Rejoice!

God has given us a vision, a delightful picture of his purpose - a bridegroom coming for his bride, a love song, a love feast...God courts us patiently and lovingly; he woos us diligently and imaginatively. No lover has ever given his loved one so much beauty. What is a basket of flowers compared to a grove of birches, a stand of pines, a meadow of daisies? God is extravagant in his love... he says just come to the wedding feast; let me look at your loveliness....He has added all the ceremony, all the sights, smells, tastes, textures to help his courting of us, his bride.
-Cheryl Forbes

When God closes a door....

When God closes a door in your life.....get your face out of the way and it won't hurt so bad."-Sheri Rose Shepherd.
graphic courtesy of allposters.com

Power of a Praying Parent Part IV

FEELING LOVE AND ACCEPTED
from the book The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian

One of the difficult things children must deal with are the lies that can come into their minds masquerading as truth: "I'm not love," "I'm not accepted," "I'm not appreciated," " I'm not attractive," "I'm not good enough," "I'm too fat," "I'm too tall...too dumb....too smart..." These lies escalate as children move into their teenage years and often are carried into adulthood. That's why I'm convinced it's never too soon to start praying for a child to feel loved and accepted- first by God, then by family, then by peers and others.

PRAYER:
Lord, I pray for (name of child) to feel loved and accepted. Penetrate his/ her heart with Your love right now and help him / her to fully understand how far-reaching and complete it is. Your Word says You loved us so much that You sent Your Son to die for us (John 3:16). Deliver him/ her from any lies of the Enemy that may have been planted in his / her mind to cause him / her to doubt that. Jesus said, "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love" (John 15:9-10). Lord, help (name of child) to abide in Your love. May he / she say as David did, "Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for in You do I trust" (Psalm 143:8). Manifest Your love to this child in a real way today and help him / her to receive it.
I pray also that You would help me to love this child unconditionally the way You do, and enable me to show it in a manner he / she can perceive. Reveal to me how I can demonstrate and model Your love to him/ her so that it will be clearly understood. I pray that all my family members will love and accept him / her and may he she find favor with other people as well. With each day that he she grows in the confidence of being loved and accepted, release in him / her the capacity to easily communicate love to others. Enable him / her to reach out in love in a way that is appropriate. As he / she comes to fully understand the depth of Your love for him/ her and receives it into his / her soul, make him / her a vessel through which Your love flows to others. In Jesus' name I pray.

VERSES:
In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. - 1 John 4:9-11

For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord you God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth - Deut 7:6

We have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. - 1 John 4:16

We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. - 2 Thess 2:13

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. - Eph 1:3-6

Priority #2-Your husband

Now that you have established God as your number one priority, let's look at your next priority. If married , your next priority should be your beloved husband.

You chose this man and he chose you. What a privilege. You stood before a minister/rabbi/justice of the peace and perhaps family and friends and vowed your commitment to each other. These vows are not based on you earning commitment, performing well, being healthy or being wealthy. You already pledged your commitment. The only thing you need to do now is to live out your life together.


God designed the family with the husband as the head, the wife as the help meet. "thy desire shall be unto thy husband and he shall rule over thee." "For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church. Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything" He also instructed women to reverence their husbands and to submit to their husbands. "Ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands." (Gen 3:16, Eph 5:23-24,33, Col 3:18, 1 Pet 3:1)

Consider your husbands wants and desires, likes and dislikes. Demonstrate your love for him daily. Speak to him in respectful tones with reverence. This is not based on him deserving love or respect; his performance. When you are employed, do you speak respectfully to your boss. Do you do what is required of your position? Your employment performance is based on your job description and your submission to your boss. Even if your boss is less qualified, less knowledgeable, less kind you are required to obey and be respectful. If your boss asks you to do something would you even consider saying 'No way! Can't you see I'm busy-that's dumb!" Yet I have heard wives speak the same easily to their husbands. Shouldn't we treat our husbands even better than we would a boss.

Our husband is our husband for life. The more you put into the relationship, the better the relationship will be. This is an investment in your future, his future and the future of your children. You are modeling the marriage relationship for your children and friends.

I do not agree with the common advice of marriage being 50-50. I believe the only way for marriage to thrive is to be 100-100. You give 100%. That's everything. At all times you are to do your best to encourage and bless your beloved husband.

Everyday try to spend a few minutes telling your husband how wonderful he is. If you are hard pressed to thing of anything to admire then 1) think back to when you fell in love and use those character traits to admire. 2) lower your judgments. If you can't find something to admire perhaps your glasses are dirty-look again.

Everyday try to do something special for your husband-a sweet note, special dish for dinner, new toothbrush. Something that shows that you thought and cared about your beloved today.

