Sweet Caroline la, la, la

Last night I went to see Neil Diamond in concert with my parents, grandparents, and my step aunt. And I’ll tell you what, I’ve never had so much fun with old people in my life! There were about 19,000 people there and at least 75% of them were about 40 years or older than me. It was a blast! It was fun to see them all dancing and having a good time. There was a couple sitting in front of us that were probably in their 80’s and they were holding hands and dancing almost the whole time. It was so cute! When my parents first asked me if I wanted to go I said yes mainly because I wanted to spend time with my parents and grandparents. I didn’t think I would know many of his songs, but I knew quite a few. It was actually one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to. I would have taken some pictures to share, but they didn’t let us bring cameras in :(.

The moral of the story is, go to a concert next time your parents ask you to go with them. It turns out to be a really fun time =)!

Fellowship With God

One of the greatest privileges of a believer is to have fellowship with God. We do this by listening to Him speak to us from His Word and by speaking to Him through prayer.

“There are various spiritual exercises we may want to accomplish during our quiet time, such as reading through the Bible in a year and praying over certain requests. But the primary objective of our quiet time should be fellowship with God- developing a personal relationship with Him. I talk to God about what I am reading. I like to think of the quiet time as a conversation: God speaking to me through the Bible and I responding to what He says. This approach helps to make the quiet time what it is intended to be- a time of fellowship with God. We are to train ourselves to be godly; and training involves practice.”

Something that I’ve found helpful is to view my quiet times as time taken out of my day to spend with my Father in heaven. It is an appointment every day to receive conviction, edification, and encouragement from Him. Just as I need food to keep me healthy, I need this food for my soul. Just as we would be excited to meet up with a friend, we should be even more excited to spend time in the Lord’s presence. It should be the delight of our hearts!

Psalm 119:15-16- "I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word."

Worshiping God

Another essential part of our practice of devotion to God is worship. Worship meaning, ascribing to God the glory, majesty, honor, and worthiness which are His.

“Revelation 4:8-11 and 5:9-14 give us clear illustrations of the worship that goes on in heaven and should be emulated by us here on earth.”

Bridges is talking about worship above and beyond a corporate gathering of worship. He encourages readers to bow down to God each morning before doing devotions and praise Him for all His glorious attributes.

Psalm 95:6- “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!”

Philippians 2:10- “Every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God our Father.”

God Ordained Pain

Psalm 34:1 –“I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”… Even through migraines, back pain, and hand pain.

Recently I’ve had to rely on God numerous times to give me strength to get through my days. Ever since the age of 11 I’ve experienced some pretty bad headaches very regularly and have been to the doctors many times about them and haven't been able to point a finger on what’s causing them. It's to the point now that I've gotten pretty used to them. Recently I’ve also been experiencing a lot of pain in my back and hand. I’ve had something going on in my hand for about four months now and am still not sure what’s going on with it. I'm pretty sure the back pain is from work. I do not tell you all of this because I want to receive pity, but to share all that God has been showing me through the pain.

Especially through the headaches it has been easy to get a complaining attitude saying “when is this going to end God???” Today was another day of driving to work with a headache and a long day ahead of me. Something that I’ve been trying to work on lately is praising and blessing God at ALL times, even through the pain. Though I’ve had a headache all day, I’m thankful that today has been a slower day at work and I can rest a little more than normal. I should “count it all joy” (James 1:2) in the midst of headaches, back pain, or hand pain for God has ordained all of it and I should be thanking him rather than complaining. I’m so grateful that I can walk up to a medicine cabinet and get pain reliever and most of the time choose from more than one option when there are people in other countries that don’t even know what pain reliever is or don’t have the means to afford it. May I always remember that through the pain, God is at hand and this is something that He has ordained!

Thank You for the trials
For the fire, for the pain
Thank You for the strength
Knowing You have ordained
Every day

Meditating on God

“The Navigators use the five fingers of the hand as mental pegs on which to hand the five methods of intake of the Word of God- hearing, reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating. In our devotion to God, the Word helps us in three areas- the fear of God, the love of God, and the desire for God.”

It is evident that the Word of God plays a crucial role in our growth in godliness and a HUGE part in our practice of godliness. I don’t know about you, but it always seems to be so helpful for me to have a couple of Scripture references that I turn to daily to help get me through whatever situation/season I’m in. Especially when we are faced with situations that are temptation to sin, we should have a scripture verse memorized that we can recite in our heads when faced with that temptation. This has been extremely helpful for me!

