WORSHIP ME ONLY

It's interesting how the book points out, "Current idols are more subtle than ancient ones, because today's false gods are often outside the field of religion."

Our enemy is a crafty one and he knows where to get us and how to be sneaky. It's important to be on guard, but it's even more pertinent that we are spending quality time with God because when we are close to Him it is more difficult to be distracted.

RELAX IN MY PEACEFUL PRESENCE.

God so loves to be with us that He is just glad when we take time to be in His presence. We don't have to always be fervently praying, talking or worshiping. Just our devoted time to Him is what He desires.

My God speaks all love languages.

WHEN YOU SEEK MY FACE, put aside thoughts of everything else.

As awesome as it can be now when we meet with God it is still only a poor reflection as in a mirror. However, when we arrive in heaven with our Father there will no words to describe it.

TRUST ME IN ALL YOUR THOUGHTS.

We all have thoughts we're not proud of, but what do we do with those thoughts when they pop in our head. Do we reject them and confess them to God for forgiveness? Or do we elaborate on them and water the weed to grow within our minds?

God wants us to be conscious about our thoughts. We can train ourselves to have more positive thoughts by actively making conscious efforts to have thoughts of giving thanks to God and trusting Him.

But if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.  1 John 1:9

That's just so awesome! All we have to do is confess and we will be forgiven. How gracious is our God!

I AM YOUR FATHER - GOD.

I'm loving these devotions! They're so simple and fundamental, but such powerful reminders. It says that we are to ask the Spirit to control our mind. Why didn't I ever think of that? I'd much rather have the Father guiding my thoughts than myself. Thoughts of kindness, peace, generosity... all fruits of the spirit.  

One of today's verses:

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself bears witness to our spirit that we are God's children.  Romans 8:15-16

LET ME SHOW YOU My way for you this day

Discipline your thoughts to trust Me as I work My ways in your life. Pray about everything; then leave outcomes up to Me.

Praying is easy... complete trust is the difficult part. Jesus continue to work in my life and help my unbelief.

STAY CALMLY conscious of Me today, no matter what.

God is there for us always. He desires for us to be aware of His constant presence in our lives. It doesn't matter if we screw up. He already knows that we did and He knew we were headed the wrong direction. He knows us better than we know ourselves.

He would rather we admit we messed up rather than be ashamed because His desire is to be with us even in all our imperfections.

OPEN YOUR HANDS and your heart to receive this day as a precious gift from Me.

YES! One of today's passages is one of my most favorite bible verses!

The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.    Zephaniah 3:17

First it addresses that God is our saviour and He's on our side. Next it mentions how deeply He loves us and cherishes us. He will calm us in our fears and He sings praises over us!

How awesomely amazing is my God!

HOLD MY HAND- AND TRUST.

I might have to make this a habit. To quote text from my daily reading and then reflect on it.

In the world, dependency is seen as immaturity. But in My kingdom, dependence on Me is a prime measure of maturity. 

Oh how true that is! We are seen as weak if we show any dependence on anything other than ourselves.

Does not God say that we are to have faith like children. So this is totally understandable that we should also be dependent on Him just like children should be. When we forget our place in this world, as God's children, we sin easily. We are not called to live a life independent but rather dependent.

LET MY LOVE STREAM THROUGH YOU, washing away fear and distrust.

The whole second paragraph really spoke to me and therefore I feel it's worth repeating...

When you walk through a day in trusting dependence on Me, My aching heart is soothed. Gently bring your attention back to Me whenever it wanders away. I look for persistence- rather than perfection- in your walk with me.

I especially love the last sentence. How refreshing it is to know that the standards I set on my walk with God are mine, not His. I often find myself striving for perfection and then giving up when I don't reach it. God just wants me to spend time with Him and ponder His word. Forgive me Father when I fall short. Help pick me up and dust me off like all the times before then set me back on Your path.

YOU ARE MY BELOVED CHILD.

God chose ME before the world was formed. He also has plans for my future that will prosper me.

My father in heaven loves me more than any love I can imagine. I'm so grateful that I am His.

I love this verse from todays picks:

A person plans his course, but the LORD directs his steps.   Proverbs 16:9

Also I saw this picture floating around facebook. I thought it was worth sharing:

LEARN TO LAUGH at yourself more freely.

