’ do this thang!! (that was not a typo even though my spellcheck just told me it was – I was hearing Beth Moore in my head!)

June

Siesta Bible Study Kick-Off

Good Morning!

Well, I just finished watching Beth's 11 minute DVD for the Intro Session of "Me, Myself & Lies". If you haven't watched it yet, you can see it here:

Siesta Summer Bible Study (Introduction) from LPV on Vimeo.

Because we are just beginning, today's session is a "get to know one another" session. It's going to be fun!!

Here's what we need to do (this is all from the video):
1. For an icebreaker, we need to each post what breed of dog we most resemble in our personality. If you don't know dog breeds, just describe your personality and the rest of us can make the decision!
2. Compose a text message (less than 160 characters) that starts with this: "Please pray for me. I..." This one will help us get know each others' priority needs.
3. Read Psalm 19 in The Message (Beth has the whole Psalm in her post or you can read it here from Bible Gateway.com). In your post, give one benefit of studying Scripture that is mentioned in the Psalm. If you have discovered that benfit personally, give us a short and specific testimony to encourage the rest of us.

So, in your comment, you can give your answers 1, 2, 3, or you can post a separate comment for each question - your choice!

Beth also asks for one person from each group to comment on her Blog and give a paragraph on some of what is discussed in our group. Let's take turns every 2 weeks! Who would like to do it for this session?
Oh, and if you're just getting here and would like to join in, please do! Add your name to our sign-up list by going to the post entitled "Sign Up Here for Summer Online Bible Study"

Judi

What are Your MOUNTAINS and HILLS?

Isaiah 54:10 “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will never be shaken, nor my covenant of peace be removed from you, says the LORD, who has compassion on you.”

One of the things that really impacted me when we were doing the Esther Bible Study in the spring was the verse where Esther said “If I perish, I perish”. Beth encouraged us to fill in first blank with something that we are facing that is a worst-case scenario, and fill in the second blank with something that God might do in and through it. “If I _______, then God ____________” It really helped me to put my fears into perspective.

Recently I've been having some health issues that have caused me to ask God: "Why God? Why me? Why now?" About 2 weeks into my illness, I came across the verse written above (Isaiah 54:10). I decided to commit the verse to memory. As I was reading it over and over, and meditating on it, I thought about God's chosen people, and what mountains and hills represented to them. I looked up some other passages where mountains or hills were talked about. In every one, it seemed that the mountains and hills represented something solid, sure, unshakeable, immovable. Something that could be depended on.

I thought about the things in my life that I consider unshakeable and sure: things like my family, my home, my financial stability, my marriage, even my health.

When I looked at Is. 54:10 again, I could see that it was a verse that could also be fill-in-the-blanks: “Though ________ be shaken and ________ be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will never be shaken, nor my covenant of peace be removed from you, says the LORD, who has compassion on you.”

I needed to hear that verse! Not because it answered my questions, but because it assured me that nothing can remove God's love and peace from me!

Now read the verse once more and fill in the blanks with the things that you have come to rely on. And this time, personalize it and read it back to God:

“Though my __________ be shaken, and my ______________ be removed, yet Your unfailing love for me will never be shaken, nor Your covenant of peace be removed. LORD, You this is Your promise to me, and You have compassion on me”

He is Faithful and He is Good!

Devo Tuesday is Now Devo Monday

Our weekly Devo is now going to be posted on Mondays, because of our Summer Bible Study "group" will be every other Tuesday, starting tomorrow, June 23rd.

Summer Siesta Schedule & Format

As we're gearing up to begin the Summer Siesta Bible Study on Tuesday, June 23rd, here is a schedule of the sessions as well as a few notes on the format of the study:

• Tuesday, June 23, 2009 (1st Mini-Session/LAUNCH/Group instructions) (DO WEEKS ONE AND TWO OF HOMEWORK ON YOUR OWN.)
• Tuesday, July 7, 2009 (2nd Mini-Session/Group Instructions) (DO WEEKS THREE AND FOUR OF HOMEWORK ON YOUR OWN.)
• Tuesday, July 21, 2009 (3rd Mini-Session/Group Instructions) (DO WEEKS FIVE AND SIX OF HOMEWORK ON YOUR OWN.)
• Tuesday, August 4, 2009 (4th Mini-Session/Conclusion)

Don't forget to sign up on the LPL Blog ON LAUNCH DAY (not before the 23rd and not today) and give the biographical information they’ll request. (Questions like, Group or solo? If group, how many? Who’s the group comprised of? Where are you located?) This is one of the most fun parts. We get to see what our class looks like.
Beth is going to ask us to submit a photo of our group, so........please find a photo of yourself and email it to me (truevibe at rogers dot com) and I will try to Photoshop something together or all of us as a collage to post. Barring that, you could also post your individual photo on the LPL blog on sign-up day. But I would really like to get a picture of our group! I think it will be fun!

