Day 5 of 21 Day Challenge

What an amazing devotional time I had this morning! I spent almost an hour today between reading the two chapters in my Bible, writing in my journal, and praying. I had a few different verses that stuck out at me in Proverbs and it was really cool how God tied them all together. Our God is an awesome God! I'm so thankful for His faithfulness in showing me at least one new thing every day during my devotional time in this 21 Day Challenge.

John 5:44 says, "How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?" It feels good when someone praises you or gives you a compliment, doesn't it? I sing on the worship team at our church and I love to hear people say we sang well or they really enjoyed the music. I like to hear people tell me I look nice. It makes me feel good or loved when I get those kinds of compliments, but I should not be craving the praise of other people. What I should be striving for is praise from God. Isn't it amazing to think that the almighty God could give you praise?! I long for the day to hear Him say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant!" Everything we do should be striving toward that goal.

As I mentioned earlier, I got a lot out of my reading of Proverbs 14 today! The very first verse was the first one to jump out at me. Verse 1 says, "The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish ones tears hers down." This made me start thinking again about my words. Are my words building others up? Are they loving, encouraging, and wise? Or are my words angry, hurtful, and demeaning? If my words are negative, they are tearing down the person I am speaking to. I don't want my words to tear down anyone, especially those in my family. I need to make sure that my words are always said in love and are helpful in building up those I love.

In verse 8a, I read "The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways" and in verse 15 it says, "A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps." When I think first before I speak or do something, I am being wise. I'm sure how you can see how this goes along with what I read in verse one. If I think before I speak, then I wouldn't allow myself to say words that tear someone down. If I think before I act, I wouldn't do things that could be hurtful to myself or to others. I need to choose to be wise (prudent) and think before I speak or act.

Verses 26 and 27 says "He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death." Did verse 27 sound familiar to you? It does if you read my blog yesterday! That verse is very similar to Proverbs 13:14, which I talked about yesterday. Again, these verses got me to thinking about how I say things and the way I react. I want my kids to feel that their home is a refuge. I want them to always feel loved, accepted, and safe. I want them to know that no matter what happens, their parents will always love them. I want them to know they can come to us and get Godly advice, not criticism. My kids are still young and at home, and it hurts me to know that I'm not very good at this yet. Thankfully, I'm working on it and I'm confident that God will continue to help me so that I can become the mom I want to be and should be.

Finally, verse 30 says "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones." What a wonderful way to wrap up the verses that really stuck out to me. It summarized them all beautifully! If I am making sure that everything I say builds others up and does not tears them down, I will be at peace knowing that I didn't say anything that was hurtful. If I am being wise and always think before I say or do something, I can be at peace knowing that my actions probably won't have negative consequences. If our home is a fortress and refuge, where my kids feel loved and safe and know that they can come to us with anything, then I can be at peace knowing that my kids have a place to come to for Godly advice whenever they need it. If my kids see Jesus in us and accept Him as their own personally Lord and Savior, I can be at peace knowing that they have been saved from the snares of death and won't spend eternity in Hell. If I don't envy what others have and am content with what I do have, I can be at peace knowing that God has given me all I need and He will continue to provide what we need when we need it. When I am at peace, I will be happier and healthier than if I am filled with envy or worry. Worrying causes all sorts of health problems, so why worry? God will bless us with everything we need if we just put our faith in Him and do our best to live the way He wants us to. When we live according to His laws, we will obtain His praise us and He will say to us, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant!" Yes, all these verses in Proverbs went together, and then it led me right back to that verse in John I focused on. I told you God is awesome!

Day 4 of 21 Day Challenge

Proverbs 13:14 says "The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death."  As many of you know, I use a cyber school to teach my kids at home. As a result, this verse made me think about the words I say when I'm trying to teach my kids something. Are they "a fountain of life"? Are they enticing, beautiful, encouraging, and loving? Do they draw my kids toward the light or do they push them toward the darkness? My words have the ability to save my kids from the snares of death! How powerful is that thought?! I definitely want to make sure I think about the words I say and how I say them so that I am showing my kids the right way to go and encouraging them to follow so they don't go down the wrong path.

In John 4, I noticed twice in this chapter that people believed in Jesus based solely on the word of someone else or what He said to them. John 4:39 says, "Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him (Jesus) because of the woman's testimony, 'He told me everything I ever did.'" The fact that Jesus, a Jewish man, would even speak to a Samaritan woman was amazing to many people, including His disciples! He proved to her how much He knew about her and then He told her who He really was: "I who speak to you am He." (verse 26). She didn't keep this to herself. She left immediately and went and told people about Jesus. Many went to see Him, but many others didn't even need to come see this man and talk to them. They simply believed in Him because of her testimony.

