How Strong Are You....Really?

Not long ago, I stood in the church sanctuary and sang the words: "draw me nearer; use me; make me more like you".  How many of us have sung these words and thought nothing of it, really?  We all want to be closer to God, but did you ever wonder how he accomplishes this?  Do we just wake up one morning and say, "Wow, I feel especially close to you today, Lord?"  Not exactly.  How do we grow close to our family members or our friends?  By sharing our lives with them, by sharing our hearts, by going through things together...you feel close to them because of a shared experience or an encouraging word during a difficult time.  Well, it's the same with God.  I believe that sometimes, we go through things because He wants us to look to Him for our strength, to lean on Him, to gain a greater understanding of just how much he cares and how awesome He is.  Sometimes when we feel there is no way out for us, He comes shining through in a way we could've never thought with our limited imaginations and all we can say is.."WOW-Only God could've done this!"   Trials are part of the learning process.  Not fun, no, but the victory will be worth it all.  How often do we get comfortable and think we're strong enough to handle anything, then with the first punch, we're down for the count and we see just how weak we really are.  We are nothing in ourselves.  We need to keep Jesus fresh in our lives everyday.  We need to be strengthened everday, not once a week or that time last month when we got slain out at the altar, but everyday.  You just never know when something is going to come your way and try to take you down-will you be prepared?  Will you be wearing your spiritual armour?  Did you just set it down for a minute to rest? In this day and age, we can't afford to take it off for an instant!  We have to be ready in season and out of season.  You never know when the enemy will try to sneak something in that eventually festers and grows into a full-blown trial that threatens your very salvation.  Be aware!  Stay Alert and always at the ready.  Don't get comfortable and relaxed, that's when you're a prime target and the enemy will jump when he sees any sign of weakness.  The devil is trying to deceive "even the elect" in this end day, but we as christians need to be paying attention-see it for what it is (an attack) and stand strong and fight.  How are you going to know that you're under attack if you don't stay in tune with your general.  You'll think it's nothing, just the wind.  But it quickly worsens and soon you can't even stand up for the fierceness of it.  Pray. Know your Bible.  Stay in tune with God-keep that line of communication open.  Pay attention to the still, small voice.  Know what God has to say about things-don't be swayed by popular opinion but know the truth for yourself.  When the enemy comes, quote the word of God to him and shoot him down.  Our God is greater than anything that comes our way.  Like the song says: "Our God is greater, higher, stronger than any other"  Whatever the enemy has put in your path to make you stumble, DON'T YOU QUIT.  So you stumbled or made a mistake because you let your guard down, realize it-repent and GET UP, start walking and singing and praising the Lord.  Our God WILL be victorious!  He's already won the battle.  He has a master plan and will work all things together for our good if we keep serving Him.  Keep on believing!  Give Him your situation and leave it there, don't pick it up again.  Trust Him to take care of it.  Don't let your situation rule you, your God is greater than ANY situation.  You speak the word of God to your situation.  Trust Him to do the rest.  You keep on believing!  There's no God like Jehovah!  Let this be YOUR year of Jubilee!  God bless you.

Keep My Mind Stayed on Thee

Happy Monday ladies! It was so beautiful out yesterday and today they're predicting snow again-go figure. Crazy, isn't it. I don't know how many of you have this problem but for the last couple of weeks, I haven't been able to sleep at night. I get up in the middle of the night, go to the computer and go back to bed. Needless to say, it's had an effect on me. Last night, when I woke up I finally decided to pray instead. Let me tell you, I feel so much better-; I should've done that a long time ago. We face trials and we tend to think about them all the time, until they consume our thoughts. How is this going to work out, I don't see a way, etc. Here we go again, trusting in our own thinking instead of trusting in God. But, God's ways are higher than our ways and He has a plan. We give God our problem, then we take it back again. Why not just leave it there at His feet, trust Him and go on and do the work of God? There are bigger things in this world than you and I and our own little world. The devil would like nothing more than to have us take our eyes off of God. Remember Peter? He was able to walk on the water to Jesus so long as he kept focused on Him. As soon as he took his eyes off of Jesus and looked at the water, he began to sink. That's like us. If we keep our minds focused on Him, we'll make it. But as soon as we take our eyes off of Christ and focus on the trouble around us, we begin to sink. Don't waste your time wondering how or when, just know that He WILL. Let's get praying for people to be saved, for God to use us to minister to those in need. The Lord's return is soon, and there's a harvest to win. Don't let the troubles of this world distract you from doing the work of God. When we get our minds on ourselves and our need, we stop praying for others. Redeem the time, don't waste it. Let's stop taking two steps forward and one step back, let's keep on walking. Don't let anything hinder. Remember, it's not WHAT we go through but HOW we go through it. That's your testimony. No one said that serving God would be easy or that we'd be problem-free. But we know He'll be with us and help us through whatever happens. Look at the apostle Paul's life, it certainly wasn't easy. I'm also reminded of the story of Corrie Ten Boom. Have you read her book? She was a woman who was sent to the German concentration camps with her sister. Her sister died in the camps, yet she never stopped serving God. Even while enduring humiliation, torture and illness, she kept focused on God. And she and her sister were able to witness to so many others (even German soldiers) while there and Corrie carried on the work when she the war ended. Whatever situation you find yourself to be in today, keep your eyes on Jesus. He will make a way for you where there seems to be no way. He has a plan for your life. It may not be the plan you had, but His way is always better. What will your testimony be? Will it be that you trusted in the Lord? If you've given your life to Him, then trust Him. He'll be with you no matter what and He will not let you fall. Have a great day in the Lord!