Here's Beth's description of how the format will work:
"On each of our meeting days (every other week starting Tuesday, June 23rd through Tuesday, August 4th), I will “facilitate” our summer study through a video mini-session about 15 minutes long. In it I’ll give you instructions for discussion questions or activities for your group meeting that day based on our previous two weeks of study. (THE VIDEOS ARE PITIFUL, ONE-TIME-TAKES, DONE IN-HOUSE WITHOUT PROFESSIONALS. AND IT’S PART OF WHAT MAKES IT FUN. LOWER YOUR EXPECTATIONS DRAMATICALLY. THEY’RE SO BAD THAT SOMETIMES SABRINA AND I GET SO TICKLED THAT WE CRY. BUT THE INFORMATION IS REAL AND THE STUDY IS SERIOUS BUSINESS.) You will then implement them into your gathering. If at all possible, try to watch them as a small group at the very beginning of your meeting time so that everybody’s on the same page. (Bar any unforeseen technical difficulties, I will make sure the post is up first thing on those Tuesday mornings.)
It's going to be so much fun! And, at the top of our list of priorities, it's going to be a joy to God, attract His wonderful favor, bring Him some substantial glory, and help keep us out of the ditch. "

Ok, so because we are an online group, here are some extra instructions:
1) Each "Meeting Day" (every other Tuesday) I'll post Beth's discussion questions &/or suggested activities.
Post your thoughts, comments, answers to any or all of the discussion questions in the comment box at the end of that post. We can keep the discussion going for the whole 2 weeks!

If you have any questions, this would be a good place to ask them!

I am really excited about getting to know each of you, and hearing what God is doing in your heart and life as a result of this study! Please pray that the books I've ordered arrive by Monday. If they don't we'll have to go to Plan B, whatever that is!

- Judi

Go Take a Hike

“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” started to play on my cell phone and I could not answer it fast enough! You see, that is my daughter’s ring tone and she left on June 8^th
for California with her two friends, Patti and Kelsey. There were so excited this year. They are always excited every year about what the LORD will do in and through them as they travel around the USA and Canada ministering His word at camps, but this year they had built in a few extra days to hike the Grand Canyon. They usually stop and marvel at God’s handiwork, but this time they were going to see it up close and personal and they just could not wait! She has been gone nearly a week now, with only a couple of text messages home – one of which simply said “Glory!” so I was anxious to hear her voice and the God stories I just knew she would have.

When I answered the phone, her voice seemed to be in awe. She explained they had been down the Canyon and were back up again (they camped at the bottom). She explained how they were going to camp a second night half way up but, since it seemed early enough, they decided to push on so they would only have two mornings waking up in pain instead of three! She described how they were hiking, Patti in front and Kelsey behind and she was in the middle. As the sun set the darkness set in as well – blackness may be a more appropriate term. The only lights they had were the little headlamps they wore. They could not even see the trail beside them or in front of them. They could only see the ground around them that was directly in the beam of those little lights. They could not have moved had it not been for those little lights because they might have stepped off of the trail and fallen! They HAD to follow the light – one step at a time. As they moved forward the light moved forward.

This gave me new meaning to the verse “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet”. God tells us that His word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path – Psalm 119:105. In the “daylight” we do not need flashlights or lanterns because we can see the path. When we are enjoying good times life is sweet and we don’t “need” a lamp; however, when the storms come and darkness settles in, we desperately need something (or Someone) to guide us and quickly grasp for the lamp – the Word – the LORD. The amazing part is that we can leave His Word on the shelf in the good times, but when things get rough and we seek His light and direction, He is ALWAYS there, never leaving us or forsaking us; never reprimanding us. He longs for us to be in His Word during the easy times also, so that we are not so desperate for Him but have known His presence all along. He is so patient with us, understanding our frame because He made us.

In Psalm 119 the psalmist is referencing the LORD – Jehovah; the great I AM; the self-existent One. When we need assurance that God is there, that He will keep His promises without changing even though I waver in my promises to Him – we just have to call upon the name of Jehovah – the great I AM. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. When the questions come – He is the answer....Jesus said – “Before Abraham was I AM”. So, when we ask...(whatever), Jesus responds...I AM!!

• The world is spinning out of control, who can make sense of it all? I AM
• What’s the point? I AM
• I’m taking care of everyone else, who’s taking care of me? I AM
• I don’t think I can make ends meet. I AM
• Who can put all these pieces back together again? I AM
• Who can I trust? I AM
• I need a rush! I AM!
• I need a fix! I AM
• I need a drink! I AM!
• I need hope! I AM!
• Nobody’s listening to me. I AM!
• I just need a second chance. I AM!
• I want security for my family. I AM!
• I don’t have anything to live for. I AM!
• I’ve done all I can and it seems like it is never enough. I AM!
• I Can’t! I AM!
• I’m weary. I AM!
• I’m looking for Mr. Right. I AM!
• My children need a daddy. I AM!
• Somebody hold me. I AM!

