Oh, my word! That was awesome! Trey had his first official JV Bullock Creek High School football game tonight and I just want to say how proud I am of my boy! ;o) I never thought of myself as being one that would get into football much but this just might be what piques my interest...watching my boys.
Here is a video of tonights game. Try not to pay much attention to the overly excited mother in the background...keep your eyes on number nine.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Come out of your "tomb" and start living!
John 11:43 & 44
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."
Do you ever feel like you're in a cocoon, restraints or perhaps a "tomb"? Anything that might prohibit you from moving around, stretching your legs...growing?
I just started the new Beth Moore study, Living Beyond Yourself and it is very good so far. She made a statement within her study that God brought about in my life awhile back and it was a nice reminder to hear again. This is what she said..."My purpose is beyond me". We need to start living for him daily...every second of every day. What He may ask of us may be out of our element and most likely will be something that will be beyond our normal routine and what we think we are capable of. One thing that I have learned and I am so very thankful of is that if we are truly living for Him...we are capable of anything He asks us to do.
Philippians 3:12-14
I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
One last thought that she made part of her study...
Through the infiltrating power of the Holy Spirit, I can...
Do things I couldn't.
Feel things I didn't.
Know things I wouldn't.
I pray that we all can see the power of God in our lives and come out of our "tombs" and start living COMPLETELY in Him!
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."
Do you ever feel like you're in a cocoon, restraints or perhaps a "tomb"? Anything that might prohibit you from moving around, stretching your legs...growing?
I just started the new Beth Moore study, Living Beyond Yourself and it is very good so far. She made a statement within her study that God brought about in my life awhile back and it was a nice reminder to hear again. This is what she said..."My purpose is beyond me". We need to start living for him daily...every second of every day. What He may ask of us may be out of our element and most likely will be something that will be beyond our normal routine and what we think we are capable of. One thing that I have learned and I am so very thankful of is that if we are truly living for Him...we are capable of anything He asks us to do.
Philippians 3:12-14
I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
One last thought that she made part of her study...
Through the infiltrating power of the Holy Spirit, I can...
Do things I couldn't.
Feel things I didn't.
Know things I wouldn't.
I pray that we all can see the power of God in our lives and come out of our "tombs" and start living COMPLETELY in Him!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
The Body of Christ
1 Corinthians 12:12-13
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
We are the body...the body of Christ. Each of us carrying out different responsibilities within that body. If we were each ears, who would speak? If we were each noses,who would taste? If we were each legs, who would hold us? I think you get the picture.
In times in my life I have seen those parts of the body all at work at one time or another. Perhaps not all at the same time or from the same person but I have seen them and know that they are there with a purpose behind them. I know for myself I have sat back at times and thought, "there is NO way that I could EVER do that".
Not anymore...
God has shown me that I am so much stronger and so much more capable of ALL things through Him. It is when I finally took the time away from my own selfish desires and truly sought Him out that I was able to see and believe that I am His and am able. I have become that foot, that ear, that eye...whatever He has asked.
How boring would it be to go through your whole life as a big toe?
We need to, as Christ followers, I believe, always be open to all the different uses of "the body". We need to be watching carefully not to judge what we may not understand or are able to "wrap our brains around". Only God can work through us to do those things that people just don't get most of the time. You may walk alone in your time of obedience. You may have no one cheering you on. All you need to remember is that if He is asking, you need to obey and honor Him with His request.
We have to be ready to be used because for me it was in the blink of an eye. I was asked by God to do something that, at the time, felt like it was something out of reach for me, something that I had to completely put my feelings aside and follow Him where He was leading me. I had to absolutely lay myself down and surrender to Him, trust Him and obey.
I have seen what true obedience can do, I have felt the breath of God on my face and I have allowed Christ to use my hands and feet as His own.
For any of you that know me, I never used to talk like this. God was not a subject of conversation for me, but now I absolutely LOVE digging into topics and have the confidence that I need to speak of Him. Here is just one example...
I clean houses for a living and as of recently I have taken on four new cleaning jobs all of whom know each other. They are Muslim families and are the most wonderful people that I have had the opportunity to spend time with. A few months ago I had a chance to sit down with one of them who is a widow and lives alone. After John's stroke she was very kind and would call to inquire about him and would always take the time to talk to me when I was there every other week. I was there cleaning and she was asking about John, like she did every time I was there. She then asked how I was doing with everything and at the time I was pretty tired and a little stressed. She told me to sit down and she made me some lunch and we spent time eating together and talking. I asked her about her Muslim religion and it led into a very interesting conversation. I am pretty ashamed to say but in all my 36 years of life I have never done this before. I thank God for my new found confidence in Him!
I'm not sure why I am sharing all of this except to say that it was on my heart and I felt the need to blog it. God's timing is perfect, His plan is purposeful and His love is unending.
One last thought that I have come to keep at the front of my mind..."We cannot question what others do that seems inconceivable...God does not give us all the same gifts or abilities because we are "stretched" in different ways for different purposes."
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
We are the body...the body of Christ. Each of us carrying out different responsibilities within that body. If we were each ears, who would speak? If we were each noses,who would taste? If we were each legs, who would hold us? I think you get the picture.
In times in my life I have seen those parts of the body all at work at one time or another. Perhaps not all at the same time or from the same person but I have seen them and know that they are there with a purpose behind them. I know for myself I have sat back at times and thought, "there is NO way that I could EVER do that".
Not anymore...
God has shown me that I am so much stronger and so much more capable of ALL things through Him. It is when I finally took the time away from my own selfish desires and truly sought Him out that I was able to see and believe that I am His and am able. I have become that foot, that ear, that eye...whatever He has asked.
How boring would it be to go through your whole life as a big toe?
We need to, as Christ followers, I believe, always be open to all the different uses of "the body". We need to be watching carefully not to judge what we may not understand or are able to "wrap our brains around". Only God can work through us to do those things that people just don't get most of the time. You may walk alone in your time of obedience. You may have no one cheering you on. All you need to remember is that if He is asking, you need to obey and honor Him with His request.
We have to be ready to be used because for me it was in the blink of an eye. I was asked by God to do something that, at the time, felt like it was something out of reach for me, something that I had to completely put my feelings aside and follow Him where He was leading me. I had to absolutely lay myself down and surrender to Him, trust Him and obey.
I have seen what true obedience can do, I have felt the breath of God on my face and I have allowed Christ to use my hands and feet as His own.
For any of you that know me, I never used to talk like this. God was not a subject of conversation for me, but now I absolutely LOVE digging into topics and have the confidence that I need to speak of Him. Here is just one example...
I clean houses for a living and as of recently I have taken on four new cleaning jobs all of whom know each other. They are Muslim families and are the most wonderful people that I have had the opportunity to spend time with. A few months ago I had a chance to sit down with one of them who is a widow and lives alone. After John's stroke she was very kind and would call to inquire about him and would always take the time to talk to me when I was there every other week. I was there cleaning and she was asking about John, like she did every time I was there. She then asked how I was doing with everything and at the time I was pretty tired and a little stressed. She told me to sit down and she made me some lunch and we spent time eating together and talking. I asked her about her Muslim religion and it led into a very interesting conversation. I am pretty ashamed to say but in all my 36 years of life I have never done this before. I thank God for my new found confidence in Him!
I'm not sure why I am sharing all of this except to say that it was on my heart and I felt the need to blog it. God's timing is perfect, His plan is purposeful and His love is unending.
One last thought that I have come to keep at the front of my mind..."We cannot question what others do that seems inconceivable...God does not give us all the same gifts or abilities because we are "stretched" in different ways for different purposes."
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