Then, I read about a royal official whose son was very ill and near death. When he heard Jesus was in Cana in Galilee, he went to Him and begged Him to come and heal his son. In verse 50, it says "Jesus replied, 'You may go. Your son will live.' The man took Jesus at His word and departed." This man could have kept begging Jesus to come, thinking He needed to touch his son; but he didn't. He believed in what Jesus had said and left. As he was on his way home, he received the news that his son was alive. When he asked and was told what time his son had gotten better, he realized it was the exact time that Jesus had told him "Your son will live." As a result, he and his entire household believed. Would this man's son have been healed had the man not taken Jesus at His word? There are many times Jesus healed someone because of the person's faith. This man displayed faith when he simply took Jesus at His word and left.

Are there times that you read a promise in the Bible and think it doesn't apply to you? Have you felt God speaking to you while reading your Bible or praying and you doubt whether you really heard Him? Are there things you don't bring to God because you don't believe that what you are hoping for will happen? We need to remember that if we just bring our needs to Jesus and believe what He says, He will do it! It WILL happen! Don't allow yourself to doubt and risk the chance of not receiving what He has promised!

Day 3 of 21 Day Challenge

Yesterday, I wondered why the disciples needed to see a miracle before they put their faith in Him and why Jesus had to die before they believed in the Scripture and what He said. I realized that in current times, people don't get to physically see Jesus so it is hard for them to put their faith in Him. However, Jesus does still perform miracles and I wondered how people could witness a miracle, yet not believe in Him. I found it really cool that today's reading answered those questions in a really neat way.

When I read John 3:19-20, I smiled as I realized that God was answering the questions that I had yesterday!   John 3:19-20 says, "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." It all became so clear to me after I read those verses! When people choose to live in sin, they don't want to be exposed to the light. The light is Jesus. The light is truth. Many people want to do whatever they feel like doing. They don't want to be told that something is wrong. When they are confronted with the truth, they will flee because they realize that what they are doing is wrong and they don't want to admit that and turn from their ways. They realize if they step into the light, others will see their sin; so they turn the other way rather than step into the light. What is truly sad is that they don't realize that Jesus would forgive all of their sins and they'd be made clean if they would just step into the light, admit their sins, and ask for forgiveness.There are people who are very verbal in telling others what they believe. I'm sure we've all heard people say "Jesus doesn't exist!", "He's a myth!", "It's all a fairy tale!" (referring to the Bible), and "There is no heaven or hell!" When these people witness a miracle, they are confronted with the fact that what they believe is not true. Rather than admit they were wrong, they find excuses for what happened because they don't want to admit that they've been believing in a lie. How sad that these people choose to continue to live in darkness rather than admit they were wrong and ask for forgiveness. God would freely forgive them and they could live a much better life in the light. We need to be willing to let our light shine so that others are drawn to that light. Even though some may turn away from it, others will grow tired of running away. They will see how much better life is for those living in the light, and they will crave that  kind of life and eventually run TO the light instead of away from it.

Proverbs 12:3 says "A wife of noble character is her husband's crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay to his bones." I'm not sure I'm as wonderful as a crown, but I sure hope I'm not as bad as decay! Oh how I desire to always be the kind of wife my husband can be proud of! I know there are things I need to work on,  but I am so thankful to know that my husband loves me in spite of my faults. Neither one of us is perfect, but we love each other. We also both love Jesus and desire to serve Him, and we are trying our best to raise our kids to know, love, and serve Him too.

Proverbs 12:26 says "A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray." When I was in school, I never had many friends. I was called names because my lips were big, and the constant name calling led me to believe I was ugly. My parents of course told me I was pretty, but I figured "They are my parents, so they are suppose to think I'm pretty!" LOL. The first person I remember, or maybe it was just the person who hearing him say it made the most impact, was also the man I happened to marry, my husband Bob. I can count on one hand the number of men I dated. I wanted so much to get married and be a wife and mother, but I was shy and didn't go out of my way to talk to people. I guess my low self-esteem had made me feel like no one would want to be my friend so I waited for people to come to me. I was a very loyal friend to those who got to know me, but I usually only had one really close friend at a time. Eventually, I slowly began to reach out to get to know others, but I think this verse helped me to see that maybe God was protecting me from being led astray. I had been raised in a Christian home and knew right from wrong, but it may have been easy for me to be led astray if I had strongly desired to be popular and wanted lots of friends. I was actually content as long as I had one close friend that I knew I could trust. I've seen Christians be led astray by hanging out with friends who were not Christians. They allowed themselves to do things with their friends that they knew was wrong, but they did it anyway because they didn't want to lose their friends. I'm not saying we shouldn't be friends with unbelievers, but we need to be careful that we do not become so absorbed into those friendships that we get pulled away from our relationship with Jesus. I think Christians need to make sure to have at least a few close Christian friends, preferably ones who won't be afraid to step in if they start to see a problem with your actions.

