Light of the World.

To celebrate Christmas I have begun praying a simple prayer: that Jesus would be exalted in my heart. As you observe the season with loved ones, here are just a few scriptures to lift you up and remind you that there is One who is the Light of the World and our source of joy and peace. May the light of Jesus shine in your hearts and spill over with joy on all whom you encounter.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

"The Lord bless you, and keep you;

The Lord make His face shine on you,

and be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance on you,

and give you peace."

Numbers 6:24-26

"The Lord is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear?"

Psalm 27:1a

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the greatness of his government and peace

there will be no end."

Isaiah 9:2,6,7a

"In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men."

John 1:4

"For He Himself is our peace..."

Ephesians 2:14a

"Then Jesus spoke to them saying, "I am the Light of the world, he who follows Me will not walk in darkness but will have the Light of life."

John 8:12

"For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God  in the face of Jesus Christ."

2 Corinthians 4:6

"I have come into the world as light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness."

John 12:46

"This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 

1 John 1:5

Lovingkindness and truth.

Psalm 25:10 "All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies."

Psalm 40:11 "You, O Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me; Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me."

Psalm 57:3 "He will send from heaven and save me; He reproaches Him who tramples upon me. Selah. God will send forth His lovingkindness and truth."

Psalm 61:7b "...Appoint lovingkindness and truth that they may preserve me.

Proverbs 16:6 "By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for and by the fear of the Lord one keeps away from evil."

All of these are out of the NASB translation.

As I study the Word I sometimes see themes or re-ocurring phrases that intrigue me. I'm a list person so I just wanted a place to start compiling. Maybe these shall minister to you as they do me. I'm sure there are many more, I just haven't discovered them yet.

R.O.I.

Recently I read an article, which I've pasted below, called "Your Children Want You." In conjunction with that I wanted to share a thought I've been thinking on for awhile. My mother-in-law, who has such a great way with kids, has always told me to cherish the time they are little because it goes by so fast! True, true!

When it comes to parenting, I feel in a little over my head. Way over my head some days! I've always found it amusing that you can never be fully prepared to be a parent and if there was ever a job you wouldn't want to learn on the go it'd be this one! But I think God has a sense of humor and wants to let us know that really we can't do it on our own and must rely on His help. After all, they're His kids too! ;o)

A few years ago the Holy Spirit impressed upon me that I had a very short but distinct window of opportunity to win the heart and affection of my children and to take it! Now granted, they love me and their dad from day one, that goes without saying. But I mean to win their trust and devotion so we don't lose them later in life when it counts.

I remember sitting at my computer, probably on facebook!, and my oldest daughter was tugging on my arm asking me to look at something she was doing. She is always looking for my enthusiastic encouragement and hearty approval of anything she is doing but I kept shrugging her off telling her I'd be there in a minute. As clear as day I got a kind but firm rebuke from the Holy Spirit: if I kept putting her off as had become the pattern she would one day do the same to me. I had a flash forward in my mind to her as a teenager wanting to do her own thing without us instead of loving and valuing family time. And I had to think that my actions now echo into those all important years and beyond. I took mental stock: How many times do I say no when I could say yes? How many things do I put a priority on that could really be put off until later for the sake of engaging with my kids right now? Does my house need to be perfect or just good enough? What can I afford to lighten up about?

Kids really do spell love T-I-M-E. The best thing I can do right now is to get down on my kids level and play with them. Do puzzles, play blocks and playdough, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, sing songs, go on walks, be silly, let them help with chores even if it means more work for me, etc. Take an active interest in their life. I want my kids to learn first hand that mom and dad are their best friend. That they have our love and undivided attention. I want to put value on them now by caring about what they care about. So that they will listen when it's really important and trust us that we have their best in mind.

The hardest battle for me as a parent has been the laying aside of my wants/desires, giving up what I want to do with my time so I can give them what they need. We moms and dads get so little time for ourselves, and we need that to refresh, that's a given! But for the majority, let's use the "no greater love hath man than this, that he lay down his life for his friend" train of thinking and channel it towards our kiddos!

"Return on Investment" (ROI) is just another way of saying you reap what you sow. "Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." 2 Corinthians 9:6 NASB

So commit to give generously. They really are little for such a short time and they are so much fun!

http://powerofmoms.com/2012/04/your-children-want-you/

I hate manipulation.

Jesus Christ is the greatest currency there is. The greatest that ever has been and ever will be. Tonight I found myself praying, "Jesus, just from my heart to yours, thank You for what You did for me. Everything you purchased for me and everything that gives me access to. It's mind-blowing. And I'm gonna take it and use it. And I know that pleases You."

Here's why I hate manipulation. It skews our perception of God. When we manipulate others and play games in our relationships, it messes with our ability to see God rightly. We don't truly believe that God wants us to USE every single last thing that Jesus Christ purchased for us when He died on that cross. And USE THE HECK OUT OF IT.