God uses His Word to create in our hearts the sense of reverence and awe of Him that causes us to fear Him. The Holy Spirit must make His Word come alive in our hearts to produce growth, so we must meditate in prayerful dependence upon Him to do His work. Neither meditation nor prayer by themselves is sufficient for growth in devotion. We must practice both!

Prayer for Growth

David Prayed: “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.” (Psalm 86:11)

And : “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4)

We should pray the same thing! If we are committed to the practice of godliness, our prayer life will reflect it. We will be regularly asking God to increase our fear of Him, to deepen our understanding of His love for us, and to heighten our desire for His fellowship.

Jesus said: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)

Baby Got Book

This is Hilarious!

Almost There!

At last I’m reading the last chapter in the book “The Fruitful Life” This chapter is on Seeking a deeper devotion with God in all the qualities of “the fruit of the Spirit.” Next week I will dive into all the ways Jerry Bridges has shared on how to seek a deeper devotion to God:

Monday: Prayer for growth
Tuesday: Meditating on God
Wednesday: Worshipping God
Thursday: Fellowship with God
Friday: A deeper longing for God

I pray you all experience all the joys of God’s amazing grace this weekend!

Oh and I just couldn't help but say, GO TEAM GO!!!!

Curbing Our Emotions

“The emotions that need to be controlled include anger and rage, resentment, and self-pity, and bitterness. The feelings may be explosive, as in the case of an uncontrolled temper, or they may be only simmering, as in the case of self-pity. But in either case these emotions are displeasing to God and need to be included in our efforts to exercise self-control.”

Having a temper that requires control is not a mark of ungodliness; to fail to control it is. To succeed, by God’s grace, in controlling an unruly temper is to demonstrate godly self-control. The person who struggles, often with failure, to control his temper should take to heart God’s view of this struggle and be willing to pay the price necessary to succeed in it.

Other ways we need to watch our emotions are in the area's of, resentment, bitterness, and self-pity. These issues are a huge hindrance in our relationships with God. Resentment, bitterness, and self-pity build up inside our hearts and eat at our spiritual lives like a slowly spreading cancer. All of these sinful inner emotions have in common a focus on self- ME and that’s all that matters! They can very easily become idols to us. We nurture resentment and bitterness, and we wallow in self-pity. We know that in all things God works for our good and that nothing can separate us from his love, but many times in defiance of these truths, we choose to think about that which is dishonoring to God and tearing down our spiritual health. “Keeping a tight grip on our emotions is just a necessary to godliness as keeping the appetites and desire of our bodies under control.”

Let’s not judge others for their lacking in self-control. Let’s look at our lives and see what our own areas of struggle and sin are that we battle daily. Let’s pray for inner strength to curb our passions and desires. For it is God who works in us! The more we say no to sinful desires, the more we will be able to say no. In order to do this we must persevere through many failures. We will learn self-control as we break bad habits and replace them with good ones!

“As we grow in the grace of self-control, we will experience the liberation of those who, under the guidance and grace of the Holy Spirit, are freed from the shackles of self-indulgence and are brought into the freedom of true spiritual discipline.”

Self-control

First off, some friends in Orlando have graciously invited me to join in on a study of 1 Timothy with them. I wanted to invite you all to read along if you would like. You can read the posts here.

Well, I’m at the chapter on self-control in the book, “The Fruitful Life.” Over the next couple of days I’m going to expound on what Jerry Bridges has shared on what it looks like to have self-control in our thoughts and emotions.

“Self-control is control of one’s self. It is probably best defined as the governing of one’s desires. Self- control is necessary because we are at war with our own sinful desires. James describes those desires as dragging us away and enticing us into sin (James 1:14). Self-control is an essential character trait of the godly person that enables obedience to the works of the Lord Jesus, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me’ (Luke 9:23). It is impossible to be a follower of Jesus without giving diligent attention in our lives to the grace of self-control. Ultimately, self-control is the exercise of inner strength under the direction of sound judgment that enables us to do, things, and say the things that are pleasing to God."

Take Captive Every Thought:

Paul said, We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5) Self-control of our thoughts means entertaining in our minds only those thoughts that are pleasing and acceptable to God. Bridges says, “The best guideline for evaluating the control of our thoughts is that given by Paul”:

Philippians 4:8- “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent of praiseworthy, think about such things.”

Self-control of our thoughts is more than just refusing to admit sinful thoughts into our minds. Controlling our thoughts also includes focusing our minds on that which is good and pleasing to God.

