What Are We So Afraid Of??????

One of the hardest things about being a Christian is to share the good news about Jesus with the people in our lives.  We shrink back from it because we are afraid of rejection..or maybe we aren't that emotionally close with someone in our lives and talking about where they are spiritually is deeper and closer than we want to be or go with them....it all points back to us focusing on ourselves and our own discomfort.

But Jesus wants us to fix our gaze on Him and not look at anything else.  He wants to tear down the walls in our lives and He wants us to share our relationship with Him with others so that they will believe and be saved!!  Lord, please give me boldness with my dear neighbors...people who you love and died for and need your grace in their lives!

Here's the words to another Casting Crowns song that resonates in my heart today:
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HERE I GO AGAIN

Father, hear my prayer
I need the perfect words
Words that he will hear
And know they're straight from You
I don't know what to say
I only know it hurts
To see my only friend slowly fade away

So maybe this time I'll speak the words of life
With Your fire in my eyes
But that old familiar fear is tearing at my words
What am I so afraid of?

'Cause here I go again
Talkin' bout the rain
And mulling over things that won't live past today
And as I dance around the truth
Time is not his friend
This might be the last chance to tell him that
You love him
But here I go again, here I go again

Lord, You love him so, You gave Your only Son
If he will just believe; he will never die
But how then will he know what he has never heard
Lord he has never seen mirrored in my life............
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Lord, give me the grace to live for you today...to burn brightly for you and please burn away anything in me that is not of you--please crucify my flesh--as painful as it is--please remove it.

Ripples Emanating from Tennessee...

Something profound I have been pondering are the ripples that are emanating from that week Antonis and I spent in TN with the team from our church.  It was only one week of our summer but the lives that were touched, the new relationships that were formed, and the changes in our hearts will go well beyond that week.  Knowing God there will be ripples that will go on into Eternity.

Besides God calling me out of my comfort zone since I have been back, He has also given me this incredible HUNGER for more of Him!  One morning the hunger was so strong it was painful.  I am thirsty for Him and feel parched and dry...I need more of His living water!!  It's time to be on my face in prayer..to fast...to read and read in His Word until I hear from Him again!  God is so faithful..if we seek Him He will satisfy our desires for more of Him.  He does not leave His children hungry.

Jesus says, "Come To Me"...

Each morning the first thing I read is that particular day's devotion by Oswald Chambers from his book My Utmost For His Highest.  They are short readings but very deep and often I am completely stumped and don't even understand what he is trying to say.  But today's devotion really spoke to me..it resonated in my heart with what God has already been showing me.  Here's what he wrote:

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Where sin and sorrow stops, and the song of the saint starts.  Do I really want to get there?  I can right now.  The questions that truly matter in life are remarkably few, and they are all answered by these words- "Come to Me."  Our Lord's words are not, "Do this, or don't do that", but- "Come to me." If I will simply come to Jesus, my real life will be brought into harmony with my real desires.  I will actually cease from sin, and will find the song of the Lord beginning in my life.

Have you ever come to Jesus?  Look at the stubbornness of your heart.  You would rather do anything than this one simple childlike thing- "Come to me."  If you really want to experience ceasing from sin, you must come to Jesus.

Jesus Christ makes Himself the test to determine your genuineness.  Look how He used the word come.  At the most unexpected moments in your life there is the whisper of the Lord- "Come to Me," and you are immediately drawn to Him.  Personal contact with Jesus changes everything.  Be "foolish" enough to come and commit yourself to what He says.  The attitude necessary for you to come to Him is one where your will has made the determination to let go of everything and deliberately commit it all to Him.

"......and I will give you rest"- that is, "I will sustain you, causing you to stand firm."  He is not saying, "I will put you to bed, hold your hand, and sing you to sleep."  But, in essence He is saying, "I will get you out of bed- out of your listlessness and exhaustion, and out of your condition of being half dead while you are still alive.  I will penetrate you with the spirit of life, and you will be sustained by the perfection of vital activity."  Yet we become so weak and pitiful and talk about "suffering" the will of the Lord!  Where is the majestic vitality and the power of the Son of God in that?
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This devotion really speaks to me..that I need to keep coming to Him.  That my eyes must remain fixed on Him.  Since the trip to TN the Lord has been calling me to do some new things..to make some changes.  Much of it is out of my comfort zone.  If I stare at the waves, I can become immobolized.  I must gaze at Him...it's the only way..I must keep watching Him standing there with His hand reaching out to me.  I'm coming Lord...