Have you given Him your ALL?

As christians, we say that we surrender everything to God. We say we want Him to be in control of our lives, but are we truly giving Him our all? A friend of mine recently shared her testimony and it has stuck with me. She talked about how though she was a christian, there was a small area of her life that she refused to give to God. She wanted to maintain control of that area and make her own choices regarding it. She was afraid of what God might have her to do and told herself she didn't want that for her life. But once she let go and gave that area to God, He truly blessed her in ways she couldn't imagine. I believe we women are like that too, sometimes. If you're anything like me, I've always liked to be in control. If you tell me I can't do something, I will try all the harder to make it happen. We want financial security for our families. We want a house and college for our kids and security. And sometimes, God has other plans. He said He would always provide for our needs, didn't He? Then we shouldn't need to worry about these things,right. But yet, we do. Yes, I agree we should be good stewards of our finances and use wisdom. But what about God's plans for your life? Are you limiting God. Are you limiting God to your paycheck? I've been guilty of that. We live in a very uncertain world these days. Do we really know the awesomeness of the God we serve? He controls everything. He controls the winds. He can make something from nothing. We say we want to serve God and then when He shows us a direction He wants us to go, we are quick to say, "Not that." and come up with excuses why we can't. Moses was called by God to bring the children of Israel out of bondage but what did he do at first? Resist and throw out excuses for why he couldn't do it. Can't talk well, people won't listen to me, etc. God has already put within you what you need to accomplish the task. He will not ask more of you than what He knows you can handle. He will not lead you somewhere without equipping you with whatever you need to accomplish the goal. We just have to trust Him. Do you know what God has planned for your life? Are you truly seeking God about it or are you keeping something a "hands off" area because you see your future differently. Our plans are not God's plans, His ways are not our ways. But His way is always better. How many times do we look back and see that He knew what He was doing after all? And it turned out much greater than we could've imagined. He sees the bigger picture if we can just trust Him with every area and not hold anything back. I may not see what God has planned, but I know if I trust in Him to guide me, and am obedient to His word, He will make a way. Abraham did not question God when He told him to offer his only son as a sacrifice, but he went on the journey anyway. God was testing his obedience. Was he truly willing to do it? He obeyed and trusted God to "provide the sacrifice." He didn't know how it would happen, and I'm sure he questioned, but he still obeyed. Now, we all know that God stopped Abraham from following through with it. It was just a test. But when God tells us to do something, do we question God and refuse? Or do we trust Him so completely that we say, "Not my will, but thine". Do we have faith like that?

God Said It, I Believe It!

