tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85300984346071240722024-02-19T15:47:22.760-08:00Simply Devotedsimply devoted 2Himhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11493086014595585966noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8530098434607124072.post-28763612013643881252014-01-09T19:54:00.003-08:002014-01-09T20:24:57.316-08:00Refined<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><strong>I don’t know about you but I don’t do well when technology fails.
Almost everything I do, especially at work, depends on computers working.
Normally, it does, but about three weeks ago one of our computers failed.
Production halted. With what little knowledge about the workings behind the
screen and keyboard, I tried desperately to fix it. Nada. Then we called in the
brilliant ones and they couldn’t fix it either. It doesn’t stop there. As I
write this, our IT Director is diligently working after hours, fixing server
issues…a completely different technology issue. <o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"><o:p><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Arial;"><strong> </strong></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><strong>Despite all of this, I thank God for refining my heart about these
things. There have been times in the past when I would stomp my feet and throw
my hands in the air in total frustration. Sometimes figuratively, sometimes
literally.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"><o:p><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Arial;"><strong> </strong></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><strong>Now I pause and thank God that everything technical worked
beautifully on Christmas Eve. William Close and Earth Harp Collective lead
breathtaking music that made our hearts stop as we celebrated the birth of our
Christ King, Baby Jesus. Our savior, our redeemer and, yes, our refiner.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"><o:p><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Arial;"><strong> </strong></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><strong>In Zechariah, we read about God’s refining* <o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"><o:p><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Arial;"><strong> </strong></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><strong><i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">“I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure.</span></span><span style="font-family: "MS Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS Gothic"; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"> </span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I will refine them
like silver and purify them like gold.</span></span><span style="font-family: "MS Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS Gothic"; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"> </span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">They will call on my
name, and I will answer them.</span></span><span style="font-family: "MS Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS Gothic"; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;">I will say, ‘These
are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’</span></i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;">” –Zechariah 13:9
(NLT)<o:p></o:p></span></span></strong></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"><o:p><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Arial;"><strong> </strong></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"><o:p><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Arial;"><strong> </strong></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><strong>*Refining is
mentioned several times in the Bible and it was quite a process. The ore was crushed
to tiny pea size pebbles and then ground to powder by hand. This powder was
spread on a slightly inclined stone table and water was poured over it to wash
away the dust and dirt from the earth. Since the gold pieces were heavier, they
would stay on the table where they were collected, dried and melted in a closed
crucible with some other materials for about 5 days. At the end of the 5 days, the
gold came out pure.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"><o:p><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Arial;"><strong> </strong></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Arial;"><strong>On Christmas Eve, brass wires stretched across our worship center
from stage to balcony to lead us into a magnificent, holy night of worship.
Surely that brass must have gone through a refining process at one time because
still, after having been taken down, they shine brilliantly in the dimmest
light. </strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></span><span style="color: #783f04;"><strong> </strong></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGy5QpwlLsvr6qg3Hse39P6eU09spBq5VRDTFFwYuEa9Ig1nM7MnSQXicd7Da1NSUEM_CU7UnHosXer5Fq5BKBny8NUG_cgrWaZMtnM7Wf4oZnbaNXwAgrb5_mC6F1GZr_rXp6ZU4tQdI/s1600/Refined+Brass.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><strong><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGy5QpwlLsvr6qg3Hse39P6eU09spBq5VRDTFFwYuEa9Ig1nM7MnSQXicd7Da1NSUEM_CU7UnHosXer5Fq5BKBny8NUG_cgrWaZMtnM7Wf4oZnbaNXwAgrb5_mC6F1GZr_rXp6ZU4tQdI/s1600/Refined+Brass.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></strong></span></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="color: #783f04;"><strong> </strong></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><strong>Imagine God doing that with us... Washing away all of our junk…our
impatience, our reliance on things of this world…on the things that have a grip
on us.</strong></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><strong></strong></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><em>If we surrender to His refining process, the imperfect, frustrating
moments of life will, along with our imperfect reactions will fade away as His
pure brilliance shines through us.</em></strong></span></span></div>
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><strong></strong></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #1B1810; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><strong>Then, we too, can shine brilliantly in the
dimmest light…even in the darkness.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span></div>
