Some extra perks of country living!

"Fear not, I am with you!"

Is. 43: 2~ "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you."

-God never leaves us, but how many times do we leave each other?
-How often do we leave each other to be overwhelmed, burned and consumed?
-I don't know how many times I've literally tried to walk through a raging river or a roaring fire, but I've lost count of how many times I've felt overwhelmed by the demands of ministry, or burned out in exhaustion, or consumed by the hardships of life.
-Yes, God is always faithful, he never leaves us nor forsakes us, but we also cannot forget that WE are the vessels he has chosen.

Is. 43:10~"You are my witnesses, declares the Lord, and servants whom I have chosen"

-To love, encourage, and lay down our lives for each other as Christ has done for us!

1 Pet. 4:8-10~"Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace."

-God showed us his grace and mercy when we didn't deserve it, so now we are to be good stewards of the grace he gave us by giving it to others...even if you don't think they deserve it!
-I don't always feel like being a good steward, sometimes I feel like if someone has not shown me very much love or hospitality, why should I do it for them? Because God has asked me to serve them with what I have been given, regardless of whether I get anything in return.
-If someone around me is parched and God gives me water for them to drink, who am I to keep it from them? If someone is drowning and God has given me a lifeline to throw to them, who am I to just let them drown?
-Love covers a multitude of sins. If we see people around us falling in sin, we are not called to scold or judge. A heart of condemnation lets your brother or sister drown while you watch, but love pulls them out of the water and onto dry ground. Love makes the less "likable" people more lovable, because you loving them is like soap that washes off what was so unlikable!
-We were dirty, stained by sin, and because Jesus Christ loved us, we were washed clean by his blood. Christ's love covered our sins, so now we are called to do likewise with each other.

Is. 43:4~"Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life."

-Christ gave his own life in exchange for you. You are precious in his eyes.
-..."and I love you"!!

Is. 43:19~"Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert."

-Is God placing you to be a way in the desert? Is someone needing you to point the way to Christ?

Is. 44:3~"For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants."

-Is there someone you can give water to today? Have you seen someone in your ministry who may be running dry?
-Maybe you yourself are the one who needs water? Be revived today friends, for you are loved and precious in God's eyes. He is doing a new thing in your life today! He will make a way for you in the wilderness, and give you a river of refreshing in the desert.

Bungalow Bar and Grill!!!

On a lighter note, my mom and I had dinner at the Bungalow Tropical Bar and Grill last night, and hands down was the best dinner, possibly of my entire life!! I had the Fiji chicken...sooooo amazingly good, and my mom had the spare ribs, which I tried, and they were spectacular! Its a very elegant atmosphere, and so are the prices!( quite spendy, but well worth the big bucks in my opinion!) and the waiters all wear Hawaiian shirts. And it totally reminded me of our fine dinning experience in Mexico last year, for those of you who were there, the one that was up on the roof top! The restaurant is in the Cascade Village or what ever its called, upstairs across from Cold Stone Creamery. Seriously, if you want your taste buds rocked, and have some extra splurging money, check it out, and thank me later by taking me there again!!:) I'm enjoying my left-overs for lunch today!

A very sad update.

I am sorry to say that Crystal passed away yesterday afternoon. Thank you so much for all your prayers. Please keep praying with me for Crystal's family. Thanks guys.

Please pray for Crystal!!

Crystal is a little girl my mom and I know who has been fighting a rare bone disease, which is very similar to leukemia, for most of her life.

She has been waiting for a bone marrow transplant, and has finally found a donor, however, she recently came down with pneumonia, and had to be rushed to the hospital. Now has picked up a fungus which is spreading through her body. They took part of her lung and she had open heart surgery. If they get it under control she will need a liver transplant (as well as the planned bone marrow transplant). If the fungus travels to her sinuses it will go to her brain and kill her. The doctors say that she cannot have the bone marrow transplant unless she is completely healthy, or else she will not survive the operation. Because of her disease, Crystal does not have an immune system to fight off viruses or infections such as which she is now facing, so keeping her alive, and getting her healthy enough for her transplant has become quite the battle.

Our God is a big God! And He can do all things, so please join with me in praying for Crystal and her Family for a miracle. Friends, WE are her hope, because we know a God who is mighty to save!

What do ya do???

