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.

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

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

Add in adult kids growing fully and leaving the nest, transition and change in ministry, the hurt of feeling misunderstood…and the sum is a  hard year indeed.

But, the question that is rolling around in my little head today is….Is hard  really bad?

The immediate answer is probably, YES!

We don’t like hard. We are conditioned in life and culture to go for easy. We like easy routes, easy assignments and quick fixes. How can we help it? It is part of the fabric of the culture that we were raised in. So hard seems intolerable and we do whatever we can to get out of hard and find our emotional easy chair…soft, comfortable, non-confrontive. We long to be happy. We long to feel fulfilled. We long to have our every need met. We long….yes we long….for unrealistic levels of personal fulfillment and physical blessing.

The truth is, life is sometimes hard…and, hard can be very good. It is in the hard places of life that God gets our attention and we give Him ours. It might not happen at the first pass of a hardship, because it’s in the first pass that we try with all our might to make hard go away. We try to fix things and when we can’t fix things we distract ourselves with other pleasures….food, drugs, alcohol, relationships, activities, material things. Some of us even hide ourselves  by distracting ourselves with “ministry work”. It , as the other things, can medicate the pain for a time.

But truth be told, God uses HARD. God has hard places within the journey of human life. He could of left us in paradise, but he didn’t. He placed us in a world that is imperfect, with people who are imperfect, and uses the whole environment of life…to draw us back to Him and His power, His majesty and His ability to be the overcoming power  in  our hearts.

I will leave it with the words of Jesus. Ponder them, allow them to speak to you. Memorize them. Let reality sink in and then live your life, today, as if God’s reality is the truest most trust worthy reality that exists.

“I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.” John 16:33 The Message

Now from James: 1:2-4 The Message

“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. you know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”

So…I’m thinking. Looks like from a spiritual perspective, hard is good and even a gift. I should not try to wiggle out of hard too soon, but instead learn from it.

Praying God’s blessing on your day and new perspective on your “hard” places.

with you In Christ,

Debbie

We live on autopilot and determine how to live and respond to life based on our own natural way of thinking  and reasoning.

It’s easier this way because we are simply moving to the rhythm of what comes natural to us.

But, just because something is natural does not necessarily mean it is God’s intended best for us. In fact, usually what comes natural to us is formed from human tradition, family of origin, or life habits and patterns that we have picked up along the way.

God has a better way for us, then our way. It takes thought and concentration…something that we would rather not bother with. Most of us are busy and like auto pilot. But are you becoming all that Christ has planned for you while living in autopilot? Is your familiar space causing spiritual growth or stagnant living?

Do you want God’s best for you?

Yeah…me too…

Today’s Truth: Ephesians 4:17-32

Read the passage above and note the instruction to live differently.

Here are the first four foundational points to get us going…

• You must no longer live in the futility of your thinking
• You are taught to put off your former life, “old self”
• You are to be made new in the attitude of your mind
• You are to put on the new self, created to be like God

Let’s stop with these four points. Think about them, pray about them, be honest with yourself about them. Are you living new or are you settling for the old?

• Define futility of your own thinking.
• Describe living in your former life
• Imagine what a new attitude looks like
• Believe for the new self that was actually created to be like God.

Father, make us more like You, created in You, to bring You glory!

This year God gave me two words, ” YES, LORD.” They may only be two, but they pack a powerful punch. When saying “YES” my focus gets turned from me to the God who created me for His purposes. In addition to that, it trains me because I am not that skilled at saying “YES”. I often want to say ” What? You have got to be kidding me, Lord!” But, this year, the instructions are clear, “YES” is the theme.

Many of you know that I have been off the blog due to illness. It has taken any strength that I do have to just keep going day to day with all my regular responsibilities.  Think being pregnant and VERY sick, but NOT!

This week I am scheduled for gallbladder surgery and I am hoping that I will be much better after that. But, in the meantime, I continue to learn to Look Up to Jesus and am being trained by those two words, YES LORD!

I would like to share a passage that popped for me  during my reading this morning. I think I will SIT with this for the week and let God speak to me. Perhaps you would like to do the same.

