My #Saywhat Moment

Her name was Susan. She was a captive audience in my living room. She had come to my home to sell me a very expensive vacuum cleaner. She did her demo, and I listened politely. In exchange for this I got a clean living room carpet and a small, rather useless camera. She got stuck at my house with no sale and no ride for an hour.

To say this was awkward is an understatement. I'm extremely introverted and I struggle with small talk. Thankfully, she was somewhat chatty. We talked about life for a few minutes. She asked me what my husband did . I said he was studying to be a minister. This brought on a rather long diatribe about why she didn't like ministers because they were so rich and took money from little old ladies.

At some point during all of this I got the strong impression that I was supposed to share my faith with with Susan. After hearing her talk about all that was wrong with churches, and Christians, and pastors, I was a little hesitant.  But I was obedient. I asked her a few questions, and found out that when she was young she went to a hell-fire-and-brimstone church. All she had ever heard about God was how judgmental he was, and that he couldn't wait to send people to Hell. Pastors scared her, Christians scared her, and God scared her. I was able to share God's love with her, and tell her that I'm not a Christian because I'm afraid of God. I'm a Christian because of the love He showed when He sent Christ to die for me.

I never saw Susan again after the hour we spent together. I still pray for her whenever I think about her. I'm so thankful I was obedient that day. I hope today she is serving the God that I know. The one that loves her more than anything.

With All My Heart

I have been meditating on Deuteronomy 6:5 this week:

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."

I've known this verse since I was a little girl. I never really thought about it being anything spectacular. Of course I love God. I am a Christian. That's what Christians do.

Last night I dug a little deeper. My study Bible commentary says the heart, soul, and strength are our intellect, will, emotions, and our physical being. Everything I am needs to love God. Everything that makes me who I am needs to love God. Not just my mind if I'm tired, and not just my body if I'm thinking about something else. I need to love Him with all my being. This takes concentration and discipline. It takes time. It also takes reading the next verse:

"And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you."

Wholehearted commitment. That's what it looks like.

Wordful Wednesday: Who is God?

I got a great reminder of who God is recently in my devotions. I enjoyed relearning His attributes and seeing how big he is. Here are a few of God's personality traits and the scriptures where they can be found.

God is the Creator ~ Gen. 1:1, Ps. 1:27

God is eternal ~ Ps. 90:2

God is everywhere ~ Jer. 23:24

God is almighty ~ Dan. 4:35

God is all-knowing ~ Luke 12:7, Gen 16:13

Just a few mind boggling things to think about. I will share the rest of the list later. Feel free to share any othe attributes and/or scripture you think of in the comments.

A Gentle Reminder

Here are a few things God reminded me of in my devotions today:

I am loved with an everlasting love ~ Jeremiah 31:3

I am carried through every storm ~ Mark 4:35-41

I am wonderfully made ~ Psalm 139:14

I am watched over day and night ~ Psalm 121: 1-8

I am forgiven ~ 1 John 1:9

I am rejoiced over with singing ~ Zephaniah 3:17

My name is engraved on the palm of His hand ~ Isaiah 49:16

WORDful Wednesday

Russty asked me to do something for him this morning. It was a simple task. Look in the box under the bed that has all the CD's in and find a particular song. I knew the song and what CD it was so it was a fairly easy task. What I didn't know was that I would be thrown into a fit of 90's nostalgia that would have me creating playlists and looking up artist web sites all morning. I remembered being a twenty year old bride and leaving home for the first time, becoming a mom, and fumbling through a faith that was finally my own and not just something I believed because I was raised to believe it.

Move in Me by Michael W Smith is a song that reflects my faith journey. I couldn't find a good video of it, but the lyrics are amazing by themselves. The song is on the album My Utmost For His Highest which you can download here, and the lyrics are below.

I am only human
Struggling to find
Confidence in all that I believe
You are only holy
You are love defined
And you have said to ask and I'll recieve

So I have come to pray
That you will come and fill
The hunger here inside me to grow
Stronger in the faith
There's a longing and a need
To have you ever closer
Come fill me

Cause when you move in me
It's like a symphony
The timeless melody
That soothes my soul
Though silent I can tell
That you're alive and well
Cause I can feel you move
In me

What they try to tell me
Is that your love is false
And faith is just a way
I choose to feel
And that there was no meaning
To You upon the cross
And I should reach for something that is real
And when those words are said
The questions in me start
And I don't have any answers
Until I stop thinking with my head
And start listening to my heart
And there I find my assurance
I tell them

WORDful Wednesday

I was reading John 1 today. Whenever I think about Jesus being the Word made flesh, I think of this song:

Book Review:Jesus Calling Devotional Bible

Recently, I was given an opportunity to read and review the Jesus Calling Devotional Bible edited by Sarah Young. This Bible includes 260 prayers with devotional answers from Sarah Young's books, scriptures highlighted throughout the text, and an index to the devotions. The copy I received is a hard cover, NKJ version.