So today I learned a few things: People don't believe in Jesus, even when they see a miracle, because they are living in darkness and don't want to have their sins revealed. I need to be a light to all of my friends and acquaintances. I need to do what I can to help them be drawn to the light instead of fleeing from it. I should be cautious with my friendships so that I don't get led astray. I need to be a wife of noble character (kind, loving, trustworthy, honest, and yes...submissive) so I can build my husband up (so he can wear that crown proudly!) and not tear him down (like a decay to his bones would do). I hope this blog helped you too. Maybe you learned something new or maybe it challenged you to make a change. I love to hear that people are reading my blog and getting something out of it, so feel free to share your opinion on whatever I share. If you have experiences of your own to share, feel free to do that too. God bless you and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Day 2 of the 21 Day Challenge

Today's two devotional readings were John 2 and Proverbs 11. I was raised in a Christian home, have gone to church my entire life, and have been a Christian from a very young age. I'm looking forward to reading through the book of John because I've read and heard these stories and passages many times, but I want to read them this time with a new attitude and really look to see what God wants to teach me this time through. He has been faithful the first two days to point things out to me and I'm confident He will continue to show me new things as long as I continue to read with an open heart and mind.

I have a study Bible so I can just look at the bottom of the page and read what is written about the verses I read if I have a question about something or just want more information. I didn't read very far when a few verses caused me to start thinking. I decided to read what my study bible had to say about the verses, but I  couldn't shake MY interpretation of what those verses had to say and I figured it had to be God speaking to me. Verse 3-5 says "When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine". "Dear woman, why do you bring me into this?" Jesus replied. "My time has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do what he tells you."" What I got from these three verses was this: Mary went to Jesus because she knew who He was and she knew He could solve the problem that had arisen. Jesus knew her heart and told her that it wasn't time for Him to reveal Himself yet, but Mary still had hope that Jesus would do something so she told the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do. Even though Jesus said it wasn't His time, He obeyed His mom and performed a miracle by turning the water into wine. Besides Jesus and Mary, only the servants who He spoke to and His disciples knew what had happened. I have to believe that it was Mary's faith that caused Jesus to go ahead and perform this miracle.

I also was struck by two other verses. In verse 11, it says "This, the first of His miraculous signs, Jesus performed in at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed His glory, and His disciples put their faith in Him." Yesterday, I read that John the Baptist told people who Jesus was. Two of his own disciples immediately followed Jesus after John told them directly who Jesus was. WHY did it take them witnessing a miracle before they put their faith in Him? I found it interesting, and also sad, that Jesus' disciples had to witness a miracle before they put their faith in Him. Later, I read verse 22 and was surprised to notice what it says: "After He was raised from the dead, His disciples recalled what He had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. This is referring to what Jesus said in verse 19: "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."  Jesus DIED before the disciples believed the Scripture and what Jesus had spoken?! They had followed Him and listened to Him for 3 YEARS! They had witnessed MANY miracles! HOW could they have not believed the Scripture and His words until after He was no longer with them?! I sadly realized that there are many people like that still today. There are still people who need to first see a miracle happen before they put their faith in God. Others may read the Bible or hear it preached, but they don't believe what it says until they experience something that reveals to them that what is in the Bible is real and true. I didn't need to see a miracle happen before I put my faith in Jesus. I have been blessed to have witnessed a few miracles, and those experiences just strengthened and affirmed my faith in God. I guess these verses today helped me to realize that I can't judge people who don't believe in Jesus. If the disciples walked and talked with Jesus and didn't put their faith in Him until He performed a miracle, then how much more do people today need to be told about Jesus. They don't have the opportunity to personally see and hear Him, so we need to be sure to tell them about all He has done for us so they can start to see Jesus through us!

Proverbs 11: 12b caught my attention today. It says "a man of understanding holds his tongue." Since I have been honest and have already written in my blog about the struggle I have with controlling my tongue when I get upset, I guess it is easy to see why this verse stood out to me. I want to be the type of person who is kind and understanding and doesn't blurt things out in anger or without thinking. I want to get better at holding my tongue and thinking before I speak. I have good days where I find it easy to control my tongue, and other days when I really struggle. As I continue to pray for His guidance and turn it over to Him, I know it will become easier for me to have more good days and fewer bad days. I'm so glad God is patient with me, and with all of us!

