“Freedom isn’t free.”
“Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
John 15:13
Monthly Archives: May 2013
A Sweet Fragrance
“For we are a sweet fragrance to God in Christ
among those who have life and among those who perish. “
2 Corinthians 2:15
Twilight
The period of the evening which takes place, between daylight and darkness is called twilight…
In the days of Elisha, there was a severe famine. Outside the city gates there were four men who were lepers. These four men reasoned among themselves, “Why should we just sit here until we die? If we go into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there, and if we just sit here, we will die also. Let’s go to the camp of the Syrians. Maybe they will save us alive, or if they kill us, we shall but die…
And so they rose up in the twilight, to go to the camp of the Syrians.
When they got to the camp of the Syrians, there was no one there because the Lord had made the entire Syrian army to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, and the noise of a great army approaching, and they thought that the king of Israel had hired other foreign armies to join with him to fight them...So they arose and fled in the twilight... When the lepers arrived they found an abundance of food, silver and gold. They sent word back to the king and the starving people were satisfied.
I love this story… You can find it in II Kings chapter 7. I am always amazed that at precisely the same moment that the lepers decided to step out in faith, God began working on their behalf. As soon as they arose to go at twilight, God allowed the Syrians to hear an illusion at twilight, which scared them out of their wits and caused them to leave their treasures. The lepers were on their way, had probably walked all night, but God had already fought the battle for them, He had already solved their problem, and He had begun at precisely the moment that they believed… At twilight.
The next morning, with the rising of the sun, came long-awaited joy and deliverance…
About My Future
It’s Bright!
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD,
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:11
Awesome!
God is AWESOME!!!
Now Faith Is
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…
By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;
Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a time; Esteeming the reproach of the Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he looked for the recompense of the reward.
By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king:
for he endured, as seeing Him who is invisible.
Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest He that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
By faith they passed through the Red sea as on dry land: which the Egyptians attempting to do were drowned.
By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.”
Hebrews 11:1, 23-30
Making it Count
“In the end it’s not the years in your life that count… It’s the life in your years.”
Abraham Lincoln
Quiet Strength
“In quietness and confidence is your strength.” Isaiah 30:15
Mom, You’re The Best
“Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
She looks well to the ways of her household, and eats not the bread of idleness.
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.
Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain:
but a woman that fears the LORD, she shall be praised.”
Proverbs 31:25-30
O Glorious Day
One day when Heaven was filled with His praises
One day when sin was as black as could be
Jesus came forth to be born of a Virgin
Dwelt among men, my example is He
Word became flesh and the light shined among us
His glory revealed
One day they led Him up Calvary’s mountain
One day they nailed Him to die on a tree
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He
Hands that healed nations, stretched out on a tree
And took the nails for me
One day the grave could conceal Him no longer
One day the stone rolled away from the door
Then He arose, over death He had conquered
Now He’s ascended, my Lord evermore
Death could not hold Him, the grave could not keep Him
From rising again
One day the trumpet will sound for His coming
One day the skies with His glories will shine
Wonderful day, my beloved one, bringing
My Savior, Jesus, is mine
Living, He loved me, dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming, oh, glorious day, oh glorious day
Lyrics- Jeff Johnson /Song- Casting Crowns
“Wait For It”
“Good things are coming, and the best is yet to come! We have God’s Word on it!”
“My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him.”
Psalm 62:5
Wonderful Wednesday
Some people call it “Over-the- Hump Day” and we all know why, because we’re all just trying to make it through another week, and by the time Wednesday gets here, we’re ready to head straight down-hill, full-speed ahead, right into the weekend! Am I right? Well, about three or four weeks ago, I gained a new appreciation for Wednesdays, and every other day of the week. Here’s what happened;
It all began one Tuesday night, when my youngest daughter, a fifth grader, came to kiss me good night. “Goodnight, Honey!” I said, as we hugged and she kissed me on the cheek. Afterwards, I noticed that she had a sad look on her face, and I asked, “What’s wrong?” She let out a huge sigh, and said, “I hate Wednesdays!” This was new, I hadn’t heard that before, so I asked her why, and she said “Wednesdays are never good for me. It’s the worst day of the week. We change classes, and it’s so boring. I just hate it.” I told her that I was sorry to hear that, and that I didn’t know that she felt that way, and I thought to myself, “Wow, stressed out in the fifth grade!” so I said, “Don’t worry Honey, tomorrow will be a better day for you. We prayed together and she went to bed.