Your husband will shine with his new attention. He will, in return, act more lovingly and then your marriage will be richer and a lovely aroma to the world.

Family Update

Hot! Hot! Hot! The weather is frightfully hot here. Apparently it is very hot everywhere.
Today, Saturday, Lauren left with her Landes family to Yosemite for one week.
Matthew and Mike returned from their camping trip. They had a blast. They were at Boy Scout camp in Cabrillo Beach, San Pedro, CA. This was a first for both of them. They went boating and did leatherworking.

Wow-we just had a flash of lightning. Did you see it? Didn't think so. Anyway, lightning is rare here.

Had a sweet visit with my cousin, Michelle on Thursday. Her family is so sweet. I taught her son, Justin to say Rock. He just says the "ck" part. Oh so cute.

Emily, Matthew and Mom have been playing non stop Clue Jr. Out of the last 7 games it was different offenders (Mr Green, Mrs White) but it was always the lemonade! Every single time. I think it was to beat the heat.

I have some lovely vanilla candles burning right now but it is making me hungry for ice cream.

That's about it for us. Hope your family is doing well. May God bless you richly.

Reshaping Your Life to Three Priorities-#1

from the book "The Gentle Ways of the Beautiful Woman" by Anne Ortlund

When a sculptor starts to shap a human form from a huge lump of clay, he doesn't detail the eyes and cheekbones first. He works with the large masses, attempts to get the head proportioned to the body, to set the direction of the trunk, and so on.

As you consider your whole lifestyle, you've got to think about what your top priorities are going to be, before you decide what time you're going to get up in the morning. Let's deal with the large mass of your life first, and I want to suggest to you three priorities that can't be circumvented, though they may gouge and rudely disfigure your present life form before you get things rearranged.

GOD FIRST!
"Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Matthew 6:33

We're to be seekers after Jesus, first. Everything must flow out of the first. And really first! Don't think of yourself first as a wife or a single person or a mother or a worker in some field; you will some day stand before God all by yourself.

What will God have you be and do? He will not say at the Judgment, " I excuse you from this or that because your husband didn't cooperate," or "I understand that you didn't have time to know my Word because of your job..." No one, nothing must keep you from putting God first in your life. You would have all eternity to be sorry.

Everything in our lives must converge at that one point: Christ. That's the only way we'll become integrated, focused, whole women. Jesus said, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand" (Matthew 12:25) Are you divided against yourself?

"How single, God, are You- how whole!
One Source are You, one Way, one Goal.
I tend to splinter all apart
With fractured mind, divided heart;
Oh, integrate my wand'ring maze
To one highway of love and praise.

O single, mast'ring Life of peace
At Whose command the ragings cease,
Keep calling to me "Peace, be still,"
To redirect my scattered will.
Keep gath'ring back my heart to You.
Keep cent'ring all I am and do.

Of focused Spot of holy ground,
Silence which is the Source of sound,
I drop the clutter from my soul,
Reorganized by Your control;
Then single, whole, before Your throne,
I give myself to You alone"

None of the good things in my life dare be a substitute for the best. God can have no competition in your heart, or in mine.Are you fearful of what will happen if you wholly submit to God?

The first Queen Elizabeth asked a man to go abroad for her on business. "I sincerely wish I could, but I can't. My business would rather suffer," said the man. "Sir", replied the Queen,"If you will attend to my business, I will take care of your business."

Work out the implications in your own life of putting God first.
Settle into Him; make Him your home. Nestle there, secure as in a strong, eternal fortress.




How do we do this? Let me suggest four ways; His Spirit will teach you many more.

1) Practice His presence-Jesus did!. Jesus was special; he was part of the Trinity; but he tells us also to abide in him! So we get our clues from Jesus; when we abide continually in the Father, the words that we speak won't be spoken on our own initiative; the Father within us will do the works. Live your life consciously before him, moment by moment. Trust Him to help you do it.





2) Jealously guard a daily quiet time spent alone with God-Jesus did! He sent the multitudes away to pray. Everyone has 24 hours. We can soak ourselves in prayer, in his Word, in himself , if we really want to.

3) Seek the Lord in occaisional longer hunks of time. Jesus did! in Luke 6:12 he spent an entire night in prayer, because he felt the need-he, the Son of God. How much more do we need these extended times with God?

4) Be diligent in your attendance of public worship. Jesus was! Certainly the Son of God wasn't going to church "for what he could get out of it" Maybe it was often less than the best. He went because he pleased the Father in all things. Be committed to public worship of God every week whether you feel like it or not, whether the preaching is great or it isn't. We go for what God gets out of it. He want us to be there, not via television or radio, but personally with the Body of Christ. (Hebrews 10:25)

Power of a Praying Parent III

SECURING PROTECTION FROM HARM

Often our most urgent and fervent prayers regarding our children are for their protection. It's hard to think about other aspects of their lives if we are worried sick over their personal safety. How can we pray about future events when we're concerned about them even having a future?

