Delight Yourself in the Lord (and Do Whatever You Want!)

The following is from John MacArthur - speaking on Psalm 37:4. I love what he has to say!! And its a good way to start off the New Year... I am keeping my New Year resolutions very very simple this year, but my top one is to grow more in the Lord - to DELIGHT myself in Him.

I hope this blesses you like it has to me...

God’s will is that you be saved, spirit-filled, sanctified, submissive, suffering, and saying thanks all the time. That’s God’s will.

You say, “Ah, come on. You’re cheating me. I thought I was gonna get an answer about the girl I’m supposed to marry.” Oh, I’m gonna give you that. I’m gonna tell you exactly what to do. You say, “I want a specific answer.” Well that’s good. There’s one final principle and you’re gonna like it. You’re gonna like it.

If you’re saved, spirit-filled, sanctified, submissive, suffering and thankful – you ready for this? Do whatever you want. Do whatever you want. Marry whoever you want. Go wherever you want. Work wherever you want. Choose whatever you want. You say, “Whoa. Are you sure?” Absolutely. Because if this is true of your life, guess who’s controlling your wants. Do whatever you want. People say to me, “Why did you come to Grace Church?” I wanted to come. There wasn’t nothing mystical. I didn’t hear voices in heaven. Did I know all this would happen? No, I just came here because I wanted to come. I said, “That’s a good place. They want me. Nobody else wants me. I want to go.” It wasn’t like I had a lot of options. Still don’t. People say, “How did you decide to decide to marry Patricia?” That was easy. I wanted her and no one else. And I said, “God, that’s the one I want, right there. And I believe you’re controlling my wants.” You say, “I need a verse for that. That’s way out there.” I’ll give you a verse. I know, you’re used to getting a verse.

Here’s the verse. Psalm 37:4, you ready for this? “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” That doesn’t mean he’ll fulfill yours, it means he’ll plant his. You delight in the Lord, saved, spirit-filled, submissive, all of those things. You delight in the Lord and he will plant his desires in your heart.

Why am I in the ministry? Because I wanted to be. Why am I at Grace Church? Because I wanted to be. Why do I go here and do that? Because I want to. And I just want to make sure that the wants that are coming out of my heart are the reflection of the desires that God would have for my life. And so if I follow what I know to be God’s will, then what I don’t know to be God’s will is simply a matter of following desires that God has planted in my heart because I’m delighting in him.

“I, being in the way,” Genesis 24:27, “The Lord led me.” Just get in this path and the Lord will lead. Another way to say it is verse 5 of Psalm 34. “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in him and he’ll do it. He’ll fulfill it. He’ll actually fulfill his will if you just delight in him and commit to him.

This here is the link of the video of the message above: http://www.gty.org/Blog/B101221

Copyright 2007, Grace to You. All rights reserved. Used by permission

How Technology is Affecting the Parenting of Our Daughters

January 3, 2014

As I sit back and assess my life – I see a couple of issues that have been created by technology for moms:

1. The iPad, iPod, and iPhone can distract us away from the Great I AM. I feel this struggle between spending time in God’s word and blog hopping! We live in such an efficient culture that we’ve even made our quiet times efficient. But God’s word needs to be lingered over and meditated upon – it takes time – lots of time to soak it in.

2. While God speaks to me on-line through Godly men and women – our generation suffers from information overload. Can we really apply all we are learning from all the voices we listen to on-line? Sometimes we need to stop reading (or writing in my case) and focus on living it all out.

3. Media is designed to pull us in – to make us feel some sort of emotion – “buy me, try me, watch me“. It persuades us. It molds us. It changes our thinking. Whose voices are we listening to? Are we comparing our lives to someone elses on Facebook or twitter and growing discontent? Stop reading it. Are we flirting with a man other than our husband? Delete or block that person immediately.

4. We can become distant and distracted from the ones we love most. Our husbands can end up playing second fiddle to our media if we are not careful. They can’t compete with all the excitement that social media brings us. But the reality is – they should not have to compete. God, Our husband, our children, other things - we must keep our priorities in this order.

Let’s look at the influence media is having on our daughters:

1. Cell phones – there is more information packed in the pocket or purse of our daughters on a cell phone than 20 encyclopedias. Are we monitoring this? Are they prone to gossip – monitor their facebook and texting from their cell phone.

2. Social media - Our daughters will want to be on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and visit blogs. We must be vigilant to know who their friends are, whose voices do they listen to on Youtube? What blogs are they reading? What are they filling their minds with?

3. Television is still a major player in the shaping of our daughters. We must be teaching them how to filter their viewing according to God’s principles.

4. iTunes and iPods - music has played a large role in the shaping of our youth. At the click of the button they can download any song they’d like onto their ipods. We must be listening to what is pumping into their ears. Help them learn how to filter music according to God’s principles.

As we guide our children through this maze of technology, we must be wise ourselves. Technology is not evil – but some uses of it are.

We cannot monitor our children perfectly…and so this is where child training comes into play. We must help our children to have a Godly conscience that is convicted when they go out of bounds with media.

Have we forgotten the power of the “i” – not the iPad, iPhone or iPod but of the GREAT I AM?

Jesus Said:

I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. John 6:35ESV

I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. John 8:12

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. John 10:9

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10:11

I am the resurrection and the life. John 11:25

I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14;6

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

By Cortnee - Women Living Well

The Fullness of Him

My mind cannot contain the fullness of Him. Thinking of His vast greatest gives me chills...

He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.

Great is our Lord and mighty in power;

his understanding has no limit….

Psalm 147: 4-5

Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:

“Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?

Brace yourself like a man; I will question you,

and you shall answer me.

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?

Tell me, if you understand.

Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!

Who stretched a measuring line across it?

On what were its footings set,

or who laid its cornerstone—

while the morning stars sang together

and all the angels shouted for joy?

Job 38:4-7

These verses are just remarkable!!!  Shows His great power - over creation... How can one look around and not see God...  When you close your eyes and remember all of God's beautiful works and goodness - how can one wonder???  

Oh Heavenly Father - help me to see you in all your wonders and praise you for your beautiful masterpiece!

Let us not be forgetful this new year...

Its a new year!!!

I look back and can only say thank you Lord. 2013 was filled with many blessings - one of them being a new addition to our family - our dog Oreo. Though it has not been a smooth walk - I can't see our family without him. 

 There have been many lessons which have come my way - some were good and others were very painful and others humbling. 

 Some very special youth graduated high school and gone away to college and I am enjoying seeing them mature in their new stage in life and listening to their stories, about their new friendship and adventures. I am so blessed by each one of them.

 And it also means changes in relationships, letting go and starting new ones.

When looking back sometimes its hard to keep track of all the blessings that the Lord did in our lives and we tend to be a forgetful people. We become like the Israelites - "When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” Exodus 14:10-12

Its easy to point the finger at them and say how could they - but how many times have I forgotten the goodness of the Lord - and asked why? or why not?

And because of that I love to write... I love to write letters to Jesus, my prayers, words, stuff... and in order to write and doodle, I love to get new notebooks and pretty paper - or I'll type about what the Lord is doing in my life.

A couple of weeks ago while strolling down the aisle in Staples I found some beautiful red Martha Stewart books in the clearance section!!  Well, I love books, they were red (my favorite color) and from the Martha Stewart collection - at a super cheap price, how can I leave them there... I was sure I would have a great idea on how to use them. So I put all four of them in my cart.

What to do with these books - why not use it as part of my New Year's Resolution!!!

Why not use it as a journal and a the same time give each one of my kids one... and yep that is exactly what happened. I wrote all of our names on the books and today, January 1st - I presented my kids with their own journal and shared with them how we were going to get together each night for at least 10 minutes before bedtime to share and "journal".

My prayer is that in doing this - they will be able to look back and be reminded of God's blessings, they will be able to write down their prayer requests and the requests of others and pray more specifically, it will be a time of bonding for us, but the most important one is that I hope that in doing this with my children I will be able to help them work on their relationship with Jesus and make it more personal and intimate and go deeper into His word.

When my children were very small and we saw certain qualities in them, we claimed something special for each of them... and even though my husband teaches them about the Lord, I felt that my responsibility as their mother is to also "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

I have to do my part as their mother and this is what God has called me to do. Its not going to be an easy challenge - 1/2 an hour after we finished our journaling experience I was already working myself up to a frenzy ay ay ay!! But this year our goal is found in Joshua 1:8: "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." 

Let us not be a forgetful people - let us always remember His blessings and love toward us - and lets pass it down to future generations... 

Hurry Up...

I love reading... but what I love more is when God in His perfect timing - brings to the forefront of my mind and heart those things I have read, whether its ministering to someone, talking to my 12 year old daughter whose going on 21, or something I'm working on in my life. Its like an OH MY GOODNESS moment - my friend would call them light-bulb moments.

Wow - today was one of those moments and its just stopped me right in the middle of the sidewalk. 

  

Several days ago I read an article about a mom who was going to try and stop telling her precious daughter to hurry up. You see the mom's life consisted of rushing from here to there - like many of us. Well she had a beautiful daughter who had a laid back, carefree personality - who wasn't really into rushing but into admiring things around her, taking in nature, saying hi to an elderly lady who reminded her of her grandmother. She enjoyed picking a favorite purse before going out or helping with breakfast... oh how I know that feeling - when you need to rush out the door and my of my kids is "getting ready". Ahhhhhhh!!!!!

When you live life distracted, you have tunnel vision - only looking ahead to what's next on the agenda. And anything that cannot be checked off the list is a waste of time.

Have you ever caught yourself doing this... I know I have - many many times... and today was one of those days.

Today we went out as a family - the beginning of our family vacation!!! So there was no need to rush - we are on vacation, its a beautiful Saturday afternoon!! We went out to the movies and had a GREAT time!!! Walking toward the car my darling Priscilla was lagging behind... and I repeated to her - come on hurry up - over and over again... 

At one point she pointed out - "mommy look at all those tiny birds hiding in the bush" she stopped and started talking about the pigeons by mama's house in NYC and I caught myself saying "Priscilla come on"... and before the words hurry up came out of my mouth - God was reminding me of the article I had read and about taking the time to appreciate life through my daughters eyes.

So I stopped and searched for the tiny birds hiding in the bush. While she began to admire a small "baby" tree.

I loved how the author said - The truth hurts, but the truth heals... and brings me closer to the parent I want to be.

Each of my children are so very different... and they are such precious gifts from God. They are growing sooo fast and I'm finding that its time stop to checking something off the list, staring at a screen, or rushing off to the next destination because the hands of the clock can't be turned back. 

How about you...  what are you trying to hurry up... and what is God saying to you...  

Your Home

A Home is where your story begins...

What is your home's story??

As a woman we need to have our priorities in proper perspective. Many times we feel the need to do sooo many things - our "lists" just get longer and longer, many times leaving us feeling useless and sometimes inadequate  But what should our main priority be? To have Jesus reign in our heart and in our home and to teach this to our children.

You see the point is not about having a house... four walls and a roof.... but our goal should be to have a home where Jesus is at the center. I love the saying that goes - Christ is the center of our home, a guest at every meal, a silent listener to every conversation. It is a reminder that Christ is ever present in our home.  That our worship does not consist of just Sunday mornings - but it is our life - that He is in every area of our lives.

Unless the Lord builds the house - those who build labor in vain... Psalm 127:1

In order for the Lord to build our house so that it can become a home - it requires us to relinquish control, to be obedient to what He would want us to do as women, to stop complaining and be more thankful to the many blessings all around us. Oh how I love to have control... but that has often lead to disagreements and feeling hurt - many times realizing that its not about me or what I want to do or how I want to do it. I have come to learn that we are inadequate in our own strength, we need to depend on the Lord and trust in His word. Let us not get caught up in the rush rush of life - trying accomplish a list of things... will these pursuits ever give us the sustaining joy and fulfillment that God desires to freely give us?

