Small Straws In A Soft Wind by Marsha Burns -- January 25, 2008:Even though it seems like you've been swimming upstream or perhaps walking through Jell-O, keep pushing. Your extreme efforts to break through will pay off. The test is whether or not you will give up in the face of adversity. You have heard the adage, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." And, I say to you that you may not feel tough or equal to the task, but you must remember that My strength is made perfect in your weakness. Let Me come along side you to carry the burden, says the Lord. Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
Marlena: I'm struggling with exhaution and body aches today. Yet I fed the animals, cleaned the fish bowl, changed the bedding in the guinea pig cage, changed my baby's diaper, read the introduction to 1 Kings in the Bible, made breakfast for Olivia, and got Ashley started on trying to decipher her new schooling program, took my meds and vitamins, read stories and played in a bowl of rice with Olivia because she wanted me to take her to play in the sand at the park. It's 5 degrees out. I didn't go walking, didn't clean house, didn't organize anything or get rid of anything. Mike wants me and the kids to be ready to go to Morgantown for the weekend by 5pm. I feel like I just can't do it....the packing, and cleaning out the van, disappointing him and myself once again.
My counselor acts like this is all just about me 'learning' to do better. I agree that I have a lot to learn that will be very beneficial in being able to cope better, and to have a better perspective that won't add to my problems. I'm not as convinced as she is though that all my physical problems are just a result of feeling ashamed of myself. I think the physical issues led to the feelings of shame and the shame compounds things. But when I'm thinking well, performing well, and not feeling ashamed, the physical issues still raise problems that bring my mind and body to a halt.
As I'm reading through this Word of the Lord today I'm encouraged to keep striving, that it's not all in vain as I sometimes feel. It's been difficult for me to know when to push myself and when to take it easy. Others in my same health circumstance have shared with me how they pace themselves and that has been very helpful so I don't get so down on myself if it takes me a week to accomplish a task someone else might do in a day.
At the same time this encourages me to keep striving at a pace I'm able, I also feel encouraged to ask the Lord to walk along beside me. (oh how privilaged I feel to think He would even want to walk along side of me). For years I've been desiring to have someone walk along side of me...thinking if only someone would just walk through it with me, then maybe I could do it. My thoughts on God making the yoke lighter is that He will do all the planning and distribution of responsibilities as He sees fit, and my job becomes obeying Him, instead of feeling the responsibility of figuring it all out on my shoulders. If only I could hear Him clearly and wouldn't forget or stray before I follow through. I know this shouldn't be so difficult. Why is it so difficult? What is wrong? I feel so grieved that I'm not hearing God. I hear so many voices. My head is like a wirl wind of conflicting thoughts. I do hear my husband and he is saying that everything is going to be fine, don't worry about tomorrow...rest, relax, don't get upset, be grateful for what you are able to do at each moment, etc. I'm worried that the things I forget, or the responsibilities I neglect are going to come back to bite us all in the future, and it will all be my fault. I've been through some pretty tough circumstances that I've handled well because I knew I was not the cause. When I feel that I'm the cause, no matter how trivial the problem is, I just cannot cope.
I'm taking comfort in God saying He is gentle. I'm not really sure what lowly of heart means. But I know that gentle is the opposite of harsh. Harsh is how I've seeen God for a very long time. He is harsh in much of His Word, but here He is saying He is gentle.
Marlena's Prayer: Lord, please take my burdens and put your yoke upon me. You are so welcome to walk beside me and teach me. I want to learn from You. I want to find rest and peace. I want to know that whatever circumstances my family goes through that we will be able to hear you, do as you say, and we will be ok. I feel such a huge responsibility for so much...for everything everyone has ever told me that I'm responsible for, for everything I've ever read that I'm responsible for. But it's time for me to learn from you. Lord please tell me what I'm responsible for and help me to carry it out. I desire to be under your yoke, not the yoke others have put on me or that I've put on myself. I want a life that is do-able, one that is not in vain, one that brings you honor and glory. And Lord, please honor this prayer even if I forget it in an hour. Amen.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Hear and Do What God Says
Keys for Kids Daily Devotional for January 24, 2008
TITLE: Two Mirrors
SCRIPTURE: James 1:22-25
AUDIO: listen here
THE STORY FOR TODAY:
"Don't forget to wash your face and comb your hair," said Mom when Joe got up from the breakfast table. "There's jam on your cheek, and your hair looks like you just got out of bed. Go look in the mirror."
"Okay," agreed Joe, and he grinned when he saw himself in the mirror that hung above the dining room buffet table. But by the time he got his books together, he had forgotten how he looked. Out the door he went-his face dirty and his hair uncombed.