Our Father delights in us, His children. He takes pleasure when we trust Him completely, when find joy & happiness, when we smile & laugh.

He asks us to take His yoke because it is much lighter and easier than our own. He wants us to enjoy life to it's fullest and His plan is the best direction we can take.  

WHEN YOU APPROACH ME in stillness and in trust, you are strengthened.

Exercise is required of us if we desire to 'see' God. Not running type of exercise but being still and waiting on Him.

It's strange because when I think of being still my mind still wants to wander. However, it's my mind that needs to focus and get exercised so that when I want/need to see God in this visible world, I can.

I AM CREATING something new in you: a bubbling spring of Joy that spills over into others' lives.

I have the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.

Where?

Down in my heart.

Where?

Down in my heart.

I have the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.

Down in my heart to stay. 

And I'm so happy. 

So very happy.

I have the joy of Jesus in my heart.

It's a worship song I used to sing as a child and it's oh so true.
My Father's joy is always close by.

I may need to look for it at times because circumstances arise and crowd my life, but it's always near and I never need to look far.

What I need to be sure of is that I never claim His joy as my own. I need to recognize that it's been a gift from Him that He intends me to share with others.

So share I will!

Praise His name for the joy He brings!!

TRUST ME and don't be afraid, for I am your Strength and Song.

We have such hope and joy in the Lord! Praise His Holy name!!

"Look, God is my deliverer! I will trust in Him and not fear. For the LORD gives me strength and protects me; he has become my deliverer." Isaiah 12:2

When we fail in trusting God we create unnecessary worry in our lives. This worry in turn makes us vulnerable to the enemy. There is a raging spiritual battle going on for control of our thoughts. I need to trust God more so that the enemy will never have a handle on my thoughts for long.

SEEK TO LIVE IN MY LOVE, which covers a multitude of sins: both yours and others'.

When we are living in Christ and following His ways we should be seeing the world through His eyes rather than our own. He gives us lenses of love and that is how we should see others.

I find myself often looking at others through my harsh and discriminating eyes. It's not something I am proud of and wish that it was easier to change. All I can do is continue to press in to Jesus and I know that He will be working on me and improving my 'vision'.

SEEK MY FACE, and you will find fulfillment of your deepest longings.

It seems to me that life flows in a circle that God has designed. We spend time with God > we have desires > God wants to give us our desires... and the cycle continues.

God wants to spoil us. Psalm 37:4 says that, "He will give you the desires of your heart." However, there is a catch. The first part of that scripture reads, "Delight yourself in the Lord and..."

He wants us to draw near to him and the fruit that is produced during that closeness will be desires that He has planted in us. How satisfying it is to receive the desires of our heart and to know that they are healthy desires so long as we are linked up with God.

REMEMBER THAT YOU LIVE IN a fallen world: an abnormal world tainted by sin.

The world we live in is not perfect, nor is anything in it.

God is the only perfection that exists.

Is it true that all humans strive for perfection? I know that I do. Not in everything but in enough things.

Is God how we find our satisfaction? Because we desire perfection?

I do know that we are to keep God central in our lives and He is to be what we desire most. When we try to fill our lives with other things we will constantly come up unfulfilled and desiring more.

I WANT TO BE CENTRAL in your entire being.

The GOD of the entire universe wants to live and be central in our lives. What a privilege that He should even desire to be among us let alone living in us.

Our job is to invite Him in and keep our focus on Him the best that we can. Of course there will be distractions that rise up, but it's in our response that signifies His importance in our lives.

There's one song from probably back in the 90's that has always resonated with me and this day's passage brought it back to the surface of my thoughts. Audio Adrenaline singing Rest Easy.

One more mile 'til I lay rest 
I have put myself through this rigid test 
But the mile has never ended no distance has been gained 
I do not see greatness I wanted to obtain 
Where is my embrace from the race that I have run? 
I have kept a steady pace but still I have not won 


Chorus 
Rest easy 
Have no fear 
I love you perfectly 
Love drives out fear 
I'll take your burden 
You take my grace 
Rest easy 
In my embrace 


I am such a sinner I fear my evil ways 
I fear my imperfection I fear my final days 
I just want to take control and snap this rusty chain 
Drop my heavy burden it seems to be in vain 


Repeat chorus 


Bridge 
I am not a bold man even though I want to be 
I am just a dreamer with a timid history 
Scared of confrontations I fume all through the night 
The world has it's hold on me and I just want to fly 
The sky, the sky is open wide 
But I can't fly 'til I step aside 


Chorus ii 
Rest easy 
Have no fear 
I love you perfectly 
And perfect love drives out fear 
I'll take your burden 
You take my grace 
Rest easy 
In my embrace 
Rest easy, rest easy 
Rest easy, in my embrace 
Rest easy

RELAX IN MY HEALING, holy Presence.

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.
Psalm 46:10a

All the running around we do to appear like we have it together.
All the worrying we do that helps no one.
All the restless nights we have with unrelenting thoughts circling our pillow like vultures.
All this is nothing.
There is no fruit that can become of it.

Our most success in life is from our stillness when we have our face and ears turned towards God.

I AM INVOLVED in each moment of your life.

Even when life might not seem ideal, God is there with us and knew we would be in the exact place at that exact moment long before we arrived. God is helping us along every step of the way.

Isaiah 41:13 states: For I am the LORD your God, the one who takes hold of your right hand, who says to you, 'Don't be afraid, I am helping you.'

Praise be to God! I pray that I would always be reminded of this when the trials of life seem insurmountable.

I AM A MIGHTY GOD.

I've been pretty good on the daily readings, but completely slack on the blog posts. So here goes.

God designed us to be weaklings so that His power can be glorified in our weaknesses. I love how the book points out that "He is not a careless God." How awesome is that! God knew exactly what He was doing and designed us exactly how He wanted us to be.

I need to do a better job of making sure God is part of every daily equation in my life. I have a tendency to try to do most things on my own strength and it is exhausting. Well, duh. I'm not made to function that way. I need to rest easy knowing that God has gone before me and worked out my problems. It's my job to trust Him. After all, He knows what is best for me.

THANK ME FOR YOUR PROBLEMS.

Philippians 4:6 tells us to not be anxious about a thing and choose to rather present our problems before God with thanksgiving and prayer.

The thanksgiving is to help us change our focus of being anxious and worrisome into a heart filled with joy knowing that our God is on our side and the "problem" is conquered. 

I can see that this can be a hard task to accomplish but if we practice it on the small stuff, then we will know God will come through for the big stuff as well. 

Thanks God for all the problems You allow in my life. 

DON'T BE SO HARD ON YOURSELF.

Every so often I find myself doing this very thing. Dwelling on my past mistakes and wishing I could go back in time to change them.

Never once before had I thought of this as being a source of pride getting in the way. The book makes such a profound statement.

"Thinking that you should live an error-free life is symptomatic of pride."

Not that I will begin dismissing all my mistakes as no big deal. Instead I will try to become more aware of how it will become a source of blessing, humbling me and giving me empathy for others.

"And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose"  - Romans 8:28

Praise God that He can work everything out for His good. What might be meant for evil, He can turn to good. What we screw up in our lives, He can use for good.

Our God is a redeeming god!

DO NOT LONG for the absence of problems in your life.

By longing for an existence worry free would be wishing for heaven now, on earth.

A life that is worry free will come. We must be patient for it though.

For now we have Jesus presence with us to get us through things we might view as insurmountable. He equips us with anything we need to face our giants. All that is required on our part is the ask and then trust.

Thanks God for going before us and providing a home in heaven that will be glorious beyond words.

IF YOU LEARN TO TRUST ME - really trust Me - with your whole being, then nothing can separate you from My Peace.

What a strength of character to be in the midst of pain but have your soul be at peace. To know that God can bring good out of every situation.

This brings the Stern family to mind. I think they're a living example of this very explanation.

Praise the Lord for His steady and constant peace. I desire to always have it in my life.

COME TO ME for all that you need.

As our Father says, there is nothing we could ever possibly need that He cannot give us. All that's required is a thankful heart. He wants us to come to Him and ask for things that He desires to give us.

God is GOOD. Simple as that. We can rest easy knowing this simple fact:

All our needs will be met by a God who is GOOD.

MEET ME IN MORNING STILLNESS, while the earth is fresh with the dew of My Presence.

To become rich in the Holy Spirit we are to let go and let God.

YOU ARE ON THE PATH of My choosing.

Where I am today is right where God expects me to be. He doesn't expect me to be married to someone else living in a different town.

