Wake up my Heart!

Scripture of the Day: 1 Peter 8 8  Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him  and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy... Yesterday my mother-in-law brought that verse to my attention and I have been thinking about it often since then. As I haven't done a "praise" devotion lately, it seemed fitting! There is a Sunday school song that consists of the lyrics, "So your joy may be full..." My son sings it as, "So your joy may be joy." I never correct his words because there is something beautiful about the concept of joy being, well, joy! Just the thought of it makes me smile. That is what the thought of Jesus is! Joy on top of joy. Unfortunately, that joy is truly hard to express. Have you ever tried to tell someone how Jesus makes you feel? Certain words come to mind, loved, humble, blessed, forgiven...and the list could go on and on. But how Jesus fills you with joy is a p...

Scripture of the Day: Matthew 18:21-22 21  Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?  Up to seven times?” 22  Jesus answered,  “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. Last week my pastor did a rousing sermon on forgiveness which struck a chord with me because he brought up a point which I had failed to grasp for some time. Warning: this may be a little more preachy than usual, so bear with me! Forgiveness is important. It is a demand of sorts, but it is SO hard to do it. Why? And what are the insinuations for our lives if we don't do it? What are we saying by refusing to forgive those in our lives who have hurt us; or even ourselves? When we do not forgive, friends, we are saying Jesus is not enough. That Jesus dying for you was not enough. Some of Jesus' last words were, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." If Jesus, taking on the sins of the wor...

Scripture of the Day: 1 Samuel 1:27 27  I prayed  for this child, and the  Lord  has granted me what I asked of him. I am feeling oddly sentimental on this, the morning of my son's 3rd birthday! My husband and I spent the first year and a half of our marriage unsure if I would be able to conceive a child...or carry one to full term. A long complicated health history with several abdominal surgeries meant we didn't know how much scar tissue was inside and how that would affect things. But we did pray. Because really all I ever wanted to be was a mom! And miracle of miracles, that baby we prayed for was gifted to us on April 23, 2010.  Oh, how we pray for our children. As mothers, we pray for the health, safety and strength of our children. We pray for good education, kindness, and even future spouses.  We also praise God for our children. Every day they are a gift. Even when they have gone boneless and are screaming on the floor. Even when they won...

Scripture of the Day: Philippians 4:12-13 12  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry,  whether living in plenty or in want.   13  I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Sometimes I feel like I literally need this tattooed on my person somewhere! Contentedness...so glorious a thing, but almost impossible to feel (at least in this household)! It is my greatest personal struggle, and I don't think I am alone there. It is a new struggle though.  I find it kind of funny because a while ago I pointed out this verse to my husband who was feeling very discontent and simply asked, "Do you think God will keep you right be where you are until you are content there?" In other words, it was  him who was having the problem and at that point I was perfectly happy right where I was! It is now a question I need to ask myself...

Scripture of the day: Psalm 54:7-8a   7  My heart, O God, is steadfast,  my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.  8  Awake, my soul! …Psalm 54:7-8a NIV 7  My heart is confident in you, O God; my heart is confident. No wonder I can sing your praises!   8  Wake up, my heart! …Psalm 54:7-8a NLT I started this blog almost a year ago today! In honor of that, the fact that this is my 101st post (thank you for sticking with me!), and that I feel like I have been hit by a bus with some weird illness - this post is a recap of my very first one! It also served me as a nice reminder of why I am attempting to write these twice a week! I named this blog "Wake up my Heart," because of the following devotion, written from Psalm 57. Hopefully it will remind us all to focus on keeping our heart awake so that we always remember to be confident in our mighty God! Different translations of the bible often cause me to think about the s...

Scripture of the Day: Genesis 22:2 “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” Are you wondering where I'm going to take that one??!  This week our family has gone through a rough little patch. We thought God was guiding us in one direction and it turned out he wasn't. In trying to understand how we read the signs the wrong way, or if they were even signs at all, a wonderful friend of mine pointed out something that at first was very confusing and then made perfect sense! She mentioned that every once and a while we have times in our lives that are Abraham/Isaac moments. In those times, it may not be about the sacrifice God is asking you to make (there may really not be any sacrifice involved at all). It is more about taking a giant leap of faith and considering how important God is in your life. When I look at this week through tha...

Scripture of the Day:Proverbs 3:13 Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding. After reading lots of verses about wisdom, I admit I have always been confused on the subject! At this time in my life, I am trying to get a little insight from God, or perhaps some spiritual wisdom...attempting to figure out God's will for my little family. I sometimes wish I could roll the dice like the early Israelites and get a direct "yes" or "no" from God. It would definitely make things easier! But with no dice, we are left with some options! Our old pastor preached on a great way of seeking God's will for your life and to me at least, that is trying to seek wisdom. When seeking this, there are four thing to do. Pray. Read the bible. Talk to your spiritual mentors (those people in your life you trust to hold you accountable, and who won't be afraid to tell you if you're being way off base). Finally, look at your circumstances. On a ...

Scripture of the Day: Isaiah 43:1-2, 4 1 But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. 4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life. If I had to pick a memory verse out of the bunch below, I would definitely pick verse 1b, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine." Says the LORD!  I don't know about you, but I don't want to belong to anyone else! Sometimes my hubby says jokingly, "You are mine" and although true to an extent, when he says ...

Scripture of the Day: 1 Samuel 7:12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen. He gave it the name  Ebenezer , saying, “The Lord has helped us this far.” Lyrics from "Come thou Fount" Here I raise my Ebenezer Hither by Thy help I've come And I hope by Thy good pleasure Safely to arrive at home It has been a long time since I have written about song lyrics, but these have been in my head for a long time! Through a bible study I am working on, I learned the meaning to a word I have often pondered! Ebenezer really goes with something besides "Scrooge!" Biblically speaking, it means "stone of help." It was resurrected by Samuel as a reminder / thankful sign because God had helped the Israelites up to that point in time. If we take it further, that (or those) Ebenezer's we hold up to God, are the things in our life that we are thankful for because we prevailed through them or overcame them with the help of God. What...