simply devoted 2Himhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11493086014595585966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8530098434607124072.post-82066094186828630982012-08-06T20:20:00.000-07:002012-08-06T20:26:55.108-07:00Misfit Mongrels<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was taught to be independent. Self-sufficient. Not to bother anyone with any of my personal issues. So it should not have surprised me when I discovered that I am withholding portions of my heart and soul from my Savior whom I love. But it did.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After all, He is the One that I've pledged to give EVERYTHING to. The One I worship and adore and, in worshipping have, with every fiber of my being, offered my surrender.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet, somehow my surrender has been skewed. Somehow all this time I always envisioned surrendering as giving my all…all my will, gifts, talents, trust, hope, faithfulness, service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You know, all the good things that seem usable. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In embarking on a new and profound journey with Him, I've discovered burdens and baggage I've been dragging around like misfit mongrels that keep jerking me around and pulling me down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like walking four wild dogs, their leashes have formed a tangled trap which has wrapped so tightly around me I can barely move. I missed giving Him all my junk, my misfit mongrels. I guess I never thought about bothering Him with those unwanted pests.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I like to call them issues…that way they sound innocuous, harmless. Many of us have issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Issues with fear, control, anger, unforgiveness, or insecurity…the list is endless. Endless, but far from innocuous.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While mine strangle me, the interesting thing is that I'm the one holding their leashes. All I have to do is let go of them. Open my tight-fisted grip and let go. When I do, God will step in and masterfully untangle them and set me free. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Do you have misfit mongrels you are trying to tame too?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">He passionately desires to release us from the leashes of the untamed, setting us free before they strangle the very life out of us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Then Jesus said, 'Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.'"</i> - Matthew 11:28-29 NLT</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #ffe599;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My journey of letting go and surrendering my misfit mongrels is just beginning. I can sense the freedom that awaits me as His healing power reaches to untangle, heal and set me free. Amazingly, what seems unusable to me is what, when surrendered, will bring Him the most glory.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">All we have to do is let go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All we have to do is surrender.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Lord of All, please help us surrender our all to You. So often we find that we take back what we surrender even when it threatens to strangle our heart and soul. Help us to remember that true rest comes in laying those misfit mongrels at your feet for all time. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We thank you for being our ultimate Peacemaker. - Amen<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"></span>simply devoted 2Himhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11493086014595585966noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8530098434607124072.post-50793858402607115782012-01-24T09:50:00.000-08:002012-01-24T09:50:59.114-08:00Called to Trust<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif";">“Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>trusting You. Show me where to walk, <br />
for I give myself to You.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif";"> Psalm 143:8 (NLT)</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Millions of thoughts are racing through my mind like shooting stars, landing at the center of my heart with varying degrees of explosiveness as I soak up those freeing words again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God has been taking me on a trust journey this last month and, truth be told, I’m still on it.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">He’s been teaching me how to trust Him more…with every detail of my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s kinda funny, you would think that since I trust Him with my eternal destination, it would be really easy to trust Him with the temporary things here on earth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Specifically, I’m talking about my vocation…where I work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We often refer to it as a calling. To be really transparent, over the past 3-4 years, I’ve been crying, arguing, crying, whining and pleading with God. Telling Him I don’t understand…asking Him why.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why can’t I work in full-time ministry with my friends? I love it there…it’s fun, positive, upbeat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s comfortable.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Just like God called Moses from the desert or David from the fields, sometimes He calls us from our comfort zones. At this moment, He is calling me to downtown Houston…a sheltered country girl to the heart of our nation’s 4th largest city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not just an occasional visit to Jones Hall or the Toyota Center, but to actually spend the better part of 240 out of 365 days each year. Sometimes the very thought of this peaks my curiosity about what God is up to and sometimes it leaves me shaking in my boots.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Has He ever called you from your comfort zone?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Has He ever placed you in the midst of danger…between the enemy army and the Red Sea…before a giant with just a sling and a stone? </span></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">During this journey, I’ve wondered about trust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What exactly is it? We tend to throw that word around so easily until it is tested. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">WHO CAN WE TRUST?