Ok.  So you may have noticed I've made a few changes here...new name, layout,etc.  I've had some time away from blogging and have come back rejuvinated.  As my fellow bloggers might relate to this, I thought I'd share...I started blogging with the idea to share my testimony and encourage other women with what I had learned from my own experiences.  Good idea...until I came to a place where I felt I had nothing left to offer..no riveting revelation and no great thought to write about. I was in a lull, a drought.  All I could see was the circumstances that surrounded me and got my eyes off of God.  It says in the Bible, "the Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away, Blessed be the name of the Lord".  God does not change just because we face a difficult situation in our lives.  He is still God.  A minister in my church said yesterday, "All Hell's breaking loose around me, I must be on the right track-Plow through!".  The devil's messing with you to try to break you, because he knows your victory is right around the corner and he wants to take that from you.  What a testimony you'll have then.  Think of the souls that will be encouraged by that victory.  You are SO close to the finish line.  Don't quit.  It's very easy to get our eyes off God when trials come and all we focus on is the trouble-"Lord, what am I going to do, how am I going to get out of this one, I just don't know..", sound like anyone you know?   What happened to our faith?  He's still God.  His word does not change.  He said it, that's all we need to know and claim it.  If we have been given the gift of the Holy Ghost, then we need to take the authority God has given to us and speak the word to that situation.  Pray over your families, your finances, your jobs, your homes, etc.  In this end day, we can't allow our minds to get sidetracked or we'll start to backside.  It happens little by little and soon you'll find yourself away from God saying, how did I get here.  Don't let that happen.  Keep your mind stayed on Him.  There's too much work to be done, too many souls to reach with the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Get busy doing something for God.  Idleness certainly leads to spiritual trouble.  Wherever you are, whatever place you find yourself to be, use what you have within you, be that willing vessel to be used by Him.  Make a choice and follow through with it, as the minister said yesterday.  Do you know what God has planned for your life? If not, make it a matter of prayer.  Let's start stirring up the gift that he's put within us-the Holy Ghost.  It was not given to us so we could just sit and do nothing with it.  Stir it up in you.  Let it flow out of you to help others.  Stay on fire for God.  If you don't use it, you'll lose it, as they say.  Have the faith to hang on through your trial and have immovable faith.  God said  it, that's all we need to know.  It will happen.  Believe it!  Take Him at His word.  Stand on the promises of God that cannot fail. I'm so thankful for a church that preaches the word of God and tells it like it  is.  a "feel good" gospel will not keep you.  We're fighting a battle in this end day, a battle for people's souls.  Many battles you're facing are not physical, but spiritual.  We have to fight them spiritually and we need to know how to do that.  If you're facing a struggle in your marriage, family, finances, etc, look beyond the surface, and take it to prayer.  Fight the battle on your knees.  It's the only way.  You'll see.   Thanks for visiting my blog today.  I hope it was encouraging to you and that you'll come back again.  God Bless You Today.   Tammy          

  

God in America Again

When my grandmother sold her house last year, she gave me an old wooden frame with this yellowed poem inside that she had on her walls for years.  In reading it, I was reminded of a time when families made God a priority in their lives, when christian values and character were "the norm"; when people reverenced God and wouldn't dare to disrespect Him.  I'm filled with a bit of nostalgia today.  Was life really so different back then, or have we become so blinded by our freedoms and "toys" of this modern age that we've forgotten our need of God?  May we never forget how fortunate we are to be living in America.  Our nation was founded on our belief in God and when we forget that, we're heading for big trouble.  Let's make a difference.  If you want God to be welcome in your home, pray...pray for wisdom, pray for Him to break the bonds that keep your loved ones from knowing Him...pray for your kids, start teaching them about God...make your prayer/reading time a priority everyday..."sweep" out anything that doesn't glorify God-remove it..make Him feel welcome in your house...Lift up the name of Jesus any time there's an opportunity.  There's a scripture that says .."they'll be won by the word of God and the word of your testimony".  Oh, you may not think you're very important or be one for big speeches, but you are a testimony to those you see everyday...to those you work with, your children, your husband, your neighbors, they watch your life.  Wherever God has put you, let your light shine.  You can make a difference, right where you are. 

                                                            A Little Place
                                          "Where shall I work today, dear Lord?"
                                            And my love flowed warm and free.
                                                    He answered and said,
                                                    "See that little place?
                                                  Tend that place for Me."
                                                   
                                         I answered and said, "Oh no, not there!
                                                   No one would ever see.
                                        No matter how well my work was done,
                                                   Not that place for me!" 

                                     His voice, when He spoke, was soft and kind,
                                                 He answered me tenderly,
                                         "Little one, search that heart of thine,
                                           Are you working for them or ME?  
                                                Nazareth was a little place...
                                                        So was Galilee." 
                                                                                            -author unknown   


This is the poem in my grandmother's old frame:
                                        
                                                       Bless this house  
                                        Bless this house, O Lord we pray,  
                                                  Make it safe by night and day;
                                        Bless these walls, so firm and stout,
                                                  Keeping want and trouble out;
                                        Bless the roof and chimneys tall,
                                                  Let Thy peace lie over all;
                                        Bless this door, that it may prove
                                                  Ever open to joy and love.

                                        Bless these windows shining bright,
                                                  Letting in God's heav'nly light;
                                        Bless the hearth a-blazing there,
                                                  With smoke ascending like a prayer;
                                        Bless the folk who dwell within,
                                                  Keep them pure and free from sin;
                                        Bless us all that we may be
                                                  Fit, O Lord, to dwell with Thee,
                                        Bless us all that one day we
                                                  May dwell, O Lord, with Thee.
                                                                                  -As heard on the Prudential Family Hour of Stars   
The song in the link below has a powerful message. I hope you'll listen:
God in America Again, by Carman
       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYtCanpBhVg