Most Memorized Verse...

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" John 3:16

Did you memorize this verse when you were a child? I did. It was the one verse that I would recite in many Sunday School and Vacation Bible School classes.
When I was young I didn't really take the time to listen to each word and understand exactly what it meant. Now that I am older I can look at this verse and see why it was the most important verse for me to learn as a child.

"For God so loved the world that he gave...": God loves us because we are his creation, his children. He loved us so much that he gave us his Son Jesus who he knew would be a sacrifice for our sins. God gave his Son freely so that we can have relationship with him.

"that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.": This part is God's promise of salvation to believers that we will have eternal life with Him in heaven. There is no other promise so great, and all we have to do is believe.

I am glad that I can look at this verse now and understand the love and power of God that is in it. This verse provides peace and affirmation to believers and Jesus himself spoke these words.

Have a super Sunday!

Listen Up Husbands!

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church" Ephesians 5:25

I love this verse. Don't you? It is so great to hear Paul telling husbands that they are supposed to love their wives just like Jesus loved the church. And let me tell you, Jesus loved the church! The rest of that verse goes on to say, "...and gave himself up for her."

Whoa! That is love. Jesus gave himself as a sacrifice for us because he loved us. I think it is important to remember that this verse is not speaking of the "church" as a building or any church in particular. The "church" that is being referred to in this verse is speaking of the collective body of Christians that were, are, and are to come. This love is for people who have submitted themselves to Jesus Christ, not an institution.

OK, back to the husbands...this is a pretty tall order to live up to. I know that husbands don't always love their wives as Jesus loved the church, but this should be the goal. (And wives don't think we are getting off without a hitch because there is that whole submission thing in the Bible that I know we don't do regularly either.)

Can I get an Amen????

Oh, and isn't that the face of a man who loves his wife like the church!!!! Aww.

Don't Hurry

"Be still and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10

I really like this verse, but I have a hard time doing it. My mind and body seem to race all day long. Getting still seems like prohibiting progress. I have so much to do and a narrow time frame to do all of it within. However, no matter how many excuses I can think of, I still need to be still and listen for God's voice. I can't even imagine how many times I have drowned out that still small voice because I was too busy to slow down and listen to God during prayer.
I heard this week that "Hurry is the death of prayer." Isn't that the truth. When we pray before our meals sometimes we pray so fast that I will start eating and wonder, "Did we pray?" My hunger tends to diminish the prayer. This is just one example of how praying while you are in a hurry is not going to be effective. I have been hearing so much lately about having quiet time alone with God and giving Him my full and undivided attention. My thoughts on this are that I am going to find time to do whatever I want to do. I want to eat, sleep and read and I somehow manage time to do those things for myself. Spending time with God should top that list any day!

Finally Friday. Have Fun!

How To Use Your Apron!

"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." Luke 5:16

Bart and I were at church tonight and our preacher was speaking on How To Hear From God. One major point of focus tonight was on how we need to get by ourselves and allow God to speak with us without any distractions. Well, I must admit that when I hear "no distractions", I automatically think about the fact that I have three kids under the age of 2. Alone time is not something that I get very much of. However, no sooner did I have that thought that our preacher mentioned Susanna Wesley.
Susanna Wesley was the mother of John Wesley (who ultimately founded the Methodist Church). Susanna was a mother during the late 1600s and early 1700s. She raised 18 children! Two of her kids, John and Charles, are still known for their Christian theological and musical efforts today. Well, Susanna knew that she needed to spend time alone with God every day just like Jesus did. Her faith was strong and she became creative in order to get her time alone with God. Every afternoon she would sit down in a chair in her home and throw her apron over her head. This signaled to all of her children that she was having some time alone with God and they best not disturb her as long as she was sitting under her apron!
I have to applaud Susanna on her creativity and efforts. Now, I don't wear an apron but I am thinking that maybe I should.

Get alone with God and listen to Him. It is something I am going to have to work on too!

Wonderful Witnesses!