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23) “The meaning of the Hebrew word for ‘heart’ generally refers to our entire conscious person. The warning is particularly applicable, however, to our thought life. It is in our thought life that our emotions and actions begin and sinful desires plant their roots and entice us into sin. Our minds are mental greenhouses where unlawful thoughts, once planted, are nurtured and watered before being transplanted into the real world of unlawful actions.”

I believe the gates to our thought lives are primarily our eyes and our ears. What we see or read or hear largely determines what we think. Guarding our hearts begins with guarding our eyes and ears. We should avoid all things that lead us to temptation- music, movies, internet, etc. We need to do what Paul instructed to Timothy, “flee from all this” (1 Timothy 6:11)

We allow in our minds what we would not allow in our actions, because other people cannot see our thoughts. But God sees them. “Before a word is on my tongues you know it completely, O Lord” (Psalm 139:4) Christians who fear God, controls his/her thoughts- not because of what other people think, but because of what God thinks. David prayed, and we should also pray, “May the words of my mouth and the mediation of my hear be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)

Listening to such things as gossip, slander, or criticism about others needs to be rejected just as strongly as the tendency to gossip or slander ourselves. I know in my own life it is impossible to listen to gossip or criticism about someone else and then think only thoughts that are true and noble about that person. If we guard our thoughts we will more easily guard our tongues, for Jesus said, “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34)

The Glory of A Happy God

Psalm 115:3- “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.”

I’ve been meditating upon the truth of this verse quite a bit lately. When it says “God does all that he pleases” It doesn’t necessarily mean that it makes us happy. When God does what He pleases it could very well mean that He puts us through a trial or time of hardship, but in the end He receives the glory! The way we handle trials reveals where our hope lies! God has the right and power to do whatever makes Him happy. He makes all things work together for our good and His glory, even when we don’t see it; He is at hand in all our situations. God does numerous things to bring glory to himself. He blesses His children when we aren’t expecting it, He places trials in our lives to draw us closer to Himself, He heals the sick, He gives power to the weak, and rest to the weary. I could go on and on!!! The Lord is always there, looking down from Heaven, glorifying himself. Everything we go through is for our good and His glory. As John Piper says, “The chief goal of man should be, to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.” He is a “happy” Father and He calls us to be “happy” children in all our situations, whether difficult or easy.

Psalm 115:1- “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to YOUR name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!”

Celebration North 2008

This past weekend was exactly what I needed! God spoke to me in many different ways. He spoke to me through numerous friends, through the prophecy meetings before all the sessions, through the speakers, and most of all, through the times of worship.

Through Celebration God reminded me of His love and care for my soul. His love is NEVER changing; He is always faithful, and steadfast. He is ALWAYS there, even when I don’t see it, He is there when I’m sinning and He’s there when I’m not, I am FREE from sin and am ALIVE in Christ!!!

Through the times of worship I got an extra excitement of what it will be like in Heaven. I didn’t want worship to end! Oh what a glorious day it will be when joining in with the angles singing praises to our wonderful and merciful Savior! I want this to be the desire of my heart ALWAYS! Not just at Celebration, a Sunday morning, or at home group, but when I’m driving to and from work, when I’m at work, when I’m faced with trials, when things don’t go as planned, when someone sins against me, etc. I want to have that passion always and bless the Lord at all times. He is great and always worthy of our praise! “I will bless the Lord at ALL times; his praise shall CONTINUALLY be in my mouth. (Psalm 34:1)” Every day and in every situation!

Romans 6:11- "So you must also consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." In Wayne Brooks message he said, “Our practice should be rooted in our position with Christ” We are no longer servants of sin, but servants of the Savior and this should be our practice each and EVERY day!

Like I said, God was so kind to meet me in numerous ways. Thank you so much to all of you who stepped out and let me know, what you believed, God had laid on your heart to share with me! God used each and every one of you to remind me of His love for my soul! It is a Blessing and a JOY to know all of you! I deeply appreciate your friendships and care for me!

As always, Celebration was a great time of fun and fellowship with friends from the church in Jacksonville and other churches. I had a blast with you all!

Praise God for all that He did! I would love to hear what God did in your life! Feel free to e-mail me whenever =)!

Faithful...

...firm in adherence to promises or in observance of duty.

Yesterday, I pulled many scripture references out of the chapter I shared about on “faithfulness”. Today I typed them all out for you to read. It's much easier for me to comprehend when I have it all right in front of me to read. Hopefully this is helpful for you as well.