</span></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">We can trust those that never lie to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is Truth.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">We can trust those that will never leave us. We have His Word: He “will never leave or forsake” us.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">We can trust those that love us. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is Love. He loves us and left everything, gave up everything, and sacrificed everything…even to the point of an unspeakable, tortuous death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All so He could always be with us.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">In further researching trust, I find that the main message out there is “don’t trust anyone and you won’t get hurt.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I even ran across echoes of my own heart in “don’t let your guard down because as soon as you do, they will either move away, die or leave you.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the most impactful one I found was this one, written by an Anonymous writer:</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 12pt 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">“If you say you can trust someone then you are admitting to something even greater than love. Trust involves all your thoughts and emotions to be given to someone so they can have them. Trusting someone is knowing that you can be hurt so bad that none can even know. This is why trust is a word of great power.”</span></span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 12pt 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Hmmm…trust is greater than love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Enlightening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the second line is what really got me…basically, giving all of my thoughts, emotions, even my will to someone so they can have them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 6pt 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Do I really believe that God is sovereign over every aspect of my life?</span></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 6pt 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">If I do, I can trust Him with everything in my life. Every moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every step. Everything.</span></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 6pt 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Then the question for me, for all of us, is: Will I trust Him? Will I unwrap my tightly clenched fingers to those things that make me feel safe, secure and comfortable so that He can hold my hand and lead me where He wants me to go? Will I surrender my desires for His?</span></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">At last, there is only one answer for me. With arms lifted high and heart abandoned, I can now authentically echo the words of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Stand</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“What can I say? What can I do? But offer my heart, O God, completely to you?”</i></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Thank you, O gracious Father, for not giving up on me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank You for Your kindness…even when Your answer is “No.” Thank You for Your relentless love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Right now, I especially thank You for ever so gently molding my heart, taking my hand and teaching me to trust You with everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I offer all of me to You.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, Your precious blood bought and paid for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am Yours! –In the hands of my dear Savior, Amen.</span></span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
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</div>simply devoted 2Himhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11493086014595585966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8530098434607124072.post-919241174151051242011-12-23T10:04:00.000-08:002011-12-27T20:35:23.012-08:00Be Still<span style="color: #ffd966;"> <span><em>"Be still and know that I am God."</em> -Psalm 46:10a</span><br />
<div style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">The other night I woke up at 4:12am. Yeah, I know, strange time to wake up...especially for this loghead. I started thinking about all the things left on my list to do: 12 more presents to wrap, a few more gifts to buy, Christmas Eve breakfast and Christmas Day dinner to plan, shop for and prepare. In the middle of these thoughts, the verse <em>"Be still and know that I am God."</em> came to mind, along with a vibrant dream that took my breath away:</span></div><div style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Stillness filled the air. Rich, warm light flooded the open space. Stars broke through the darkness to shine like brilliant diamonds that had been strewn across a black velvet canopy. Bearded men, who smelled of pungent earth, wore long robes and held staffs in rough, grungy hands. Surprisingly, they were on their knees. Yet it was their eyes that caused me to gasp. They were huge--wide open and filled with unspeakable awe, humility and amazement...all at the same time. Tears slowly rolled down their beaming faces. I followed their gaze to see what had captivated them so.</span></div><div style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">It was Him..it was Jesus! I had always thought the first time I would ever see Him, He would be an adult with a welcoming lap for me to crawl up on. This was a baby. Not just any baby. This was the Savior of the World...Jesus. Helpless to the passing glance. Arms flinging. Legs kicking at white linen strips of cloth that served as a makeshift blanket.</span></div><div style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">I was there. There...in the manger...with Baby Jesus. As I drew nearer, I knew He was anything but helpless. My heart raced. I couldn't breathe and my mind was swimming, shaken with jumbled thoughts and emotions. My soul fell before Him, but my body was motionless. I could not move. Magnificent rays of light streamed upward from the manger. Light, Love Eternal...revealed in this sweet, holy baby.</span></div><div style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">I could hear the words again: <strong><em>Be Still and Know that I am God.