Eyes On

One, two, three, eyes on me!

One, two, eyes on you!

That is what is called an "attention grabber" or "callback." The intent is to use it with a group in order to get the focus back on to the speaker.

When I was thinking about what it means to "keep your eyes on Jesus" I was reminded on this attention grabber. Sometimes in life something pulls our attention away and we need to be redirected to the thing that matters.

In Hebrews 12:1b-2a we are instructed to run the race God has out before us by keeping our eyes on Jesus. But what does this mean?

Just like the attention grabber is used to get eyes back on the speaker, to put your eyes on Jesus, you simply need to switch your focus to Him. 

In today's world we are surrounded by distractions. Many things push and pull for our attention. What are you paying attention to? What are your eyes on? 

Fix your eyes on Jesus. Read the Bible. Pray. "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11 

Deceitful Hearts

Don't follow your heart.

Follow your heart is a popular saying which advises you to do what feels right. Unfortunately, it's terrible advice.

In the Bible, Jeremiah 17:9 tells, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"

I don't know about you, but I don't trust anything or anyone that is deceitful. According to dictionary.com, deceit means: 
         
           1. to mislead by a false appearance or statement; delude
           2. To be unfaithful to (one's spouse or lover)

 Yikes.

What does this mean for us? Be careful what you put your trust in. Be mindful of what you follow and let lead you. Keep your eyes on Jesus, draw near to God, and. . .

Don't follow your heart.

Ignorant Talk of Foolish People

Sticks and stones may break my bones by words will never hurt me.

If only that rhyme was true, life would be easier. But words do hurt. A lot.

I've been at the receiving end of some harsh words and I'm sure I'm not the only one. It's hard enough to hear someone speak badly about you, but it is even harder when the ignorant words are not even close to being true. You know what I'm talking about: When people deliberately tell lies about you with the intent to harm you. Why? Why do people weave lies with the intent to harm others?

I don't know. But what I do know is that God has a plan to prosper me and not to harm me, to give me hope and a future. I know this because the Bible states it in Jeremiah 29:11.

So, why then, would He allow people to slander me? Why allow me this suffering?

After praying, to find the answer I turn to my personal favorite books in the Bible: 1 and 2 Peter.

1 Peter 2:12 directs us to, "Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."

I may not know in the moment why God allows people to say hurtful to me or about me, but I do know it is God's will that by doing good I should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.

I will stand firm on God's word and I trust in His promises. God will take care of the rest.

Everything We Need

Because He First

I wasn't going to choose one word to focus on for 2017. I don't know why exactly; I just wasn't.

However, after praying I decided I will focus on one word, a four letter word, a word that is used often and maybe is a little watered-down as a result: LOVE.

There's just something about it that seems so cliche and easy. Like, I can't think of a good word to focus on so I'll just go with love. (I can be confident that my word for the year is from God because I would have never chosen it on my own.) It's probably the world's view influencing my decision. After all, it's common to hear someone say they "love" a certain food or tv show. It seems to have lost a little of it's value.

But I don't want to love like the world loves. . .I want to love like God loves.

There is a beautiful picture of God's love in 1 John chapter 4. Check out verses 7-12:

     Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of
     God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In
     this the love of God was manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that
     we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he has loved us
     and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought
     to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and
     love is perfected in us.

Wow. Like I said, beautiful.  

And that's what I want. God's love perfected in me so that others can see God through me. The following verses of 1 John chapter 4 (13-16) gives direction on how this is done:

      By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And 

      we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

     Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have 

      come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in 

      love abides in God, and God abides in him. 

In order to love like God, I need to remember that love comes from God and God is love. I need to abide in love (to remain in it). I need to know God's love and believe it. 

My focus verse this year will help me do all that: 1 John 4:19: We love because He first loved us. 

No Longer

I love reading through Titus in the Bible.
 heart emotico reading through Titus!

Sometimes I feel like I'm odd because I actually LIKE the verses that show what you are like without God--but that's okay.

Check out Titus 1:15-16
smile emoticonCheck out Titus 1:15-16

"Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupted. Such people claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live. They are detestable and disobedient, worthless for doing anything good."

Detestable. Disobedient. WORTHLESS for doing Anything good. Ouch. 

