Prayer...that was our focus. I do love acrostics and that's what Eddie used to walk us through a fabulous message on prayer...Adoration,Confession,Thanksgiving,Supplication.
Eddie said right out of the gate that of all the things the disciples could have asked Jesus to teach them, they asked Him to teach them to pray. I think that's so interesting compared to what I usually ask Jesus for. However, the disciples knew that if they learned to pray and connect with God through prayer, that would be the key to everything else. Prayer is definitely the power source. My fave part was the statement...suppose our blessings of tomorrow depended on our thanksgiving today. I love that because so often I'm guilty of having a prayer answered and my feelings are that of thanksgiving but I so often don't stop and speak thanksgiving to Him. I need to stop in my tracks more and really SAY thank you.
The past 14 days Eddie and I have been doing the Daniel fast together. It has been harder than I thought it would be. One of the things it pointed out to me was the fact that so often I don't really care to have something until I'm told I can't have it. I wanted so many foods that I never focus on wanting until it was all of a sudden on my don't list. How often are we like that in other things? We don't want a certain guy until another girl gets him then we want him or vice-versa. We don't want a material object til someone else gets it then it's all we want. We may not want to be friends with someone until someone else is or all of a sudden they don't care to be ours. Why is our flesh that way???
I did get some major prayer requests answered on this fast. I am VERY THANKFUL for those. There have been some of those things on the very top of my prayer list that God chose to answer in a way that gave much needed peace. He answered a few in a way that I wouldn't have chosen but now I'm just praying for the grace to receive and accept that answer and be good with it. Fasting is one of the disciplines that I've practiced very little but I'm hoping to incorporate it more often.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Monday Morning Perspective
First, let me back up and say if you didn't get to be there for State of the Church like me, go listen to it online. It's always good to get info from the top instead of 2nd, 3rd, or 4th hand. It was awesome and Eddie and I are so excited about the privilege to serve at Millbrook at this time. I know sometimes we only see what's going on in our specific group or area of service but we are fortunate to see the big picture of Millbrook and God is moving and working ALL OVER!! People are visiting, sunday school classes from young to old are crowded, people are getting involved and inviting people...awesome time for our church. He is blessing and we are blessed. Be encouraged and encourage others.
The Christian Wife was the message yesterday and thank you to my man for the day off. He offered the opportunity to preach that one but I probably needed to hear it more than preach it so I appreciated the option this time, usually I don't get that haha. Great sermon, very convicting, very challenging!! It was applicable to us as wives but also just in our general relationships. The statement Eddie made in closing to "do the unselfish thing, step outside of your own needs and stop thinking of how your spouse needs to change and find out how you need to change" is powerful and should be how we deal with all of our relationships. It's way too easy to think about how others are acting in a wrong way or what's wrong with them but when we turn it on ourselves we find that there's plenty of work to do inside our own lives.
Happy Monday to all and speak a good positive word to someone today.
The Christian Wife was the message yesterday and thank you to my man for the day off. He offered the opportunity to preach that one but I probably needed to hear it more than preach it so I appreciated the option this time, usually I don't get that haha. Great sermon, very convicting, very challenging!! It was applicable to us as wives but also just in our general relationships. The statement Eddie made in closing to "do the unselfish thing, step outside of your own needs and stop thinking of how your spouse needs to change and find out how you need to change" is powerful and should be how we deal with all of our relationships. It's way too easy to think about how others are acting in a wrong way or what's wrong with them but when we turn it on ourselves we find that there's plenty of work to do inside our own lives.
Happy Monday to all and speak a good positive word to someone today.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Monday Morning Perspective
Yea, yea, yea, I know it's not morning but couldn't bring myself to break out the computer with so much good conversation with the hubs going on. We get into talking church and I don't want to cut it off. We are just both so excited about some things right now and praying and expecting some huge things from God on behalf of our church family. We are also praying that our Millbrook family will join with us in this excitement and praying for this new year for Millbrook.
Anyways...loved the message yesterday!!! Also loved the passion with which it was preached. All these years and I'm still amazed at the anointing of God on Eddie as he stands to preach, absolutely mind blowing.
We looked at the marks of a wise Christian and I must say my toes are sore and the conviction was heavy and come 6am this morning after my wakeup call from David Caver about school closing I was praying over those things from the message and how God needs to continue doing a work in my heart.
