You Can't Change Yourself!!

Take your everyday walking around, eating, sleeping, going-to-work life, and place if before the Lord as a sacrifice. This gives him permission to come in and change whatever it is he want to change about your life. In this manner you surrender total control over to the Lord Jesus Christ. It's like saying, "Lord. here I am. This is all of me. Take my life and use if for Your glory and the upbuilding of Your Kingdom.

From this point, or before this point, you must be have a receptive heart. A heart waiting to receive whatever it is he is going to ask you to do. A heart willing to obey. A heart that will ALLOW God to change you from the inside out.

Will your heart say yes...will your soul say yes...

Scripture Reference: Romans 12:1-2 The Message Bible

Obedience? I don't feel like it.

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to obey God's word. We try to find all kinds of nifty ways to get around it. We may sometimes even look for loop-holes subconsciously. Usually what leads us to try to circumvent God's word is our feelings.

If we feel a certain way about certain things we will sometimes allow feelings to dictate how we govern ourselves. Just think for a moment God never told us to feel, he told us to obey. Furthermore, when he gives us commands he probably doesn't take our feelings into account.

My challenge is to check my feelings. Feelings will sometimes govern how or if I do a certain thing. If I "feel" good about something I will do it diligently and with my whole heart. However if I am not "feeling" too good about then I do it half hearted or maybe even not at all.

Check your feelings. They are an easy open door for Satan to come in and tempt us. Yes, if the ol' sneaky sly serpent can get us to "feel" uh let's say negatively about something, then it's high probability he can tempt us into NOT doing it.

Obedience often times IS sacrifice. Obedience requires selflessness. ( a trait I have yet to master, but I will go to my grave trying).

When Jesus looked into that cup I am quite sure whatever he saw did not make him feel too good. But thank God for obedience of His Son.

Whatever is in my cup is not nearly as bad as going to the cross. So what's in your cup. I challenge you to put self on the back burner and OBEY! In spite of 'feelings'...OBEY!

Key words: obedience, sacrifice, emotions, defraud
Scripture ref: Romans 6:16, 2Cor. 10:5, Hebrews 5:8
Application: 1Cor. 7:3-5 :)

Quietness

What does it mean to be quiet? I doesn't just mean to not say anything. Its an attitude. To go inward by quieting all the worldly noise and daily distractions to hear from the Holy Spirit. To find rest in the confidence of God. The confidence of knowing he will fulfil his promises to us.
The attitude of quietness is also exemplified by chaste pure behavior. Quiet holiness and submission to God and his order. ( yes that means submitting to your own husband).

My challenge is to embody a quiet attitude and spirit especially when those around me are not in a good mood. My role at this point is to bring sunshine to them with my actions and not to LET their mood transfer onto me.

So I challenge you to Be Quiet and Confident Pure and Moral( translation; don't get a sour attitude b/c other around you have one.

Try to bring their mood or level of thinking up to Gods standard by RESPECTFUL and PURE conduct.)

Wives, a good place to put this into practice is when your hubby has just come home from work and he is in "wind-down mode". Have a meek and quiet spirit as you attend to him. You never know, he could have had a bad day and your smile and gentleness may be the panacea for his soul.


scripture ref: 1 Peter 3:1-4; Isaiah 30:15
key words: chaste, pure, moral, quiet, meek and gentle

Shhh! God is Speaking.

Have you ever wondered how God speaks? Is it a big boom? Is it a "sign"? Maybe you wonder why God doesn't seem to speak to you.

This was my thought process. However; I am learning the problem is not that God isn't speaking. The problem is that I am not listening.

Am I reading "The Word" daily and not only that... am I making God's Word practical in my life. Have I aligned myself in such a way that I CAN hear from Him?

Sometimes we are so consumed with the physical world that we tune out all things spiritual.

Shhhhhhhhh!

Valentine!

Well it's approaching the sweet day for lovers. Awww... I want to do something sweet for my sweetie. My first thought was a gift basket full of my baked goodies. However; I am honestly all baked out! So I am doing something simple but sweet. BASKIN ROBBINS ice cream cake. Voila! One call does it all.
Maybe I'll complete the package with something handmade by the kids and I am all done.

Something sweet for the stomach and the heart.

Who is your employer?

Colossiasn 3:23(the message bible) reads "whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for men."

I realise God is my employer. All I do must be pleasing in his sight. Mopping the floors, cooking and especially home schooling the next generation.

My challenge is to keep this passage of scripture ever before me as I go about being a keeper of the home, at home.

I want to hug my hubby and babies with my whole heart I want to do what I do for them diligently and responsibly which is the way Jesus would want me to do it.

So let's make motherhood and wife hood a pleasant task at all times!!

God is my employer.

Colossians 3:23 tells us "whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for men."

My take-away from this very brief passage is this: I am employed by God. All I do should be pleasing in his sight. When I clean the bathrooms I should do it responsibly and diligently with my whole heart. The same with cooking, home school and all that comes with keeping the home.

My challenge is to keep this passage of scripture ever before me as I go about my ADL's(activities of daily living) as a SAHM.

I challenge moms to hug those hubs and babes with all your heart. To really tune in to what you are doing at the moment, with heart and soul!!