Corrie

Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden.  — Corrie ten Boom

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Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?  And why doyou worry about clothes?  See how the lilies of the field grow.  They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  …  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will given to you as well.   — Matthew 6:26-29, 33

A reminder from Kristine, professional mom, homeschooler, blogger, author, humorist, and chief wrangler at the ‘ole testosterone farm.

Caught In The Middle

So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
Revelation 3:16

I love the music group, Casting Crowns! Their music is right where we live. They have a song out called, Somewhere In The Middle. One of the verses says this:

Fearless warriors in a picket fence, reckless abandon wrapped in common sense
Deep water faith in the shallow end and we are caught in the middle.
With eyes wide open to the differences, the God we want and the God who is.
But will we trade our dreams for His or are we caught in the middle?
Are we caught in the middle?

So many times I find myself caught in the middle. I want to be a warrior for God, but here I sit in my safe little house doing what? I want to abandon my fears and go for it, but what about my family? What about my job? What about _______? I want to dive head first into the pool … but I can’t swim … I have to stay in the shallow end. (literally) Okay, I can swim. I don’t like to swim. I choose not to swim. But you get the idea.

One of the lines says:

Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender without losing all control.

That’s the real problem with me. I want all of God, but am I really willing to lose all of me to achieve all of HIM? I want to surrender my life to him, but I keep holding onto the parts of me that I don’t want exposed or revealed or I just plain don’t want to let go of.

I was talking to my friend the other day and we came to the conclusion that wanting our control was the issue that stops us from attaining true peace. That when we truly release whatever issue we are holding onto to God, we can have peace through the situation, whatever the outcome is. But … releasing our control is hard. As Cindy said, “Our strong stubborn self-will messes us up, everytime.”

I don’t want to keep messing up. I don’t want to be somewhere in the middle … I want to be right in the middle of God’s Will!

Father, help me to release control … total control … of my life, to you. Lord, you have a plan for me, and it is a good one and I want to follow you. I have good intentions, I mean well, but then something happens and boom, I’m right back in the middle of the junk. I don’t want the junk Father, I want your peace in my life. Help me Lord Jesus to stay in the middle of Your will … not mine.

I Love You Jesus.
In Your Name I Pray,
Amen

God Bless You!

Love,
Joyce

Submitted by: Joyce Schneider

The Choices You Make Today …
Will Affect Your Tomorrow!
http://www.alifedecision.org

Here is the link to the song on UTube, if you’d like to hear it for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DveYBno-pmQ

Do You Believe This?

John 11:24-26 NKJV Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Believing Jesus and God’s Word is crucial for our salvation. But it’s also needed if we are to be blessed. Martha believed and saw her brother raised from death. Some blind guys believed and Jesus healed them. There was a women who believed if she could touch the hem of Jesus’ clothes, she would be healed and guess what? According to her faith, she was healed. The gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) there are filled with examples of people who believed and were blessed for it.

Belief is needed for the miracle to follow. Did you notice Jesus asked Martha if she believed Him before He raised Lazarus from dead? Jesus also asked the blind men if they believed and only after they answered “Yes, Lord” did Jesus heal them. Matthew 9:28-29 “And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord. Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.””

Over and over we’re told by Jesus all things are possible to him who believes ( Mark 9:23). Jesus says nothing is impossible for those who believe. Mark 11:23 “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” Notice Jesus instructs us not to doubt. Instead He says believe you already have received whatever it is you’re praying for. Mark 11:24 continues with: “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Jesus says (Mark 5:36) “Do not be afraid; only believe.”

Can you imagine the possibilities available to us, if we would only believe? God in His infinite resources can and will provide for us whatever we ask, as long as we believe it.

So how about you, do you believe these things?

Lord, thank you for being true to your word. What you say, you will do. We trust you and believe in you. Let us continue to believe so your light may shine forth and be a witness to those around us. Help us with out unbelief and strengthen our faith in you. In Jesus name Amen.

©Elizabeth Marks has led small group Bible studies for almost a decade. Author of ThinkOnItBibleDevotions.com and BeingWomenOfInfluence.com websites she has a heart for encouraging others with God’s Word.

