Trust

I think one of my words for this new year is going to be TRUST. When we know God is in control of everything, why do we have issues with trust. Especially in this difficult economic time, I must trust. I must trust God will show us the way; show my family and friends the way. So many I know are looking for jobs and jobs aren't as prevalent as they used to be. Lord, please help me trust in you. Thank you for all your blessings.

Increase...decrease

Ashley is a sweet young girl on a missionary trip to Guadeloupe. She is keeping a blog on her experiences while serving the Lord there. She inspires me all the time. One of her recent thoughts was Lord may You increase and we decrease. Increase...decrease - very similar spellings, just a few letters are different; but the magnitude of change using those words can imply. The degree of change can be minimal or maximum. Would you like your salary increased or decreased - we like to think the change would be a great increase. Sometimes I think we overlook a minimal change. Even a minimal change increasing Jesus in our lives can be maximum in results! This year the words joy and surrender have been on my mind (and in my blog) on a very regular basis. When we surrender our will to Jesus, our joy increases. Surrender can bring freedom - not a word we usually associate with surrender. Surrendering to Jesus is the ultimate freedom. God cares about us - He sent His only Son as a baby knowing He would die on a cross for us. Think about that for a moment - could you send your baby to die for someone else? Our oldest son, Scott, was born on Dec. 18th and we brought him home on Christmas Eve. As I sat there feeding him early on Christmas morning with only the tree lights on, I thought of Mary. How it was a moment like this that she held her baby knowing He was the Son of God. She knew He was born to suffer and die to save us all from our sins. As I held Scott, tears ran down my face - I couldn't imagine... Can you? Lord, help me decrease so You can increase in my life. Help me surrender to the joy of Your leadership.

Surely I Will Help You Now

Part of my daily devotion today was called "Surely I Will Help You Now:" This morning may each of us hear the Lord Jesus speak to us, saying, "'I myself will help you.' It's a small thing for Me, as your God, to help you in your time of need, especially when you consider what I've done for you already. What! Not help you? I bought you with My blood. What! Not help you? I died for you, and if I've already done what is greater, will I now not do what is less? Help you? This is the very least I will ever do for you, for I have done much more for you in the past and will do much more for you in the future. "Before the world began I chose you and made the covenant for you. I set My glory aside and become a man for you, and then I laid down My life for you. If I did all this, surely I will help you now...." —Charles Spurgeon

How powerful is this - if God came to earth as a baby and then died for us, how can we ever doubt He will care about what is happening in our lives. I know some people think we shouldn't bother God with the small things in our lives, but I believe God is all about the details. He knows the number of hairs on our head - and for some of us, they are getting fewer every day (ha, ha). How awesome God is! With joy we should surrender to Him, His love, and His plan for our lives. He's got it all under control - we just need to trust Him. Spend time with Jesus today thanking Him for all He has done and is doing for you everyday. Thank you, God, for caring for me...

A Baby changes everything...

Faith Hill has a new song out entitled "A Baby changes everything." I can't get the song or the thoughts about it out of my head. How true it is. Babies change our lives. With the Christmas season fastly approaching, I can't help but think about Baby Jesus and how He changed my life. I have a Savior, hallelujah! Think about Mary & Joseph, the innkeeper, the shepherds - Baby Jesus changed their lives and He can change yours too. Just ask Jesus into your heart - He's waiting to be invited in. Here are the lyrics to the song and a link to the video.

Teenage girl much too young
Unprepared for what's to come
A baby changes everything
Not a ring on her hand
All her dreams and all her plans
A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything

The man she loves she's never touched
How will she keep his trust
A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything
And she cries Ooh
she cries Oh ohhh...

She has to leave, go far away
Heaven knows she can't stay
A baby changes everything
She can feel it's coming soon
There's no place there's no room
A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything

And she cries
And she cries
Oh she cries

Shepherds all gather 'round
Up above the star shines down
A baby changes everything
Choir of angels sing
Glory to the newborn king
A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything
Everything, everything, everything
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah

My whole life has turned around
I was lost, but now I'm found
A baby changes everything, yeah
A baby changes everything

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SJigHz4mQk

Let Jesus change you...

The colors of autumn...

The colors of fall are majestic. How can anyone doubt there is a God when we see His handiwork all around us. The colors in any picture ever painted cannot compare with the colors God created. As I looked out the window at church this morning, I thanked God for autumn. How beautiful this earth is, and yet it doesn't compare to the beauty we will see when we get to Heaven. I was also reminded of God's amazing love. If He can care for all of the plants, trees, and animals, surely He can take care of any needs I might have. "How great is our God, sing with me, How great is our God, and all will see How great, How great is our God."

The Potter and the pot...

This week in one of my devotions (this one by Mark Lowry), a couple of sentences just jumped out at me: "And you’ve got to start agreeing with God. You were worth dying for. How do I know? Because God said so. And who are we to disagree with God? The pot doesn't get to tell the Potter what the pot is worth...The Potter tells the pot what the pot is worth. The pot doesn't get a vote..." It is very humbling to think that God thought me worthy of sending His only begotten Son to die for me. God loves me - sinful, overweight, unworthy me. In a world where the media is constantly promoting "the beautiful people" as a benchmark, how amazing to digest the highlighted text above. God has determined our worth - not society and not we ourselves. The Potter (God) determined each of us (the pots) to be so valuable that He would send Jesus to die for us. I cannot even comprehend such love, I must just accept it. I cannot imagine sacrificing my husband, my children or my grandbabies so that others could live. In humbleness and gratitude, I must live my life daily remembering the value The Potter gave me. I must share what The Potter said with others. Do you realize your worth to God? I pray we all will live our lives acknowledging The Potter, His words, and the price He paid for us.

Scattered...

My thoughts have been scattered today. The thoughts in my mind are like lightening bugs on a summer's evening. A bug lights up and catches your attention; and then another lights up, and your concentration is shifted to that one and so on and so on. This weekend I've: been excited to be with friends, missed my hubby while at retreat, played for a wedding bringing back sentimental memories, been concerned about loved ones, been touched by thoughts shared with a friend, reviewed things I have to do this week, been frustrated over things that aren't working, been amazed by my Heavenly Father's whispers to me, been thrilled to spend time with my grandbabies, and been tired. What a broad range of emotions and feelings. The common thread has been the presence of my Heavenly Father. In the midst of my time with friends, I was thanking God for such good ones - while missing my hubby and during the wedding, I was thankful for his love and support - during the frustrating times, I cried out to God - my time with the grandbabies made me thankful and joyful that God allowed me this blessing. There were times that I was busy having other thoughts going through my mind. God just quietly was whispering "my child, it's OK" like a mother or grandmother does to a child when they need comforting. There were times I shed tears out of frustration. Perhaps for the first time this weekend, I feel a sense of peace. In this quiet moment with God, I can hear Him speaking to me: "Be still and know that I am God. Rest in my arms, Diana, it is OK. Just rest." The soothing words to a child who needs comforting. Thank you, Jesus, for loving me. I need you more every day...