The people I'm surrounded by are the ones He wants me to be around. The friends I have are not completely by chance. God knew we would be friends.

By living in the presence I can be more attuned to what God is doing in my life and where He desires me to go and what to do.

Now, what friends do I need to bless today? :)

WHEN SOME BASIC NEED IS LACKING - time, energy, money - consider yourself blessed.

Really?

Yes.

When we find something lacking in our lives it brings us back to the reality that we need God. There is no shame in our dependence. God's power is made perfect in our weakness.

"But he said to me, "My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me."
2 Corinthians 12:9

I want God's power perfect in my life. I need to take this season of my life to train myself to rely wholeheartedly on God because when we succeed several years down the road with the Dave Ramsey program and are financially stable I don't want to forget how much I need God.

Father God thank you for always being there for me to rely on.

LET ME TEACH YOU THANKFULNESS.

Sometimes it's hard for me to remember that nothing I have belongs to me.

Garren... not mine.
Ryker... not mine.
House... not mine.
Car... not mine.

Everything I have has been given to me by my heavenly Father and I am only a steward of it. It is not my own. Oh how much my Father does love to spoil me!

AS YOU LOOK into the day that stretches out before you, you see many choice-points along the way.

My job every day is to focus on God rather than those choice-points along the way. If I lose focus and start focusing on the surprises or difficulties that arise, I might flounder. However, if I stay focused on God then I will know that He has fully equipped me for whatever may come my way during the day. 

The LORD is good to those who trust in Him, to the one who seeks Him.
- Lamentations 3:25

Taste and see that the LORD is good! How blessed is the one who takes shelter in Him!- Psalm 34:8

GOD is GOOD! There is no need to worry when our focus is on the One who loves us.

Father God thank you for this reminder just when I need it.

REST IN THE STILLNESS of My Presence while I prepare you for this day.

Rest, what's rest?

In life it seems we are trained to not have idle moments with nothing going on. If you do (gasp), quickly fill them with something to kill the time! Even when I think I'm resting I've still got all these imaginary balls in the air that I'm juggling and thinking about. God desires me to stop juggling and rest in His Presence. His Presence is a gift that He freely gives us.

The devotion caught my attention when it stated, "There is both a passive and an active side to trusting Me."

I had never put much thought into it being that complex but it completely makes sense. We are passive as we just rest and soak in His goodness and glory. We are active when we respond to our lives circumstances with complete trust towards God. Things that make you go hmmmm.

Praise you Jesus for NO CONDEMNATION! When I fail again at remembering to take shelter in You and find rest when I'm weary, thank you for not condemning me. Or for that matter all the things I fail to remember.

KEEP YOUR EYES ON ME, not only for direction but also for empowerment.

I recognize this and yearn for more of it in my life.

How often have I thought I should do something God's calling me to do? Or how often have I missed doing something God's calling me to do? I'm sure it's much more than I realize.

At times I've been so desperate to hear from God in what direction to take. However, how can I expect to hear a clear answer when I've only glanced His way occasionally in the last week or month. I need to have my eyes fixed on Him at all times. It seems like the healthy perspective would be focused on Him and then all else that is necessary would be happening in my peripheral vision.

By training my eyes to focus on God I will be receiving necessary direction and empowerment for the tasks I take on. If I can succeed in this task I know there will be absolute joy and sheer delight as stated in Psalm 16:11.

Father help me train my eyes to focus on You so that I may follow Your will for my life with more success.

I AM CALLING YOU... to a life of thankfulness.

I'm starting to feel like this devotional is redundant. Not that I mind in the least! I think it's a great to be reminded over and over again to be thankful and rejoice. Many of these life lessons we have been learning over and over again since we were children in Sunday school.

I know that my mind is dense and needs prodding to be reminded to be thankful. How often I forgot this lesson and find myself grumbling in the middle of, what I deem to be, lame circumstances.

When you criticize or complain, you are acting as if you think you could run the world better than I do.

This quote is what I need to remind myself of. I have NO desire to run the world. I cannot even run my household without complaint from the other inhabitants that live here with me.

God thank you for taking on the world so that I don't have to.

TRUST ME, and don't be afraid.

Today's devotion stated,

When you are shaken out of your comfortable routines, grip My hand tightly and look for growth opportunities. Instead of bemoaning the loss of your comfort, accept the challenge of something new.