Day 1 of the 21 Day Challenge

Pastor Jen, the assistant pastor at my church, encouraged the congregation to take part in the 21 day challenge. This challenge is to read a chapter of John each day, as well as a chapter in Proverbs that corresponds to that day's date (There are 31 chapters in Proverbs, one for each day of most months. Today is Dec. 10th, so I read Proverbs 10). Before reading, we were told to pray that God would open our minds so we could see what He wanted to show or teach us. Then we read the passages and wrote down what we learned in a journal. After that, we are to list something we are thankful for as well as a prayer request. I decided to take up the challenge even though I normally read a daily devotional in "Our Daily Bread". I do journal as well, but not every day. 

John 1 is mostly about John the Baptist. As I read the chapter, I realized how amazing it must have been for him to KNOW that he was called by God to point other to Jesus, who hadn't started His ministry yet. The verses that stuck out to me the most were verses 32-34 which say "Then John told them, “I saw the Holy Spirit come down from heaven like a dove. The Spirit remained on Jesus. I would not have known him. But the One who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘You will see the Spirit come down and remain on someone. He is the One who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’  I have seen it happen. I give witness that this is the Son of God.” What an awesome thing for John to experience! God TOLD John that He would show Him who His Son was! When John saw the dove, he KNEW that Jesus was the Son of God! There was not a doubt in his mind and he was able to boldly point others to Jesus. How thrilling it must have been to see two of his own disciples decide to immediately follow Jesus when John pointed to Jesus and told them "Look! The Lamb of God!" (verses 35-37). 

As I read Proverbs 10, I couldn't help but think of my teenage daughter. We've been struggling a lot with her attitude. I'm sure anyone who has or has had a teenager knows, this is a common problem/complaint of parents who have a teenager! My daughter seems to think she needs to argue about every little thing. She doesn't like to be told that she did something wrong or she certainly doesn't like to be told no. She wants things HER way...ALL the time. As I read Proverbs, the first part of verse 11 jumped out at me. It says "the mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life". I thought of what comes out of MY mouth when I'm struggling to get my daughter to listen to me instead of arguing with me. Are my words a fountain of life? Sadly, I had to answer no. My temper is quick to show itself as I struggle to stop my daughter from arguing with me, and my words become quite harsh...and loud. I think of a fountain as something with quiet beauty. Obviously, I haven't been a good example to my kids, so I asked for forgiveness and asked God to help me be the light in this house. I want all who are within these walls to see Jesus and be drawn to Him. 

Day 1 of the 21 Day Challenge is complete, and I have already learned a lot. I'm looking forward to the rest of this challenge and all that God is going to teach me. I know once this challenge is over, I will continue to read and journal. I don't know whether I'll continue to do the daily devotionals in "Our Daily Bread" or choose to work through a different book of the Bible. I do know I'm willing to do whatever God tells me to do and I will follow His leading.

Isaiah 43:1

As I read the devotional in "Our Daily Bread" this morning, I decided to go back and reread the verse that the devotional focused on. At first, I underlined just certain parts; but I felt that omitting certain parts of a verse would be wrong. I then thought "put parentheses around those parts you want to omit", so I did. This is what Isaiah 43:1 says, with parentheses added by me:


(But now), this is what the Lord says—
    he who created you, (Jacob),
    he who formed you, (Israel): 
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 


As you may be able to figure out, God was speaking to me. It was God who told me to put those parentheses in this verse. I know that because as soon as I started to put them in, I heard "now put your name in those parentheses". WOW! What an amazing, personalized verse this now became!


The Lord was reminding me that He created me, and He formed me. I don't need to fear because He has redeemed me and called me by name. He knows MY name! The best part of the verse: I am His! 


Somehow I just knew I needed to share this. Maybe someone reading this just needed to be reminded that God knows you. He created you. He loves you. You don't need to be afraid because you belong to Him. Maybe someone reading this doesn't know God personally, but you can be sure that He knows you! I pray you will come to know Him personally too one day because He loves you very much and He longs to have a relationship with you too. 

God Chose My New Year's Resolution

This morning, I opened up my Bible to read the devotional passage and knew as soon as I read the first two verses that God was speaking to me. I don't always make New Year's Resolutions, but I did this year because God let me know what I need to work on this year. It was truly exciting for me to realize that God was meeting me right where I was at and letting me know He would be with me every step of the way this year.


