So Proud!

Check out my youngest son's blog

www.elijahschhh.blogspot.com

Love,

A very proud Mom

A Ram is on the Way

This morning during our production meeting, our team was discussing the attributes of God. We were filling in the blank. God is..............
God is safe
God is dangerous
God is boundless
God is powerful
God is mercy
God is...on and on
God is.

During our discussion we turned to the image of God being provider. And that discussion turned to money. And thithing. Some tough questions, thoughts and biblical truths were being woven into the converstation. In light of our unstable ecomony, loss of income, foreclosures, escalating debt and fears--this converstation became uncomfortable (God is dangerous) and very convicting.

And then I came home to this e-devotional. Very appropriate. No matter your situation.....A RAM IS COMING. Just like with Abraham, it was walking up the mountian just as he was. God...providing an answer. God...providing a way. God. Providing.

I have posted it here. Enjoy. A Ram is on the Way!


"So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, 'On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.'" Genesis 22:14 (NIV)

Have you ever been in a situation so desperate that it looked hopeless?Have you ever sat at the kitchen table wondering how you were going to pay the electric bill? Have you ever stood at a door that's been slammed in your face by an angry teenager and despaired at ever having a relationship with him again? Have you ever had your heart broken so deeply that you wondered if you would ever feel whole again? Sadly, we live in a broken world where desperate situations happen every day. I know someone reading this devotion is wondering how she will make it through the day because her situation looks hopeless. If that is you, I encourage you to keep reading. I believe God has a message of hope for you today.That message is found in the Bible, in the story of a man who was dealing with his own desperate situation. His name was Abraham and he faced the greatest testing of his life. After longing for a son for many years, God finally gave Abraham a boy, whom he named Isaac. Abraham never imagined God would test his faith by asking him to sacrifice his son. But it happened. It had to have been the darkest day of Abraham's life as he trudged up the mountain, with firewood strapped to his son's back. Every step took Abraham closer to what he believed to be the sad ending of a hopeless situation – the death of his son. Yet in spite of his sorrow, Abraham trusted God. His heart wasn't soaring with joy. He wasn't dancing up the mountain. But he put one foot in front of the other. Walking through the darkness of the situation; obeying His God's commands. Unbeknownst to Abraham, something else was walking up that mountain. Quietly. Out of sight. On the other side of the mountain. Something else was putting one foot in front of the other. Only Abraham couldn't see it. For every step Abraham took, a ram on the other side of the mountain took a step. All Abraham saw that day was his solitary journey of pain. As he got closer to the top of the mountain, his dread must have increased. I wonder if he asked himself any questions. I would have. I would have wondered why hadn't God intervened? Why hadn't God stopped this testing? Couldn't God see that Abraham was a man of faith? Why test him in this way? But there was no answer. There was no voice from heaven. And so Abraham kept obeying his God's command. He put Isaac on an altar and prepared to sacrifice his one and only son.And just at that very moment, at the very last second, when it looked like the end had come, God spoke, stopping the sacrifice. Abraham looked up and there caught in the thicket was a ram. Abraham took his son off the altar, replaced him with the ram, and offered the sacrifice to God. Abraham named that place "Yahweh-Yireh" or "The Lord Will Provide." And the story was written down for generations of God-followers to read. It was written so that you and I today would read it as we face our own hopeless situations. It was captured in print so that you and I would know that God is already planning for our provision. We don't see it. We don't hear it. But we can trust that our God is at work. On your behalf, and on mine.

I choose to trust God today. A ram is on the way.

(author: Glynnis Whitwer
emphasis mine)