Being a praying parent doesn't mean that nothing bad will ever happen to your children or that they will never experience pain. They will, because pain is a part of life in this fallen world. But the Bible assures us that our prayers play a vital part in keeping trouble from them. And when a painful thing does happen, they will be protected in the midst of it so it will be to their betterment and not their destruction.

PRAYER:
Lord, I lift ________ up to You and ask that You would put a hedge of protection around him/her. Protect his/her spirit, body, mind, and emotions from any kind of evil or harm. I pray specifically for protection from accidents, disease, injury or any other physical, mental, or emotional abuse. I pray that he/she will make her/his refuge "in the shadow of Your wings" until "these calamities have passed by" (Ps 57:1). Hide him/her from any kind of evil influences that would come against him/her. Keep him/her safe from any hidden dangers and let no weapon formed against him/her be able to prosper. Thank You Lord for Your many promises of protection. Help him/her walk in Your ways and in obedience to Your will so that he/she never comes out from under the umbrella of that protection. Keep him/her safe in all he/she does and wherever he/she goes. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

Verses:

Psalm 91:1-2 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress;my God, in Him I will trust.

Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.

Isaiah 54:17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me, says the Lord.

Psalm 91:9-10 Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling.

Psalm 4:8 I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Entire above posting is taken from the Book "The Power of a Praying Parent" by Stormie Omartian.

A Mother's Prayer

A Mother's Prayer..

Lord, I pray for ....

A heart that prays.

A heart that provides- nutrition, schedules, meals, clean bodies and clothing, sleep and rest to children.

A heart that is happy.

A heart that gives - kisses, hugs, horsey back rides, cheerfulness, memories.

A heart of fun.

A heart that celebrates-makes things special.

A heart that gives preferential treatment to all.

A heart that is focused and not double booked.

A heart that is present-in the moment.

A heart that is quiet and gentle.

Bible Reading Plan

Here is the continuation to the 90 Day Reading Plan. If you missed the first two days please look under the previous postings.

Day14
Lev. 23 to Num 1
Luke 13-17

Day 15
Numbers 2-7
Luke 18-22

Day 16
Numbers 8-14
Luke 23 to John 2

Day 17
Numbers 15-23
John 3-6

Day 18
Numbers 24-31
John 7-10

Day 19
Num 32 to Deut. 2
John 11-14

Day 20
Deut 3-10
John 15-20

Day 21
Deut 11-20
John 21 to Acts 4

Day 22
Deut 21-29
Acts 5-8

Day 23
Deut 30 to Josh 3
Acts 9-12

Day 24
Joshua 4-11
Acts 13-17

Day 25
Joshua 12-21
Acts 18-21

Day 26
Joshua 22 to Jud 4
Acts 22-26

"My Body?"

One of my favorite authors is Anne Ortlund. My faith gets such a lift from her writings. I love the introduction to her book "Disciplines of a Beautiful Woman." Here are some excerpts from her introduction:

Background: She is writing from the hospital where she just had a hysterectomy.


-"Romans 12:1-2 is wonderful: " I present my body a living sacrifice." How silly to give God only my heart or my allegiance or whatever, and not my body! Certainly it is his to anesthetize, to roll into operating rooms, to poke with needles or fill with pills-to do all or none of these things, as he jolly-well pleases. He is my Lord. I am absolutely relaxed to let him do with my body what he wants."

-"One of the disciplines of a godly woman must be the discipline of the mind. We are not free to let our emotions flip and flop all over the place. We are not free to fret and worry if we feel like it, to indulge ourselves in pouting and stewing. That doesn't mean that "blues" aren't permissible; they are. many of the Psalms are David's laying out his feelings openly before the Lord-his "down" feelings as well as his "up" feelings- but putting them bothe into God's hands in completely surrendered faith. Lord, I feel great today; I praise you or Lord, I feel lousy today, but I praise you, anyway. Bad feelings aren't necessarily the result of sin; if I feel down, maybe I just ate something that didn't agree with me.
But anxiety- that is something else. Worry is disobedience. The disciplined mind makes no room for doubting God's plan for me.

-"We don't truly know peace in our hearts until pain is as welcome to us as lack of pain"

-"and pain is God's beautiful gift, anyway, to make us lean harder on him, when He knows we need it."

-Isaiah 26:3 KVJ-"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: beacuase he trusteth in thee."

-PS 16:9 "Therefor my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth" and two days after surgery "my flesh also shall rest in hope."