Luke 6: 27-28 says “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." Those of you who know me probably think these verses struck me because of all we've been through with our neighbors, but you would be wrong. These verses struck me because my daughter is officially going to be a teenager in one week. That's right, my daughter Sarah is turning 13 years old. Where has the time gone?! 


Now, I know at least one person is probably thinking "You consider your daughter your enemy?!" No, I don't; but I think anyone who has been through the teen years with a child will understand where I'm headed with this. My daughter has always been strong willed. She has always given me an attitude when I tell her do something. She wants things HER WAY and does NOT like to be told what to do. There are days I wonder "What did I ever do to make my daughter hate me so much?!" Yet if I allow that question to verbally emerge from my lips, she will be the first one to say "I don't hate you mom!" It sure feels that way though when she is being defiant, yelling at me, arguing with me, stomping up the stairs, and/or slamming her bedroom door. Yup, my daughter is becoming a teenager and things are bound to get even worse. So, I have no doubt God gave me these verses to tell me what I've been doing wrong and show me what I need to do so that my relationship with my daughter can be repaired and strengthened.  


I am going to be brutally honest again in this blog because I want everyone to know that I am not perfect. I have a feeling I am not alone in how I feel and have reacted to things in the past. I have good intentions and want my children to grow up to know, love, and serve Jesus. I want them to be honest and trustworthy individuals. I want them to know that their actions have consequences and that they need to accept those consequences if they choose to do something wrong instead of blaming someone or something else. I am the first to admit though that even though I have the best of intentions, I do not always handle things correctly and I don't always react in a Christlike manner. I have asked for forgiveness from God and from my kids numerous times. It's a good thing that God is so quick to forgive and hasn't given up on me. He knows my intentions are good and He wants to help me become the person I want to be, which is also the person He wants me to be. He understands I am not perfect and gently reminds me of things that I need to work on. Oh to be more like Him!


Getting back to those two verses, let's break them down. 


1."Love your enemies".  Since God brought my daughter to mind as I read these verses, I can say that I do love my daughter very much; but I also know that I don't always show it to her by my actions when she is acting like an enemy. I need to work on showing love more often. When she starts screaming at me, I don't need to scream at her. I can calmly tell her to stop speaking disrespectfully to me and to show her by example how to speak to someone respectfully. If I don't speak respectfully to her when I'm upset, how will she learn to speak respectfully when she's upset?


2. "Do good to those who hate you." When my daughter is angry with me, do I need to be angry back? Do I need to give her the silent treatment and show how mad or disappointed I am with her for the rest of the day? NO! I need to start finding a way to do nice things for her regardless of how mean she is being. I could make a meal I know she will like. We could play a game together. I know I can find something nice to do with her or for her. Eventually, she will realize how much I love her in spite of how she has acted and hopefully she will learn to change her attitude so that she can also show me how much she loves me.


3. "Bless those who curse you." No one in my family uses profanity, but "cursing" can also mean speaking at someone in a mean way, calling them names, putting them down, or just talking in a disrespectful tone. Sadly, I need to admit that I am guilty of doing all of these things when I am upset with my kids. What I need to work on this year is using more encouragement with my kids, especially when I'm upset. I need to find something to say that builds them up instead of tearing them down. I can encourage them instead of discouraging them. I need to speak kindly and respectfully to them so they learn how to do the same.


4. "Pray for those who mistreat you." This is the most important thing I need to remember to do. In the past, I have prayed.... for Sarah to change her attitude, to quit lying, to quit making excuses for her bad behavior, to stop fighting all the time, etc. What I should have been doing and what I will work on this year is for me to be praying for ME to change MY attitude and that I can find ways to show love, to encourage, and build up my kids when I'm upset so that they can learn by my example how to be a better person.


So there you have it. I'm not perfect, but I know what I am going to be working on this year so that I can get closer to becoming the person God wants me to be and who I want to be. God knew my heart. He knew I was frustrated that my relationship with my daughter was not what I wanted it to be. He knew I was frustrated with the fact that I kept failing in my attitude. I knew that I shouldn't start yelling and stuff when Sarah was giving me an attitude; yet, I would fail over and over again and get sucked into the yell and scream and say nasty stuff routine. UGH! There were times I could control it, but I failed more times than I succeeded. Thankfully, God didn't give up on me.  He hasn't given up on you either. He knows the areas where you struggle and He is always willing to help you. I know there may be times I fail this year, but I know what I need to be doing and I am confident I will have more successes this year than failures. With God's help, I can do this!! And so can you!