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8

In this verse Jesus is speaking to his disciples right before he is taken up into heaven. Jesus is telling his disciples and all of us to be his witnesses here on earth so that others may come to know Him and experience His forgiveness and salvation.
Yesterday I was telling you about a book I have been reading. The book was set in Massachusetts in the early 1800s. The man who did not have salvation and did not understand prayer was a very good man in the community and was doing good works for other people. One of his good works was serving as a safe house for runaway slaves along the Underground Railroad. The woman helping him with the female runaways had been trying to witness to him. He wasn't convinced until two runaway slaves were in his home facing the possibility of recapture that he realized they had so much joy despite their horrific circumstances. These former slaves witnessed about Jesus' love and salvation to him and He invited Jesus into his life.
He realized that no matter how many good works he did his life was not fulfilled until he asked Jesus into his heart. Needless to say, he and the woman got married and continued helping runaway slaves find their way into Canada.

Great book, even better message!

Pray, Even Though God Can Read Your Mind

"For your Father knows what you need before you ask him." Matthew 6:8

When Jesus spoke these words he was talking about prayer. Prayer is essential to our everyday spiritual growth. I think that we all understand that God is all-knowing and all-seeing. He knows our thoughts, motives and actions without us having to tell him about them. However, even though God knows what we are going to pray about before we even begin to pray, we still need to pray! There have been times before when this seemed confusing to me. Now I know the importance of spending time with God in prayer.
Prayer allows you to have a conversation with God where he can impress things upon your heart. This creates a two-way conversation that is going to be much more beneficial than just having God read your mind.
I am reading a book right now called These Tangled Threads by Judith Miller and Tracie Peterson. In the book there is a girl who is trying to explain the importance of prayer to an unbelieving man who thinks that her prayers are just telling God things He already knew. She told the man that her prayers allow her to tell God directly that she needs His help and wants Him to speak to her through the Holy Spirit. This creates a situation where she is relying on God to see her through her trouble because she has already spoken to Him about the problem and sought His intervention. (I haven't finished the book, so I will let you know how things turn out with the guy later!)

Today is Tuesday! Take time for yourself and pray!

Saving Power

"Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand." Psalm 20:6

I was reading this 20th chapter of Psalms today and this verse stuck out to me. The 20th Psalm discusses how God hears our prayers and answers us. Now, God does not always answer in the way or the time that we would like for him to, but he answers nonetheless. God's answers to our prayers are always going to be for our good. I know that God promises to do what is best for us.
This verse also demonstrates God's power in taking care of us as we talk to him and share our hearts with him. God already knows everything about you, but he still wants us to go to him in prayer for anything and everything we are facing in our lives.
I think that my favorite part of this verse is, "the Lord saves his anointed"! Doesn't it make you feel great and give you such an extraordinary level of peace to know that you are one of HIS anointed!

It's Monday make it marvelous!

Beauty of the Heart

"As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more" Psalm 103:15-16

This verse speaks of the aging process. I think that I am now beginning to see the aging process in my own life. I guess that my kids are the cause for that, not to mention Bart. Ha!
The world teaches us that beauty is in how we look, but God tells us that beauty is truly in the heart. When we have Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior our heart has undergone some redecorating. The world will begin to see the beauty of God's love come from your own heart (and you will too)!
I guess that the thing about physical looks is that they are going to dry up, wrinkle and sag like that flower in the field. But the beauty of God's love that is in our hearts is eternal and will live forever with Jesus in heaven.

Have a relaxing Sunday. Take a nap!

The Gabby Gossip

"A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret." Proverbs 11:13

Gossiping has always seemed to be one of those tricky areas in my life. I do not want to be a gossip. However, there are times when I justify my gossiping by telling myself that I am just passing along some interesting news that would be of interest to the person I am telling it to. Well, I can call it whatever I like and try to make myself feel justified in doing it, but in the end I am gossiping.
One way that I have been able to identify gossip in my own life is to examine how I feel after I have shared the big juicy news. The Holy Spirit is quick to convict me and then I am like, "Man! Why did I do that!" Repentance is always what is needed next, but then I have to try to keep the gossiping out of my life.
I don't want to recognize my gossiping after it has happened. I need to just keep my mouth shut and keep it from ever happening. (And since you all know me, you will probably be watching out for my gossiping now, so help keep me accountable!)

Have a great weekend with your family!

