Walking Together...

(Photo credit to Anna-Claire Photography © 2010)

A Place In The Sun...

(Please feel free to use this photo - taken and created by me, but please also include a photo credit and link back to this blog post. Thank you.)

He Shall Cover Thee...

I'm most disappointed this evening as I have left my Yes to God Tuesdays study book at work and I was looking forward to preparing my post on chapter two tonight but now I can't. Yes, I am feeling like a whinging child, but this is also developing my patience, teaching me to not worry about where the book actually is (work is the only obvious explanation but you never know with me being blonde and all!), allowing me time to delve into some Bible reading (finish Romans perhaps and move onto the next book!?!?!) and also giving me the opportunity for an early night. But, before I do that, I just want to share some verses that Micca Campbell quotes in chapter two that moved me this week, and brought me great comfort.

He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;

There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

- Psalm 91:4-11 (KJV)

The mere thought of being covered with wings of protection moved me beyond measure. Just to know that God has sent angels to take charge over me, and to keep me in His ways is such a comforting thought. I have felt renewed since reading these verses and have actually gone on a little mini quest to find out more about His heavenly charges. As for the photo I added above...swan feathers don't quite do heavenly feathers justice, I imagine, but this image kept jumping out at me as I searched Google Images for some feathers.

Verse 4 has been chosen as my Siesta Scripture Memory Team Verse for the 1st of April also, and in the KJV too! As I'm struggling a bit with memorising my verses, I visited The LPM Blog page tonight and listened to Beth Moore's Scripture Memory Mini Tutorial. It's well worth a look, even if you're not doing the team challenge this year.

Dear Lord, thank you so much for your presence in many forms. Thank you for the reassurance it brings. Thank you for taking the fear away and for bringing comfort during my most fearful moments. In Jesus' Wonderful Name, Amen.

Set on High...

"Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe." - Proverbs 29:25 (NIV)

This is my latest Siesta Scripture Memory Team verse. I have to admit that I am not being as diligent as I should in memorising my verses, but I can feel a change coming on. God is instilling into my heart the importance of going to His Word first when troubles arise instead of finding advice and solace in family and friends. This verse is in keeping with this lesson He is teaching me; rely on Him and not on man.

I came upon this verse in Brother Yun's book, "Living Water". He writes that "It's hard for a person with the fear of man to properly hear God's voice, because he will always be worried about the different opinions and criticisms people have. They will prevent you from moving forward and fulfilling all that God has for you to do." He then shares how the solution to this dilemma comes in Proverbs 14:26-27 where it says, "He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge. The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death."

My companion Bible (The Bullinger Bible) expands on this verse very well. “The fear of man bringeth a snare: But whoso confideth in the LORD shall be set on high.” The adjacent notes on this verse show fear as referring “to the inward feeling of timidity.” It also shows that “The fear…a snare” being “one of the two great snares. The other is ‘the praise of man’.” Confideth means to “putteth his trust” and “set on high” is to feel safe.

For me this is a powerful message as I have always, and I mean ALWAYS, worried about the opinions of other people, and have undertaken most things in life because someone else (not God obviously) said it was an OK thing to do. Brother Yun goes on to say that we basically have no right to be afraid of what people think or even be interesting in their opinions of us. He writes, "We are meant to be dead to this world and everything it represents." It only matters what God thinks at the end of it all. He is the one that will cast judgement on us, and He is the One I am answerable to. He gave me this life, with a purpose already set out, and I must look to Him first and foremost in all things. Does it matter if Joe Bloggs down the road thinks that I should do this or that with my house, my car, my hair, my child, my life, etc? No, it does not. It only matters that I am living the life that God gave me, in this frail human form that it is but for His divine purpose.

The opinion of man, the worldly acceptance as a person, the friendship of a cynical person; do all these things really matter? No, only God and my relationship with Him and how I live my life for Him is what ultimately matters.

Love Is...Exactly What I Need...

My latest Siesta Scripture Memory Team verse is this (or should I say, are these):

"Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record ofwhen it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices wheneverthe truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful,and endures through every circumstance." - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV)

No verse had jumped out at me, so when I read a post by Amy Bayliss at the Internet Cafe called "When Your Child Doesn't Die" and these verses were written, I knew they were it. Amy writes that "Love is an action. In God’s Kingdom you don’t have to feel it to do it. You must do it to feel it. I had to act on love to feel the emotional bond of love." I needed to read this post, written by Amy quite a while back, as it reminded me of the importance of love in my life with my daughter. It also gave me a jolt because I, like Amy, "had to act on love to feel the emotional bond of love." It's only been just over a day since I read the post, but doing the action of love instead of thinking I needed to feel it has made a difference with Jasmine. It's been a rough four or more days for Jasmine and I, hence why I haven't posted anything and am now behind, once again, in my Yes to God Tuesday study. I am still reading, but just not getting around to posting all the time.

Another couple of blogs I read yesterday also helped pep me up. One was from Cindy at Consider It All Joy. Cindy writes that, "When I am unsure of the answers to lifes challenges then I must be seeking wisdom from the only one who knows the beginning from the end." Cindy also shares these two verses:

"If any of you lacks wisdom he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must BELIEVE (TRUST) and NOT doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." - James 1:5-6

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set your ablaze, says the Lord." -Isaiah 43:2

The other post was from Lisa Shaw at Sharing Life with Lisa. Lisa shared these verses:

"Whom have I in heaven but You? And I have no delight or desire on earth besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the Rock and firm Strength of my heart and my Portion forever." - Psalm 73:25-26 (AMP)

Lisa also reminded us that "Regardless of what circumstances we may face the Word of the LORD is truth, comfort, wisdom, strength and a shield for our lives."