Fail.

Just this morning I was trying my darnedest to make it to church early. (Making it on time is a feat for me most Sundays.) However, this morning Garren and Ryker were both moving up classes and I wanted them to feel settled and not rattled by the late start they would get if we arrived at our "normal" time.

I did it! The boys were dressed, fed and in the car at a quarter 'til. We were going to show up about five whole minutes early! Then I realized I hadn't brought in our dog from the backyard. I left the car running and ran back in the house to let him in, but he didn't come when I called him. He had once again escaped from the confines of our fence and was out terrorizing the neighborhood.

I had two choices.

1. Go to church and hope he doesn't get hit by a car or 
2. look for him. 

The boys and I spent the next 15 minutes driving around whistling and calling for him out our windows. I admit I was out of my comfortable routine and I was not looking for growth opportunities. I was livid that for once I was going to make church on time and this had to be the day the dog ran off. Maybe God was letting me know that attitude is more important than being on time. Sure being on time is important... it's just that going to church with an attuned heart is more so. 

I am glad that I chose to be responsible and find the dog. Without taking care of that first I'm not sure how much I would have been paying attention otherwise. Today was a message worth hearing... MERCY. 

Father I need your mercy to get me through each and every day. Thank you for always extending it my way. 

HEAVEN IS... both present and future.

We can taste a small portion of heaven every day we are in our earthly bodies by knowing the of God. Every day we come a little closer to spending eternity with Him in heaven. He already knows the time for each of us.

It's hard to fathom. Sometimes He calls some of us home, what most of us deem, too soon. It doesn't seem fair for an infant to only live hours or days. Nor does it seem fair for a young mother or father to pass on while they still have small children to raise. However, He assures us that it is His perfect timing and it is neither a moment too soon or too late that we are taken.

We are all descendants from the first Adam. Therefore, we all will die just as he did. We who have accepted Christ are called His children. As His children we will also all be brought back to life just as Jesus, the Second Adam, rose from the dead.

Father thank you for your nearness and the promise we have in You to be alive with You in heaven after our earthly lives are finished.

WHEN I GIVE YOU... no special guidance, stay where you are.

Living life victoriously in Him is not doing exceptional things everyday, but it's seeking Him daily in everything we do. By seeking His face we are transformed more into His likeness and are more capable of overflowing His love and grace onto those around us.

I don't have to pound the pavement of downtown evangelizing to all I see in order to have victory in Jesus. I just need to have a heart that seeks after His own heart and live that out to my family, friends and acquaintances the best I can. Sure I'm expected to make mistakes. I'm also expected to deals with those mistakes in an acceptable way that is pleasing to God.

Father remind me that each and every task I take on, that I am to act as though I'm doing it for You.

THIS IS THE DAY THAT I HAVE MADE.

We are to rejoice and be glad with each and every day we are given. The book states, "The best way to handle unwanted situations is to thank Me for them."

I need to remember to rejoice when my boys have disagreements. Rejoice when we run out of money and there's more month left than we have budgeted for. Rejoice when I'm sick in bed. Again and again I should rejoice, not just in the good times.

This time in my life where we are a young family and broke most of the time. It will seem like a short period of our lives down the road, but right now it feels as if I'm in the trenches. This too shall pass and I need to rejoice while it's here.

Praise you God! There is abundant life in your presence today!!

TRUST ME IN EVERY DETAIL OF YOUR LIFE.

This was a perfect message for today! I needed to be reminded.

Garren is in a lottery for one of the magnet schools here in town and I am trusting that God will place Garren in the school that will be best suited for him. We find out tomorrow if he is part of the lottery that will get to attend next year. I found myself thinking about it a lot today. I don't think it's so much that I want him to get in... rather I just want to know where he will be going. It will be settling for me to know one way or the other because I'm a bit of a planner and I like to know things in advance.

I also enjoy being reminded that even the mistakes we've made or will make are not untouchable by God. He can transform them into something good that can glorify Him. Praise His name! I'm so glad that He's capable because I know I'm not.

"Having sacrificed My very Life for you, I can be trusted in every facet of your life." It's another excellent reminder.

God thanks for allowing me to trust you in all things. I pray that you would reveal any other areas of my life that I need to turn over to you.

I AM THE POTTER... you are MY clay.