White-Out For Life

I was at the Recording Office the other day, and the girl messed up the paper that she was working on. I asked her if it was serious and she laughted and said, “Nope, I’ll white it out.” And the mistake was gone. We laughed and I said, “Boy, wouldn’t it be nice if we could white-out parts of our life that easily?”

As I drove away, I started thinking … always the thinking. We do have a white-out for our life. Jesus Christ. God sent his son, to die for us, to wash away all our sins, all our mistakes.

David tells us, As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:12).

Isaiah confirms the white-out concept, Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; Though your sinsbe as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1:18).

And John brings it all home, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).

I don’t want to live with the sins of my past staining my life, I am so thankful that I have a Savior who has cleansed me from it all … Jesus is my white-out!

Father, thank you for taking the junk of my life, for cleaning me up, and setting me on your path to life eternal with you.

I Love You Jesus.
In Your Name I Pray,
Amen

God Bless You!

Love,
Joyce

Submitted by: Joyce Schneider

The Choices You Make Today …
Will Affect Your Tomorrow!
http://www.alifedecision.org

It’s The Thought That Counts

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
Proverbs 4:23

On Friday morning, Chase and I were frantically making Valentine’s for his classmates, before catching the bus. He had forgotten about them, until the last minute. I hadn’t realized he planned on doing them, miss communication. Don’t you hate when that happens?

So, at 7:00 am he informed me that he needed 20 Valentine’s, and his bus leaves at 7:30. I found some old ones in a cupboard, but there weren’t enough for everyone in his class. Chase assured me he would simply make them. He took a piece of paper, tore it in half, folded it and wrote Happy Valentine’s Day on the front. Inside he wrote who it was to and from and taped a candy kiss into the middle.

Quite simple …

As we were rushing to finish them, he remembered he needed to do one for his teacher. All the others he had done in pencil, then marker, so as to be able to erase mistakes, but he wrote his teacher’s name with the marker and ended up miss-spelling it in his hurry. We didn’t have time to start over – he simply folded it, put it in the bag with the others and said, “It’s okay Mom, it’s the thought that counts.”

I agreed with him … it was. And I knew his teacher would be touched by his simple card. You could tell he had made it himself. It’s easy to buy the store bought pretty ones, but how many ten year old boys actually care enough about that day to make 20 hand made Valentine’s?

Our thoughts are what count with God as well. We can look pretty on the outside, but what is coming from our heart? Or we can look a bit beraggled on the outside, but pure love flows from us.

Makes you stop and think a bit, doesn’t it?

Father, help me to keep my thoughts pure, to let you flow from my spirit.

I Love You Jesus.
In Your Name I Pray,
Amen

God Bless You!

Love,
Joyce

Submitted by: Joyce Schneider

The Choices You Make Today …
Will Affect Your Tomorrow!
http://www.alifedecision.org

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NKJV

For our light afflictions, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are not seen are eternal.

Let’s break this verse down to make it understandable.

For our light afflictions…

When our suffering is contrasted with Jesus’ suffering on the cross, we soon realize just how small they are in comparison!

Which is but for a moment…

God’s plan is for us to live with Him for eternity, therefore, the brief time we have on earth is only the smallest amount of time, when compared to eternity. Now thing about how brief these current trails are in compared with your entire life, they are really very brief!

Is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory…

Romans 8:28 comes to mind here “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

While we do not look at the things which are seen…

We should not focus on our current condition, situation or struggles

But at the things which are not seen…

Instead we focus on Jesus Christ, what he’s done for us, our freedom in Christ, the promises of eternal life with Him and having our every desire met to our satisfaction in eternity. Watching carefully that we try to live pleasing lives to God alone, knowing that mere man will never understand why we choose what we do.

For the things that are seen are temporary…

Everything we seen here now, is all temporary and not lasting. It will all fade away.

but the things that are not seen are eternal.

Watching carefully that we try to live pleasing lives to God alone, knowing that mere man will never understand why we choose what we do. When you know you’re following God, obey what the Spirit teaches, casting off your old nature and purposely

walking in the Spirit, you are rewarded by God in heaven.

©Elizabeth Marks has led small group Bible studies for almost a decade. Author of ThinkOnItBibleDevotions.com and BeingWomenOfInfluence.com websites she has a heart for encouraging others with God’s Word.