Today’s Truth: 1 Peter 1: 1-2, 6-7 ( highlight for emphasis)

” Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

In This you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to sufffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perhishes even though refined by fire- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

I see two distinct themes here:

First: My identity in Christ is affirmed, and so is yours.

• God’s elect
• Strangers in the world
• Chosen by God
• For obedience to Jesus Christ

Secondly: My trials and sufferings have a purpose, and so do yours.

• To increase my faith in God
• To prove that my faith in God is genuine
• To bring Him praise and glory

We can not say YES LORD when we are not standing in our identity as His. But note that as His, I am to live as a STRANGER to this world. Funny how we learn our entire life how to FIT into this world, but God’s word says we are strangers and need to live as such. As strangers our main calling is to live as those CHOSEN for OBEDIENCE to Christ!

“Yes Lord”, goes so well with this, doesn’t it? We have been chosen for obedience. Let that sit with you for awhile each day this week. And…in this place our trials are producing genuine faith in us.

What is your theme this year? If you don’t have one, you might want to join me in learning to say ” YES, LORD”

Today’s Prayer

Father, I know how to live according to the plan of those who raised me and the culture that has shaped me. I know how to fit into the church culture that has been part of my life for years, but I am not that skilled at living as a stranger to all of that, for the sake of hearing you and following you. Teach me how to say, YES, and how to follow your ways. Thank you for choosing me to live in obedience, now just teach me what that means and how to live it out.

Affirmations

I have been chosen for obedience to Jesus Christ!

My trials are producing genuine authentic faith!

I would love to hear from you! Leave a messasge and I will make sure it gets posted!

I know it seems I have been missing in action. So, I just wanted to send a brief update, and send Christmas Blessings to each of you who log in to follow this blog.

I haven’t blogged because I have been pretty sick, and just keeping my regular schedule has been challenging. I am meeting with a surgeon this morning to have my gallbladder removed. Basically, it quit working, so it’s gotta go. In the meantime, I have been forced by illness to a fast of sorts….anything makes me sick! I am feeling sad that I can not even have ONE Christmas cookie!!! Have I ever told you that I love Christmas Cookies??

Speaking of the “the meantime”…Today is the Monday before Christmas. We have a few days to not only get ready to celebrate and spend time enjoying the holiday, but also we have a few days to ponder, reflect and meditate on the birth of the Savior.

Prepare room for Him in your heart this week, in your head this week, and in your interactions with others.

I look forward to 2010, and will join you again…then.

In the meantime, I will trust the God who holds all things together, and works to conform everything to His will ( Eph 1:11)

Merry Christmas

Debbie

Silently and without fanfare the disease went into a back closet, I began to feel well, and tests reflected the remission. What once was a Dr. telling me that he suspected my liver would burn out in 3-5 years, has become many more years of life…27 more years to be exact! In the end, for each of us, God is the author of our days, isn’t He?

So, while some are distressed about getting older, I am humbled by it as the years go by. Thankful for the time, my family, friends, and love. Thankful for the opportunity to look for God in all things and learn about him more and more. Thankful for the gift of being his instrument, as the Bible says we are. Thankful for purpose in the mundane, purpose in loving others, and purpose in spiritual growth. And, yes thankful for even lessons learned in all my dumb mistakes!

But, I have not always been thankful on my birthdays. I used to get wierd, dysfunctional, and disappointed. Many women tell me they can relate to that. But about 5 years ago, that turned around. God led me to think of others on “my day”. I planned a luncheon with my friends and carefully selected gifts for “them”. What a joy it was to celebrate them as a reflection of celebrating my own life. That turned everything around for me. What a lesson.

Today, I celebrate.

I celebrate you, dear friends…

• Some of you are my family, past and present…Oh, I want you to know I love you deeply and always.
• Some of you are personal friends…I want you to know I could not imagine life without you.
• Some of publishing friends…I am grateful for you and the opportunities you have opened for me to glorify God and bring women closer to Him.
• Some are friend from my church Cornerstone Fellowship in Livermore, CA… what a joy to share in church community together!
• Some are new friends from retreats and speaking engagements, some are old friends from Orange County, L.A. or Bakersfield.
• Some of you are even friends who have met me through reading my books.