When we were talking about being controlled by the Holy Spirit, I couldn't help but think of a friend who was attacked about her son by a mom when their boys were very young maybe 5ish. I remember this friend just "taking it" when she could have easily tore into this lady. To me, when you can do that when your child is involved, you are a wise Spirit-controlled Christian. Oh that all of us would respond that way. Wise, Spirit-controlled people are the ones I am deliberately surrounding myself with. However, we all have to be on guard at all times...prayed up and people in the Word so that Satan doesn't catch us with our guard down. That's usually when we blow our witness and the respect others have for us.
Praying all are safe in this snowy winter wonderland...how I love it. Just for everything to shut down and have a day or two to stay put and enjoy being together drinking that hot chocolate and sitting by the fire and yes even blogging when I know that's what I should do but now ready to turn this thing off and get some spaghetti going for dinner and enjoy the BCS Championship game with a room full of my favorite people and really missing my 2 upstate children. Blessings to all!!
Anyways...loved the message yesterday!!! Also loved the passion with which it was preached. All these years and I'm still amazed at the anointing of God on Eddie as he stands to preach, absolutely mind blowing.
We looked at the marks of a wise Christian and I must say my toes are sore and the conviction was heavy and come 6am this morning after my wakeup call from David Caver about school closing I was praying over those things from the message and how God needs to continue doing a work in my heart.
When we were talking about being controlled by the Holy Spirit, I couldn't help but think of a friend who was attacked about her son by a mom when their boys were very young maybe 5ish. I remember this friend just "taking it" when she could have easily tore into this lady. To me, when you can do that when your child is involved, you are a wise Spirit-controlled Christian. Oh that all of us would respond that way. Wise, Spirit-controlled people are the ones I am deliberately surrounding myself with. However, we all have to be on guard at all times...prayed up and people in the Word so that Satan doesn't catch us with our guard down. That's usually when we blow our witness and the respect others have for us.
Praying all are safe in this snowy winter wonderland...how I love it. Just for everything to shut down and have a day or two to stay put and enjoy being together drinking that hot chocolate and sitting by the fire and yes even blogging when I know that's what I should do but now ready to turn this thing off and get some spaghetti going for dinner and enjoy the BCS Championship game with a room full of my favorite people and really missing my 2 upstate children. Blessings to all!!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
The ride with God never ceases to amaze me
I've been meaning to do this for days but sometimes I just want to sit and soak in all that God has done and especially at the ending/beginning of a new year. He has been so tremendously graceful towards us, showing us things and working in ways that even a year ago I would not have imagined. It was a fabulous Christmas, in fact it's been a fabulous month and actually a fabulous year. No, that does not mean it has been stress free or problem free but God has ruled and reigned and shown time after time that He is still on His throne and in complete charge and He watches over His children if we are obedient to Him.
We had some of the greatest family time over the holidays. Our family along with my brother's family decided to completely surprise my parents at Christmas with a large screen tv and surprise them doesn't even begin to describe it. I don't think I've ever seen anyone receive such a gift with so much humility and thankfulness. My mom had already cried all day over their gift from Chrissie and Michael which was a beautiful frame filled with family wedding pics...I got mine too and was overwhelmed as well.
We had some precious time with Kaylin, Stephen's girlfriend from Toccoa. Wow, her parents have done a fab job and we are getting to enjoy the work they have done. Thank you godly parents out there who know it is worth the work!!! That girl has more spiritual depth than most adults I know. To hear her talk about the spiritual disciplines she practices in her life is amazing to me. Jessica got to go to Passion and experience a conference intended for those in her generation, a call to rise up and do something great for the Kingdom. I'm praying it will not have been just a great conference for all of these kids but a life altering call to serve and take the Word to those now and those who will come behind them. What an awesome generation the Lord is raising up. We got to stay home and watch much of it online together, snuggled up on our couch with hot chocolate and the laptop on...love how God uses technology for His greater good. Huge clap offering for the only God worthy of everything!!
We also got to spend some phenomenal time with our friends Joe and Karen Sawyer, friends from Greenville that we went to Boston with. They haven't seen our kids in forever and we so wanted them to connect. They are just the kind of people that you want your kids to sit at their feet and soak in all their godly wisdom and insight. It was some of the best conversation around their dining table that we have had in years, actually it played a huge role in some of my thoughts going into the new year.