So, what do you do when:
-You're trying to lose weight
-You just had a great work out last night
-You ate a healthy dinner
-You feel proud of yourself for such accomplishment, and...
-In the morning you come to find an ugly, yet beautiful sight of a fresh box of donuts that someone brought in to work!!!:(

Two questions:
1. Why is it always right after a great acheivement that the wrath of a wolf in "donut's" clothing comes to the attack?

2. Why is a donut so tempting in the first place? One little donut can pretty much cancel out everything I just did the night before. They're so bad for you, but so completely irresistible...and they know it too!!

Prayer request:
-"Father God, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give me today this donut, but please Lord not daily!
Bless this donut into my body, but may it not over stay its welcome.
Forgive me of my sins, as I forgive those donuts who sin against me, oh Lord.
Lead me not into temptation, but please deliver me from the evil donut.
I forgive this donut of its trespass against me, though its armies of fat and calories surrounds me on all sides!:( Oh Lord, God above all things, deliver me from this evil army."

Psalm 73

My strength and my portion forever:

-My feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped.

-For I was envious of the arrogant.

-It seemed a wearisome task to keep my heart clean, until I went into the sanctuary of God

-I was rough around the edges and so ignorant toward you...

-Ignorance is a trap, envy the trigger, and I had almost stumbled.

-Nevertheless, I am continually with you. I will not give up.

-I reach out to you, and you hold my right hand.

-I search for understanding, and you guide me with your counsel.

-One day I will be in your glorious presence, just as you have promised, but until then...

-There is nothing on earth that I desire besides you

-My flesh and my heart may fail,

-But God, you are the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

-I will fall many times on the earth, but you will never give up on me.

-It is so good to be near you God, I have made you my refuge,

-And I will tell everyone of all your works!

"Everybody is somebody else's weirdo!"

I heard this phrase in a sermon I was listening to online the other day, and I couldn't help but feel that, perhaps, I might be everyone else's weirdo! Now I understand that we all have our awkward moments, but I think I am one of those people who have those moments more often, and with a greater variety of people.

Then I got to thinking about the desire to be liked and accepted, and I wondered where the balance is between loving and being loved by your brothers and sisters in Christ and just wanting to be accepted.

Please understand my heart, I am not venting, and for the most part I know I am loved and accepted. But I do have a very quiet nature, and generally that makes a lot of people uncomfortable, and I more often then not feel completely miss-understood.

This is my heart:
-I love my Church, but more than that, I love THE Church! The Body of Christ, and I desire with all my heart to see her succeed in every way in the name of our Lord Jesus.
-I love my brothers and sisters. There are those of you whom I don't talk to or hang out with very often. I don't usually step out of my comfort zone to tell you I love you, so I commit myself to doing so more often and I ask for your forgiveness. I constantly perceive people trying to figure me out, but all I want you to know is that I really love you. All of you are wonderful, but I love you because when I look at you, God shows me how much He loves you. I want you all to succeed, and I only wish I knew in every situation what to do to stand with you and show my support. Too often, however, my own insecurities get in the way, and as the amazing Katie Scott pointed out once, insecurity can be a form of pride! So again, please forgive me.

I have completely surrendered my life to serving Jesus, and I live to please my Father not man, but I still struggle a little with simply wanting people to like me. I don't entirely believe it is a bad desire, but it can definitely be used against you by the enemy. Satan will try to make you believe that no one likes you, and it doesn't matter who you are, or where you come from, that is absolutely NEVER true.

What I've come to understand is that when you begin to feel insecure, its because the enemy is trying to make you question who you are. If you don't know who you are, its really hard to know how much you are worth.

Before I knew Christ, I bought into the world's message that I would never be good enough, so there was no point in trying. But when I gave my life to Jesus, He promised that He would love me and accept me for eternity. God says that I am His daughter, He confirms it over and over through His word(the Bible), and through the abundance of blessing and fulfillment He gives me everyday.

This is what we must never forget: We are His children, sons and daughters of the Most High God. He has accepted us at the price of the cross, and by the power of the resurrection of Jesus. And, He has declared us QUALIFIED in every way, for every good purpose. And since HE has declared you qualified, no one and nothing can disqualify you!

In conclusion: The desire to be liked and accepted should never interfere with your understanding of who God says you are. I think that if it does, God just might have a thing or two to tell you that will give you a better understanding.

I could use your thoughts if you have them.