Wake up my Heart!

Scripture of the Day: Nehemiah 1:4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept.  For some days I mourned and fasted  and prayed before the God of heaven. The above verse is Nehemiah's reaction to hearing the state of Jerusalem, after a remnant returned home after 70 years of exile. Things were not good. But Nehemiah's reaction was! His people and his land were hurting and in response his heart broke. (I have to note here I am doing a bible study on Nehemiah, by Kelly Minter and it has the title of this particular blog - A Heart that can Break. It is fabulous!) What is your response when you hear bad news? Do you have a compassionate heart? Does it break when you find out terrible things have happened to those you love? Or take it down a notch, does it break when you see a person in need? Or when you hear of a crisis somewhere in the world? I admit that I'm not sure I have the compassionate heart I probably should. I prefer to stay in ignorant bliss when it comes ...

Scripture of the Day: Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do you ever wonder where on earth you are heading? Do the paths you travel seem to make sense? Are you lost? If the answer to any of those questions is yes, I would ask you another question. How are you trying to get where you are going? Are you trying to make you own way or are you trusting God to lead you? The best way to let God lead your life (including major decisions) is to trust him - even when what you think He wants doesn't make sense, seems counter-intuitive, or goes against what the "world" is telling you that you need.  I am becoming all about practical application and encourage you to do the same! Look at your life this morning...what is God asking (or telling) you that you should do (or not do)? I am amused myself because I have been contemplating yet ag...

Scripture of the Day: Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything,  but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Well, yesterday was another miraculous day! For the past couple of months, I have been scheduled to have surgery for some large, complex, ovarian cysts. Surgery was to be Thursday. But...with the healing that happened in the hospital in August my awesome husband was pretty sure God healed me of everything so he wanted me to have an ultrasound before surgery to make sure the cysts were still there. Long story short, the cysts are still there, but both have shrunk and surgery is no longer needed! I have an ultrasound again in 2 months to check their size, but am feeling positive that things will be fine! Can anyone join me in praising the Lord??!  This morning I was praying for a verse that summed this up and rather than find one on healing, the verse above came right to mind.   Friend, don't worry ...

Scripture of the Day: John 16:33 " I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” This blog post is going to be short and sweet and intended to simply be a pick-me-up. This verse has been in my head all week and every time I think of it, I cannot help but smile.  Do you ever feel heavy because of what is going on in the world? Whether it is the world pushing down on you specifically (job, money, pressure to have it all, etc), or because the world itself just scares you bejeebers out of you (what on earth going on in Syria)?   When you feel that way, read this verse. It is so full that I am not going to insert anything or even give my opinion on it! Just remember:  " I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” Jesus overcame the...

Scripture of the Day: 2 Timothy 1:7 ... for God gave us  a spirit not of fear but  of power and love and self-control. and also Psalm 34:4 I  sought the  Lord , and he answered me      and delivered me from all my fears. Well ladies and gentlemen (I do know of 1 man who reads this anyway!) - can you tell what topic has been on my heart of late? Fear. Which usually can also be translated as a lack of trust!  The sermon at church this weekend was on the verse from 2 Timothy and it was a sermon that seemed to speak right to me - but if you had told me how fearful I was before the sermon I would have scoffed at you! I realized at church that I have been worried (sin 1) about money (sin 2) and how in the world we are going to survive paying my hospital bills (sin 3). In short, I have been living with a spirit of fear. God doesn't want me to be afraid. He wants me to have a spirit of power, love, and self-control. And to top that all o...

Scripture of the Day: Psalm 9:2 I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High This post is being written on behalf of my little man, who has music in his soul. He LOVES to sing. Real songs he knows and little nonsense songs he makes up himself. My favorite songs he sings are related to the Lord. I don't think that he, at 3.5 years old really comprehends that praising God is what he is doing...it just so happens that the songs he knows are mainly about Jesus! But every time I hear him sing "Jesus loves me," or "God makes messy things beautiful", or a simple "Rise up, rise up," my heart does a little singing of its own.  As you know, it has been a rough month! God and I on our own are doing just fine...but God and I through my son are doing fantastic! Not sure if that makes sense, but I see the love of God more through my kiddo than just about anything else. And because he can sing on a little plastic microphone at...