When Joe arrived home after school that day, his sister was in the kitchen talking to their mother. "You should have seen Joe at school today," said Claire. "His face was dirty, and I don't think he even combed his hair."
"Hey! Quit talking about me!" objected Joe.
"Well, you were a mess. My friends called you 'Sloppy Joe' and laughed at you," declared Claire with a giggle. "It's kinda embarrassing!"
"I forgot to wash my face before school," admitted Joe, "but I washed it at recess time. Combed my hair, too. So there!"
Mom frowned. "You should have cleaned up right away when you saw you needed it," she said. "Don't leave the house tomorrow until I've checked you over!"
At family devotions that night, Dad read from the book of James (see today's Scripture). "How appropriate," said Mom. "The man James wrote about sounds like Joe this morning."
"Yeah," agreed Joe. "I saw myself in the mirror and knew I should wash my face and comb my hair right away. But I didn't, and then I forgot about it and went to school looking a mess."
"That's a good example of all of us at times," said Dad. "When we look in another mirror-the Bible-it shows us our sins and shortcomings and gives us instructions for Christian living. But as we read, we must not only see what's needed in our lives, we must do something to make the necessary changes."
"And we should do it right away, so we don't forget," added Claire, grinning at her brother.
MEMORY VERSE: Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. James 1:22
HOW ABOUT YOU? Do you regularly look into God's "mirror"-the Bible? You should. That's the way to learn how to live the Christian life. As you look, do you see things in your life that need changing? Do you need to obey more promptly, be more friendly, or treat someone with more kindness? Do you need to stop complaining, quit lying, or stop unkind teasing? When God makes you aware of a problem, be sure to take care of it at once so that you don't forget.
THE KEY: Hear and do what God says
TITLE: Two Mirrors
SCRIPTURE: James 1:22-25
AUDIO: listen here
THE STORY FOR TODAY:
"Don't forget to wash your face and comb your hair," said Mom when Joe got up from the breakfast table. "There's jam on your cheek, and your hair looks like you just got out of bed. Go look in the mirror."
"Okay," agreed Joe, and he grinned when he saw himself in the mirror that hung above the dining room buffet table. But by the time he got his books together, he had forgotten how he looked. Out the door he went-his face dirty and his hair uncombed.
When Joe arrived home after school that day, his sister was in the kitchen talking to their mother. "You should have seen Joe at school today," said Claire. "His face was dirty, and I don't think he even combed his hair."
"Hey! Quit talking about me!" objected Joe.
"Well, you were a mess. My friends called you 'Sloppy Joe' and laughed at you," declared Claire with a giggle. "It's kinda embarrassing!"
"I forgot to wash my face before school," admitted Joe, "but I washed it at recess time. Combed my hair, too. So there!"
Mom frowned. "You should have cleaned up right away when you saw you needed it," she said. "Don't leave the house tomorrow until I've checked you over!"
At family devotions that night, Dad read from the book of James (see today's Scripture). "How appropriate," said Mom. "The man James wrote about sounds like Joe this morning."
"Yeah," agreed Joe. "I saw myself in the mirror and knew I should wash my face and comb my hair right away. But I didn't, and then I forgot about it and went to school looking a mess."
"That's a good example of all of us at times," said Dad. "When we look in another mirror-the Bible-it shows us our sins and shortcomings and gives us instructions for Christian living. But as we read, we must not only see what's needed in our lives, we must do something to make the necessary changes."
"And we should do it right away, so we don't forget," added Claire, grinning at her brother.
MEMORY VERSE: Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. James 1:22
HOW ABOUT YOU? Do you regularly look into God's "mirror"-the Bible? You should. That's the way to learn how to live the Christian life. As you look, do you see things in your life that need changing? Do you need to obey more promptly, be more friendly, or treat someone with more kindness? Do you need to stop complaining, quit lying, or stop unkind teasing? When God makes you aware of a problem, be sure to take care of it at once so that you don't forget.
THE KEY: Hear and do what God says
We are Created to Love Him and be Loved by Him
Today's meditation is taken from:
All Things In Christby Chip Brogden http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/allthings.html
"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created" (Revelation 4:11).
All things were created by Him, and everything was created for Him. For Him! Why this earth, the moon, the stars, the galaxies? Why the animals, the birds, the fish, the insects? Why men and women, angels, cherubim, and seraphim? For Him! All for Him!