"IN HIM we have redemption (deliverance and salvation) through His blood, the remission (forgiveness) of our offenses (shortcomings and trespasses), in accordance with the riches and the generosity of His gracious favor which He lavished upon us....Ephesians 1:7 Amplified

I recently watched a teaching by Joyce Meyer about the phrase "In Christ." It speaks for itself. I've attached the link below. But here is the main quote that I drew from. "God doesn't see you, in you. He sees you in Christ. That's why when we pray in the name of Jesus we present to the Father all that Jesus is. "

MEDITATION: God sees me through the filter of Jesus Christ and all that HE IS.

http://www.joycemeyer.org/BroadcastHome.aspx?video=Identity_Theft_%E2%80%93_Pt_1

"True Love" and "The One"

The recent occurrence of Valentine's Day got me reflecting on the topic of L-O-V-E. In my near 13 years of relationship and marriage with my husband I have transcended from starry-eye school girl love to eyes wide open love! Oh! If I could only convey to you the depth of heartache we have encountered and overcome in our years together, but alas some things simply cannot be communicated through words. They have to be lived. However, I can share with you a few things I have learned, if you can bear with me. It's a tad longer than my normal posts. :O)

1. I am thankful for the sorrow that deepens love. Thankful for sorrow you ask? How could that possibly be?!? First of all, I know that I know that I know that I love my husband and that's a good feeling. No doubt, just confidence. Sometimes we say these sweeping, grandiose statements but in truth they are shallow, lacking depth, and when the hard times come we scratch our heads and say, "Do I really love this person?" or "Did I marry the right person?" or "How did I end up here, was I duped into this somehow?". When we encounter suffering, the depth of what is in our hearts is revealed to us and we find out what we really believe and what we're made of. There is an authenticity that comes from suffering and an authority that comes from overcoming suffering that can only be earned through suffering.

There was a time when I shrank back from heartache and sorrow. A time when I was so broken and hurting that I wanted to live in a happy bubble and never hear any of the bad that existed in the world. But now I can say that the Lord has encouraged me. Literally given me courage and I learned that I have what it takes, though it was learned through "The School of Hard Knocks". (And can I just say that I only have what it takes, IN CHRIST.)

I also learned a new depth of Christ's love for me. His availability to me in my time of sorrow, His nearness to me when my heart was broken. I learned that it is only through broken vessels that fragrance can really go forth. And I learned something about my Savior. Something I knew with my head, but I now know with my heart. He was, "A man of sorrows, acquainted with grief..." Isaiah 53:3. And the truth is He (willingly!) suffered for me and because of me. Now I don't shrink back from sorrow and suffering, but have learned the value of it. That is where Christ is. It deepens my love if I respond to it, which to me means, I cry when I need to cry and I cry out God in the midst of my pain. I embrace the feelings of loss and grief and work through them with the Lord that I may know Him, and the fellowship of His sufferings (Philippians 3:10). I lean into the Word and throw myself on His promises and find hope! With Christ I can face the hard things head on and tack into the wind instead of tucking tail and running in the opposite direction. And I can tell you, with a smile on my face, that my relationships are stronger and better for it and have an authenticity and depth that are a continual blessing to my life.

2. I believe in "True Love" and "The One" in the person of Jesus Christ! If I could say one thing to you it would be this: How I wish we would stop setting our love on other people instead of God! This does not mean I do not love my husband, I do! It simply means that I do not expect my husband to be my all in all. I do not expect all my happiness to come from him nor do I expect him to meet all my needs. I have gotten off the crazy cycle of unrealistic expectations and disappointment which leads to self-pity which leads to magnified and long and drawn out (and unnecessary) heartache. I love my husband with my eyes wide open now, with all of his strengths and wonderful attributes and with all of his hang-ups and weaknesses, and I know he feels the same about me. I know that we will fail each other and hurt each other's feelings. But I also know, through experience, that we love each other enough to see it through. We value one another and we value the process that has gotten us to this point. Truth be told, we are the happiest we have ever been, and we have the most hope about where we are going TOGETHER.

In our culture, women (and I'm sure even men) are indoctrinated about ideas of romance from a very young age and I don't think any of us have escaped unscathed. We have been fed a steady diet of what to think about love and marriage and men. And almost all of it is a lie! Men were never meant to be our saviors, only Jesus can fill that role. They certainly are made in the image of God and have desires to fight for us and rescue us, but we were never meant to be totally and utterly fulfilled by one person here on the earth. We will always have a deep longing on the inside that can only ever be fulfilled by Jesus Himself. He is our true love. Our One. And He is jealous for our love and devotion. He will never let us find lasting fulfillment from another, even from our spouse, that is meant to be found in Him. We shall have no other gods before Him.

It can be a painful and lonely process to disentangle oneself from things we have been led to believe all our lives, only to find out they are not true and leave us wanting at the end of the day. And if you currently find yourself there, I pray grace for you! And I hope that these insights, purchased through many tears, will help you find your way!