We are dependent upon His faithfulness for our final salvation:
1 Corinthians 1:8-9- “who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.”

He is faithful in deliverance from temptation:
1 Corinthians 10:13- “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

He is faithful to sanctify us:
1 Thessalonians 5:23- “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

He is faithful to forgive us of our sins:
1 John 1:9- “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

He is faithful for deliverance in times of suffering:
1 Peter 4:19- “Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their soul to a faithful Creator while doing good.”

He is faithful in the fulfillment of our ultimate hope of eternal life:
Hebrews 10:23- “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promises is faithful.”

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Constantly Faithful

I just finished reading through the chapter titled, “Faithfulness” out of the book I’ve been reading, “The Fruitful Life” by Jerry Bridges. As I've mentioned in previous posts, this book has been so convicting and outstanding to read. I would recommend it to anyone! If anyone would like to borrow my copy, you are more than welcome to (once I'm done reading it, that is :) )! Here is what the Lord has been showing me and reminding me of through this chapter:

“Consider for a moment the absolute necessity of the faithfulness of God. We are dependent upon His faithfulness for our final salvation (see 1 Corinthians 1:8-9), for deliverance from temptation (see 1 Corinthians 10:13), for ultimate sanctification (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23), for the forgiveness of our sins (see 1 John 1:9), for deliverance through times of suffering (see 1 Peter 4:19), and for the fulfillment of our ultimate hope of eternal life (see Hebrews 10:23). We can easily see that every aspect of the Christian life rests upon the faithfulness of God, and we have the assurance that ‘The Lord is faithful to all his promises’ (Psalm 145:13.”

“A faithful person is one who is dependable, trustworthy, and loyal; who can be depended upon in all of his relationships; and who is absolutely honest and ethical in everything. As with the other graces of Christian character, the first step in growing in faithfulness is to acknowledge the biblical standard. Faithfulness entails absolute honesty, utter dependability, and unswerving loyalty.”

Something that I’m learning time after time is that God is faithful and that will NEVER change! I’m realizing more and more every day the faithfulness of my God and Savior. He was faithful to me yesterday and today and will still remain faithful tomorrow. “Am I this person”, I asked myself? In my desire to grow in being more like Christ, I needed to challenge myself and ask myself some questions: Am I the type of person who is constantly faithful to reach out to others? Do I make an effort on Sunday mornings to go meet the new visitor? Have I been following up with friends and asking them how their doing in their relationship with God? Yes, I might ask someone how they’re doing or go say hi to the new person, but do I always follow up? God is not a person who asks how we’re doing and then, doesn’t follow up! He is CONTSANT! I want to be that person more often than I am now! I want to be a person who is CONSTANTLY asking people how I can be praying for them or how I can serve them. God is faithful to meet our every need, every second of the day!

God has placed individuals in our daily lives that we interact with that we are to care for and hold accountable. Obviously I cannot even begin to compare myself to God, I am wretch and He is Holy. I’m a sinner and He is a Savior. No, I cannot work in other people’s lives like God can, but He does use us as "means" in other peoples lives. He calls us to reach out to the weak and weary, to help those who are falling away from His truths, to serve those in need of service. Faithfulness to God includes faithfulness to one another. It is God who requires that I be faithful in all of my earthly relationships. So only if I seek to grow in the grace of faithfulness toward others will I have any hope of hearing Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

"Great is Your Faithfulness"

Faithful are Your mercies Lord
They drench me like the dew
Pure and sweet Your holy love
I find my joy in You
Your favor greets me like the dawn
My burning heart must sing
To You who rises over me
With healing in Your
Healing in Your wings

Your faithfulness is higher
Than the heavens
Deeper than the sea
Great is Your faithfulness
Your faithfulness is higher
Than the heavens
Deeper than the sea
Great is Your faithfulness to me
Great is Your faithfulness to me

You seat me at Your table Lord
You’ve given me a place
You robe me in Your righteousness
Adorning me with grace
You crown me with Your victor’s wreath
You gained upon the tree
You take the oil of gladness
And pour it out on
You pour it out on me

Why I Love My Dad

I know I’ve mentioned before that my dad is working very hard right now, but I don’t know that I’ve mentioned how much I appreciate him. Here’s a little glimpse of why I’m so grateful for him:

There has never been a day in my life that I haven’t witnessed my dad glorifying God in some way. Whether it be leading his family, correcting one of his children, speaking to a church congregation, the way he conducts business, etc. it’s always been evident that his hope rests in the Sovereignty of God. The thing I love most about my dad is that he fears the Lord. When saying something or making decisions he never fears what man will think of him and this is something that I have always admired!