I AM the sustainer

I AM the life giver

I AM the rescuer

I AM the provider

I AM the hold-it-together guy

I AM the Lord and there is no other

I AM God and there is none beside me

At the end of the conversation with Jodi, she said they were going back to look down at the part of the trail that they covered in the darkness. I thought that was interesting. When we go through hard times and come out in victory, it is good to “look back” and see just exactly what our “I AM” brought us through – to review His Faithfulness.

I thanked Jodi for calling and sharing with me. I told her that I could not wait to answer the phone as soon as I heard the familiar ring tone “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”. She laughed SO loud and asked me “what did you just say!?” We both laughed! There simply is NO mountain high enough that our “I AM” cannot help us over, around or, sometimes, through!!

Remember – I am not, BUT...I know I AM!

Grace and Peace,
June

(The above questions, answers and the "I AM the..." are from a DVD by Louie Giglio.)

June 15th Scripture Memory Workout Verse

Wow! It's hard to believe that we're in the middle of June already! I don't know if I've got my verse from June 1st down pat, but I'll keep plugging away with it while I start on my June 15th verse.

You are going to be really tickled when you read tomorrow's weekly devo. (I got a sneak peek at it) It will confirm to you just why it is so important that you are memorizing scripture!

If you are just stumbling upon this blog, or if you've missed some of the previous "memory workout" posts, don't worry, just jump right in today.

Choose a verse to memorize and then let us know what it is by clicking on the title above and posting it in the comment box that appears at the end of this paragraph. For more instructions, click here

Who wants that Starbucks gift card? Every verse posted gives you a chance to win it!!

Sign up Here for Summer Online Bible Study

Anybody up for a Summer online Bible Study?

Through her blog, (http://livingproofministries.blogspot.com/) Beth Moore is organizing a 6 week online Bible study, based on Jennifer Rothchild’s newest Bible study, “Me, Myself and Lies: A Thought Closet Makeover”. This study for women will encourage us to clean out the junk in our thoughts and replace these hidden negative thoughts and failures with positive truths from God’s word.
Words are powerful. Especially the words women speak to themselves. All too often, what they say to themselves when they lie in bed at night or look in the mirror in the morning is not even close to the words God wants them to speak to their souls.
If you’re interested in joining the online summer Bible study, here’s how we will do it:
1) Visit Beth’s blog post where she gives instructions: click here
2) The study begins on Tuesday, June 23, 2009. Between now and then, you need to get yourself a copy of the workbook, “Me, Myself and Lies”. You can get it from The Treasure House, or order it directly from Lifeway’s website.
3) The group will “meet” every 2 weeks on Beth’s blog, where she will also facilitate our discussion via video. Then, throughout the next 2 weeks, (till the next session), here on the True Vibe Blog, we’ll discuss our answers to the study guide questions, as well as any other comments or questions we want to post. Watch for a new post every 2 weeks that we can all add our discussion to.
If you’d like to see a video clip of Jennifer talking about her Bible study, click here.

If you'd like to sign up for this online Bible Study, please enter your name & location in a comment below. Also, please feel free to tell us a little bit about yourself.

WHY DOES GOD ALLOW SUFFERING

So many of us have struggled with this issue. Why did God give me cancer? Why are children being abused by adults? Does God see this? Why is God allowing people in war torn countries to be oppressed and tortured? Why did God take my ill child from me?

My heart mourns for the world sometimes and all the pain and suffering of this world. BUT MY FRIENDS, WE NEED TO TRIUMPH OVER THIS SUFFERING.

Jesus was tortured and suffered a horrible death on the cross for EACH AND EVERYONE OF US, BUT HE TRIUMPHED OVER DEATH BY CONQUERING IT THROUGH HIS RESURRECTION.

How are we going to be strong Christian soldiers fighting the good fight if we haven’t experienced a few tough battles.

Now, I believe God does not intend for us to be ill and suffer, but we live in a world that is working against God. John 5:17 Jesus says: “My Father is working still and I am working”. God wanted humans to work with him and we have not been cooperating very well with God. He gives us clean air and what do we do; pollute it. Pollution causes health problems and so we get ill and we blame it on God. I blame it on Satan. I blame it on sin in this world on Earth.

Listen, God wants us to turn our illness and suffering into an experience of triumph. If God allows suffering, it means he can use it for our ultimate good rather than letting it defeat His purpose.

John 9:1-3 “As he went along he saw a blind man from birth. His disciples asked him: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind.” In verse 3 Jesus says: “neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life”.

I honestly believe the work of God was displayed in my life through my illnesses. When I had to be still, I sought God and meditated on His word like my life depended on it…which it does! And so I have grown so much as a Christian and experienced much blessing.

Lastly, take a look at the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 and prepare to be in awe:

“To keep me from being conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

God is in control of your life, so we need to trust in him whether or not we are cured. He works out everything for good. Psalm 34:8 “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”

God bless,

Tammy B.