And if we do attempt any work without God, we can expect failure. Even if you achieve a measure of apparent success, that success will be a pointless accomplishment, devoid of God's blessing and therefore devoid of any real satisfaction for our soul.

We have to be obedient to what God wants us to do.
If we are wise women, we have to be aware that we are on assignment from God and building a home is a life long assignment. This assignment begins early in the day meditating on the word of God - before the children even awake... and pondering on them late at night when all have gone to bed. But it is also important that we include our children - that they see His word lived out in our lives throughout the day. A couple of years ago I read that Priscilla Shirer - Tony Evans daughter - purposely positions herself somewhere in the house so when her kids get up, they are going to catch her praying or reading the bible. She does that so that they can see that it is a vital part of her life. 
As Godly women we cannot be conformed to this world - and what this world tells what what our home should have, should be... but it should be transformed by the renewal of our mind, that by testing we may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect for our homes. Romans 12:2    Our home should be a place of refuge and love for our husband and children. A place where they will feel safe and loved.

What can we do in our homes, in our lives... to achieve this? Let us begin by praying for God's guidance, for His instruction and something I find so very important - older women I encourage you to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Titus 2:3-5

Let us begin today - to make our house a home - a place where God's love is felt, where memories are created, and where our children and husband will feel joyful in... Its not about what we "have" in our homes... but its all about Jesus... Have you invited Him to reign in your home?

Change by Diane Hegedus

I enjoy spending time with my Pastor's wife - Diane... She is a woman who has shared so much wisdom into my life. Sometimes the lessons have been easy breezy... other times they have caused me to pray for God's wisdom so I could understand what she was telling me... other times I would go home and think she was a tad nutty and wonder why is she saying that - and then days later it would all fall into place... and other times the lessons were tough and painful but full of love...

The lessons of life would revolve around being a wife, a mom, an employee, a sister in Christ... letting things go, loving more, digging deeper, but no matter what the lesson - it always came back to the main thing - The Word and Prayer.

In several weeks - my beloved Pastor together with Diane will be retiring and moving on to a new chapter - ughhhh - even though we've known this has been happening for quite some time - reality is now starting to settle into my heart and each day that passes by I find it harder to deal with... but I am blessed that I have so many lessons stored in my heart to share with others - so I've asked her to write a little something for my blog and here it is... I pray you are blessed by it... because I certainly was!!!

The last year of my life has been a series of preparing for changes. We are about to retire from working at our church where we have been for almost 25 years and from being in full-time ministry where we have been for the better part of 40 years. We are moving to an entirely different state, with a completely different culture. At least three of my children have changed their jobs this year and my youngest daughter, Lord willing, will become a first-time mother next month.

Most of us DON'T like change. We learn to accept the familiar as a comfortable part of life. Oh sure, we might complain about the weather, or politics, or our job, or even the "drama" at home, but we really draw comfort in things remaining the same.

For the Christian, however, in order to activate our faith we have to leave our comfort zone (the boat) and step out ON the water to learn what Jesus can really do in our lives. My husband and I have moved 16, soon to be 17 times, in our 48 years of marriage. We have experienced God and His faithfulness in so many unbelievable ways. I have watched so many Christians miss out on God's blessings because they were contented with staying "in the boat". All the disciples went on to serve Christ in great ways, but only Peter had experienced what it was like to walk on water. Facing new changes and challenges can be frightening, but God has told us that HE did NOT give us the "spirit of fear".

Since I don't want to hinder God working in my life, or the life of my family, once again I will leave the comfort of the boat, so I can walk on water. Change may not be comfortable, but it IS necessary if we are going to walk by faith. In fact, I kind of feel sorry for those who stay in the boat, because there is a whole other world out there just waiting to show you God's blessings, His miracles, and His faithfulness. Is it more comfortable in the boat? Yep, but it isn't nearly as exciting and fulfilling.

Come on!

Get out of the boat and be amazed at how great it is to walk on water.

In fact, I have to "walk" on the water, because I can't swim.