When you look at who God says you are, isn't it important to look at what you are not?

 I USED to be detestable, disobedient, and worthless for doing anything good but not anymore! Jesus gave his life to free me from Every kind of sin, to cleanse me and to make me his very own daughter (Titus 2:14)! 

The God Who Rescues

He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters. Psalm 18:16

Sometimes in life I get overwhelmed and I have the sensation of being in over my head. Have you ever felt that way? 

God with you--always. Even when you are doing things you aren't proud of; God is there waiting for you to turn from your sins and run into His arms instead. He wants to rescue you as He has rescued me. 

It doesn't matter what you have done in your past, simply "declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead and you. will. be. Saved." (Romans 10:9).

Rescued.

Paul puts it best:

Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (as the Scriptures say, "For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.") No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is our through Christ, who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow--not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above of in the earth below--indeed, noting in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-38)

Amen. 

The Stars at God's Command

Isaiah 45:12 =  [This is what the Lord says] It is I who made the earth and created mankind on it. My own hand stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts.

I love the New Living Translation which says, "All the starts are at my command."

What an awesome and powerful God we have!

Chosen By God

I am God's Masterpiece (and so are you!).

For my first Bible journaling entry this year, I felt lead to do Isaiah 43:10: "You are my witnesses," declare the Lord, "any my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.

Wow. I just love this verse.

For my journaling entry, I wanted to make the page beautiful. I like the combination of orange and pink together so I used my gelatos to blend in a sunset style background; something that is very pleasing to my eyes. I gave it little more "pop" with colors by adding some floral washi tape with pink and orange flowers--perfect!

After meditating on how to visually show the verse, I was pulled to write out the words to add even more emphasis to them. It's fabulous to show the verse with pictures but I wanted to add even more focus on the words. . .

. . .because I AM chosen by God! And why did he choose me? SO THAT I may believe and understand that there is no one like God and He has called me to be His witness!

Just soak this verse into your soul. It's so refreshing and encouraging.

All Praise to the God and Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the spiritual realms with every spiritual blessings in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

One Word

I can't remember the last time I started a New Year's Resolution.

Part of the reason I haven't made a resolution is due to my stubbornness--I don't need a new year to make a change; and part of it is due to my fear of failure--I don't want to commit to something I'm not going to be able to finish.

This past Sunday,  I was teaching in Children's Church. Before service started, a team member asked me if I made any New Year's Resolutions to which I responded, "Oh, no. I don't do that." She said she didn't do it either and then asked if I had heard of "one word."

She went on to explain that instead of choosing a New Year's Resolution, you choose a word to focus on and strive towards throughout the year. I remember thinking it was a cool idea, much better than a resolution, but I wasn't inspired to focus on one word myself.

I love how God works.

After Children's Church, I drove back home to pick up my family so we could all go to church together. Multiple friends had invited us to attend their church so instead of going to our regular church we decided to go to theirs. Let me just note, I absolutely love my church so I was little sad about "missing it" to attend another church but my husband had been wanting to try it since different people kept inviting us to go.

So, I'm sitting in this beautiful church, a little reluctantly simply because I'm missing "my" church, when the Minister mentions that it doesn't matter why we were there this morning but we were there for a reason. This perked my ears up a little bit and I prayed, "Okay, God I'm listening."

And do you know what he preached on? His sermon was on choosing one word to work towards this year. I could have written this off as a coincidence but I know better. Twice in one morning my attention was brought to the idea of striving towards one word this year and I decided right there during that sermon that I was going to do it.

The Minister mentioned a few different ways to determine the one word but the general theme is, "What do you want to be like at the end of the year?" He suggested finding a Bible verse to go with the one word so that you can focus on throughout the year. When he mentioned the Bible verse that I remembered God had already given me one to focus on this year! I heard a whisper, "Then you already know your word."

Some examples of words to strive towards are: Grace, Love, Stewardship, Trust, and Light. The word God gave me is: Masterpiece. After hearing the other examples, I thought my word is a little weird but it works for me.

I am striving to see myself as God sees me this year; what better way than to focus on the fact that God says I am his MASTERPIECE! Created anew in Christ Jesus to do good works! Which God Himself has gone ahead of me to prepare just for me to do!

