I have so, so, so much to thankful for and so many weeks now of pondering and meditating upon God's blessings that I have not posted about recently. Monday's have been challenging to pull it together and post and I tend to tell myself I will catch up next week. Well this won't cut it anymore. I need to be posting about God's blessings all the time and linking up to Ann's website on Mondays with my most recent post. There are too many blessings (although I tend to post them in smaller doses) to only post on Mondays.
31. Homemade Soup
32. Little Helping Hands that are Quick to Learn and Grow
33. Bedtime talks about the day
34. The sound of little boys playing pretend in the backyard
35. Glimpses of Spring that keep the cold at bay
36. God's faithful provision over our finances
37. Using God's gifted interests to create art
38. Feetie Jammies on little feet
39. Quiet Nights with the One I love
40. My parents for watching our children almost every time we ask
41. Watching my children encourage one another
42. Pictures colored with crayon
43. Sleeping in
44. Waking up to Breakfast made by my loving husband
45. Giggles
46. Walking to the Park
47. A warm and cozy hug
48. A newly woken baby girl
49. My daughter walking now
50. My boys that love their sister so much
One Thousand Gifts
Precious in God's Sight
I was kindly reminded by one of the wonderful ladies over at At The Well that I hadn't yet posted concerning the "God...who are You & what can You do for me?"
This week was session 2. It was great. The discussion questions are:
1. What does it mean to you to know that you are precious in God's sight?
2. Can you think of a time in your life when you've experienced, firsthand, the LORD's faithfulness?
My thoughts:
Precious in God's Sight
I can honestly say I haven't thought about this question much in regard to myself. I often think of this in regards to my children. That God sees them as precious the way that I do, only magnified.
Precious to me has a sense of innocence about it and I know my heart too well to believe that I am innocent! Ha, the foolery of it all thinking I would be innocent. But, in God's eyes, through Christ's blood I am. I need to remember that on a daily basis. I need to re-define myself as God's precious daughter the same way I would describe my own daughter who in my eyes is TRULY precious.
If I could re-define myself accurately, find my whole position in this world in Him, it would change my outlook on my life at all points, even those I'd like to keep to myself!
It blesses my socks off to think that even through my sinful heart, God still finds me precious. He can no longer see my sin, the bridge between His heart and mine has been repaired, and loves me with such depth that I desire nothing more than to live up to his expectations of me, His desires for me, His path for me.
The Lord's Faithfulness
This one is much easier for me to answer. God's faithfulness is the amazing, striking point of my life thus far.
I grew up in church but did not come from a home where two parents knew Jesus. I went to a great little private school in Phoenix, AZ that my parent's had to sacrafice to provide even though I did not have two believing parents. Jesus drew me to a Christian University my first year of college, even though it was so expensive and farther away from home, and He provided the funds to achieve it. For the rest of my college experience God continued to keep me close to Him in the greatest of opportunities to fall away, liberal america! The list of circumstances that God either delivered me into or out of could go on for a long time. He has been holding my hand or carrying me every step of the way, all the way into the core of His heart, which has only recently truly become my heart's desire. I've always loved Him, known Him, known about Him, tried to Follow Him, obey Him, but NOW, I live for Him.
Forgiving Dust
http://stacyleeart.com/
I was encouraged today by A Holy Experience. Ann Voskamp described the most beautiful way to prepare for Easter and to go deeper with forgiveness as Christ forgave us. She quotes Col. 3:12-14 at the heart of this forgiveness...
"Therefore, as God's chosen people,
holy and dearly loved,
clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness,
humility, gentleness and patience.
Bear with each other and
forgive whatever grievances you may have
against one another.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
And over all these virtues put on love,
which binds them all together in perfect
unity."
FORGIVENESS
Jesus took the nail for your sins. He had to find a way to forgive you. He couldn't live broken away from you.
Right now you hurt. Jesus can give you His strength to forgive. Do you want to find a way to forgive? You too can't live with the brokenness.
Remember how God has forgiven you?
1. Lay your finger in the dust... and write a word or draw a picture of two ways God has forgiven you.
2. Bow your head and thank God for graciously forgiving you.
3. Pass your hand through the dust, erasing the sins and know that God completely forgives you.
Is there someone God is calling you right now to forgive?
1. Write or draw it in the dust.
2. Ask God for His love to forgive --- the same love that has forgiven you.
3. Smooth out the dust and the memory of the sin.
How do you feel now with God’s forgiveness working in and through you?
Write or draw that feeling in the dust, a gift for the next person who comes behind.
__________________________________________________________________________________
I'm moved by this idea and desire to set out to teach my children and experience for myself Christ's true measure of forgiveness as it washes our spirit clean. There are so many opportunities to guide them towards forgiveness and stir in them a desire to draw nearer to Christ and experience His unfailing love.
God that I would be a lamp post for them. That in that calling I too would seek forgiveness and to forgive as you have done for me. That I would always reflect upon the Cross and the day you traded your perfection for my grace. That you would see my sin no more.
The Greatest Valentine
Today our Pastor led a lesson on the Last Supper. Being a Christian since I was small I've been participating in the Sacrament for many years. I've always revered it as a very special time to reconnect with Jesus and His death on the Cross. Taking time during the sacrament to thank Jesus for his sacrifice and love and to draw nearer to Him while publicly acknowledging his Body and his Blood.
Today I have been enlightened to even more concerning Gods great Love for us and what the Last Supper was truly saying. It was a reminder of how deep Gods word is in what often seems to be only a few lines.
The Sacrament Symbolizes:
1. The Death of Christ
We proclaim publicly that we receive the Death of Christ which was poured out for us as into the cup
2. The Magnitude of His Death
Before Christ they commemorated the Exodus and their release from Bondage Christ is the sacrafice, we commemorate His Bondage in our Place
3. The Ugliness of Sin and Judgment
In the OT they sacraficed the lamb and placed blood on the posts and mantel of the doorway (making the cross symbol) and ate lamb for the passover dinner.Jesus is the LAMB present at the last Supper, His blood on the cross
4. We receive His Benefits
God Loves Me, God Understands my Pain, God Will Meet my Needs
5. Spiritual Nourishment
We Reflect, Meditate, Metabolize and Sense Gods Love
6. Unity of Believers
7. Covenant Love-A blood Oath of His faithfulness to Us
OT God and Abraham made a blood oath in Gen. 15
NT Jesus is the Covenant
He died for our part of the convenant (our failure) not His own
8. My Faith in Jesus Christ
It is not about our Faith, it is flawed, it is about the object of our Faith, He is perfect.
9. Foretaste of Future Bliss in Heaven
10. Substitutionary Atonement
Jesus Paid the Price for Us, His blood washed our sins clean
This stirs in me LOVE for Him as I see HIS LOVE for me (us). Let God be your VALENTINE
Thursday Favorites
My Favorite Things About Fall/Winter
1. Snuggling
2. Wearing comfy and warm clothes
3. Cozy blankets
4. Feetie Jammies
5. Winter Fires
6. Hot Chilli or Soup
7. Sunny Days in Phoenix even in the Winter
8. Christmas Time
9. Trips to the Dunes
10. Hot Chocolate
11. Playing at the Park without sweating
12. Wearing boots
13. Hot Baths
14. Nighttime Movies with a blanket and babies
15. Lazy mornings
16. Hot breakfast made by my husband