</em></strong></span></div><div style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">The Story I had heard more than a hundred times hit me like the north wind and awakened in me a fresh sense of reality at the miracle and magnitude of that one holy night. I had seen God incarnate...Immanuel. God with us. Come to save the world. To save me. To save you. My heart will never be the same.</span></div><div style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Christmas has passed once again. Each time I go back to that moment, my heart stops and my soul is filled with an indescribable reverance and awe.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: #ffd966;">A new year is right around the corner and I pray that it is not just another blur for you or me...filled with a billion things to do and places to go.</span></div><div style="margin-top: 12pt;"><strong><span style="color: #ffd966;">WILL WE FIND TIME TO BE STILL AND KNOW HIM?</span></strong></div><div style="margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><em>O Holy and Ancient One, I confess that sometimes the nativity story seems to fade in between the busyness, tasks and demands of everyday life. Yet You are the One I want to know more. Help me to be still and know You are God...You are that sweet Baby Jesus lying in the manger...God incarnate, Immanuel. God with us...with me. May my life reflect your beautiful Light into your world. In Jesus' name and for His sake, Amen.</em></span></div></span>simply devoted 2Himhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11493086014595585966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8530098434607124072.post-10824342910174706332011-12-17T23:27:00.000-08:002011-12-17T23:27:35.334-08:00It's All About Us?<em> "That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!" -Luke 2:8-11</em><br />
<br />
Several years ago, Rick Warren came out with a major bestseller entitled <em>The Purpose Driven Life. </em>It is a phenomenal book that God used to spiritually revive churches, small groups and individuals. In it, we learned that "It's not about me." True. In our "Have it Your Way" mentality, we do, at times, act, think and believe we are entitled to what we want, when we want it. Yet I, for one, missed a huge truth. While it's not all about me, I have learned that, through God's eyes and His heart spoken in His very Word, for Him, it is all about us. It. Is. All. About. Us. <br />
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God and us, that is. A profound, mind-boggling relationship that He designed. When I stop to consider all that He is...how great, how mighty, how loving, how forgiving, I simply have to stop before my heart bursts with wonder and awe at how He could love me so. Yet from the moment that Adam and Eve hid from God in the garden and He called out to them "Where are you?" He has fervently pursuited us. His passionate pursuit of us was the impetus for His ultimate sacrificial plan of salvation.<br />
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This plan started out with a sweet baby's cry that summoned angels to sing Glory to God in the Highest! The same angels who were heartbroken on crucifixion day. The same angels who victoriously leapt and danced with joy on resurrection day. Meager beginning. Horrific sacrificing. Triumphant ending. Creation, Crucifixion and Resurrection collide and explode, forming God's New Covenant with and for us...Jesus, our Salvation, was born to us. Not just some of us. All of us.<br />
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Salvation wrapped in swaddling cloths was born for <em><strong>all people</strong>...</em>from heathen shepherds to orient kings...from those we study the Bible and Worship God with on Sunday mornings to those who desecrate dimly lit alleys or stand on street corners or lie in cheap motels. God's love story, written to us, beautifully speaks of God's love for us. <br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">I'm thoroughly convinced it is all about us...God and us.</span></strong><br />
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As passionately as He pursuited you and I, there are others He longs to rescue. You know, after the shepherds went to see Baby Jesus, we are told they did four things:<br />
<br />
1) they told EVERYONE what they had seen and heard and what the angel had told them about Baby Jesus;<br />
2) they went back to shepherding<br />
3) they glorified God<br />
4) they praised God...for all the things they had seen and heard.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">So, where are the rest of us? How do we find them? What do we say or do when we find them?</span></strong><br />
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<em>Father God, thank you for making a way to come to us and be with us. Though we are undeserving and unworthy, through the gift of your sweet Salvation, Jesus Christ our Lord, you have made a way for us to be with you forever. We know there are others your heart is burning to redeem. Allow us the privilege and honor of passionately joining you in your pursuit of "the rest of us." Give us enthusiastic courage to tell everyone what we have seen and heard so that you may be glorified and praised! In the beautiful name of your Son, Jesus, Amen.</em>simply devoted 2Himhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11493086014595585966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8530098434607124072.post-61556549159100165252011-11-29T10:28:00.000-08:002011-11-29T10:28:41.973-08:00It is Time<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #ffe599;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.”</i> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NLT)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Calibri;">I have always loved this chapter of Ecclesiastes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I was growing up, I would actually recite “there is a time to dance” to my mom and dad who, I thought, needed convincing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fortunately, I did convince them but I also learned there is a time to dance and a time to say “I’ll sit this one out.” It all depends on who is asking you to dance.