My one word helps me to redirect my focus on God in an area I struggle with--my identity. Focusing on who I am in Christ will help me overcome distractions of doubt and keep my eyes on Jesus.

Everything I Need

My dog ate my Bible.

No really, he did. I rescued an adorable mutt two-years ago; part Labrador retriever and part German Shepherd/Collie. He's a really sweet dog with a great personality.

Well, one day, I left my Bible sitting on the couch after reading it. My puppy acting like, well, a puppy decided to check it out for himself. I didn't notice until I was looking for my Bible later that day that my sweet little pup had opened up my Bible and ate a number of pages out of it.

To replace that Bible with the eaten pages, I got a fabulous new Bible. Nice soft (imitation) leather cover--so it's enjoyable to hold, New Living Translation--so it's enjoyable to read, and a Parallel Bible (it has Study Bible plus Life Application Study Bible notes)--so it's enjoyable to learn. I also have an English Standard Version Bible (which is the Bible Journal that was gifted to me years ago.) I like the ESV version because it's a great word-to-word translation of the Bible.

I enjoy reading the Bible in different translations because the context never changes (God's Word will never contradict itself) but the wording sometimes does. When this happens it causes me to look at a verse in a new light and with new understanding.

The Bible my dog ate was a New International Version translation. It's kind of the in-between of the ESV and the NLT. It's not as wordy as the NLT and a little easier to understand than the ESV. The NIV is normally the translation I use when I memorize scripture. Ever since that sweet little pup of mine ate my NIV Bible I've wanted another one. Sure I can look up the NIV translation on the internet but there is just something about holding God's Word in my hands. For the longest time, since I already had two great Bibles that I use, I couldn't justify buying a third. . .

Until now.

In case you couldn't tell from my previous posts, I enjoy Bible Journaling immensely. For 2016, I decided I was going to splurge and get a brand new NIV translation Bible that I can use for Bible Journaling in 2016.

It is my goal to do a Bible Journaling entry once a week for the whole year in 2016. If the Holy Spirit leads me to use my Bible Journal more than once a week, then I will, but I made my goal for a once-a-week-minimum to keep it a realistic goal that will not overwhelm my schedule or stress me out. It seemed fitting that I decorate the inside of my new NIV Journaling Bible with my focus verse for 2016:

 

I put Ephesians 2:10 on the very first page of my 2016 Bible Journal and dressed it up with some washi tape. The next page asked who this Bible belongs to and I wanted to express who God says I am (this inspired my previous post "Who I am?" here).

When the Holy Spirit lead me to my focus verse for 2016, He also showed me a supporting verse for it (read more about my focus verses here). I wrote the supporting verse from Ephesians 6:19 as a prayer for myself and made an image that with it that I would enjoy looking at. I printed this out and added it to the title page of this Bible.

I love how I am asking God to give me the right words to boldly explain His mysterious plan right before I read His Words in this Bible. God has already given me everything I need.

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 1 Peter 1:3

Who am I?

So, tell me about yourself. . . 

Those five words just may be my least favorite to hear in a conversation. 

I don't know why but almost every single time I draw a blank and then ramble off who I am in relation to other people; I'm a wife, I'm a mom, I'm a volunteer. All of these things are a part of me but who am I really? Deep down, who am I?  

Last week I was lead by the Holy Spirit to choose a theme Bible verse for my life this year in 2016. I am focusing on Ephesians 2:10 which says, "You are God's masterpiece, created anew in Christ Jesus, to do good works which God prepared in advance for you to do." 

This year, I am striving not to base who I am in relation to other people but focus on who  God says I am.

So, who am I?

Coloring God's Word

I enjoy Bible Journaling as it's a way I can meditate on God's Sord while playing; creating an image that reflects what His Word says. It helps me to stay focused and not get bored. I like it so much, I made a Bible Journaling Playset that I can easily move anywhere I like. (In a previous post, I shared what items I have in my Playset, you can read it here).

But what if you are too nervous to write in your Bible?

I will admit, it was nerve-wracking for me to draw in my Bible that first time last month but once I leapt that hurdle it's been wonderful. Even still, I understand that it may be a little harder to take that first step for others.