Please pop over and read all three posts, and I pray you are as blessed by them as I was.

Still Here...

Yes my friends, I just wanted to stop by and let you know that I'm still alive and kicking, but just not on here as much as have been previously. Life with an emotional nearly 5 year old who has just started 'big school' has taken a bit of a toll over the last week or so and I've had to shift my priorities. My Yes to God Tuesday study is still going strong and I've been learning some valuable lessons from Jennifer Rothschild's book, Self Talk Soul Talk. I've also selected my next Siesta Scripture Memory Verse, which was taken from Jennifer's book actually, and is...

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the word gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." - John 14:27 (NIV

This verse is very applicable at the moment with Jasmine's new found 'emo' self. Bless her little soul. She just wants her mummy, and I can fully relate to that being that I live away from mine. Even at nearly 39 years of age, I still cry for my mum when I'm sick. I pray for peace for Jasmine's soul, and peace for mine, and for her little heart not to be troubled, or for her to be afraid when she's not with me. I recall being the same at her age, as I would cry for both my parents, so for Jasmine it would be doubly hard as she does not live with her father, and as I've discovered this last couple of weeks, I am it; I am her sole (soul) reliance. Please say a prayer for my little girl, and for me to be able to guide her and protect her as much as I can.

Keep smiling my friends, and I hope to be back with some posts sooner rather than later.

Considering Him...

It's Siesta Scripture Memory Team time again and I'm up to verse 3. I had chosen another verse for this fortnight, but the Lord pointed me in another direction with my morning devotional today. My verse is as follows:

“Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” – Hebrews 12:3 (NIV)

I have been growing weary and losing heart lately so this verse has been quite timely. The areas that I'm finding hard to deal with at present are firstly my daughter's new persona as a school student, and also issues that I'm having with her father, of whom I separated from 3 years ago.

I feel that I'm not only fighting the enemy with the changes within my daughter, but I'm also fighting her father due to his inability to support his child in so many ways. I know that I am not to fight these battles alone, and I know that I am guilty of not calling on my Heavenly Father to take control and guide me through all this. I also know that I need God to place in me realistic expectations - His expectations - about how He wants the situations to unfold.

The NIV study bible note on this verse reads that Jesus "...suffered infinitely more than any of his disciples is asked to suffer - a great encouragement for us when we are weary and tempted to become discouraged." I need to remember that my daily struggles do not, and will never, match up to the suffering that Jesus suffered to release me from the bondage of sin. I am not insulted (well, not like He was anyway!), spat on, slapped, punched, tied up with ropes, flayed, pierced with thorns and a spear, or am I hung up on a cross to die. I may suffer the indignation of angst and anger from people I deal with in my life, but my suffering will never, ever match up to the burden that Jesus took for me.

The preceding verse - Hebrews 12:2 - gives the solution to my dilemma:

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

I need to give it all up to Him. I need to get on my knees and ask Him to guide me, give me the strength and courage I need to deal with these situations, ask Him for the right words to speak when I need them, and also to give me the wisdom to deal with these situations how He wants me to.

I also really love verse one of this chapter:

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

I hinder myself with my expectations and how I think things should unfold. It's not up to me, it's up to God. I need to remember minute by minute that I am God's Girl and I have been placed where I am for His glory, not my own. I suffer because I hinder myself, and I suffer because I am in the world yet not of the world. I also need to remember that I am God's witness and that everyone I deal with in my every day needs to see Jesus shine through me.

Verses 14 and 15 sum up how I need to act towards my daughter, her father and everyone else who I deal with every day:

"Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many."

Remembering to Shine the Light...

It's time for verse number 2 at The LMP Blog and I'm happy to share that I succeeded in memorising my first verse and now the challenge starts! Not only will I be learning a new verse, but I will also be re-visiting the first, and so on throughout the challenge, until I have memorised 24 for the year! What better way to hold God's Word close to my heart than filling my mind with it and having it pass from my lips. So, verse number 2 is...

"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven." - Matthew 5:16 (NIV)

May my light shine - the light that He has given me - before everyone who I meet, so I can share openly and honestly - so I can exemplify - what He means in my life.

24 Verses in 2009...

Well, I've jumped on the Siesta Scripture Memory Team at The LPM Blog and I am SOOO excited. I heard about it via a couple of other blog friends and I believe it is just what I need. Basically what I'll be doing is - with approximately 2,400 other ladies from all over the States (and the rest of the world!) I might add - memorising 2 verses a month for the next 12 months. Yes, that means 24 new verses embedded in my gray matter come end of year.

My first verse is, of course, my Verse for the Year, which is...

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 (NIV)

I originally decided to use the New King James Version for this verse, but changed to the New International Version for ease of memorisation, hehe. I'm cheating a bit, but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do!

So, if you're up for the challenge too, pop on over to The LPM Blog and sign up here, and then pop on over here and leave your first verse. Both comments must include your name and where you are from.

2009 is going to be a GREAT YEAR FOR JESUS...a JESUS YEAR as Beth Moore calls it. Can you feel the excitement? I can.

PS: Here is a photo of where my SSMT notepad will be sitting when I drive this year! And to my delight, I successfully helped my 4 1/2 year old daughter Jasmine to memorise half of my first verse for the year. I've decided that she will be a Mini-SSMT team member this year. I will keep you all updated as to her progress during the year as well as mine!