God's original thought is for Christ to fill every created thing with His Life, Love, and Glory. A design implies a Designer, a plan implies a Planner, and a creation implies a Creator. We are not drifting along aimlessly, and we did not come into being by accident. We were created by Him, and we were created for Him. We were created to love Him, and to be loved by Him
All Things In Christby Chip Brogden http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/allthings.html
"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created" (Revelation 4:11).
All things were created by Him, and everything was created for Him. For Him! Why this earth, the moon, the stars, the galaxies? Why the animals, the birds, the fish, the insects? Why men and women, angels, cherubim, and seraphim? For Him! All for Him!
God's original thought is for Christ to fill every created thing with His Life, Love, and Glory. A design implies a Designer, a plan implies a Planner, and a creation implies a Creator. We are not drifting along aimlessly, and we did not come into being by accident. We were created by Him, and we were created for Him. We were created to love Him, and to be loved by Him
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Obtaining Truth and Holding On To It
Today's meditation is taken from:THE REMNANT PRINCIPLEBy Chip Brogden
http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/daniel5.html"Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house, opened his windows towards Jerusalem, and kneeled down three times a day to pray and give thanks to God, just as he always did" (Daniel 6:10).
Everyone wants power with God, but few want to deny themselves. They would rather just have someone pray for them or lay hands on them while they live any way they please. You know, there is no law that says a Christian must pray three times a day and serve God with fasting, like Daniel did. We are not led by rules and regulations, but by the Spirit. You can pray once a day, once a week, or not at all. You can eat three or four meals a day if you like. But I hope one day we will become more hungry for the Lord and more thirsty for His Purpose than we are for our earthly food and drink. I hope one day we will become so consumed with heavenly things that earthly things begin to lose their grip on us. I pray we will at least have enough wisdom to understand that if we really want to know God we will have to pay a price for knowing. It will cost us something to obtain experiential truth, and it will cost us something to hold on to it after we obtain it.
http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/daniel5.html"Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house, opened his windows towards Jerusalem, and kneeled down three times a day to pray and give thanks to God, just as he always did" (Daniel 6:10).
Everyone wants power with God, but few want to deny themselves. They would rather just have someone pray for them or lay hands on them while they live any way they please. You know, there is no law that says a Christian must pray three times a day and serve God with fasting, like Daniel did. We are not led by rules and regulations, but by the Spirit. You can pray once a day, once a week, or not at all. You can eat three or four meals a day if you like. But I hope one day we will become more hungry for the Lord and more thirsty for His Purpose than we are for our earthly food and drink. I hope one day we will become so consumed with heavenly things that earthly things begin to lose their grip on us. I pray we will at least have enough wisdom to understand that if we really want to know God we will have to pay a price for knowing. It will cost us something to obtain experiential truth, and it will cost us something to hold on to it after we obtain it.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Chruch Notes- 21 Day Fast
Why fast?
If you fast and don't pray, you will lose weight.
If you fast and pray, it will bring change.
Eating food is like putting fuel in your car to enable it to go by pressing the gas pedal. Fasting is like taking your foot off the brake.
Types of Fasts:
Recommendation if I've never fasted before, to do a juice fast/no pulp.
You will be hungry for three days.
Fourth day...a break over.
Fifth day, no more hunger.
Options... don't get caught up in time, be obedient.
Types of fasts..
a day of fasting/week
partial fast- take out a meal or two each day
Daniel fast- remove some foods from diet: meats, sweets, processed foods
full fast- drink only water or fruit juice pulp free.
fast activities- like TV
Fasting: denying yourself of a great craving
Online: Encouragement (didn't mention where...perhaps need to give email address)
Assess what you are going to do and make up your mind before you start.
What to expect:
Toxins will be released.
Paracites will be flushed after 8 days
Prepare for three days by eating soups and soft foods
Repair and Restore
Isaiah 58
I don't want you fasting so you can say you fasted as a spiritual routine. But rather it's to do the things that are right. Let your physical desires die out, take the back seat.
The purpose of this fast is to bring people back to God and on to the maturation process.
See souls saved, and also take care of them. Resue the parishing from damnation. Get them back on track, on the path they belong. Restoration in marriages and in lives.
We must become serious about our dreams and visions. Entertain the spirit more than our own desires.
We will hear God more clearly. We will be loosed from distrations.
When we allow God to take priority, He will release His glory.
Opportunities will be revealed.
Flaws and sin will become more obvious to us so that we can confess them and get them out of the way.
Fasting denies the devil access be crucifying our flesh.
If you fast and don't pray, you will lose weight.
If you fast and pray, it will bring change.