The next morning, as I was driving her to school, we talked about how she felt. I told her that I would be praying for her, and that she should just change her mind, and her expectations for how her Wednesdays were going to turn out. “From now on,” I said, “We’re gonna call it a Won-nnnderful Wednesday!‘ She laughed, and that’s just how we said it.” Won-nnnderful Wednesday!”
When I picked her up from school that afternoon, she ran to my Jeep, and hopped in, with a huge, “ginormous” smile on her face, and said, “Mommy, guess what? This was the best Wednesday ever! It was a Wonderful Wednesday!”
The next day we came up with a name for Thursday. I love music, dancing, and a good beat, so I suggested that we call it a “Thumpin’ Thursday!” She thought that was funny and liked it, so, “Thumpin’ Thursday” it was. Again, she was all smiles at the end of her school-day. “Why stop here?” I thought, and so we came up with a name for every day of the school-week. Here they are:
Monday-“Have a Marvelous Monday, pronounced, “Mah-hhhhvelous Monday!”
Tuesday-“Have a Terrific Tuesday, pronounced, “Ter-rrrrific Tuesday!”
Wednesday “Have a Wonderful Wednesday, pronounced,” Won-nnnderful Wednesday!”
Thursday – “Have a Thumping Thursday, pronounced, “Thumpin’ Thursday!”
Friday – “Have a Fantastic Friday, pronounced, “Fan- TAS -tic Friday!”
This has become part of our good-bye routine each morning when I drop her off for school, and I’m happy to report that she hasn’t had a “Worst-day -of -the-week Wednesday” since. :)
“This is the day that the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24
Have a Won-nnnderful Wednesday!
Growing Pains
“The pain you feel today, is the strength you feel tomorrow.
For every challenge encountered is an opportunity for growth.”
Unknown
Spring Cleaning
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
“Search me, O God, and know my heart:
try me and know my thoughts…”
Psalm 51:10, 139:23
My Rock
“The LORD is my Rock, my fortress and my deliverer…”
“He gives power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increases strength”
Psalm 18:2 and Isaiah 40:29
The Microwave Treatment
Sometimes it’s hard to wait when you’re praying for something special to happen, and I know what that feels like…
Once, while I was waiting for my miracle, I had a dream. It had been about 6 months since I had surgery and I was growing more and more impatient about having a baby. I thought I’d get pregnant right away. But that’s not what happened.
One night, I had a very interesting dream
There were two parts to this dream. First, I dreamt that we were visiting some friends for dinner and as the men talked in the living room, I sat in the kitchen while the food was being prepared. I was shocked to see that my friend was spooning raw, runny, red, hamburger meat, into taco shells and placing them in the microwave to be cooked. “YUCK!” I thought to myself, and when she had finished cooking, she topped them with all the trimmings, but I just couldn’t bring myself to eat any, because I saw the way that they were prepared with raw meat, and this really grossed me out!
In the second part of my dream, I was in a meat shop, and I was trying to buy a beef roast which was turning slowly on a spit. I was in a hurry, and I told the man cooking the meat that I had been waiting a long time, and was ready to go. He looked at me and said “I’m sorry ma’am but it’s not ready yet. I said “Are you sure? It looks like it’s done.” then he pulled out a long sharp-pointed thing, and pierced through the meat, and all of this red, runny, gook came pouring out. He was right. The meat was not ready… It was as if both parts of the dream had the same meaning.
When I woke up, I thought that maybe this dream had something to do with my healing from surgery, and how I was not yet healed up enough on the inside.
A few days later, I was sitting in the park, watching my son and daughter at soccer practice, when I saw a friend from church. She asked me how I was recovering from the surgery. I told her that I was doing fine, but that I was really ready to have another baby, “After all”, I said “I’m 35 years old!”…She was nearly 50, and told me that I was still young enough to have another baby. “God’s timing is perfect… Just be patient!..I had my last baby when I was 40 years old. ” she said. I smiled, shrugged my shoulders, and said, “But I’ve been waiting so long already.” Then she said, ” Faith, you just had surgery… You need time to heal.” She laughed and said jokingly, .. “What you want is the Microwave Treatment!!”
When she said this, I knew that it was a confirmation of the dream that I’d had a few days earlier… “The Microwave Treatment”… It was true! I didn’t want to wait any longer.. I wanted my miracle,and I wanted it now! This instant… In fact, I wanted it yesterday!!
I was reminded by this incident, that God is in control, and I accepted that He knows best. I would just have to be patient and wait…
Three years later, I realized my miracle, and was expecting our little girl.
“Wait on the LORD: be of good courage…”
Psalm 27:14
Joyful
“It is His joy that remains in us that makes our joy full.”
~ A. B. Simpson
Faithrises 