For His Service

I literally have been locked out of my blog. It seems that Blogspot updated without telling me.   I also haven't had much time to write down my thoughts.  One of my  friends passed away suddenly, leaving her husband and 4 children behind.  Another one of my friends passed away in her sleep, leaving her husband and 3 children behind.  None of us are promised a day.  We have to choose to do what matters?  What should that be for a believer?   Doing the will of the Father.... What does that look like?  It looks  differently for each believer. You might be called to teach, to lead worship, to adopt, to fight for those who can't fight for themselves (children and animals), to feed the hungry, to take care of those in need...    No mater of what we are called to do, it all should look like service.     Jesus set the tone. Luke 22 14  When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles  reclined at the table.   1...

I have been asking God to SHOW me that He loves ME.....and He will take care of ME!  I know these things intellectually, but life circumstances can keep me from feeling these truths.  So I prayed "God, show me you love me and will take care of me". I waited..... Nothing!  The next day, I prayed, "God show me that you love me and will take care of me." Again, nothing!  There were things that happened.. things that reminded me of how He loved me and cared for me.    God reminded me how He cared for me and took care of me and held my marriage together when it should have fallen apart.  He reminded me that HE has caused my husband to have a good job in a terrible economy.   But I still felt that wasn't the "showing" of the answers to my prayer.  On day 9, I had a dream.  I dreamt that I was on a roller coaster with some of my friends...traveling to see a house she was building....

Casting Nets.  I rarely paint anything for myself.  I too often paint for friends or clients  (www.scripturepainting.com).   But, this theme/ this story has been one I have been dwelling on for the last several weeks. ...so I have tried here and there...to paint. I think this painting, "Casting nets", sums up one of my overriding life issues..... trust.  Do I trust a carpenter...to tell me, a professional fisherman, how to fish?   Read Luke 5: 1-11 and you will see what I am talking about. 5 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, [ a ] with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, 2 he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.  4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into...

So, for about two weeks I have been using Beth Moore's study on the book of James.   Why?   I need the accountability.  How am I getting that?   ..I have to get these weeks work done...because I am leading two groups of women each week, as we go through this study.  That's the same reason my children attend Veritas Classical School each week.  They need to know that their Veritas teacher said that they must complete the work by Tuesday (the one day a week they attend school).  Anyway, back to James.  James is a book that most believers have read quite a few times.  It was written by Jesus' half-brother.    John 7:5 records James as an unbeliever.  However, by the time we are in Acts (Acts 15:13 to be exact).... we see that not only is James a believer is Jesus as the messiah, but he is the leader of the church in Jerusalem.   Beth points out how Luke 2:40 and Luke 2:52 tell that Jesus grew in wis...

Today, Noah got his orange belt and we are so proud of the young man he is becoming.   Not long ago, he started training to earn his black belt.  Today, he graduated to his orange belt.  We like the training of his karate program...to instill courage and discipline.  (The karate belts in order... White,  Orange, Gold (Yellow),Green, Blue, Purple, Brown, Red, , 1st- 5th Degree Black).   We are so glad for the path he is on. On that note, my husband and I went to a movie today, Courageous... We really enjoyed it.  It was a great reminder of the important things...    This is the blurb from the movies' website:   Four men, one calling: To serve and protect. When tragedy strikes home, these men are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, their faith, and their fathering. Protecting the streets is second nature. Raising their children in a God-honoring way? That's courageous. This is the trailer to the movie... I do think ...