Is there another way to color and think about God's Word? Yes!

Another great option I've found is Adult Coloring Books with Bible Verses. With these, you can color while focusing on a Bible verse without actually needing to color in your Bible. I bought a number of these coloring books for Christmas gifts this year because I enjoy Bible Journaling so much but understand that not all my friends feel comfortable coloring in their Bibles--and that's okay! But I didn't want them to miss out on the fun of coloring and meditating on God's Word so I got went with this alternative option.

Check out this picture of a coloring page I completed this week:

This picture took me about 5 or 6 hours to finish (it may not look like it's time consuming, but there are lots of separate pieces to color!). While I was coloring I would repeat parts of the verse in my mind and then work my way up to repeating the whole thing at once. Since this is a shorter verse, I did not repeat it the entire time I colored. At one point, I put on some Christian music, put my feet up, and relaxed; just soaking in the Christian songs as I colored.

It was glorious.

Right now I have two Bible verse coloring books and I think they will last me all of 2016. Even the pages with less details still take a decent amount of time to finish coloring completely. I received some sparkle and metallic gel pens for Christmas and they are wonderful! I probably haven't used gel pens in 15 years and I had forgotten how smooth they move as you use them. I particularly like them for coloring as they make a nice solid color instead of showing streaky lines like some of my markers do.

In addition to being fun, studies have shown that coloring helps reduce stress. Bonus!

Adult coloring books with Bible verses are a nice alternative (or addition!) to Bible Journaling. It's another fun way to meditate on God's precepts and consider His ways (Psalm 119:15).

How do you meditate on scripture in a fun way?

Focus Verse for 2016

Have you ever had words seem to jump off the page as you were reading?

I have.

When I was reading through Ephesians the other day, the verse from 2:10 seemed to do just that. As my eyes were moving over the words, I thought: This should be my focus verse for 2016. Now, because I hadn't even considered picking out a verse to focus on in 2016, I know this was a prompting from the Holy Spirit--a nudge from God Himself. Never before have I picked out a Bible verse to focus on for a year but since God told me to this year, I'm going to! 

So, I took Ephesians 2:10 and I created a picture I would enjoy looking at throughout the year. I also "added myself in" by switching the words "you are" to "I am" in the beginning and the word "you" to "me" at the end. This way, when I read this verse throughout 2016, I will automatically apply it to myself. I am God's Masterpiece. 

I printed the picture a couple times and haven't decided where I would like to hang it. I don't have a lot of wall space in my computer room and my fridge is cluttered. I'm leaning towards my bathroom near the mirror so I'll see it every day when I get ready, but I haven't hung it up yet ... I still have a few more hours to decide. 

As I continued reading through Ephesians, I had another new thing happen: a second verse stood out. While Ephesians 2:10 is my main focus verse for 2016, I was given a supporting verse to help me do the good works which God has prepared in advance for me to do. I made another picture but this one I wrote as a prayer using Ephesians 6:19.

In Jesus' Name, AMEN! 

I'm excited (and a little nervous) for God's plan for me in 2016 but I know God is able to do infinitely more than I could think or ask through His mighty power at work within me (Ephesians 3:20). 

Did you pick out a focus Bible verse for 2016? Which one? 

If not, you are welcome to share mine; comment below or message me on Facebook and I'll email you a FREE printable PDF version of it! 

Bible Journaling Playset

Bible Journaling is a fun way to meditate on God's word in an active way.

Today, I'm explaining what I have in my Bible Journaling Kit and a little more of the process. This is great information to get started with your own Bible Journaling but also fun to read to see how I play in God's kingdom. 

JLin's Bible Journaling Playset:

(You can click on the pictures to see them larger.)

1. Medium Sterilite Ultra Basket. I love these things. I have a few bookshelves that home these baskets; mostly organizing books in different genres for my kids. I choose to use one of these baskets for my Bible Journaling Kit to keep all my supplies organized in one place plus have the mobility aspect. With this basket, I can grab it and find a nice quiet spot to work.  

2. Journaling Bible. Is a Journaling Bible any different than a regular Bible?  Yes! The paper in a journaling Bible is more study than a regular Bible plus it has wider margins with lines for notes. This one was a gift I received years ago but I wasn't sure how exactly to use it until recently. It's in the English Standard Translation which is a close word-to-word translation from the hebrew into English.  