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Calibri;">Serving as the Children’s Ministry Director at Salem several years ago, I made some very close friendships which I still cherish today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These sweet girlfriends would often say “it’s just not my season to…” Often, I wondered what that must be like to say “It’s not my season right now” and to be able to say it with an abundance of peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Contrary to my sweet friends, I have always had a dozen plates spinning in the air and, invariably, one of them gets dropped. Sometimes it might be the laundry or my home, all too often it was my husband or family and, ultimately, my intimate relationship with Jesus.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Calibri;">What immediately pops into your head the moment you hear the word “season?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Understandably, right now most of us would think of the Christmas season.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Calibri;">What does your Christmas season look like?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Calibri;">Is it one you would like to skip this year saying “it’s not my season?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps finances, the loss of a loved one or the emptiness of being alone, once again, has silenced your season of Christmas.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Calibri;">Curious about the word meaning of Christmas, I did a little research and found this actual etymology of Christmas:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #ffe599;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">*Christmas literally means the Mass (celebration) of Christ. "Christ" is a Greek word and title, meaning "anointed" or one set apart by God for a special purpose. "Christ" is equivalent to the Hebrew word "<a href="http://www.jesuscentral.com/ji/jesus-terms.php?lgZ=en&ccZ=&vrZ=&scZ=&add=Read&show=Journals#Messiah">Messiah.</a>" Based on the <a href="http://www.jesuscentral.com/ji/life-of-jesus-ancient/jesus-prophets.php?lgZ=en&ccZ=&vrZ=&scZ=&add=Read&show=Journals">words of ancient prophets</a>, the first century Jewish people expected the arrival of the Messiah promised by God as a great deliver[er] of the people. </i>(*http://www.jesuscentral.com/ji/lands/christmas.php)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Calibri;">So we celebrate Jesus, our great Deliverer! This season, He is the One asking you to dance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The music you hear may sound like a train derailing on Main Street at high noon but if you listen close enough, you’ll hear His voice and His music…it is orchestrated and written just for you. Jesus Christ, Immanuel, Prince of Peace, is asking you to dance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You might be tempted to say “I’ll just sit this one out.” Instead, place your hand in His and let Him lead you through this miraculous season of celebration we call Christmas. It is time.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Prayer: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">O great God! Thank you for delivering Your anointed One to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus, You were, are and always will be, our beautiful Deliverer!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I praise You for being my personal Deliverer, many times over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t think of anyone I’d rather celebrate than You, Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This season, despite the many demands and distractions, please help me not to get derailed but to simply take your hand and dance. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>–In Jesus’ name, Amen.</i></span></span></div><span style="color: #f9cb9c;"></span>simply devoted 2Himhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11493086014595585966noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8530098434607124072.post-22354995722416985432011-11-24T05:59:00.000-08:002011-11-24T05:59:00.330-08:00Walker or His Workmanship?<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #948a54; font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 128;">“But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do His work and speak out for Him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference He made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted. -</span></i></b><b><span style="color: #948a54; font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 128;">1 Peter 2:9 (MSG)<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b><span style="color: #948a54; font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 128;">Have you seen <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Walking Dead</i>? It’s a weekly sci-fi series where a disease has taken over an entire city, spreading to the nearby countryside, killing people and then bringing them back to life, if you want to call it that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only a ravenous hunger to suck the life out of any living thing that comes close gives them a semblance of existence…they are the Walking Dead.</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b><span style="color: #948a54; font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 128;">Survivors have formed a makeshift family as they work to escape, and protect each other from, the<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> walkers</i>. Finding refuge in a countryside farm, they discover Doctor Herschel, the owner, is sheltering walkers in his barn. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a heated discussion, his daughter, Maggie, asks her new-found friend, Glenn, not to call them walkers. “What do you call them?” he asks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Insisting they are people, she adamantly replies “I call them mom, Mrs. Perkins, Mr. and Mrs. Stephens.” Family, neighbors, local business owners, once loved and accepted, now rejected to nothingness.</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b><span style="color: #948a54; font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 128;">Thanksgiving morning I get to go downtown and help feed the homeless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some people scoff, calling them rejects, crackheads or the professional homeless who work the system, sucking the life out of the living. I want to know their names and call them Steve, Trent, Mrs. Perkins, or whatever their name is because I know Jesus knows their name. To Him, they are not rejects or walkers, they are His creation, fearfully and wonderfully made – His divine workmanship. His heart breaks for them. He longs to be their shelter and refuge. His blood poured out to redeem them, as it did for us when He called us from the shadows to His light to “speak out for Him</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #948a54; font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 128;">,</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #948a54; font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 128;"> to tell others of the night-and-day difference He made” for me and for you.