Your Identity

Our Church (www.powhatancc.org) is doing a church wide study for 6 weeks called WIRED for Life. This study is unique in that it was written by the staff of our church for our church. I have found this study to be really engaging and PERSONAL. For someone like me, who sometimes finds it hard to believe that God would really love ME...it has been very very PERSONAL. I need reminding of who I am in Christ. So...for any of you who might deal with thoughts of being insufficient, underserving, inadequate and overcome with your "history"--be reminded of who you are in Christ!
In Christ you are…
• God’s beloved child (Jn 1:12: Eph 1:5)
• Christ’s dear friend (Jn 15:5)
• Declared perfectly righteous (“justified”) (Rom 5:1)
• Free from condemnation (Rom 8:1; Col 2:14-16)
• United with Christ, “one spirit” with Christ (I Cor 6:17; Eph 5:31)
• A member of Christ’s body (I Cor 6:15/ 12:27)
• The Temple of God (I Cor 6:19)
• Filled with the “fullness of God” (Eph 3:19)
• A “holy one” [saint] (Eph 1:1)
• Blessed with every spiritual blessing (Eph 1:3)
• Holy and blameless (Eph 1:4)
• Bought with an infinite price and forgiven (I Cor 6: 20; Eph 1:7; Col 1:14)
• Bathed with wisdom and understanding (Eph 1:8)
• The recipient of an eternal, infinitely rich, inheritance (Eph 1:11, 18)
• Possessed with the mind of Christ (I Cor 2:16)
• Inseparable form God’s love (Rom 8:35-39)
• One who will NEVER be abandoned (Mt 28:20)
• The beautiful bride of Christ who “ravishes” the heart of God (Song of Songs, 4:1ff; 6:4ff).
• One over whom the Lord rejoices, sings and claps his hands(Zeph 3:17)
• One for whom the Lord throws a party (Zeph 3:17; Lk 15:7-10)
• A recipient of God’s own peace (Jn 14:27)
• Filled with the peace and joy of God (Rom 14:17)
• One in whom Christ’s joy is fulfilled (Jn 15:11)
• Given direct access to the Father by the Holy Spirit (Eph 2:18)
• Seated with Christ in heavenly realms (Eph 2:6)
• Seated “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion” with Christ (Eph 1:21).
• Hid in Christ in heavenly realms (Col 3:1-5)
• Crucified, Buried and Raised with Christ (Rom 6:1-11)
• Made perfect forever (Heb 10:14)
• Made complete in Christ (Col 2:10)
• Indwelled by a fearless Spirit (2 Tim 1:7)
• One of God’s precious works of art (Eph 2:10)
• Indwelt by a spirit of power, love and stability (2 Tim 1:7)
• A citizen of heaven (Phil 3:20)
• One in whom God is working to bring good out of evil (Rom 8:28)
• Salt of the earth (Mt 5:13)
• A branch chosen to bear fruit (Jn 15:16)
• A co-worker with God (I Cor 3:9)
• An ambassador of Christ and minister of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:17-20)
• A priest of the most high God ( I Pet 2:5-9)
• More than a conqueror in all things (Rom 8:37)
• One who knows Satan is a disarmed laughing stock (Col 2:14-15).
• One who knows the truth and is set free (Jn 8:32).
• One who can do all things in Christ (Phil 4:13)

AMEN!!!

PS 22 Chorus Check these kids out!

So...many of you may already know about this group but this is a new discovery for me. They are incredilbe! But am really inspired by their teacher! Don't know who this guy is but we need more teachers like him! Incredibly gifted, overflowing with compassion...this guy loves his job! It oozes out of him. Should I mention that these kids are only 5th graders!?! They are intercity school kids from NYC! Check out more of their videos on You Tube.

Called Out

As I prepare this morning to leave on a pre-project trip for my summer IWC assignment, I had to pause and spend a little quiet time with God. The house is quiet, I can hear birds singing outside, the sun is shining and God is here.

I picked up my book The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus. I flipped the pages and came to this:

"Just do whatever Jesus calls you to do the moment it is clear to you. Do not procrastinate; do not hesitate; do not deviate from whatever course of action He calls you to. But I want to warn you, the closer you walk with Christ, the greater the faith required. The more you trust Him, the more you'll risk on his behalf. The more you love Him, the more you will love others. If you genuinely embrace His sacrifice, you will joyfully embrace a sacrificial life. Your expectations of Jesus will change as your intimacy with Him deepens. When you begin to follow after Jesus, you will inadvertently find yourself innovating. After all, Jesus is trasnforming lives, writing history, creating the future, and unleashing the Kingdom of God. If you plan to keep step with Jesus the Pioneer, you better expect some changes."

