Believing, Trusting and Praying

Believe
Ephesians 6:18 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Mark 11: 22-25 - Message
22-25Jesus was matter-of-fact: "Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you. This mountain, for instance: Just say, 'Go jump in the lake'—no shuffling or shilly-shallying—and it's as good as done. That's why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you'll get God's everything. And when you assume the posture of prayer, remember that it's not all asking. If you have anything against someone, forgive—only then will your heavenly Father be inclined to also wipe your slate clean of sins."
NIV
22"Have[a] faith in God," Jesus answered. 23"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."[b
Psalm 13:5
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation
Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
Deuteronomy 32:4
He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.
Philippians 4: 4-9
4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Of all the Bible studies I have done the best part about the study is always learning more about God's word. These are a few verses that I think about on a regular basis and I thought it might be helpful to look at both the NIV and the Message. Also if you wanting to find and verse Bible Gateway is a great online resource. You can do keyword search and much more. Hope you have a great day.

Trusting God

Why are you singing today?
What is God doing in your life that gives you a reason to sing?

Ps 118:24

Ps118:24
This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
What a beautiful Michigan Day!!
When I look outside today it makes me so thankful for the seasons. I don't think I would be so thankful for sunshine if I had it everyday of the year. For those of us who live in Michigan through winter we are so thankful for day's like today.
The sky is so blue and the breeze is perfect,and I hope you find a little time today to play and sit in the beauty of the Lord.

Focus your Eyes up

Day 2
This is such a great song and a great reminder to give it all to God.
I hope you take a minute to listen and journal what God is speaking to your heart today.
Are you in the same shoes as Matthew West, and want more than just going through the motions?
What do you feel like when you are lax and just go through the motions?
I think for most of us it’s a day to day decision.
We live in a world that wants our attention and to keep our eyes focused up and not on the world around we need time in God’s word.
Who in your life comes to mind when you look at not going through the motions. Who is completely surrendered to God’s plan.
I know a few people in my life that live completely surrendered to God’s plan but I thought we should look at someone out of the Bible for our example.
Roman 4: 18-21
Against all hope Abraham in hope believed and became the Father of many nations, just as it had been said to him,” So shall your offspring be,” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promised of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.
These great verses have a lot of significance in my life right now. I have been drawn to these verses thought the Holy Spirit for the last few months. They have also come up in Bible studies and church sermons. When verses come up again and again in my life I know that it is not by accident but by the work of the Holy Spirit. I also know that there is so much in these verses that I can learn from and look at in my day to day life. Unwavering belief in God is not the norm in our culture. So this gives me a great example of that unwavering belief and how God comes through on his promises.
Who else in the Bible comes to mind when you think about unwavering faith?
Take a minute to find a verse that supports your answer.
I hope I am not stealing your answer but I chose Mary.
Luke 1:37-38
She was the Lord servant and willing to do as he asked. I am sure that she had many questions and yet she choose to answer the angle with -nothing is impossible with God. I am not sure that I would have had the same reaction.
How do you react when God is calling you to do something that is out of your comfort zone?

Lets pray- Lord as I look at these verses I see that both Mary and Abraham loved you and were willing to do what you asked them to do. Help me to have that unwavering belief in you.

Day 3
Roman 4: 18-21
Against all hope ,Abraham in hope believed and became the Father of many nations, just as it had been said to him,” So shall your offspring be,” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promises of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.
As you read these verses today and listen to our song for the week what is on your heart and mind. Are you having a great day and finding that God is really speaking to you through this song?
Or are you just trying to make it through the day. I know that we are all on a different walk with God, and yet in the tough stuff in life we do have God right by our side.
Romans 4:19 says that his body was as good as dead and yet this did not weaken his faith
What in your life is as good as dead?
* restored marriage
* selling your house
* complete healing
* no debt
* pure thoughts
*
*
I had a dinner date with a girl friend of mine the other day and again I saw Gods fingerprints all over our time together. Shawn and I had been to a Weekend to Remember just a month ago and we were truly blessed. One of the main focuses was creating oneness. The evil one wants us to go about life by ourselves and God has a much different plan. He is all about relationship with each other and oneness with our spouse. As my girlfriend and I talked I kept thinking about that weekend and what I had learned. She and her husband are in two different worlds right now. She is a Christian and yet right now her hope meter is running low. I have so been there. I know that my God is a big God but in life’s difficult situations it’s hard not to get down and feel a little hopeless.
I left that dinner date a little sad and a little drained. I say that because we just talked about what was going on and she is LIVING it. When you are in the tough stuff it is draining, so don’t think you are alone in that. Also know that when the tough stuff involves your marriage the evil one ds working over time, and loving that you are at odds with each other. The only way to make it through life’s bumps is to keep your eyes focused on Jesus. As much as I want to rush in and help this friend I am not the answer. Jesus is for our marriage and he wants us to turn to him in tough times and it is the only way that I found true peace.
Abraham's body was as good as dead and yet he chose not to look at the facts but he looked up. He took his eyes from the situation and focused them on the promises of God. God is faithful and will stand on what he promises to us and what is in his Word. I see that God likes to use situations that show others his glory not our own. With the age of Abraham and Sarah it is obvious that God would have to perform a miracle. The great news is the word says that Jesus is the same yesterday today and forever so he is still using us to show his glory. (Heb 13:8)
Are you willing to be his vessel?