Eating food is like putting fuel in your car to enable it to go by pressing the gas pedal. Fasting is like taking your foot off the brake.
Types of Fasts:
Recommendation if I've never fasted before, to do a juice fast/no pulp.
You will be hungry for three days.
Fourth day...a break over.
Fifth day, no more hunger.
Options... don't get caught up in time, be obedient.
Types of fasts..
a day of fasting/week
partial fast- take out a meal or two each day
Daniel fast- remove some foods from diet: meats, sweets, processed foods
full fast- drink only water or fruit juice pulp free.
fast activities- like TV
Fasting: denying yourself of a great craving
Online: Encouragement (didn't mention where...perhaps need to give email address)
Assess what you are going to do and make up your mind before you start.
What to expect:
Toxins will be released.
Paracites will be flushed after 8 days
Prepare for three days by eating soups and soft foods
Repair and Restore
Isaiah 58
I don't want you fasting so you can say you fasted as a spiritual routine. But rather it's to do the things that are right. Let your physical desires die out, take the back seat.
The purpose of this fast is to bring people back to God and on to the maturation process.
See souls saved, and also take care of them. Resue the parishing from damnation. Get them back on track, on the path they belong. Restoration in marriages and in lives.
We must become serious about our dreams and visions. Entertain the spirit more than our own desires.
We will hear God more clearly. We will be loosed from distrations.
When we allow God to take priority, He will release His glory.
Opportunities will be revealed.
Flaws and sin will become more obvious to us so that we can confess them and get them out of the way.
Fasting denies the devil access be crucifying our flesh.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Don't Worry About Tomorrow
TO HIM THAT OVERCOMESBy Chip Brogden
http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/overcomes.html"Don't worry about tomorrow" (Matthew 6:34a).
Most of us, from time to time or nearly all of the time, worry about something - our health, our finances, our loved ones, and so on. Yet the Scriptures say take no thought for your lives and be anxious for nothing. Why is worry a sin? I know we consider it "only human", but worry really implies a lack of trust in God. It is believing a lie. Identify the lie and you can quickly discover the Truth. What is the lie? That God is somehow less than sufficient, that perhaps He will not come through for us. So you see, the enemy gets us to believe a lie, and then gets us to think that we are just being "human". So then we accept something less than the normal Christian life - overcoming - and think that is just the way it is. Remember: satan has no power apart from our belief in his lie.
Overcomers are learning to bridge the gap between what they SAY they believe and how they really LIVE. Now we are not criticizing or judging people for having anxious thoughts, for we have our share of them. We have not overcome in this area. We simply say this is one thing to be overcome, one of many lies which oppose the Truth. The one that overcomes is constantly challenging the lie of the enemy and demonstrating the preeminence of Christ over all things. When every lie is destroyed then the dragon is defeated, for it cannot control what it cannot deceive.
Most of what we see and hear is an illusion. It is not the Truth, but a lie, a distortion. Our eyes and our ears cannot be trusted. We must have heavenly vision and heavenly hearing.
http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/overcomes.html"Don't worry about tomorrow" (Matthew 6:34a).
Most of us, from time to time or nearly all of the time, worry about something - our health, our finances, our loved ones, and so on. Yet the Scriptures say take no thought for your lives and be anxious for nothing. Why is worry a sin? I know we consider it "only human", but worry really implies a lack of trust in God. It is believing a lie. Identify the lie and you can quickly discover the Truth. What is the lie? That God is somehow less than sufficient, that perhaps He will not come through for us. So you see, the enemy gets us to believe a lie, and then gets us to think that we are just being "human". So then we accept something less than the normal Christian life - overcoming - and think that is just the way it is. Remember: satan has no power apart from our belief in his lie.
Overcomers are learning to bridge the gap between what they SAY they believe and how they really LIVE. Now we are not criticizing or judging people for having anxious thoughts, for we have our share of them. We have not overcome in this area. We simply say this is one thing to be overcome, one of many lies which oppose the Truth. The one that overcomes is constantly challenging the lie of the enemy and demonstrating the preeminence of Christ over all things. When every lie is destroyed then the dragon is defeated, for it cannot control what it cannot deceive.
Most of what we see and hear is an illusion. It is not the Truth, but a lie, a distortion. Our eyes and our ears cannot be trusted. We must have heavenly vision and heavenly hearing.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Notes from Church 1-13-08
- Let my life be worship unto thee. (what a beautiful devinely designed song)
- Let my body be a living sacrifice.
- God says to search for Him
- Be transformed by the renewing of my mind. We've had enough Good thoughts, we need "God" thoughts.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