3. Crayola Colored Pencils. I choose Crayola because they are good quality color pencils at an affordable price. These are great to add color to drawings in my Journaling Bible. 

4. Mechanical Pencils (not pictured). For my first few journal entries, I did freehand drawings with just colored pencils. This was before I heard that I could outline in pencil first and then color it in! I know, I know, it sounds like a really simple, obvious thing but it hadn't crossed my mind. Now, I tend to draw lightly in pencil first to ensure everything looks on paper how it is in my mind before coloring it in. 

5. White Erasers. Going along with the mechanical pencils, I invested in some "fancy" white erasers. These don't smudge on the paper like the traditional pink erasers. I am happy I added these. I don't consider myself an artist and I make plenty of mistakes ... that I can now erase easily! 

6. Gelatos. These little guys are a bit pricey but a lot of fun. It feels like you are writing with silk when you use them; it's really delightful! My picture below is a bit light, but I wanted it to be. I wanted to draw the breath of the Lord on the page and leave it light enough to be able to still read the words underneath. 

7. Washi Tape. When I first heard those two words I said, "What?" Washi tape is a quick easy way to add a little umph. In the picture above, I used Washi Tape across the top of the page to make it look more pretty and to draw your eye into the page more. I didn't like the empty space at the bottom of the page, so I decided to add a pop of color by sticking on a different piece of Washi Tape. It was an easy way to dress up the page and it took hardly any time to do it.

8. Staedtler Pigment Liners. Simply put, these are black fine-point pens. After drawing a picture in my Bible Journal, I can go over the outline with a Pigment Liner. This helps the image "pop" and stand out more on the page. 

9. Crayola Watercolors. Okay, these I borrowed from my kids (they weren't using them anyway!). When I did research on different methods of Bible Journaling, one of the ways I came across was watercolors! I was a bit nervous to try it out but I braved my way through it as you can see in the picture below. I'm a bit of a perfectionist so it was a little hard for me to color outside the lines but I really enjoyed the look of the end result. (I also have some disposable paper cups for water and a paintbrush in my kit so I have everything I need to use the watercolors--minus the water.) 

10. Gesso. Remember how I said I'm a bit of a perfectionist? What I did not like about the watercolor is that it bleed through onto the back side of the page. Not the worst thing in the world but I didn't like it. This lead me to some more research in which I found if I pre-treat the page first, the watercolors won't leak through! Gesso is like a glue I can now paint on the page (and let dry) before doing my Bible Journaling to prevent any color leaking over to the other side of the page.

   

11. Pencil Sharpener. This one is a bit of an indulgence. I like to have all my Bible Journaling tools in my basket so I can move to any location of my choosing to work. The pencil sharpening makes it so I don't need interrupt my journaling to get up and to go the automatic pencil sharpening in my house if I find a dull colored pencil. 

12. Christian Music. I like to listen to Christian music as I work in my Bible Journal. It helps me to stay in a mood of worship as I draw. I will use the free app (also a website) Pandora and go to "Contemporary Christian" radio. I like having the option to "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" songs so it will play mostly Christian songs I enjoy. For a small fee, I have Spotify which I have saved a number of my favorite Christian songs into my own playlist. This is great for when there is a specific theme I want to listen to. 

As I continue to Bible Journal, I may add some more items to my kit but for now I am very happy with all the tools I have available to me. 

If you are thinking about starting Bible Journaling, please don't feel overwhelmed by all my goodies! START SMALL. 

I recommend grabbing a blank piece of paper and pencil (if you have kids, borrow their crayons or colored pencils!), choose your favorite Bible verse, pay attention to what words seems to stand out to you as you read it, then try and draw it out while you listen to Christian music. This way, you can try out Bible Journaling before investing a lot of money into it to be sure you like it. 

(You can read my post on how I got started Bible Journaling here.)

Playing at My Father's Table

I attended a woman's Bible conference this past Saturday and it was fabulous.

I am still processing all the information I received. One item in particular though, I picked up and started running with when I got home:

The idea to "play in God's Kingdom."