Everything's Electric

Electric...that is the word that comes to mind when I think of my life in Christ...it's like the electricity is turned on and there is a current running through my veins.  I feel ALIVE...I feel like my life has purpose...I feel satisfaction deep in my soul...

And the electricity is running through my marriage too..because my husband is also plugged into the energy source ...and then God does this beautiful thing and He uses us for His purposes together...and then our marriage is alive in Christ too!  What an amazing thing.

Learning To Trust Him More

God is doing a good work in my life right now!  He is putting things on my heart and teaching me to obey Him.  Often times it's so hard to do..it's wonderful when we hear the Lord's voice and KNOW that He has called us to something specific.  The hard part comes with walking it out.  We start to get hit with thoughts that question our decision and it can be tough to follow through with what the Lord wants us to do!

God clearly confirmed to me last Wednesday that he wants me hanging with the youth on Wednesday nights for the summer.  I had that peace that passes all understanding and knew it was His will.  Yesterday night was a little more difficult..I am definitely out of my comfort zone!  My son attends the youth group but I am certainly not going to sit right beside him.  He is 13 and definitely heading down the road to manhood.  So I sat on the other side of the room and just soaked up the scene.  There is alot going on with the young people and the Lord has already put a few of the girls on my heart.  I am just wondering how I am going to be able to reach them?  I am going to just have to keep my gaze fixed on Him.  If He called me here, he will open a way.  It's just hard to see it right now.  But God sees it!  He sees it all..the beginning from the end.  So amazing!

Time to Grow

The TN trip has led to some exciting changes in our lives.  For one, Antonis has more of an understanding of what it means to serve others.  In the week since we've been back God has provided a couple of opportunities for him to be of help to other adults in our lives.  I have a new perspective too- older kids need to stay connected with the family as they get older.  I know they grow and mature and become independent but God has an important role for them as they grow up.  For example when I go to a friend's house for a playdate with the younger kids; he needs to come with!  The younger kids love him and the other grownups can minister to him.  He can be a blessing to the other family too. 

The Lord also confirmed to me that he wants me over with the youth group on Wednesday nights at our church.  I know that God used the TN trip to soften my heart towards the youth.  He showed me that the youth are hungry for God and need to be discipled.  They need Godly influence in their lives.  God wants to use me to reach them for Christ...to share my relationship with Jesus.   

Jesus Changed My Life..Again

My heart can hardly contain what God is doing in me.  My life changed during the trip to TN and as each day goes by I am making different decisions and responding to situations and people differently and feeling different!!!!!!!!!!!!  The difference is the Lord.  When we are obedient to His calling and step out of our comfort zones He meets us there and we are forever changed.  I keep asking myself..ok..how long is this going to last..when are things going to revert back to what they were???  But the truth is..things are not going back!  I am in a new place with my relationship with Jesus and it's for keeps.  His Spirit is flowing through me in a new MIGHTY & CRAZY way and I don't ever want it to stop.  It's been so overwelming at times (lots of emotions and tears..unable to eat) but I know that God is enlarging my heart and this is going to be my "New Norm".  Praise be to God!!!!!!!!!!!! 

God is SO POWERFUL...........these bodies can hardly fathom or contain his greatness.  If we were to behold Him in all his POWER & MIGHT in these physical bodies, we would immediately DIE.  These bodies cannot handle Him in his complete radiance.  I can only imagine what it will like to have my glorified body and to walk and talk with Him.  O God...it will be an amazing day.  The day I live for.  The day I hope for.   

CONFESS SIN+ACCEPT JESUS+READ HIS WORD+PRAYER+OBEY HIS CALLINGS+CONNECTED WITH OTHERS=ABUNDANT LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!