Tidbits from "Jesus Calling"

It's been a long time since I wrote my last blog - lots of things have happened in my life and I just had a hard time bringing myself to blog.  Amidst the storms of life, God does provide a ray of sunshine and I keep looking for those rays of sunshine that brighten my life and give me courage to go on.  A good friend of mine gave me the book "Jesus Calling" which has been my devotional and it has spoken tons to me and given me verses to carry me through each day.  This morning as I was reading it said...beware of seeing yourself through other people's eyes.  Then it went on to say  as if God was talking to me..."through My eyes you can see yourself as one who is deeply, eternally loved."  The tears started streaming down my cheeks - how comforting to know that my Jesus loves me and I could feel that love and it felt so good.  And then it went on to say "Rest in My loving gaze, and you will receive deep PEACE."  I could relate cause I am a visual person and when I think of Jesus face I always see his kind and loving eyes looking at me that bring a peace to my life.  Here are a couple other things that were in my Jesus Calling devotional that gave me lots to think about this week:

• The one thing you absolutely need is the one thing you can never lose: My Presence with you.
• Trust Me enough to let things happen without striving to predict or control them.  Learn to rely on Me in every situation.
• There is one thing, however, that displeases Me: your tendency to complain. Complaining to others is another matter altogether.  It opens the door to deadly sins such as self-pity and rage.  Whenever you are tempted to grumble, come to Me and talk it out.  As you open up to Me, I will put My thoughts in your mind and My song in your heart. 

I serve a great God and He has been revealing new things to me.  He has placed people in my life that have spoken truth, courage and love to me at the times when I felt I couldn't go on.  I continue to trust Him and BELIEVE that everything is possible for him who believes. 

Negativity vs. Positivity

The Lady Hawks are going to State!  What an accomplishment; especially with the season they had and hearing all the negativity and "nonsense" which I call it.  It was a busy week with getting people to write encouragement note cards for Emily and fixing goody bags, feeding the team and decorating the bus all before they leave on Wednesday @ 5.  But it was worth it; the point I wanted to bring out was on Thursday morning in my devotional I read Deuteronomy 31:8, The Lord is the One who will  go before you.  He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you.  Do not be afraid or discouraged.  I felt a peace come over me as I read this because #1 the date is March 15, the birthday of my 1st husband  and #2 I prayed this verse for the basketball girls that they can feel this power from God.  I had a peace that whole day that was so soothing and comforting - the Lady Hawks did win there game that day.  As I read through  my devotional reading it said - He is a God of possibility, not negativity(what the basketball girls had to hear for most of their season). He will help you count your blessings instead of your hardships(losing my husband). I leave you with this thought:  With a renewed spirit of optimism and hope, you go out there and thank your Father in heaven for the many blessings, for His love and for giving you His Son.  Be Positive!

Psalm 139

Have you ever had a God moment where you can totally feel His presence?  The other morning I was reading Psalm 139 and I have read this chapter many times but this morning it ministered to me in such a powerful way as if God were standing beside me and talking to me.  ...you know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar...before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely...if I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me...for you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; ...how precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them...when I awake I am still with you.  Search me God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. The tears just rolled down my cheeks; just the thought of God caring so much for me from the time I was created in my mother's womb to now!  Isn't that amazing!  That's a Shout Out to God!  I am so thankful that I have a Savior who loves me and is with me all the time.  Have a wonderful week!

Greater Things

*There are greater things than you can IMAGINE ahead of you - and there's a great God walking beside you.

*I know His purpose is at work within you, as He's guiding your life with wisdom and love.

*God can do anything, you know - far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!  Eph. 3:20 (The Message)

*"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."   Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NIV)

Lately it seems like satan is attacking right and left and about the time I feel like I might be over the hump another thing smacks me in the face.  Right now I am trying to keep my head up and covering myself and my family with the blood of Jesus and I truly BELIEVE there are Greater Things ahead for us. 

Precious in the sight...

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants" Ps. 116:15 - I read this verse the morning my former mother-in-law passed away.  This lady lived life to the fullest. She truly lived out her God given gift of hospitality and giving.  She was strong in her faith in God and committed in her marriage.  Feb. 14th, sitting at her funeral there were many thoughts, memories and tears, thinking of a part of my life where my last name was Miller.  There were so many good memories filled with love, quality time, relationships, laughter, visits, letters, phone calls, camping, 4 wheeling, farming and the list could go on; then on the other hand a flood of sad memories came too filled with many tears, death of a loved one, the roller coaster ride in the hospital not knowing if he would make it or not, the phone call.  Through it all the Miller Family has always made me feel like I am still a part of the family and through the calling hours and funeral of dear Mary, they still made me feel like I belonged.  Before I left that day I gave John a hug and thanked him for making me feel a part of them and his reply was "you will always be a part of us".  Tears.  Oh what a happy reunion in heaven when Mom got to see her 3 boys who had gone on before her.  Heaven seems so much closer when we have loved ones there.  Let's live each day as if it were our last!

Captivating

I am reading the book Captivating by John & Stasi Eldredge.  This book has been inspiring to me in the fact that "I am free to be me" and God views me as beautiful.  I just wanted to quote a little of what I recently read.  A woman in her glory, a woman of beauty, is a woman who is not striving to become beautiful or worthy or enough.  She knows in her quiet center where God dwells that he finds her beautiful, has deemed her worthy, and in him, she is enough.  A woman of true beauty is a woman who in the depths of her soul is at rest, trusting God because she has come to know him to be worthy of her trust.  This is why we must keep asking.  Ask Jesus to show you your beauty.  Ask him what he thinks of you as a woman.  His words to us let us rest and unveil our beauty.  "The scariest thing for women is to offer our beauty into situations where we don't know if it will make any difference.  Or worse, that we will be rejected.  For our question is "Am I lovely?" Remember in God's sight you are Beautiful - let your spirit be free to be who God wants you to be and your beauty will shine through. 

Miracles

Let me just tell you, my God is a God of miracles.  Let me tell you of one.  The beginning of 2011 I did a Beth Moore Bible Study called "Believe God".  That Bible Study had a big impact on my life.  The verse that stood out to me throughout the whole study was Mark 9:23 - Everything is possible for him who believes.  The night I read that verse I cried on my way home from Bible Study.  It talked about miracles and all we need to do is Believe.  Well, BELIEVE, became my word for 2011 and I gave Joe, and each of the kids a little stone that said Believe on it.  The other thought that kept coming to me throughout the Bible Study was that "I need to get out of the way" so God can work in Joe's life.  Well, life kept going on and things in our family life between my husband and I did not get better; it actually got worse.  I kept telling God, well, I am out of the way - what else do you want?  My life came to a point where I had to make a decision - I could not go on living the way I did with so much turmoil and stress in my life.  So, the girls and I moved out of the house and moved in the basement at my Mom's house.  I had a real peace about it all even though I didn't know what would happen but I felt this is what God had been telling me (Sally, you need to get out of the way so I can do my work).  After moving out for about a month, miracles started to happen.  Joe started to make changes in his life for the good - starting meeting with Pastor Larry for accountibility; reading and studying his Bible; praying; Joe became a different man and I became a different person.  God, has brought healing to both of our lives and is continuing to pour the ointment of healing in the cracks and crevices that still need it.  It has been 7 weeks and no, I am still not moved back home, but that will come with time. God is good - God is Faithful - and don't ever forget  Mark 9:23 - Everything is possible for him who Believes.  Thank You Jesus!