It's funny, the night before the conference I had a time of fellowship with some ladies in my local Bible Study group. We each chose a card and had to answer the question on the back.

One question I grabbed was, "What do you enjoy most about your day?" My very first thought was reading my Bible so I said it. But as I thought about it more, I realized while I like to read my Bible everyday, I couldn't really say I enjoy doing it. Sad but true.

The next day at the conference--not by coincidence but by God's grand design--I was introduced to the world of Bible Journaling. What is Bible Journaling you ask? Well, let me tell you.

Bible Journaling is a way to meditate on God's word and enjoy doing it.

It's really hard for me to sit down and focus on one verse. My mind tends wanders somewhere else; no matter how much I want to sit and read a verse, I get distracted by what is going on around me.

Bible Journaling helps me focus.

It gives me something to do with my hands while my mind is focused on the verse. How so? First, I prayerfully consider a verse God has put on my heart, then I find it in my journaling Bible. (Side note here: I received a journaling Bible five years ago but wasn't really sure how to use it. I did take a few notes in it on occasion but was overly worried I would write in a space I would later want to write in and so I didn't use it too much.)

Bible Journaling is a tool to meditate on a verse and then visually show it ... in your Bible.

Check out this entry I made on Colossians 3:12-14:
(Okay, I admit, it's not just one verse but these verses are all connected and I wanted to include them all.)

After you prayerfully choose a verse to focus on, you read the verse again. This time paying close attention to any words that stand out.

For me I saw: put on, chosen ones, beloved, above all, love

Next you take the words you zoned in on and ask yourself, "What would this look like?"

Looking at my list, I realized it's the beloved chosen ones are who are being asked to put on those attributes so I decided to draw a princess--because as a daughter of the Risen King that is exactly what I am. I choose purple for the dress because it's a royal color and I added "LOVE" in the crown because the verse says, "above all these put on love." Now, while the attributes to put on were not in my list of words that stood out to me, I still really wanted to include them, so I knit them on her dress. Lastly, I added yellow rays around her to try to show the holy and beloved aspect a little more.

Just like that I spent an hour meditating on one verse of the Bible without getting distracted.

But you know the best part?

I enjoyed that full 60 minutes.

Grumbling Transformation

I caught myself grumbling in the grocery line last week. 

I'm not a huge fan of grocery shopping to begin with and I went right before lunch. So after stocking up my cart as I trekked through the store I started to unload them onto the checkout counter with my stomach was growling. As I put item after item up on the counter I thought, "I can't stand grocery shopping. I still have to put all these away when I get home before I can eat!" 

I get irritable when I'm hungry, my friend. 

But after I thought that I immediately realized I was thinking about the wrong things. Instead of dwelling on the fact that I was hungry and unhappy that I still had to put my groceries away; I choose to brush those thoughts away and focus on the positive like:

• I am getting groceries to make food to take care of my family.
• I have the money to pay for the food on my list. 
• There is one store I can go to to get all my food. 
• I can eat some food when I get home. 

I was reminded of Philippians 4:8 which says, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." 

As we continue into this Thanksgiving season, I challenge you to redirect your thoughts when you catch yourself grumbling. Instead of focusing on the negative, look to the positive. 

Doubts Can Drown You ... If You Let Them

A Prayer For You

Father God,

You need only speak and it happens. 

When we consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made us a little lower than the angels, and crowned us with glory and honor. You made us rulers over the works of your hands and put everything under our feet. 

Thank You for loving us so much, that you sent your one and only Son to die for us so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life. 

You yourself go before us and you will be with us, God you will never leave us or forsake us, help us not to be afraid or discouraged. For you did not give us a spirit of fear or timidity but of POWER, LOVE, and SELF-DISCIPLINE. 

Whether we turn to the right or to the left, open our ears so we will hear your voice behind us saying, “This is the way, walk in it.” 

In Jesus Name I declare this, amen. 

(Genesis 1. Psalm 8:3-6; John 3:16; Deuteronomy 31:8; 2 Timothy 1:7; Isaiah 30:21)

The Gracious Patience of God

God is graciously patient. 

It amazes just how patient He is with me. I tend to try to use my limited human understanding and apply it God, assuming He will be frustrated with me because that's how I would feel if I were Him. This is silly of me. God cannot be put into a box. 

