Standing On The Promises

As I type this, I am in the car because Zeke and I are headed down to Shelbyville. Tonight we are going to head down to Athens, AL with my parents to go to a revival that Vance Pitman and Teddy Johnson are leading. We are so excited to get the chance to see them! :)
So I figured I would take this time to write a blog about something God has laid on my heart this last week. (Bear with me through this because I am blogging from my phone and it is a little more difficult than my computer!)
Wednesday night at choir practice we were going over our worship songs for Sunday and one of the songs was "Standing On The Promises." It is a song I have grown up singing, but God really challenged me during this time to look at my life and see if I can honestly sing that song. Am I truly standing on God's promises?
Here is the thought that came to mind..."When I stand on something, I trust that it will hold me. I am secure on whatever it is I stand on. If it looks shaky, I am not going to be standing on it." I also thought about how many times a day I stand on things and never question the abilty of the object to hold me. When I get out of bed in the morning and stand up, I trust that the ground beneath me is sturdy and sure.
This is what that hymn is saying. God's promises are sturdy and sure! We can trust them! We can stand upon them and not have to worry whether or not the ground beneath us is going to give way! He can be trusted in everything!
So as I look at my life this week, where in my life are areas that I need to stop standing on weak ground and stand on His promises instead? Am I going to trust that He is sure and can be trusted? Or, will I continue to rely on my self?

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Digital Scrapbooking

So I have been working on some digital scrapbooking pages the last few days and I thought I would share them on here! :) Enjoy! :)

Eating Seeds That Are Meant to Be Planted

I don't really even know how to begin this post. I am absolutely overwhelmed by God's goodness and faithfulness, and how He uses those around me and resources around me to continuously reveal Truth!

I have been slowly but surely working through Beth Moore's "Stepping Up" study. And God continues to use it to speak Truth over various areas in my life right now. And today was no exception.

The lesson I went through today focused on God's faithfulness. The illustration she used was one I am sure most of us have heard many times, about seeds being planted. But God used that to speak to my heart in great ways this morning.

Looking at Luke 8:11-15, we see that the seed is God's Word, and there are many different places that seed falls. Some nurture these seeds and others, destroy them. This is a great truth and one that many of us have heard, but what hit me was the story that Beth shared next. She tells about a trip she and her husband took to Africa and the absolute devastation that they saw related to malnutrition. At one point in the journey, their guide told them that one of the most frustrating things is that in some of the villages the people are given seeds to plant and grow food so that they can survive, but instead of planting these seeds, they eat them. Planting the seeds would mean they could have food that they so desperately need, but instead they eat the seeds on the spot.

That is an interesting story, but here is the application she drew to our lives. Many times we hear God's Word and it satisfies us instantly, but we don't apply it to our daily lives. We hear teachers, leaders, and pastors speak amazing truth from God's Word and instead of looking at how we can apply that truth to our life, we simply take it at face value and go on about our way. Then as we go through our week, we wonder why our lives don't have the freedom that we hear comes from being a Christ follower. Why are we not having a bigger influence on our family and friends? Why are we still struggling and not experiencing the victory God promises in His word?

It is the same reason that my flowers did not grow this summer...

When we bought our house I was so excited! It is our own place! If I want to paint I can paint, if I want to plant flowers I can plant flowers - and I even have the most perfect window boxes to plant them in! It's great! I was so excited! And in my excitement, decided that I was going to plant seeds in those window boxes that would grow into beautiful flowers!! Great in theory, but unfortunately I didn't take LIFE into consideration. Seeds need nurturing, I have always been pretty good with plants and I thought this would be no big deal! But at the time I was teaching in Shelbyville still so I was only at the house on Wednesday nights when I drove up after school and over the weekends. And while I was gone, Zeke was too busy to care for flowers, so a lack of nurturing lead to the death of these seeds.