I have found the set up of this Bible  to be fairly easy to follow. The devotions are organized into subjects and indexed in the front. Some of the subjects are abiding, brokenness, hope, joy, peace, and worship. You simply choose the subject you want to read and go to the indicated page. The devotions are on a two page spread with a prayer on the left side and the devotion on the right. Sarah Young's devotions are unique, because they are told in the first person from God's point of view. I really enjoy this writing style. It's very personal, and has given me a new perspective on God and his word. The only problem I had with this Bible came when I was looking up particular passages. The devotion pages are not numbered, and the prayer pages are numbered halfway down the page. This cause a little confusion, but overall I liked the set up.

This is a beautiful devotional Bible that I think most Christians would enjoy. I think the writing style would be preferred by women, but men might enjoy it, too. It would make a lovely gift, and, because the devotions are not dated, it can be given at anytime of the year.

I received this book for free from Book Sneeze for the purpose of review.

Book Review:31 Days of Power by Ruth Myers

I received a free copy of 31 Days of Power by Ruth Myers from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group for the purpose of review. This is the 2nd "31 Days" devotional book I have read, and I have enjoyed both of them. The focus of 31 Days of power is spiritual warfare. Every devotional reading is a scripture based prayer that focuses on a different spiritual warfare theme such as the power of God's goodness, victory, overcoming the world, etc. Ms. Myers has provided the scripture she used when writing each prayer for easy reference. At the end of the devotional is a short Bible study on the dynamics of spiritual warfare.
I think any Christian would benefit from reading this book. It is very practical, and easy to apply in daily life.

Saul:The Incredibly Tall, Shrinking Violet

I have been reading through the Bible this year, and I have finally made it to 1 Samuel. I have read about King Saul many times before, but I noticed something different this time. Saul had low self image problems. It says so in 1 Samuel 15:17: " And Samuel told [Saul], 'Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel? The LORD has anointed you king of Israel.' "

I have been thinking about this today. 1 Samuel 9:1-2 says Saul was tall, rich, and handsome, yet for some reason, he was never able to see himself as others did.The Bible portrays him as as a disobedient coward consumed with jealousy.

I have always found Saul to be a rather unsympathetic character. He is the antagonist in the story. I have always felt badly for his children who have to pay for his misdeeds. But, after reading what Samuel says to him, I wonder how often that can be said about me. How often does God look at me and say, "Jill, even though you may think little of yourself, haven't I anointed you to do my work?"

I don't want to be like Saul. I don't want to think little of myself and be unable to do the things God has anointed me to do. I don't want to be so busy looking at what others are doing that I am unable to accomplish His work. I want to see myself as God's child, chosen for his purpose, to do his will.

Thankful Thursday

unexpected gifts

being able to share God's word with my children

patio furniture

picnics

Looking Forward

Since a new year is almost here, I thought I would share some of the Bible study and devotional resources I will be using next year.

I have used a couple of year-long Bible reading programs in the past that I have liked, but this year I have fallen in love with the One Year Chronological Bible. I use it in conjunction with Wendy Pope's blog. She has a daily lesson to go along with each days reading. This has really helped hold me accountable. You can also have the daily readings delivered to your inbox if you don't want to buy the Bible.

Another resource I have enjoyed using is Proverbs 31's devotions. I get these in my email every weekday. They are very well done and include journaling ideas and reflection questions.

I will also be doing the Siesta Scripture Team on Beth Moore's blog. I did this 2 years ago, and it was so much fun. I'm really glad she decided to do it again this year.

I hope you find some of this helpful. What are you planning on using next year?

My Word of the Year

Did you know austerity is the official word of 2010? You can read about it here. Austerity means "enforced or extreme economy". Based on that definition, I suppose 2010 was a very austere year.

My official word for 2010 was contentment. At the end of 2009 I started to think about what I wasn't, and what I was struggling to be. The word content kept coming to mind. I wanted to stop wanting things, and to start being content with what I already had.

My first step in making contentment my word was to find a corresponding verse to go along with it. I chose 1 Timothy 6:6, "Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth". I wrote this verse down in several places and memorized it. Then I sat back and waited for opportunities to practice being content. Trust me when I tell you I had opportunities to practice contentment coming out of my ears.

My word for 2011 will be ministry. Russty is lead worship again, and all those old feelings of inadequacy are already popping up. the verse I have selected for this year is 1 Corinthians 15:58, "...be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless". I also want to learn more about ministering through my Bible study and reading this year.

Is there anything you want to work on this year?