Let me show you a little bit of God's gracious patience with me with a condensed version of how He is growing me this year.

There is a women's Bible Study I regularly attend and it is fabulous. At the beginning of the year, every lady is asked to fill out a "Sister Form" with contact information plus a special section at the end for special gifts. When I first attended this Bible Study in January, I deliberately that "special gift" part blank ... because I knew if I filled out my gifts “they” would ask me to help and I was all set. 

But even so, God started planting seeds for me to help with this Bible Study Group on that very first day. God showed me a small need and within my first 15 minutes after coming through those doors, I thought, “I could help with that.” 

Fast forward a couple months, God prompted me to share about how the Evangelism study I was in had been influencing my life. So I shared about how I tend to be like Gideon from Judges 6. I trust God can do anything He says He can. . .but sometimes I have trouble believing He wants to use me to do it. I was approached after my speech and was given an application to apply as a lead volunteer on the Board for this Bible Study. 

I prayed about it for a week, but God in His gracious patience, knew I wasn’t ready yet and through multiple confirmations, He told me to say no.  

When the new Board of volunteers was announced in May, I was really happy to see who God had chosen. . .but at the same time, I felt sad. When I saw the selected five all standing up there together, I felt sadness that I wasn’t up there with them.

I was shocked by this feeling and I did a little prayer right then and said, “God! I know you told me to say no to apply for the Board but then why do I feel sad that I am not up there?” I was reminded, “There is a season for everything.” I accepted that but didn’t think too much more about it because I did not want to think about potentially having that much responsibility in the future. No, thank you. 

Now in June, the selected President of this Bible Study Group, asked me to pray about joining the Board. My first reaction was to say no because I felt I was needed as a volunteer more in my church, but I agreed to pray over it and get back to her with an answer.

 As I was praying, God reminded me of that seed He planted in my heart in January and I was encouraged to take a role on the Board, so I accepted. 

For the next weeks, I would get together with the Bible Study President to discuss, well, Bible Study items. One day in August, we got like usual --but this time she also had a special request for me. Just as she started to explain this request, before she gave me any details, I heard God, loud and clear, “You are going to say yes.” And I’m little taken aback and start to wonder, “What is this I am saying yes to?” But before I can even finish reciting that question in my mind, God continued and said, “She is going to ask you to be President.” 

I’m not kidding, when I say I’m a like little Gideon. Even though I knew she was going to ask me to be President my heartbeat sped up as soon as she said it. And as she went over some of the duties, I began to doubt (does God really want me as President?). 

Are you starting to see why I say God is graciously patient with me? God spoke clearly to me and I still doubted. 

Have you ever been in an intimidating situation where you felt like you were out in the middle of the water way over your head? This is a little like what I was feeling. 

There’s a story in Matthew Chapter 14 verses 22-31 about when the disciples are in a boat during a crazy bad storm and they see what they believe to be a ghost walking on the water. They were terrified and Jesus spoke to them and said, “Don’t be afraid! Take courage, I am here.” Then Peter called out to him, “Lord, if it is really you, tell me to come to you on the water. And Jesus said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

 I’m a little like Peter too, but thankfully God is there waiting for me to call out so He can lift me up. 

Now, as I was praying and getting used to the idea of becoming President of this Bible Study, I was reminded of what I had been asking in my prayers. There is a song called Oceans by Hillsong United, and I would sing that as a prayer to God. The part that really resonated with me goes, “Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders, let me walk upon the waters wherever You would call me, take me deeper than my feet could ever wander, and my faith will be made stronger.”

God showed me, I could stay where I was comfortable serving this Bible Study OR I could choose to trust Him and let Him answer my prayer to take me deeper than my feet could ever wander, but first I had to answer His call step out of the boat and say yes to becoming President. 

Ephesians 2:10  says, "For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." God called me to be President of this Bible Study this year. 

I am God’s handiwork ... and so are you. 

God has already prepared an assignment specifically for you to fulfill. If you are anything like me or Gideon or Peter you might doubt what God is calling you to do. It happens. The important thing is to not let your doubt drown you or distract you from God’s purpose for you.