Good Morning!

This morning I woke up thinking about the women at Little Country Church in Redding, CA. Their Women’s Bible Study Group is just completing the study of He is My All, and I’m wondering how their lives will be different after spending 10 weeks concentrating on the subject of God’s Faithful Love towards them as individuals.

Personally, when I remember and recall to mind  the love of God for me as an individual, it refreshes me, gives me strength for the day, and lots of hope for whatever the future brings. It assures me that God is in my future, so I can rest in His presence and His love for me.

But, I forget and overlook this basic  truth, just like anyone else. The days , when I remember, think about it, repeat it, let the truth of it penetrate me…I am different. That is what happened with Psalm 136 this past week, as I shared  in yesterday’s post.

I was UNDER the winds of change, but remembering that His Love Endures Forever, brought me UP and OUT into a place of joy and freedom.

But today is a NEW Day. I need refreshing every NEW DAY. Where are you at today on the subject of His Love for YOU? Are hard things crowding the truth out?  Check out this verse:

Psalm 119:25-29 Living Bible

” I lie in the dust completely discouraged; revive me by your word. I told you my plans, and you answered. Now teach me your principles. Help me understand the meaning of your commandments, and I will meditate on your wonderful miracles. I weep with grief; encourage me by your word. Keep me from lying to myself; give me the privilege of knowing your law.”

We all try to be revived by “things” other than God. Do we think if we can be distracted that the problems will go away?  For me it’s easier to pick up the phone and yak it out with a friend, or go get an ice cream or cookie. It’s easy to be distracted from life when I am in a shopping mall looking at all the beautiful new things. I often try in vain to be revived…through people, things, and any form of distraction. And though a temporary distraction is often good, it can not meet the need of a deeper heart discouragement or a deeper life problem. The truth of God’s love, like an annointing balm, penetrates and relaxes the worry muscle that stiffens up in our minds. We just have to remember to go to it, let it have it’s work, trust in Truth.

I am encouraging each of us to remember, as His Women, that God desires to use His Word to revive us, His Truth to free us, and His Power to change us.

We may be UNDER but He is showing us how to live as Overcomers! Life will always have things, challenges, griefs, disappointments. Are you and I going to let those rule over our days? If we do, we will be in the dust completely discouraged.I am not a fan of dirt in my teeth, so I don’t like this option.

Today go to Psalm 136 again, read it aloud, think of what it is saying about the power and might of God, and what it promises YOU. Once again take your list of “things” that are troubling or challenging and add the promise,

His Love Endures Forever!

From He is My Freedom, recap of lesson 5: ( bullet point truths)

• God is the Father of mercies
• God is the God of all comfort.
• He comforts me so that I can comfort others.
• I can find courage when I trust in Christ rather than self.
• Jesus came to give me life.
• Life in Christ is a life of spiritual fullness.
• Christ changes me from the inside out.
• To have courage I must embrace truth.
• To have courage I must let go of the past, and hope for God’s plan in the future.

I sincerely wish for you, my friend, and for myself, that God will make a hunger and desire for His Freeing Word, part of who we are.

Blessings as you live out the day,

Debbie

PS. And if you are from Little Country Church, I have been praying for you as you have studied, He is My All, and celebrate with you, the Love of God. Now may the truth of it be part of everything you do, and every breath you take.

No comments yet. Be the first!

The weather is changing, time to get out the spring clothes, put out the patio furniture cushions and fill the flower pots with color. A good change.

The clocks have been changed this weekend, confusing us once again. I woke up groggy because my body thinks it’s really an hour earlier, but in time, this change will be good too, as sunsets come later and days last a bit longer.

But there are change points in life that are not as cheery as flower pots and the timing of sunsets. Some changes are not welcome but happen anyway. Maybe you can think of a few. Yet, whether we like it or not, life if filled with changes. Since change is a fact of life, I suppose it’s time to learn how to “frame” all the change points in my life with faith.

I am currently doing “Breaking Free” by Beth Moore at church. Though I think the study is amazing, I am also finding it pretty hard. God is going to the “root” of some areas in my life that He wants to set me free in. And root work is not easy, it’s hard, and yes painful. This week,  the 8th lesson, I am finding a bit of a break through, and it has much to do with the way I am looking at the “change points” I currently find myself in.