My Scout Master

The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
Ecclesiastes 9:17

Last night was the annual Blue and Gold Banquet for the Cub Scouts. It’s a great time of food and fellowship and watching the boys receive their achievments. Cub Scouts have been a major part of our lives for the past six years.

Last night was a little different time for our family … Bobby stepped down from his role as Cub Master. He has lead this pack for the past five years and they’ve grown from 30-35 boys to 75 -80! I really don’t know the exact number, but I know there were close to 200 people at this dinner last night … it was hard to find a place big enough to hold everyone!

I was so touched by what the other leaders said to Bobby, as they recognized him and released him from his role as their leader. The tears were rolling down my face as I listened to what they said about my husband. The respect and love was so evident in their words. Two hundred people stood and gave Bobby their respect and applause at the end and it was a very touching moment.

Bobby isn’t quitting scouts, he’s just moving on to the next level. He will be the Scout Master of Troop 25, starting March 1st. Many of the people who worked with him in his Cub Scout Pack are moving on to Boy Scouts with him and they are excited to see what the future holds for the boys of this troop.

The past five years have not always been easy ones. Bobby has put a lot of time, energy and devotion into the boys and their parents. But he stood up on that stage last night and the words he said touched my heart, ” I love my boys, I love camping, I love being able to help your boys.”

Yesterday, I was listening to the song, Lifesong, by Casting Crowns. How our life is a song for Jesus … how do we live it out?

Bobby is a man of few words, but last night his life song ran out clear and true …

Father, thank you for giving me Bobby to share my life with, to love, to raise together the family we have started. He is such a rock and I am so very thankful that he is my husband.

I Love You Jesus.
In Your Name I Pray,
Amen

God Bless You!

Love,
Joyce

Submitted by: Joyce Schneider

The Choices You Make Today …
Will Affect Your Tomorrow!
http://www.alifedecision.org

“You are Holy”

A little “lift” from Michael W. Smith:

Shared by Kristine, professional mom, homeschooler, blogger, humorist, author and chief wrangler at the ‘ole testosterone ranch.

How Do Other People See You?

Sometimes I wonder how other people view me. Do you ever wonder that? People don’t always see us the way we see ourselves or even the way we think they see us! Our impressions of ourselves are not always the impressions that others have of us.

We may think we are really fun to be around – others may see us as attention-getters, or immature. We may think we are stable and reliable when others view us as strict. We may think we are passionate about our beliefs – when others see it as being opinionated. Do other people think we are sweet and cute – or merely childlike? Do people see our genuine hearts or can they only see the way we act and speak?

I think often of this. I can get insecure when I start thinking too deeply about how I come across to others or how they view me. Ultimately, I know that I need to be happy and content with myself and striving to please the Lord….but I also understand that you can’t discount your words or actions and how they might affect others in a positive or negative way – which not only reflects upon yourself, but on your reputation for the Lord.

I don’t want to work so hard to please other people that I lose the joy in being who I am. I don’t want to lose the core of my individuality and uniqueness in the desire to be liked and accepted. But I also don’t want to be ignorant of how I come across. I want to aspire to have the right balance of character and qualities so that people will feel close to me and see my genuine heart of love for them that comes from a heart that loves Jesus.

I hate that some people might think I’m full of myself or “cocky” simply because I’m laughing or having a good time when they are not. I dread someone thinking that I’m rude because I fail to smile or acknowledge them. But I can’t live my life letting someone else “own” my actions and attitudes. I know this – and I’m striving to free myself from those standards.

Despite it all – despite my new healthy self-standards —- I still wonder at times how other people see me. I can only hope that they see the good things in me and how hard I’m working to weed out the bad.

I can only hope that my heart, my motives, my soul being — shine through to overshadow any faults that might be apparent in me. And that I can get the “real me” across. If I’m successful in doing that ~ maybe they will like what they see and simply love me for who I am.

–
Dionna Sanchez
Join my prayer team -
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EmphasisOnPrayer/join

“You Have Our Attention, Lord”

You go, Max.

Shared by Kristine, author, homeschooler, professional mom, humorist, blogger and chief wrangle at the ‘ole testosterone ranch.