The Power of a Praying Parent-II

The Power of a Praying Parent II
-taken from book of same name by Stormie Omartian

RELEASING MY CHILD INTO GOD's HAND
*********************************
We can't be everywhere. But God can. We can't see everything. But God can. We can't know everything. But God can. No matter what age our children are, releasing them into God's hands is a sign of our faith and trust in Him and is the first step toward making a difference in their lives. Prayer for our children begins there.

Lord, I come to You in Jesus' name and give (name of child) to You. I'm convinced that You alone know what is best for him / her. You alone know what he / she needs. I release him/her to You to care for and protect, and I commit myself to pray for everything concerning him/ her that I can think of or that You put upon my heart. Teach me how to pray and guide me in what to pray about. Help me not to impose my own will when I'm praying for him/ her, but rather enable me to pray that Your will be done in his/her life.
Thank You that I can partner with You in raising him/her and that I don't have to do it alone. I'm grateful that I don't have to rely on the world's unreliable and ever-changing methods for child rearing, but that I can have clear directions from Your Word and wisdom as I pray to You for answers.
Thank You, Lord, for the precious gift of this child. Because Your Word says that every good gift comes from You, I know that You have given him/her to me to care for and raise. Help me to do that. Show me places where I continue to hang on to him/ her and enable me to release him/ her to Your protection, guidance, and counsel. Help me not to live in fear of possible dangers, but in the joy and peace of knowing that You are in control. I rely on You for everything, and this day I trust my child to You and release him/ her into You hands.

Verses
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Psalm 127:3

Whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.
1 John 3:22

Isaiah 26:3,4

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord is the Rock eternal.

Matthewisms

My son Matthew is 7 years old. He says the funniest things everyday. I thought you might get a kick out of it and stretch your mind as well.

Today's comments: "I'm not an invertebrate!" - I was bending him backwards over my knee goofing around.

"Edible atom....inedible atom" At Taco Bell he went around letting us know which atoms were edible (the burrito) and inedible atoms (the door).

Don't Rush....

Don't rush
be a beginner
weave pearls in your hair
grow potatoes
light the candles
keep the fire
dare to love someone
tell yourself the truth
stay inside the rapture.
- from the book "A Thousand Days in Venice"

Happy 230th Birthday America

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Silly Question Part III

Is it true cannibals don't eat clowns because they taste funny?

What was the best thing before sliced bread?

If it's tourist season why can't we shoot them?

If all the world is a stage, where does the audience sit?

Why can't I set my laser printer on "STUN"?

If the No. 2 pencil is so popular why is it still number 2?

How do you tell when you run out of invisible ink?

Why do psychics have to ask your name and better yet why don't they know you're coming?

If you choke a Smurf, what color do they turn?

Why do kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Why do they put Braille dots on the drive thru window of the ATM?

If most car accidents occur within 5 miles of your home, why doesn't everyone just move 10 miles further?

Why is the alphabet in that order...is it because of that song?

If you write a book about failure and it doesn't sell, does that make it a success?

Why do we play in recitals and recite in plays?

How do they get the deers to cross at the Deer Crossing Signs?

If white wine goes with fish, do grapes go with sushi?

Bible Reading Plan

How did you do last week? Did you notice any effect from flooding God's Word into your life? Here is the schedule for this week.

Tuesday Exodus 14-22 Mark 7- 10
Wednesday Exodus 23-30 Mark 11-14
Thursday Exodus 31-37 Mark 15 to Luke 2
Friday Exo 38 to Lev 7 Luke 3-6
Saturday Leviticus 8-14 Luke 7-9
Sunday Leviticus 15-22 Luke 10-12
Monday Lev. 23 to Num 1

Lauren in New Orleans

Please pray for Lauren. She is in New Orleans this week. She will be helping with Katrina Relief efforts and sharing God' s love. She is not used to heat, humidity or bugs!!!

Update 454pm-Lauren called and said she saw an intense lightning and thunder storm. She also said it is so humid you needn't bother toweling off after your shower. You're still wet!

She also shared the devestation she saw this first day around New Orleans. She saw a car under a house. She saw homes that body remains had been removed from. They also showed the water level is still very high there. She said the news photos did not do it justice.

Keep her team in your prayers for safety and energy to minister to the people of New Orleans.

The Bible in 50 Words

God made
Adam bit
Noah arked
Abraham split
Jacob fooled
Joseph ruled
Bush talked
Moses balked
Pharaoh plagued
People walked
Sea divided
Tablets guided
Promise landed
Saul freaked
David peeked
Prophets warned
Jesus born
God walked
Love talked
Anger crucified
Hope died
Love rose
Spirit flamed
Word spread
God remained.
-Author Unknown