Wake up my Heart!

Scripture of the Day: John 3:16 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. Last night we attended our first Maundy Thursday service as a family - complete with the little guy. Besides one funeral, this was the first time he has had to sit through a church service (usually he is in Sunday school with all the kiddos). He made it through! But the one thing he kept saying to me is "I don't understand." I am sure that our pastor sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher to him and that pretty much every word coming out of his mouth made my poor little guy go, "huh???" I love two things about that...1) he was actually trying to pay attention and more so, 2) I don't think that I really understand either. When I really think about it, I can never really truly grasp God's love for us. He loved the world so much that he GAVE his one and only Son to the world...and the worl...

Scripture of the Day: Proverbs 22:6 Start  children off on the way they should go,      and even when they are old they will not turn from it. For an interesting read on this topic, check out this link: http://bible.org/seriespage/principle-nature-knowing-your-child ! My husband and I have been struggling with a decision regarding our child's education. I am not ready to share the issue with the world, but tonight I figured out without a doubt that my thinking has been all wrong on the subject. As Jill Savage warns us against, I have been comparing my inside to other people's outside decisions. What is worse, is that my son's OWN insides haven't even really been part of my thought process. God wants us to raise our children so that how they are bent, thrives! I cannot say that what we want for our children doesn't matter, but we cannot force them into the little people WE want them to be...we need to help them grow into the people GOD created them to be...

Scripture of the Day: Psalm 51:10-12 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. This may be a strange post because I don't know that I have much to say about those verses. They speak for themselves as a wonderful daily prayer and it contains so much. It is full with talk about our hearts, our spirit, our relationship with the Trinity - including our salvation, and our dependence on God.  In the past weeks I have run across this Psalm so much that I know God is trying to get my attention with it. I  keep reading it, not with more understanding but with conviction that it makes an excellent prayer for us every day. And on that short note, that is how I will close...in prayer.  Closing Prayer: Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me...

Scripture of the Day: Isaiah 48:17-18 I am the Lord your God,      Who teaches you what is best for you,      Who directs you in the ways you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands,      Your peace would have been like a river,      Your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Although I am sure the context which with this was written refers to much larger concepts than I am applying them today, the point still comes across: it is God who teaches us what is best and God who directs us where we should go. If we pay attention to his direction, we then can have peace and righteousness. I often have little “spiritual nudges”. During these times (usually during the early morning), I know that God would like me to spend time with Him. I have lots of proof that when I listen to these nudges, not only do I feel closer to God, but my days are much more positive, and productive....

Scripture of the Day: Genesis 1:26-27 26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. I am sharing this "ah-ha!" moment of my day in hopes that it will be a light bulb to some of you as well...but you may read this and think me silly for not having realized it before! I have often been bothered by Genesis 1:26 and how God mentions "us" when talking about himself. The possible reasonings behind this never really sat right with me. But tonight...tonight something made sense! I am currently doing a DVD bible study on Malachi and the speaker pointed out that God exists as the trinity. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This I knew, of course, bu...

Scripture of the Day: Psalm 9:1 I will give  thanks  to the  Lord  with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds In an interesting, yet positive way, the concept of thanks has been on my heart more than usual lately. Through a book I am reading (Growing Grateful Kids - which is a great read) and through a daily devotional where a "thankful journal" was recommended, I am thinking about the positive things that happen on a daily basis. (although, to be honest, my "daily" thankful journal typically means 3 or 4 days a week!) It changes your perspective on God a little when instead of searching your lives over for the big things that have happened, you search every day for the little things to be thankful for.  When the sun is out, when the snow is perfect for making a snow man, when the tea is hot and the conversation is just right, when my son laughs, or when my husband is home for dinner. When I get to sleep in an extra fifteen mi...

Scripture of the Day: Mark 10:15 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. This post brings joy to my heart and a smile to my face. Over the past week, my little man has become quite the singer! He is currently in his room "resting" while singing, "Veggie tales...gotta BE...CELERY!" His repertoire is not very long, consisting of "I have Decided to Follow Jesus," "Jesus Loves me," and the Itsy-Bitsy Spider to name the majority of the list. He sings without abandon. He shouts. He dances. He forgets words and then laughs. He is joyous like a child should be. As adults, we lose the reckless abandon somewhere along the way. We don't shout songs (especially if we were not blessed with a nice voice). We don't twirl around the living room (unless the blinds are closed or no one else is around). We don't receive the kingdom of God exactly like a child does. And reall...

Re-post...and it's the long one!! I am reading Mark again and this passage again stopped me up so I needed a refresher! :) Another post coming tomorrow. Scripture of the Day: Mark 9:22b-24 "...But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” 23  “‘If you can’?”  said Jesus.  “Everything is possible for him who believes.” 24  Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” A verse I have pondered over long and hard is Mark 9:24. It is a story most are familiar with, a father has a demon possessed child and is at the end of his rope. The father not only questions Jesus, he bring up belief and unbelief. How do those things work together? I think I understand what the man is going through because I go through it on almost a daily basis. I believe that God created heaven and earth. I believe He can move mountains. I believe He can perform miracles. The unbelief comes in because I don’t always beli...

Scripture of the Day: Psalm 39:2-3 So I remained utterly silent, not even saying anything good. But my anguish increased; my heart grew hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue... This is one of those times when I feel I'm taking some Scripture out of context, but I'm going to do it anyway! Please read the whole Psalm for a different perspective... If you know me well, you would probably be able to tell that I don't really like conflict. I'm not assertive and many times I keep my mouth shut even when I know that it is wrong to do so!  The words above were convicting because they pretty accurately describe how I feel when I am in those situations. I remain silent, but while I do so, my heart beats fast, I feel flushed and sometimes there are words just WAITING to come out. But - I don't say them because I don't want to offend, or I lack the words to speak the truth in love, or I simply don't want to c...