This really spoke to me this morning. This project this summer is very different than any I have done before. I have become comfortable in the projects I have done in the past--confident in the skills God has given me to carry out the ministry end of a project. Today, I think God was reminding me that I am going to have to be an innovator of sorts..trying new things..looking in new directions to be effective this summer. My encouragement comes with knowing that Jesus is an innovator and is transforming lives around me everyday. My church is innovative..changing our community everyday. IWC is innovative..impacting the lives of students.

Jesus- give me your eyes to see the needs around me; give me your heart to love these like you do; give me your vision for the local church and your work being done there; give me your creative and innovative spirit that I might find THE most effective means to share your name in all I do.

I want to be a risk taker. I want to impact the world for Your namesake and for Your kingdom. I want to love You with intensity. I want to be consumed by your presence.

I want to be a part of making Your name famous in Macedonia.

Hello...my name is GRATITUDE

It has been such a long time since I have posted anything here. I have been so busy here at the end of the year with the holiday and all things that come with it. But as we begin 2009, I have been thinking about 2008. No doubt that this year has brought it challenges! However, I cannot help but think of all the things that I have been blessed with..........therefore I have determined that my name is GRATITUDE.

Hello Anxiety....my name is Gratitude. While you try to dominate my life with your naggings of finances in a time of economic instability...I am grateful. Unlike many in the world, I have a roof over my head. I have heat. I have a switch that I flip and the lights come on. I have this big metal thing that automatically fills with clean water and it swirls around and my clothes come out clean. I also have this other metal thing that spins around and my clean wet clothes come out dry. I have yet another metal thing that has wheels. It takes me to a job, to the doctor when we are sick. It takes me to church, school, the grocery store, the park and to my Daddy's house. I also have a shiny silver thing that you turn the knob on and clean drinking water comes out.

MY NAME IS GRATITUDE.

Hello Fear....my name is Gratitude. When you try to paralyze me with your taunts...I am grateful. I am grateful for the peace that God speaks over me when I ask for it. When my youngest son travels halfway across the world in a big metal thing that cruises 37,000 feet in the air, I am grateful for a God who loves him more than I do. When my two other sons come and go back and forth from college and work, I am grateful that they arrive safely. I am grateful that they have big metal things with wheels. Fear....when you try and overcome me with your choking feeling over the loss of my husband's job--I am grateful that he had one in the first place. And that I still have mine. I think of poor children in Rowanda who break rocks all day to earn a meager wage to support their families...denied of an education to perform this job, they have no hope of a better life.

MY NAME IS GRATITUDE.

Hello Pride....my name is Gratitude. When you try to blind me and distort my thoughts...I am grateful. Grateful to a God who gently reminds me that pride has no place in our lives. We are who we are only because of Him. And because He loved us first. I am grateful for friends and family who can hold me accountable. When I begin to think that I am "all that"--I am grateful for ANY reminder that shows me that I am not. No matter how embarrassing the reminder might be. Because Pride, MY NAME IS GRATITUDE.

Hello anything that seperates me from God...my name is Gratitude. When I become romanced by your good looks and enticing ways, I am grateful. Grateful that I know the difference. Grateful that I have become mature enough to know your ways and to not succomb to them. Grateful that I can recognize you a million miles away--most of the time. And when I can't, I become acutely aware of the ONE thing for which I am MOST grateful. Matter of fact, I am overwhelmed with gratitude over this One thing. I simply cannot describe my gratitude for this One thing. This One thing IS my everything. This One thing is the axis on which my world pivots. This One thing gives me hope for 2009 and security for my future. This One thing gives my life purpose and meaning. This One thing is how I measure my life and my love for family. This One thing for which I am eternally grateful is this......

Jesus Christ.

The One.

The Only.

Hello Jesus....My name is Gratitude.

My **new* January schedule:

Richmond to Washington/Dulles
Washington/Dulles to Vienna
Vienna to Prague
Prague to Budapest
Budapest to Skopje, Macedonia
Skopje, Macedonia to Vienna
Vienna to Washington/Dulles
Washington/Dulles to Vienna

I have always wanted to go to Austria and run across the green hills singing all my Sound of Music favorites....My layover is only two hours. I might have to run down the shiny polished floors in the airport instead. Wonder if that will cause any crazy looks?

Oh...did I mention that I hate to fly? And I just gained an extra leg?