Isaiah 64:8 illistrates for us that God, our Father, is the potter and we are His clay. We are the product of His labor. However, we are only the product of His labor if we're trying to follow His instructions. What kind of masterpiece would we turn out to be if we never allowed for His interventions in our lives?

I had never put much thought into how our personal will works, but the idea brought up in the book fascinates me. To think that when things are going smoothly and I feel in control of my life... I'm not. It's just that for that season or time in life my will just happens to be in line with God's will for my life. It suddenly makes a heck of a lot more sense now. I'm never in control (thank goodness for that) because God can see further ahead into my future and He's steering me where I need to be and doing what is best for my life.

Thank you God for taking control of my life. You do a much better job than I would even when I try to second guess You.

I Have Promised.. To meet all your needs...

April 2
The peace of the Lord is a huge desire of my heart. It is a guide in my life for making decisions, but sometimes I get it wrong (because I can be head strong) The peace of the Lord, I've found, is directly related to trusting Him. Boy oh boy do I need to let some things go, and just trust in Him, because He knows far better than I do!

Bring Me The Sacrifice

Wow... Keeping to this is harder than it sounds. I find myself so easily slipping into a rhythm, school, homework, work, piano practice etc. that I find myself taking it all for granted.
I had quite the revelation last night. I was checking my phone constantly this week, waiting for a certain cowboy to call me... (which he never did by the way ;-) Last night, I realised that my phone had not been out of arms reach in a week! Not such a big deal in and of itself, I suppose, but the reason I was checking ALL the time was because I'm quite fond of being wanted. I know this isn't necessarily a bad thing, however; I would prefer to be with someone mediocre than be alone! CRIPES! So, I'm taking this single season to be thankful for the time I have for myself, and to wait for someone AWESOME! (remind me of this if you have to!)
I am thankful for my family
I am thankful for my friends
I am thankful for my beautiful home
I am thankful for a God who died on a cross for MY sins!

BRING ME THE SACRIFICE... of your thankfulness

God wants us to be thankful in all circumstances. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

The book mentions to take nothing for granted, not even the sun rising. We could easily continue that...

Top TEN things (including the miniscual) I'm most thankful for right now:

1. Air to breathe
2. Fresh water from the tap
3. Flush toilets
4. My family
5. My friends
6. Snow
7. Skis
8. Technology
9. Food
10. Health

There that probably took me no more than a minute... but how often do I actually take time to focus and give God thanks for even the little things and not just answered prayers? Sadly, it's never that I thank God for the air I breathe or flush toilets. There's a reason for the saying, "You don't know what you have until it's gone."

I like one paragraph so much I want to copy it all, I can't just pick and choose because it's all good.

When you focus on what you don't have or on situations that displease you, your mind also becomes darkened. You take for granted life, salvation, sunshine, flowers, and countless other gifts from Me. You look for what is wrong and refuse to enjoy life until that is "fixed."

(Now I'm thankful for typing too.)

I can imagine the life I would have if I started giving thanks for everything in my life. I want to do it! Think of what a change of outlook and life transformation we could have. Also think of how much joy would replace the darkened "want" spots in our lives.

Father God THANK YOU for the life I've been given. I pray that it would be a pleasing sacrifice unto You. I love you!

LET ME FILL YOU...

I had never thought of our lives in such a way as the book puts it.

"Though you are an earthen vessel, I designed you to be filled with heavenly contents."

We are not designed to hold on to the garbage this world kindly offers us. It makes sense why when we hold on to the things (I suppose we could just label the things=SIN) that we're not programmed to that we malfunction. In the past I've tried to operate in a web of lies... didn't work out so great for me. It wasn't until my balancing act failed and I finally turned to God to pick up all my pieces and put them back the way He intended. It was a painful process, but definitely necessary. I've learned from my past and it's made me who I am. It has also allowed God opportunities to work in my life and show me His grace.

By trusting God rather than ourselves for the daily strength we need, we not only have more peace but we are also filling our lives with heavenly content which will ensure we function properly.

Thank you God that your grace and strength is abundant enough for me.

I was sitting behind a Jeep at the stoplight today and their spare tire cover had the "Life is Good" logo on it. A still small voice in me agreed that Life is Good, but as a Christian we can claim that Death is Better.

I MEET YOU...