Consuming Passion

Day 4
Does God really call us to have all consuming passion?
Lets check out the following verses in the Message
Mark 12:29
Jesus said, "The first in importance is, 'Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.' And here is the second: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' There is no other commandment that ranks with these."
Mark 12:32
The religion scholar said, "A wonderful answer, Teacher! So lucid and accurate—that God is one and there is no other. And loving him with all passion and intelligence and energy, and loving others as well as you love yourself. Why, that's better than all offerings and sacrifices put together!
Luke 10:27
He said, "That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself."

What are you truly passionate about excluding your church and church family?
* Sports
* exercising
* scrap booking
* gardening
Whatever you are passionate about usually takes up time in your day. Maybe time in the physical sense or time by consuming your thoughts.

What is your passion for Gods kingdom?
* working with the youth
* your small group
* mentoring women
We have so many passions and desires that add to God's kingdom and those talents and passions were given to us by him.
Yet we are told that our first love our first passion is to be for God himself.
If we truly love someone , we know them and we trust them and we have some history with them. How has your love for God grown in the last few years?
If we are loving the Lord with all that we have who do you think in your life will take notice?
* kids
* husband
* friends
*
I do want that all consuming passion in my life and I also want it to be noticeable , mainly to my children.
How can we show our children in a tangible way that we do love the Lord with all of our heart soul and mind?

I have a fun little book in my kitchen
The Power of a Positive Mom by Karol Ladd
It has very cute and practical ways for us to not only be positive
but to show our kids our love for the Lord.
Here are a few examples :
* Make a God box - Let the kids decorate a shoe box and every time they are worried about something they write that concern on a card and put it in the box as a reminder that they are casting their cares on God
* Teach your kids the Ten Commandments
* Start a Thanksgiving Journal - Using a blank notebook begin recording prayers of thanks to God on a regular basis. And take time to look back and remember what God has done in your family's life.
For my children to see my consuming passion I can do no greater thing than to be in Gods word and show his love to them. I hope that we all show one person today that God loves them.

Encouragement

As I am coming off a weekend with my girls I have so any thoughts running through my head. I had this weekend alone with them because, Daddy was at a men’s conference. Shawn and I knew he would have a blast, but I had no idea how much fun I would have. Even though my girls are only 5 and 3 they are growing up. I can have little conversation with them and we can just be girls. We did things like eat pizza, hang out with Nana, dance to music, went to a dance recital we just had fun!! As much fun as I had with my girls I was ready for Shawn to be home last night. As I sat on the couch watching a movie and laughing out loud something someone was missing.
While I was watching the movie I thought I should write him a little note and just remind him how much he is loved. In the day to day grind we don’t tell each other enough how much we appreciate each other. This weekend was fun, but on a day to day basis I would never choose to do life without him.
Shawn is on my mind but who is in your life that you really appreciate that you could take a minute this week to write a note to. Who blesses you on a daily or weekly basis that deserves more than a verbal thank you. Maybe it’s another Mom who is helping you in life right now. Or maybe your like me and you love your hubby and know that he is a great Husband and Father and yet writing it down is last on the to do list.
We all need a little encouragement once in awhile. I will definitely be taking time today to write my note of encouragement.

Give To God List

What is on your To Do list for today?
I don’t make up a to do list everyday but on the days I am the most productive I find that I am working hard to cross things off my list.
* fold laundry
*clean up kitchen
* unload and load dishes
* look at and make out bills
The list could go on and on. Many things also happen through the day that are not on the list ,so it is helpful to look back at the list to refocus. You could be unloading the dishwasher and then get called to help set up the train track or help with homework. Then the dryer goes off, and you are off to fold the clothes so they don’t wrinkle. Then the phone rings and it is downstairs. Then you hear someone crying upstairs "-she hit me…"This is why it is helpful to have that to do list because after all that I might be thinking."Now what was I doing."As I have been trying to be more productive I have been making out that to do list almost every day, and yet I am getting frustrated that I am not getting the list done. I keep getting interrupted. Fancy that! Then the light bulb went off. Well, really the Holy Spirit impressed on me, "Are you giving that to do list to me first."So now I go at the to list a little differently.
I call my to do list my GTG list -Give To God
GTG List
Matthew 6:33Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well
( I pick out a different verse every day to add the the top of my list)
* fold laundry
* unload dishwasher
* look at and pay bills
* Go to store
Also as I was writing my list for Friday I thought what would God want on my list for the day?
* Take time to write Shawn a note thanking him for all he does
* Spend quality time with the girls - play a game or paint

I learned another quick lesson as I wrote it down this way. My list is a lot different than God’s, His is all about relationship. In mine I am doing things that need to be done but I am not growing closer to someone by unloading the dishwasher. I think the key for me when I looked at this was balance, and to also give our selves a break sometimes.
Especially Sunday - Again Happy Mothers Day Put your feet up you deserve it!!