If you find yourself longing to know this man Jesus in a real way all you need to do is pray the following prayer: Jesus, I believe You died on the cross for me and rose again. I repent of my sins and ask Your forgiveness. I ask that You would come and live in my heart and wash me from all my sins. I receive You as my Savior and I thank You for what You did for me because You love me. Please help me to know the true love You  hold for me in Your heart in a deep and real way. In Jesus name, Amen!

Welcome Home!

^{Romans 10:9-11 NKJV
9} that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."

Where have all the washcloths gone?

I hate it when things go missing in my house. Though it may be small, I run my household with all faithfulness and diligence. It’s important to me that I do a good job with what I’ve been given. Because of this it’s easy for me to discern when something is amiss under my rooftop.

I have a set of washcloths that I keep in the girls’/guest bathroom. They get used by us during the girls’ bath time and for whatever miscellaneous purpose may arise, but in my mind, I ultimately keep them there for when guests visit. There are nine wash cloths and I have them all pretty and folded in a little linen holder. Five on the bottom, four on the top.

Recently, my oldest daughter has begun using them in excess; for her puppies, to play dishes in the sink or for whatever little need arises in her own heart. She’s three and a half. (I love that she feels totally at home, to do as she pleases. This tells me she is confident in our love and feels secure.) But because of this, I’m beginning to feel like I’ve lost track of the washcloths and where they have all disappeared to in the house. Yesterday, I noticed that a few of them were missing. I have four in the holder, all folded and ready to be used, two hanging on the hook that need to be washed and three unaccounted for. I’m an organized person so this bothers me on some level. As I was counting them and taking an inventory in my mind of where they all were, here’s what struck me.

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s leave (consent) and notice. But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not then; you (insert your name here_______) are of more value than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:29-31 Amplified

Is that what you were talking about Lord? In the same way that I’m intimately acquainted with what goes on under my roof, You are intimately acquainted with the details of my life. You know when things are amiss, whether an outside enemy is attacking or something isn’t right in my own heart. You are taking stock of what is going on with me. You are well versed on the pages of my life. They are in Your book.

There’s a difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge. Today, this scripture went from a memory verse in my mind down into the mind of my heart through what I call experiential knowledge. I experienced the Living Word come to me and instruct my heart. It comforts me to know that I don’t just claim with my mouth to know God or to confess His Son, but I actually walk with Him and He is faithful to come and show me His ways, teach me His paths. He shows up. His name is Faithful and True. (Revelation 19:11) It also helps me to know that I'm not an OCD perfectionist about the little things as the devil would like me to believe, but that I have aspects of my Father's character in regards to organization and an eye for the little details. The truth is I am made in His image and likeness. And it feels good to know the truth so I can walk in it. :O)

Free Pass

I recently posted on facebook about my daughter (age 3) getting out of bed repeatedly. I wrote, "While contemplating whether or not to discipline my daughter for getting out of bed (AGAIN!), I had a memory flash of my mom letting me fall asleep in the living room while she did her evening routine. Thus, the worship music is on, I'm doing the dishes, and Sammy is snuggled on the couch."

This, I believe, is grace. (Or an example of it anyway.) And a welcome relief, for her, and for me. I then posted that sometimes giving in is actually the best and makes the sweetest memories. I remember those nights when my mom acquiesced and let me snuggle in my sleeping bag on the step of the dining room while she talked on the phone or did dishes or whatever was required to put away the day. I don't remember falling asleep but I know I stopped fighting it and slipped into slumber while listening to the sounds of home. These are some of my most cherished memories and the ones that drove home the point, "my mom loves me". A conviction I carry with me to this day. And this memory was strong enough that when I recalled it, I changed my behavior.

I recently had a conversation with a loved one that was awkward, to say the least, and I handled it very badly. I was uncomfortable, and that came across in the way I communicated. I thought about it for days afterward and was sure there would be dire consequences. As I worked on calming myself down, I tried to talk myself into believing everything would be fine, but was sure that our next encounter would be awkward, uncomfortable and disagreeable, and I was avoiding. But, when we spoke on the phone next, something wonderful and unexpected happened. She gave me a free pass. Acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened and treated me with all the love and respect she always has. It was a lifeline and I gladly took it. Even now, as I'm typing this, I have a smile on my face for the grace she offered me and how it made everything better. It took a huge burden off of my shoulders, and the burden is this: All the responsibility is yours and you must fix or remedy the mess you've made. You see I was only considering half of the picture: me. I had my eyes on myself and it didn't even occur to me that this other person would respond with kindness in the midst of my failure. What a relief this was to me!

This grace I've encountered gave up its rights to hold my feet to the fire and instead made a way for me. I know there is a depth to understanding the realm of grace, and I’m still a student, but one thing I can say is this: Grace, in its truest form, makes an impact when you receive it on an experiential level. Obviously these moments don’t happen continually, but when the opportunity presents itself, and you take it, or I take it, it will be meaningful. So when you feel that gentle tugging of the heartstrings, that still small voice that says, “Grace.”…..give in. Offer a free pass and see what joy is waiting for you around the corner.

Psalm 145:8.9 “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy and loving-kindness. The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works.”