But, one thing for sure…your lives have touched mine, and I love you.

These days I start my “new year” with a theme, a verse to process and hold on to. I would like to share this year’s with you:

From the Message

Psalm 33

“From where he sits he overlooks all us earth-dwellers. He has shaped each person in turn, now he watches everything we do. Watch this. God’s eye is on those who respect him, the ones who are looking for his love. He’s ready to come to their rescue in bad times, in lean times he keeps body and soul together. We’re depending on GOD; he’s everything we need. What’s more, our hearts brim with joy since we’ve taken for our own his holy name. Love us, GOD, with all  you’ve got, that’s what we’re depending on.”

It starts in those first moments. How were those spent this morning? Did you get up and dash? Get up and stress? Get up and make your way to the coffee?

I would like to challenge you to make a small shift in lifestyle that will make a big difference in living productively and peacefully in Christ. This shift involves the first 15. Begin each day by turning your focus immediately on things above and on the God who loves you and is with you. When we wake to start another day, it is by His providence that our body wakes. It makes sense to begin the day thanking Him for life, committing to Him the day, and focusing heavenward first thing.

Acts 17: 28 “For in him we live and move and have our being.”

Psalm 5:3 ” In the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.”

Isa 50:4 ” He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being  taught.”

How do I apply this in practical ways?

Prepare the night before for the first 15.

Set your alarm to go off to praise music ( CD or ipod or Christian radio)

Have a verse for the week, on a card, near your bed. Immediately read the verse out loud, and begin thanking God for the truth of the verse, praying it, talking to the Lord about your day. Lay your immediate, upon waking, requests before him. This sets your heart towards “waiting on him” in attitude the entire day.

Read from a daily devotional, or through a set place in Scripture, and then think about what you read. Journal or pray.

Now, go out and live practicing the presence of God all day, remembering His Word.

This first 15 does NOT take place of a bible study, or relationship with God. It is NOT a legalistic approach, but an honest, spiritually responsible approach to setting your focus heavenward first thing in the morning. The first 15 sets you in a place of NO MORE EXCUSES.

If you are attending a bible study class, you may want to have a different time alloted for doing that study. This 15 minutes is a devotional stance before God, first thing, each day.

It does not even require sitting, if you are truly on the run. It does require, looking UP, Praying Up, and surrender to Living Up! This surrender happens first thing…in the first 15 minutes.

You may have to remind yourself of that early morning committment many times during the day…that is OK. Keep pulling your heart and mind back to God. He is with you.

This life is a sacred journey, lived one ordinary moment at a time.

Maybe it’s that I am getting older, or maybe it’s  God stirring me, but I can not quit thinking about how quickly life goes by, and how much of it I waste on trivial stuff…like worry, living in disappointment, hanging tightly to insecurity or suffocating in fears. Things like holding on to a grudge or taking things too personally. You know, those every day unspoken types of things. While we are holding on to these things, life is racing by and days that could be filled with the goodness of loving others and serving God with full hearts, are being checked off the calendar…never to be given to us again.

Our best life waits us each day when we open up our eyes. Each day, whether rich or poor, sick or healthy, offers a grand surprise of His Presence. We often are so busy that we miss it, don’t we? But, Today is the day. The day to come to attention, thanking God for life, and living it with a gratefulness that fills our hearts and changes our perspective.

No more humbug, no more spiraling down. It’s the day to Live Up! Living Up! in all that God has created us to be, in Him. Are you a mother? Love your children! Are you a wife? Honor your husband! Are you a friend? Remember to care and be there! Are you part of a church? Quit criticizing the pastor!

This holiday season I want to reclaim, once again, what is mine in Christ. A relationship, vital, personal, intimate and growing…with the God who made me, and Jesus Christ who redeemed me from the old girl that was lost in herself, in her personal history, and in her dysfunction. Jesus changes lives, and I want to continue the journey of change.

Well, gotta go for now, the carpet cleaner is here…after all, it is also time to deck the halls and cleaning our carpets is on today’s calendar square. But, in that square is also the call to come to Him, be renewed in Him, and experience Him…one calendar square at a time.

How about you?