"A friend loves at all times" Proverbs 17:17

My friends and I got together and had dinner last night. It is not often where we are all in the same town for us to get together like that. However, we try our best to make it happen somehow so we can talk about how old we are getting, what our kids are doing, who is going to have the next baby (not me!) and what our current weights are. Those are the topics that top our list and more than anything we love to look at each other all sitting in the same room like we used to do every day in high school. Our lives have changed so much because we spent half of our time last night tending to crying babies and complaining about the husbands who had escaped upstairs to avoid the madness of five children under the age of two.
No matter how crazy the evening was, one thing was evident through our visit: we love each other. The scripture that I selected for today emphasizes that true friendship is not fickle because it loves at all times. Being human and having a sinful nature creates situations where you will let your friends down and they will let you down as well. However, our joy comes from knowing that we have a friend in Jesus who will never let us down.
I am thankful for my friends that I have here on earth and for the role they serve as my sister in Christ. But let me tell you, Jesus needs to be every one's B.F.F.!

Yeah! It's Friday!

Get Your Rest

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

This verse talks about all kinds of rest. Sometimes we need physical rest. Other times we may need spiritual or emotional rest. It doesn't really matter what kind of rest you need, all Jesus wants you to do is turn to him when you are needing peace and rest. There is no other rest like the kind that Christ gives. The rest that is found in Jesus will restore you and give you the strength that God knows you need. His rest is perfect.

Have a terrific Thursday and get some rest!

Teach Your Kids the Important Things

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." Deuteronomy 6:5-7

God has given us a great responsibility of teaching our children about God's love and his plan for each of our lives. This can be intimidating. I know that it has been for me at times with young children and wanting to make sure that I am teaching them of God's word and love in a way that they can understand.

This verse jumped out at me because I think that parents often want to leave all the teaching responsibilities with their child's Sunday School teacher! However, God has instructed us to get involved on the teaching ourselves and he explains that we are supposed to be teaching our children about God's love during our every waking moment. Now, I will be the first to admit that my every waking moment does not exude God's love! (Thank the Lord we have Jesus to forgive us for those moments!) I also know that this doesn't mean that we constantly hammer our kids with doctrine either. God is telling us that in addition to the words that we use teach our children with, we also need to use our actions to teach them of his love.

My thoughts on this is that when we start concentrating on how we are teaching our children we will also begin to silently teach those around us as well.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Tired of Being an Old Martha?

"As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me! 'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.'"

Martha is oftentimes the sister that I can most relate to. (And that is not something to be proud of!) Martha was busy. Just picture Martha for a minute: She is running around the kitchen trying to prepare a meal, running around the house trying to be a good hostess to Jesus and the disciples, and resenting Mary the whole time! Mary, on the other hand, is parked right in front of Jesus soaking up every word that he said to the group that was gathered there. Martha was trying to serve Jesus with her busy works when all Jesus wanted was for her to serve him with her heart like Mary was doing.

These verses are great to remember when you get so busy that you lose the focus of Christ in your life. Nobody wants to be like Martha, but we have to remind ourselves that from time to time.

Have a happy Tuesday!

In the Morning

"In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." Psalm 5:3

I have always heard about the importance of beginning my day with prayer, but I often find that my thoughts instantly go to my "to do" list for the day. As soon as my feet hit the floor I am thinking about getting the kids fed, diapers changed and what the day holds for us. However, there could not be a more wrong way for me to start my day. I had to make a choice to remind myself to begin my day by talking to God as soon as I hear the first crying baby that wakes me up in the morning!

In this verse from the Psalms we read that we need to be in conversation with the Lord as we start our day. This is a choice because you will not do it instantly. You have to decide to do this and make it a routine. (Trust me! I am sometimes five steps out of bed and complaining about my day already when I remember that I am supposed to be talking to God!)

Bottom line is there is just no way to go wrong starting off first thing thanking God and asking him to guide you through the day. Try it and then listen for God's voice!

Starting Your Day the Best Way!

Hello Ladies,
God has impressed it upon my heart that I start a blog that is designed to provide women with daily devotionals that are quick and provide a time for thinking about the Lord the First Thing during the day.
We all know what it is like in the morning to run to our computer, laptop, blackberry or iphone and check out all the news headlines that range from politics to entertainment. I am the worst for checking my favorite couponing blog for updates on deals before I even get my day started.
God wants to give us encouragement and His word to start our day so that we are living for Him throughout the entire day.
My challenge to you is to add the link for this blog to your favorites list on your computer and make this a daily routine that will become as much a part of your morning as putting on your eyeliner!
And please post your feelings and thoughts to each day's post so that we can share our ideas with each other so that this can become a source of encouragement and spiritual support for each woman involved.
Love in Christ,
Janice :)