He seeks us out to meet with us, but we have to do our part as well. We must take time to calm our souls so that we can hear the precious words He wishes to whisper into our lives.

The still small voice that we long to hear will only find a way to us when we take time to wait for it.

Father, thank you for the reminder that I am not seeking you alone but that you are seeking me as well. Thank you for acknowledging all my attempts to create a quite space in my life for you, no mater how meager they may seem... or how distracted I may become with little bodies interrupting me.

IN ME YOU HAVE EVERYTHING.

It's true. There is nothing that I will ever need that God doesn't provide for me already. I might not have the cute dress I want or get to indulge in dinners out as often as I want or possibly work in the profession that pays a ton. But that's all it will ever be... WANTS and nothing more. Everything I need is taken of care of.

Thank you God for providing for all my needs and going even beyond that. I should focus on all that I have and know that you love me and show it to me daily. Sometimes I just forget to look. I need to take the time and look more frequently.

I HAVE PROMISED

God continually makes promises to us. His promises are always for our good and He never breaks them!

Today's devotion says that our deepest and most constant need is for His peace. I get it. Without peace in my life I'm a mess. Peace gets me through trying times and calms me. If we're not careful peace will easily get lost when we are living away from the fruits of the spirit.

I Am Calling You!

This is so pertinent to my 'right now'.
I'm sitting on my bed, with a 'to do' list on the back of my devotional. Just last night I was encouraging mum with their work situation, that she needs to find the joy of the Lord in all circumstances (I was absolutely preaching to myself also!)
I've recently been thinking how simple my life is at this stage. I have very few things biding for my time, very few things to worry about, and yet, I still don't make much time to talk to God. Today's devo said to talk to God about every aspect of my life, including my feelings. And that I need to keep communications open with Him. This is something I really need to work on.
I need to be more open, letting the Holy Spirit guide me, not my foot long to do list!

I AM CALLING YOU

To be in constant communion with God... when I first read this I thought it sounded like a life of utopia. A life filled with bliss. After pondering and mulling it over in my mind I realized that to be in constant communion with my maker is not the easy path of life. Rather it is the path that will lead us in the right direction through the chaos and provide us with hope and joy as we travel it.

I love how the book points out three key things:
1. "remember that your ultimate goal is not to control or fix everything around you; it is to keep communing with Me"
2. "a successful day is one in which you have stayed in touch with Me, even if many things remain undone at the end of the day"
and
3. "do not let your to-do list become an idol directing your life."

Talk about changing my perspective! This is so freeing!! As a mother to two young boys and a wife I often feel as though I failing miserably during the day. There's always something I could be working on around the house and then there's a million things that Garth thinks I should be doing and rarely do I get around to finishing everything. Now, to be reminded that it doesn't matter... the weights have just be lifted off my shoulders. Not to say that this gives me a free pass to not do anything. I'm just relieved from feeling unaccomplished. We're only here for a short time and shouldn't we be storing up our treasures in heaven? Wouldn't communion with God be considered one of the biggest treasures of all? Even if I don't finish my to-do list all that matters is that I was chatting it up with God all day long. Telling him about my frustrations, telling him about my excitement, letting Him know when I'm tired and exhausted, letting Him know I need His strength more than my own.

I hope that I can look back on today while I lay in bed tonight and think, "God and I held a conversation through the entire day." SUCCESS!

TASTE AND SEE THAT I AM GOOD.

That is how the devotion starts today. What does it mean to taste and see? It makes me think of the expression, "It's so close I can almost taste it." I think that's how God wants us to be with Him. To keep Him so close that we can taste Him and see Him in the works around us.
God is good in ALL circumstances. It's hard to be reminded that His blessings can come to us through troubles and pain, but really all we need to do is press in to Him, the one who truly loves us, and there we can rest in His abundant peace. Peace that will calm us down from our anxiety and help us see through to the end of our problems and troubles. Peace that can in turn lead to hope. Peace that is His gift to us and not to mention a fruit of the spirit.

I also love how it mentions that God sees us in every time of our lives and that he longs to participate. He just wants to be with us. Our God loves us more than we can fathom. He is deserving of our thanks.

I need to work on clearing out other voices so that I will hear Him more clearly. The busyness of the day can easily envelope me. His peace is always welcome, I just forget to look for it and focus on it rather than the rush going on around me.

Thank you Father for your gift of peace.