I don't make resolutions. I kinda don't see the point. I do however like to improve and change and add/subtract things in my life but more on an ongoing basis than just the beginning of a year. I've decided that I am very much lacking in the area of memorizing scripture. I have a lot of it in my head but I'm terrible at remembering the reference so I'm determined to learn 2 a month and retain them. That will happen only with God's help and that's what I want, something that makes me depend totally on Him. I also need to do some fasting, not just from food but from some other things and I know He will help me with that as well. My first verse of the new year to memorize and set the tone for my year is Gal 1:10...Am I now trying to win the approval of men or God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men I would not be a servant of Christ. Being a servant of Christ is what I want most so the people pleasing, impressing has to go even more than it already has. Sorry if that bothers some but there's no pleasing God when we constantly try to please and impress man so determined not to do it. I want to be focused on what God thinks of me more than what people think. We talked about this with the Sawyers and talked about how so many are so wrapped up in looking good rather than being good, looking holy rather than being holy. We fool everyone but God with that. Sometimes we care what people think of us and "how that makes us look" and worry about our kids messing up because that makes us look bad rather than trying to get our kids where they need to be spiritually. We worry so much about what people who don't mean a hill of beans thinks. I also continue to ask God to draw my heart to people who have a heart for Him. He has brought so many of those in my life in the past few years that I feel greedy asking for more but I love being with those who love talking about Jesus and pushing me and prodding me on to know Him better. Jesus asks His disciples in Mark 8 a question, "And don't you remember?" All Christ had done in their presence and they still didn't get it. It's important to remember... to look back and remember where we were and what God has done. I want to remember and I want to understand, I want my eyes to see and my ears to hear all that God has for me, What about you?
We had some of the greatest family time over the holidays. Our family along with my brother's family decided to completely surprise my parents at Christmas with a large screen tv and surprise them doesn't even begin to describe it. I don't think I've ever seen anyone receive such a gift with so much humility and thankfulness. My mom had already cried all day over their gift from Chrissie and Michael which was a beautiful frame filled with family wedding pics...I got mine too and was overwhelmed as well.
We had some precious time with Kaylin, Stephen's girlfriend from Toccoa. Wow, her parents have done a fab job and we are getting to enjoy the work they have done. Thank you godly parents out there who know it is worth the work!!! That girl has more spiritual depth than most adults I know. To hear her talk about the spiritual disciplines she practices in her life is amazing to me. Jessica got to go to Passion and experience a conference intended for those in her generation, a call to rise up and do something great for the Kingdom. I'm praying it will not have been just a great conference for all of these kids but a life altering call to serve and take the Word to those now and those who will come behind them. What an awesome generation the Lord is raising up. We got to stay home and watch much of it online together, snuggled up on our couch with hot chocolate and the laptop on...love how God uses technology for His greater good. Huge clap offering for the only God worthy of everything!!
We also got to spend some phenomenal time with our friends Joe and Karen Sawyer, friends from Greenville that we went to Boston with. They haven't seen our kids in forever and we so wanted them to connect. They are just the kind of people that you want your kids to sit at their feet and soak in all their godly wisdom and insight. It was some of the best conversation around their dining table that we have had in years, actually it played a huge role in some of my thoughts going into the new year.
I don't make resolutions. I kinda don't see the point. I do however like to improve and change and add/subtract things in my life but more on an ongoing basis than just the beginning of a year. I've decided that I am very much lacking in the area of memorizing scripture. I have a lot of it in my head but I'm terrible at remembering the reference so I'm determined to learn 2 a month and retain them. That will happen only with God's help and that's what I want, something that makes me depend totally on Him. I also need to do some fasting, not just from food but from some other things and I know He will help me with that as well. My first verse of the new year to memorize and set the tone for my year is Gal 1:10...Am I now trying to win the approval of men or God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men I would not be a servant of Christ. Being a servant of Christ is what I want most so the people pleasing, impressing has to go even more than it already has. Sorry if that bothers some but there's no pleasing God when we constantly try to please and impress man so determined not to do it. I want to be focused on what God thinks of me more than what people think. We talked about this with the Sawyers and talked about how so many are so wrapped up in looking good rather than being good, looking holy rather than being holy. We fool everyone but God with that. Sometimes we care what people think of us and "how that makes us look" and worry about our kids messing up because that makes us look bad rather than trying to get our kids where they need to be spiritually. We worry so much about what people who don't mean a hill of beans thinks. I also continue to ask God to draw my heart to people who have a heart for Him. He has brought so many of those in my life in the past few years that I feel greedy asking for more but I love being with those who love talking about Jesus and pushing me and prodding me on to know Him better. Jesus asks His disciples in Mark 8 a question, "And don't you remember?" All Christ had done in their presence and they still didn't get it. It's important to remember... to look back and remember where we were and what God has done. I want to remember and I want to understand, I want my eyes to see and my ears to hear all that God has for me, What about you?
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