Wake up my Heart!

Scripture of the Day: Philippians 4:6 Do not be   anxious  about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. If you have known me for a while, I would guess you know that I like to worry. In fact, until I finally got it through my head that worrying that much was a sin because I wasn’t trusting God to take care of me, I worried about EVERYTHING! I haven’t kicked the habit completely, and because I am a mother and a wife and I live in today’s fiscal climate, I presume I will always worry a little. And although that is not necessarily good, my worry meter has gone way down, which is progress. This morning, as an impending vacation is coming, I found myself worrying about lots of little things that really don’t matter and that are out of my control. But then I felt a nudge inside ask, “have you prayed about this?” And the answer, sadly enough, was no. I often don’t think to pray for the little things like...

Scripture of the Day: Romans 15:4 4  For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us,   so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Sometimes Sundays are convicting!  I was really touched at church today by a sermon that discussed a systematic reading of the bible (particularly psalms). Since I started writing these posts twice a week, I spend a lot of time trying to study my life and come up with Scripture that fits in nicely. But because I am doing that, I have fallen away from a structured reading of Scripture. Instead of me sticking to a schedule and letting God’s word do its work on me, I am sometimes trying to work my own agenda. So…what do I need to do? Make more time to spend in the Word…sometimes so I can write about it, and sometimes so I can just see what God has to say to me on a particular day. I encourage you to come up with some type of plan to include the bible in your life…whe...

Scripture of the Day: Ecclesiastes 7:13-14a 13 Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked? 14 When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider God has made the one as well as the other. Have you ever wished that God operated by the popular line, “The shortest distance between two points is a straight line?” Oh…how I have! But God is anything but boring and he has made our lives full of twists and turns, good times and bad. Sometimes we have bumps in our daily walk we didn’t foresee. It is when what we thought was easy becomes hard for no apparent reason that God may be at work in our lives. As the verse points out “Who can straighten what he has made crooked?” I think it is when we try to straighten out a road that wasn't meant to be straightened that we feel most frustrated - both with ourselves and with God. This is for two reasons. 1) we obviously won't be able to straighten it but will spend endless energy try to; and 2)...

Today I am making a diversion from my usual use of Scripture! I often listen to Christian radio and every once and a while a song touches me in a particular way. So to switch it up, some days I will write about song lyrics instead. Song of the day: You Love me Anyway by the Sidewalk Prophets I am the thorn in Your crown But You love me anyway I am the sweat from Your brow But You love me anyway I am the nail in Your wrist But You love me anyway I am Judas’ kiss But You love me anyway See now, I am the man that called out from the crowd For Your blood to be spilled on this earth shaking ground Yes then, I turned away with this smile on my face With this sin in my heart tried to bury Your grace And then alone in the night, I still called out for You So ashamed of my life, my life, my life But You love me anyway Oh, God… how you love me This song, hits me like a brick every time I hear it. More so than any other song I have heard it tears at my heart and makes me...

Scripture of the Day: Psalm 118: 24 24  This is the day the   Lord   has made;      let us rejoice and be glad   in it. Last night as I was making dinner (which ended up being egg sandwiches after my first attempt failed); I looked in my egg carton to see those words from Psalm 118! It was a dose of much needed attention shifting. Yesterday had some really awesome parts and also several situations that drove me crazy. When I saw that quote I was really quite crabby. But why? God was in charge of yesterday, just as he is charge of everyday…and I don’t think He meant for me to be particularly upset – He meant for me to rejoice! So on this day, I encourage you to do just that. Regardless of the situations you find yourself in, look for something positive in them. God put you where you are for a reason and I truly believe he wants you to find some joy right where you are standing…You might just have to look down at your eggs to find...

Scripture of the Day: Isaiah 55:8-9      8  “For my thoughts   are not your thoughts,      neither are your ways my ways,”   declares the   Lord. 9  “As the heavens are higher than the earth,        so are my ways higher than your ways      and my thoughts than your thoughts. I have been struggling this past week with certain things in my life that I cannot understand. Sometimes we try to impose our schedule (or desires) into God’s timeline and that usually doesn’t work out to our benefit! As I was questioning God on his purpose/plan, I was referred to the verses above. It was the nudge that I needed to remember that God’s thoughts are not my thoughts. Little ole’ me cannot fathom the inner-workings of every creature of the planet. It was also helpful to get the reminder that God’s ways are higher than my ways. He really does have it all figured out. I, as fal...

Scripture of the Day – Matthew 7:7-8 7 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives, he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. On this day (Wed), I have been struggling to find a bible verse to write about. And the reason that I’m struggling is because I don’t think I take enough time to ask what God what He has planned to be talked about! My pastor reminds us frequently that God is not addictive. He isn’t because it must be our choice to seek after Him. Again, and again, and again. And voila – the verse above popped into my head. What makes me sad about that is that every day I do not necessarily ask, seek, or knock. There are lots of days when I go through what I will call “spiritual motions”, praying in the morning, and at night, but not really taking the time to ask what God’s plans are for me through the day. On days when I don’t go looking for God, I don...

Scripture of the Day: Micah 6:8 O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Phrased like that, life is simple. God requires of us 3 basic things, broken down as such:     T o do what is right          To love mercy          To walk humbly with him. Reader, please bear with me as I break these down...this post is a long one and breaks from my usual format! :)  One. To do what is right. This sounds simple enough; most people are aware of what is right and what is wrong. However, this “right” doesn’t always mean to do what is “right” according to society. As a favorite song lyric [1] brings up the point that the answers and the truth can take different sides. The answers to life questions, to what is “right,” can only be found through God. The truth we find through our peers, our medi...