<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b><span style="color: #948a54; font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 128;">Who will you cross paths with this Thanksgiving that you would prefer to ignore or even hide from?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> (</span>You know, the one who just always seems to suck the life out of every living thing they come in contact with.)</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b><span style="color: #948a54; font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 128;">Will you see him or her as a walker or His workmanship? </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #948a54; font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 128;"></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b><span style="color: #948a54; font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 128;">Will you speak out for Him?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #948a54; font-family: "Arial Narrow", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 128;">Father God, it is so easy to forget that, were it not for your limitless grace, we, too, would be walkers. We praise You for lifting us up from the pit of darkness into your glorious light and ask that you give us the courage and the words to speak out for You. May Your light and love shine through us to infuse your works of art we meet in Your gallery of life. –In our Beautiful Creator Jesus’ name, Amen.</span></i></b></div>simply devoted 2Himhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11493086014595585966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8530098434607124072.post-45170075110493237602011-11-22T11:40:00.001-08:002011-11-22T11:40:56.973-08:00Heart of Simply Devoted<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #c4bc96; font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 191;">If you are reading this, I already consider you a friend!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just love those moments when we get to take a break, even for just a few minutes, to sit, breathe and say whatever’s on our mind to our friends. This is that kind of place. If you need to say something, say it. If you want us to pray with, or for you, about anything, just ask and we’ll pray it.</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #c4bc96; font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 191;">One thing I wanted to share with you is the heart of Simply Devoted: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I am Yours!</i> It’s a heartfelt cry of confession and devotion to Jesus, all at the same time. When I think about His great sacrifice, I can never get over my amazement at the depth of His love for me, for all of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I get to know Him more, I love Him that much more and pray we will wake up each morning and go to bed each night with those words to Him engrained on the hearts of our souls – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I am Yours!</i></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #c4bc96; font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 191;">Love ya lots in Christ!</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #c4bc96; font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 191;">-Luanne</span></i></b></div>simply devoted 2Himhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11493086014595585966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8530098434607124072.post-32811893482878453502011-11-15T07:42:00.000-08:002011-11-15T07:42:06.678-08:00An Undivided Heart<em><span style="color: #f9cb9c;">"For You are great and do marvelous deeds; You alone are God. Teach me Your way, LORD, that I may rely on Your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name. I will praise You, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify Your name forever." -Psalm 86:10-12 (NIV)</span></em><br />
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<span style="color: #f9cb9c;">What grabs your attention? What lures you away from Him? </span><br />
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<span style="color: #f9cb9c;">For me, it's not always what appears to be the "bad stuff" -- most of the time, it's the busy stuff. Sleeping until the last second, jumping out of bed and straight into the shower, I miss my quiet time with Him. I am off to the races and thrive on adrenaline rushes and multi-tasking. There's a catch though: too often, I let the urgent overshadow the important. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #f9cb9c;">Not surprising. Once I took a personal inventory/assessment and it showed that, on a scale from 1-10, my sense of urgency was a 9. What does that mean? It means that everything appears urgent to me. I like attacking things and getting things done. Especially, if it means I get to help someone else. Sounds like a great attribute, doesn't it? The truth is, maybe it is...in a job interview. But in life, it's vital that I learn to take care of the important things too. Things like starting my day with my Maker, giving Him my undivided attention so that He, in turn, can give me an undivided heart.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #f9cb9c;">Can you relate? </span><br />
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<span style="color: #f9cb9c;">The coolest thing is that we don't have to create an undivided heart, all we have to do is ask for Him to give us one. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #f9cb9c;">Father God, Creator of our hearts, we thank You for this incredible day. It is in our very nature to want to take care of everyone and everything around us...all at the same time. Yet in this race of life, we often allow the urgency of others to overshadow the importance of simply being with You. We ask that You give us an undivided heart for You and You alone so that in each moment of our day You will be glorified. -In Jesus' Name, Amen.</span>simply devoted 2Himhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11493086014595585966noreply@blogger.com8