In growing up, my family has faced many difficult circumstances that have been very hard to get through and are still facing them today. Whether it has been moving from state to state, business ventures failing, losing his mom out of no where, or the house we are in now and all the difficulties that have come with it, my dad has always been faithful to point our gaze straight to the cross and remind us of the work that Christ has accomplished. The best part about all of this is that you would never know my dad was in the midst of a trial because of his attitude towards it. In laying down his life to serve the Church or his family, dad has affected numerous lives in the way he lives out his life for the glory of God and the gospel.

He has always been a very FUN person to be around. He’s constantly making people laugh (even when things are hard for him)! And though my sisters and I make fun of him a lot for the way he protects his daughters, we are truly grateful we have a father that even cares to protect us!

Words cannot express how grateful I am to God for my dad. He is such a BLESSING! I know that when his time comes to go to heaven, he will receive one big crown. I love you, dad!

Speaking of a hard working father, I went to visit him the other day and he said, "Candace, I'm running out of gas." Hmmm.... I wonder why???

Now this is how you get the job done!

Who walks a pumpkin back and forth when you can throw it?

The Proverbs 31 Daughter

Recently on the girl talk blog they’ve been doing a series of posts on the Proverbs 31 women.

Through the posts I’ve been reminded of what my call as a daughter and young lady is to be. I’ve heard of many young ladies viewing this passage of scripture as one that is only geared toward a wife and mother. I can think that, but knowing my own sinful self I don’t think that cultivating a heart of a Proverbs 31 women is going to happen immediately on the day I become a wife and mother. This is something that takes a lot of practice! I know this, simply because of the examples I've had growing up in a Church full of godly women and the example I've had displayed every day in my home through my mom. Though I’m still in a season of singleness and am not a wife or mother yet, I do believe that as a daughter, I am called to be a portrait of some of the roles that the Proverbs 31 women displays. Not in the way I will serve and relate to my own (Lord willing) future husband or children, but in the way I relate to my dad as his daughter.

The Bible teaches in Ephesians 5 that wives are to submit to their husbands, as to the Lord and in Ephesians 6 it teaches that children are to obey their parents in the Lord. I believe that my call as a daughter is to submit to my father and obey all that he asks of me until (Lord willing) he hands me off to my future husband. Just as I am to obey the commandments that God has set out for His children, I am to submit to and obey my own father. Carolyn Mahaney writes: “We read that the woman was created to be her husband’s helper; (Genesis 2:18) then in 1 Corinthians 11:9 Paul writes that man was not created for woman, but woman for man. In Titus 2 we find that the list of instructions for the younger women begins and ends with their relationship to their husbands. Proverbs 31:12- “She does him good and not harm, all the days of her life. And you do not know what the Lord has planned for your future. Your doing good to your husband could be the very means God uses to soften his heart toward you and toward Himself.”

Everywhere the word “husband” was inserted I believe that the word “father” could be there as well. God has ordained that fathers are to be the head of the family just as Christ is the head of the Church. (Ephesians 5:23) Personally in my life, my dad has ALWAYS known what was/is best for me. Even though I don’t always realize it, in the end he is always right!

Here are the top three things that I try to remember as a daughter (through my moms example) when striving to serve and submit to my dad:
1. HELP my Proverbs 31 mom in all her daily tasks of serving my dad and family
2. COMMUNICATE to him that I respect and honor him
3. LISTEN when he gives instruction because he always knows what’s best


With all that said, please know that I’m not trying to place condemnation on anyone. This is something that the Lord has been showing ME. I'm definitely not perfect at any of the things I said. Know that there are many days that I fail to respect my father as the Bible calls me to do. With all that is going on in my family right now, I know my dad is in need of extra honor and respect and he most definitely DESERVES it! I give all the glory to God! It is only by His sustaining grace upon my life that I can say what I’ve said!

Weekend, Work, and Arcade Fun!

This past weekend was a lot of fun! Florida won and as always it was great to spend time with my wonderful Church friends. It ended with a very disappointing loss from the Jags! They just couldn’t get themselves together at the end of the game to beat the Steelers :(. Hopefully this Sunday will be different as they head to Denver to defeat the Broncos. We will see!