Here is my current life status:

• Husband retiring in 3 weeks. He doesn’t know his next step….
• Both youngest kids moving out within next 2 weeks ( and they are the last to leave the nest) sniff, sniff….
• EMPTY nest.
• Oldest son getting married in a few months ( he is counting down the days)
• New daughter-in-love added to family tree ( this is the best change)
• Design4Living travel /admin assistant retires ( yikes…she did SO MUCH)
• My long time companion, Mrs. Computer, has decided to break down. She acts like she has dementia, as some days the computer works and others it doesn’t. I will have to soon send her to computer heaven, maybe this week….but she has been with me through the writing of 5 books…so sad, another change.
• Still adjusting to team staff changes at church, and those duty assignments, and my changed duty assignment.
• I have once again had to revamp my diet/exercise routine to fight coronary artery blockages ( exercising daily is harder than not eating french fries!)
• Learning how to please God and not people ( in my 50’s!) and this is a real change…I am a slow learner.

I can easily get in a funk as these changes press in on me. And, I have gone back and forth in my thoughts and emotions. But this week as I began the Breaking Free homework, I was liberated about life change. The lesson was not on life change, but God’s Word met me where I was at….

Today’s Truth: Psalm 136 ( get your bibles out some time today and read) This is the Psalm that says, His Love Endures Forever, over and over. You may remember it. In fact, it is the response to everything in the Psalm!

Psalm 136 is basically proclaiming the never ending love of God and reminding us that God deserves praise because his endless love never fails.

Beth had us, in the study reflect on variables in our life and write them out followed by God’s love guarantee. It was not only a valuable exercise, but it changed my mind completely about my current situations. My current version of Psalm 136 personalized would then look somethinhg like this:

• Husband retiring in 3 weeks. He doesn’t know his next step….God’s faithful loves endures forever!
• Both youngest kids moving out within next 2 weeks ( and they are the last to leave the nest) sniff, sniff…. God’s faithful love endures forever!
• EMPTY nest. God’s faithful love endures forever!
• Oldest son getting married in a few months ( he is counting down the days) God’s faithful love endures forever!
• Learning how to please God and not people ( in my 50’s!) and this is a real change…I am a slow learner. God’s faithful love endures forever!

I realize that my current change points might not sound like much to any of you. But all our OWN stuff is hard for each of us individually even if it doesn’t seem earth shattering to anyone else. The point is, in the middle of our Stuff that God is allowing to sift and change, His Love is There, His Love Endures, He is Faithful, He is Leading, He is in Charge, He is God.

Would you join me today in thanking God for His love.

Make your own list of changes or challenges and put the Psalm 136 response along side of it. It is more powerful than you can imagine. Truth sets us free. His love for us, is TRUTH!

Many blessings to you this new day,

Debbie

1 Comment Submitted

The definition of insanity is to repeat the same thing over and over, expecting different results. I must admit, according to that definition that I have acted insane too many times to count!

We often repeat things in our lives.  For most of us, our life revolves around themes. Some are healthy and promote growth and peace, but some are not healthy and promote what we know as “drama” and chaos. Themes are so ingrained in us that we don’t realize that we are habitually repeating something over and over, developing patterns that do not lead us to our best life or best self.

When called on the carpet for these things we often defend ourselves and deny the presence of any wrong. We most likely get defensive because we don’t like to be told we are wrong, because after all…we KNOW our hearts. We justify that our hearts are good and well meaning. In our hearts, we never intended the repeated offense to cause any trouble at all.

What if we don’t have a “heart” issue as much as a “habit” problem. Yes, our hearts might very well be in the right place, but still fall back into old  habits of response to situations and life. For instance, my heart really is set on eating healthy and combating the heart disease I have been diagnosed with, but my habit of running to sugary foods when tired or stressed often seems to win over. Why? Is it because my heart is not right? Or, could it be that it’s been a habit to use food in this way when I am stressed? Perhaps it is the habit that needs to be addressed.

What about you? What are you struggling with that is repeating itself like a theme in your life? Did you know that The Bible tells us clearly that our hearts are deceitful and that we have trouble discerning our own hearts?

Jeremiah 17:9 ” The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” The word deceitful here is from the original, aqob, which can be translated to be: slippery and polluted. Whoa!

If that is the case, then what do we do?

We must get into the habit of going to God with our hearts.

Psalm 139 “Search me and know my heart, see if there is any thing offensive in me and lead me in your ways.”

God can untangle our hearts and give us self-control and discipline to deal with unhealthy habits and patterns. But, we must be aware, get aligned with Him, and be open to the changes He desires to make in us.

For today…ask yourself what theme might be running through your life and take that to the Lord. He desires to change us and it is His plan to use us according to His design. Sometimes, our habits, get in our way. Jesus is the deliverer, even of our unwelcome habits…from smallest to largest.

I pray today that you will align yourself with the God who loves you most, giving him your heart and habits.

with joy,

Debbie

1 Comment Submitted