The problem really boils down to the fact that I expected growth to take place and transformation to occur with out a practical plan for how that was going to happen. I just assumed that it would happen without me really having to work at it. But, the heat of summer came, and instead of showering those plants with refreshing water daily (and really even multiple times a day at some points) there was no hope of survival.

Even more serious than flowers to decorate the outside of my house is that fact that many of us do the same thing with the Word of God. We hear great truth, but we never take the practical steps of applying it to our lives. It is great in theory to forgive those who hurt you, but what does that look like for my life today? It is great to want to know and meditate on God's word, but how does that become the reality of my life? These things don't just happen, just like flowers don't just grow in window boxes without someone taking the time and the practical steps to care for them.

We have to have faith (absolute trust that God will make it happen) and patience (understanding that He will make it happen in His timing and His way). These things won't grow in our lives overnight! And when the process does get long and we do start to grow weary we have to understand that the best option is not to simply dig the seed back up and start chewing on it or throw it out (Beth Moore), but that we continue on in faith and patience.

Lord,

Show us how to plant seeds, not simply eat them. No matter how difficult our situation, continue to help us tend the seeds You've given us to plant.

¹¹Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. ¹²The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. ¹³And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. ¹⁴And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. ¹⁵As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. ~Luke 8:11-15

⁹And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up ~Galatians 6:9

¹²so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. ~Hebrews 6:12

Beth Moore Simulcast

Here is just a small glimpse of the Beth Moore Simulcast event our church was a part of last weekend. It was an amazing time of worship! God spoke through Beth in amazing ways about the law of kindness. I cannot wait to see how God continues to use what we learned that day to impact our lives, our church, our community, and the world!

"She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And on her tongue is the law of kindness."
~Proverbs 31:26

Kindness is not weakness. (Luke 6:35-36)

Kindness is not an action. It's a disposition.

Kindness wears down when we do. (Matthew 11:28-30)

Kindness looks pain in the face. (Job 6:28)

Kindness is a Savior. (Ephesians 2:4-10)

Kindness has good memory. (Psalm 106:7)

Kindness craves an outlet. (2 Samuel 9:1)

Kindness leaves a legacy. (Acts 28:1-2)

~Beth Moore

One of the things God has really impressed on my heart since last Saturday was this thought..."When we forget how God has been good to us, we become rebellious; We need to remember the goodness of God."

"I led them with cords of kindness,
with the bands of love,"
~Hosea 11:4

Sitting Through the Rain

Friday night I went to Smith County's away game. As I was watching the game and the people there God put this thought on my heart: Are we cheering our students on like this spiritually? Better yet, as the church are we cheering one another on like this spiritually?

I love going to these games, but that doesn't mean it is always an easy feat to get there. It costs me something to be a part of this. It took time, money, and determination to sit through the off and on rain for 2 hours cheering on the team, but it was worth it. Not worth it simply because of the victory that came at the end of the night because those victories are fleeting. Ten years from now very few will remember the score of that victory. But it was worth all that it cost because as a community of people we came together to cheer on our students in something that is important to them and therefore important to us.

The question is now, as a community of believers called the church, are we willing to put that same effort into cheering one another on toward the goal of Christ being known to all people? Just like cheering the team on, it is going to cost us something. It may cost us our time (which is God's anyway) volunteering in some area. It may cost us the money that we worked so hard to earn (which is God's anyway) to put towards something God has laid on our hearts. It might cost us determination to stick with it even when the rain comes pouring down around us.

So is it worth it to us? If something has value in our lives it doesn't matter what it may cost us, we are willing to be a part of it...so does the Gospel of Christ hold value in our lives? When it comes down to it, am I willing to spend time, money, and other resources (which God has given me anyway) to cheer on/encourage my brothers and sisters in making Christ known? Will I still be obedient and ultimately through my obedience be an encouragement to the church? I may say it is worth whatever the cost now, but when it really comes down to it, do I act on that? When it requires more of me than just showing up on Sunday morning, am I still going to be obedient? When I have to sacrifice, will it still be a worthy cause?