Yesterday for the first time in a while, Amber and I got to go into work together. She ran the store while I got some administrative work and advertising done. I made up 200 little coupon books to pass out to customers. They are pretty darn cute! I mean if I got one I would probably come back ;)

When we got home last night Ryan was at our house about to take Victoria and Karah bowling. Amber and I both said, “We wanna go too!” so we hopped in the car and decided to join in on the fun =)! The bowling alley ended up not having any lanes available so we decided to go to an arcade. Here are some pictures:

You're So Good To Me

Last night at my home group we sang a very familiar Sovereign Grace Song, “You’re So Good to Me” As with everything else this week, this song came at the PERFECT timing, in particular the chorus. Last night, through this song, I was so ministered to that I took some time this morning and broke down the different lines of the chorus and applied some Scripture verses to them. I do this with a lot of songs because it helps me apply the glorious gospel truths that are proclaimed through so many worship songs. As I sing about God and all that He has accomplished for me, may I remember that I am no longer bound to sin, but AM NOW ALLIVE IN CHRIST!!!

For You have crowned my days
I need to remember that every day I go through the Lord is at hand, He is my Shepherd and I have NOTHING to worry about!

James 1:12- “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trail, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”

Revelation 2:10- “Do not fear what you are about to suffer….Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

With overwhelming grace
Day to day when I sin and fail to recognize God’s hand upon my life His grace is there to forgive me for my failures. His mercies are new and His love NEVER fails.

2 Corinthians 12:9- “My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Ephesians 1:6-7- “To the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.”

Ephesians 2:4-5- “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have been saved.”

Titus 2:11-12- “For the grace of God has appeased, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.”

Lord You’re so good to me
Though going through difficult times right now, I can still say that God has been so GOOD to me. My family is extremely BLESSED and His grace continues to pour out on us.

Romans 8:28- “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Though troubles fall like rain
Though day to day I face difficult circumstances, I need to trust God! I need to rely on His goodness and strength to get me through my days.

1 Peter 1:6- “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials

James 1:2- “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

This precious truth remains
The precious truth remains that Christ has redeemed me from His wrath! Day to day when I fail to recognize His goodness, He still remains faithful to me. Christ sent His Son to pay for my sins and has already ordained ALL of my days. What refreshment this brings to my soul and oh the JOY it brings!

John 3:16- “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Psalm 25:10- “All the paths of the Lord are steadfast, love, and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.”

Lamentations 3:22-23- “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Lord You’re so good to me
Yes you’re so good to me!

Battling Impatience

In God’s Place, At God’s Pace, By Future Grace!

James 5:7-11- “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful”

Yesterday I shared what the Lord had been showing me through the chapter on “Patience” out of the book “The Fruitful Life.” Well, I’ve also been reading through John Piper’s book “Battling Unbelief” and it just so happens that I’m reading through the chapter on “Patience” in this book as well. I don’t find it ironic that I’ve come across different chapters on “patience” in two completely different books in the SAME week. It just amazes me how creative the Lord is when it comes to ministering to His children. These two chapters have helped me tremendously and I’m oh so grateful for them!

Here are a few things I pulled out of this chapter "Battling Impatience":

“Impatience is a form of unbelief. It’s what we begin to feel when we start to doubt the wisdom of God’s timing or the goodness of God’s guidance. It springs up in our hearts when our plan in interrupted or shattered.”

Patience is a deepening, ripening, peaceful willingness to wait for God in the unplanned place of obedience, and to walk with God at the unplanned pace of obedience. Patience means to “wait and endure.” We need to trust God to make all barriers blessings. The glorious might of God that we need to see and trust is the power of God to turn all our detours and obstacles into glorious outcomes. If we believed that our hold-up at the long red light was God’s keeping us back from an accident about to happen, we would be patient and happy. If we believe that our broken leg was God’s way of revealing early cancer in the x-ray so that we would survive, we would not be irritated with that inconvenience. If we believe that the middle-of-the night phone call was God’s way of waking us to smell smoke in our house, we would not grumble at the loss of sleep. The key to patience is to have faith in God’s grace on our lives to transform all our interruptions into rewards.

When we have patience, it sustains us! In every unplanned frustration, God’s Word holds true:

Jeremiah 32:40-41- “I will not turn away from doing good to them… I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.”

“Impatient complaining is therefore a form of unbelief that God is not in control!”

Psalm 23:6- “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me ALL the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord FOREVER.”

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace.
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face
-William Cowper

Lamentations 3:25- “The Lord is good to those who WAIT for him.”