When He calls me to go, pay, and sit through the rain, will I still be obedient?

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Hebrews 10:24-25

John 4

Last week we were studying John 4. I was thinking through the story of the woman at the well and a few things crossed my mind. The first thing that hit me was looking at the story from the perspective of the woman at the well. She was going about her normal routine and Jesus showed up right there in the middle of her day! How often does this happen in our lives? We are going about our daily routine and out of nowhere, God steps in and shows us something amazing! I know that it may not seem like Jesus showed this woman something amazing as He tells her he knows about all the men that have been a part of her life and that the way she is currently living is not what is best for her, but when you really look at this story, He shows her something absolutely amazing! The God of the universe is sitting with her and showing her that He has something so much better for her! He shows His great love for her through simply sitting with her and talking because as a Jew, Jesus would have been expected to completely disregard this woman, but instead he takes the time to speak to her.
Which turns my thoughts to the next thing that crossed my mind, looking Jesus' role in the story. He didn't have to travel through Samaria to get to where He was going, He had to travel through Samaria to be obedient to the Father. if He had simply ignored the Father's call, or just decided that it required too much of Him to be obedient, He would have completely missed the meeting with this woman. Obedience to the Father's call is an absolute must in the life of the believer. There are people around us daily and all around the world who don't know Christ and God is using us, the Church, to reach these people. Sometimes, we will have to go out of our way and do things that are uncomfortable for us to be obedient to the Father, but it is worth our discomfort.

"If God had not used my sister Betsie and me to bring them to Him, they would never have heard of Him. Many died, or were killed, but many died with the Name of Jesus on their lips. They were well worth our suffering." -Corrie ten Boom, Tramp For The Lord

Jesus traveled through Samaria for a purpose. It wasn't the quickest way to where He was going, and it required more of Him than just getting to His next destination, but it was worth the discomfort. He knew that this woman needed to know His love. He took something as simple as asking for a drink of water and turned it into an opportunity to share God's (His) amazing love with someone.

How many opportunities do I have daily to share God's love with those around me? When those moments come, am I willing to be uncomfortable so that others can know Christ? Am I willing to be obedient even when it requires more of me than I am used to giving?

The way the seems right...

This past week has been a busy week. We spent most every night working at the Smith County fair, where we did face painting, made balloon animals and handed out water. We also did promotion for The Power Team coming to Carthage this week. We are so excited about this event and hope that God will use it to reach many in Smith County for Him!
To get ready for this event, we went today to help tear down and clean up things left over from the fair. We got there and with our greatest effort we set out to tear down 3 rows of back to back animal pens (huge metal animal pens). So we work and work and finally get the first of the 3 rows finished in about half an hour, and we take a break. As we are resting, a man arrives and explains to us that we have stacked the gates to the pens and the sides of the pens the wrong way! Not only that but all of these sides connect together by poles and we had stacked the poles in the container the wrong way! We had done everything the absolutely opposite of how it should have been done! So, of course we start switching everything around to the way it is supposed to be stored and the man goes off and when he returns he is driving a forklift, which he uses to life the gates to then pens which were incredibly heavy and our group had been moving 2-3 people at a time, and then lift the stacks of sides that we made. Needless to say we quickly realized that it was much easier to do this job the way this man was going about it than to continue on in our own way of cleaning this up. As we got closer and closer to finishing we we constantly reminded that this way was much easier, as we talked about it this verse came up
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death."
Proverbs 14:12
This whole event was a perfect picture of the fact that so many times we try to accomplish things on our own when God calls us to seek after Him and follow His plan. My plans and my best efforts can never compare with what God has in store if I will seek after Him! As I spend time with Him daily I grow to love Him more and I see that obedience to Him is vital.

There is a way that seems right and a way that is right. The way that is right is only found by seeking after Christ.