Faith and Trust: Week 10 Chapters 9 & 10

 Linda does a review over the previous chapters. Here are some points to remind ourselves of what we have read and studied over the past 9 weeks.

• Chapter 1: What we are on the inside, what we continually think about, eventually shows in our words, actions, and even our countenances (appearance, especially our facial expressions) pg.11
• Chapter 2: Most of us can categorize our lives in both positive and negative ways. What do you focus on the mud or the stars? Pgs 27-28
• Chapter 3: Are you content to be you? Are you willing to be stretched to discover your abilities and spiritual gifts.
• Chapter 4: Are you content with your role in the here and now? Pg 57
• Chapter 5: Contentment in our relationships. How often do we unintentionally hurt others? pg 71
• Chapter 6: Never enough. Keeping an attitude of gratitude. Pg. 99
• Chapter 7: Where is your focus? "Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of the things which matter least"--Goethe
• Chapter 8: Worry... God teach me to trust you in all areas of my life pg 126

In chapter 9 we go over the foundation of Faith. Linda calls Faith "the bridge that arches above the tumultuous waters of discontent and takes us where contentment flourishes". pg 41
For me Faith is knowing God has even when we feel like it is not here yet.Faith is living beyond our worldly mindset and having an eternal perspective.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (NASB)

Read the book of Daniel chapter 10: I learned so much from this chapter. Daniel prayed and for 3 weeks he did not see (with natural eyes) his answered prayers, but God sent the answer the moment Daniel asked, but there was a fight in the spiritual realm and it took awhile for it to reach Daniel... Here is the key Daniel never gave up the faith he continued to believe God sent forth the answer and he received. 

Faith is being rooted in God's character. Faith is based on Gods word and knowing it is the all truth, not based on our feelings.

Chapter 10 Trusting God with the what ifs.
This all goes back to chapter 8 Worry is like a rocking chair.
What if and if only both lack the eyes of faith. The what ifs lead to anxiety and the if only lead to anger. I can not go back and change the past, but I can start trusting in God now and have a hope for a better future.

Lord we thank you for this beautiful day. We ask you Lord to help us keep our eyes focused on You and Your Word. Thank You Lord for bringing us peace, joy. You are our strength. In Jesus Name Amen.

Ladies I hope you all have a wonderful week and don't forget to encourage one another in the Lord.
God Bless...

Worry is Like a Rocking Chair Chapter 8 week 8

Good morning ladies,
     I pray you all had a wonderful week. I did and I went to an amazing women's retreat this weekend. We will talk about all that in another chapter. Chapter 8 touched my heart in so many ways, worry is not something to play with. I is not just nothing if you know what I mean. Worry takes you away from faith and without faith we can't please God. Chapter 9 is about faith and we will talk about all that next week, so make sure you read the chapter.
  
     OK, so enough rambling. I am going to go over this chapter now :) . George Muller said: " The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith. The beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety." I had to think about this allot. I know the word says "without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him" (NASB), so when we worry are we limiting what we believe and know God can do in our lives. I think we do and it should not be this way. Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they? Think about these things how much are we limiting God in our lives. When we worry we are shutting the door to faith and not allowing God to work in our lives. When God said He is our provider, healer, savior, He is the blessed controller of all things, but we have to allow Him to be in our own lives. Do you remember the hymn "Leave it there" If not here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSMK6UqAAPY&feature=related. Please listen I know this is not modern, but it is true and this song is perfect for leaving all your burdens with the Lord.

     Ask God to teach you to trust Him in all the areas of your life. Don't let worry become your middle name. I have struggled with this for years and God told me to study all I can on faith, it is the opposite of worry. Next week we will talk more about faith. I love you all and have a wonderful day....

Calm My Anxious Heart Week 7 Part 1

Good morning ladies, I hope you all had a wonderful week.  I did and God is really showing me a lot about my faulty focus.  I am the type of person who stays busy, but without an actual purpose.  I am a list maker, but I never stick to it because I put so much on that list that it feels impossible to finish and then I run around aimlessly.  This week I am making it a goal to make realistic lists and to create a plan that is feasible.  I was praying and I asked God to guide me in a more peaceful direction on how I go about doing things.  As I was praying God asked me how are most businesses and churches ran. He showed me they start off with a mission statement, goals, and a plan.  I then created a mission statement for our family. It is not perfect and it is a work in progress.  I wrote it in present tense; because it is more positive that way, so don’t go thinking that we have accomplished all of this yet.  This is a guide for me and my family to stay on track on what God is showing us.

                                              Mace Family Mission

We have an active and loving relationship with God, which allows us to have a more abundant, and peaceful life while here on earth.  Joel and I have an amazing relationship.  We have a wonderful relationship with our children.  We have an active and healthy lifestyle.  We are debt free!  We have a peaceful home full of Joy and laughter.  We have a successful business and are able to keep up with its demands while instilling integrity to those around us.  Our things are really Gods things and we take care of them, as we should.  We know what we want out of life and Christ is at the front and center of it.  We are a fun, loving and Christ like family in which God is the potter and we are the clay.  Not our will Lord, but Your will.

A few years back I created a personal vision statement, I had lost it in all the paper clutter I have around here.  I was going through a drawer and I found it stuck to the back of a book. Gods timing is always perfect.

My personal vision statement is to use my encouraging and giving personality to lift up and inspire others to help one another, and use the gifts God has given each one of us to help the church and the world become a better place.

It is not perfect either, but it is a start to help me stay on track of what God has shown me to strive for and I am sure that these will change as time goes on, but this is my focus for now. 

Linda Dillow also asked about a personal scripture. Mine is Psalm 34:1-22 (yes the whole chapter. J )

I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear of it and be glad.
Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.   I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.  They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.  The angel^[a] of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them.
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!  Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints!  There is no want to those who fear Him.  The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.
Come, you children, listen to me;  I will teach you the fear of the LORD.   Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good?
 Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.  Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.  The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart,  And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
 Many are the afflictions of the righteous; But the LORD delivers him out of them all.
He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken.
Evil shall slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.

Well that is all I have for today. I pray you all have a wonderful and blessed week.

Content in Relationships & Never Enough Weeks 5&6

Hello Ladies,
     I hope you all had a wonderful couple of weeks. I am feeling much better thank you all for your prayers. As I was going over my notes for these two chapters I thought about how much God has dealt with me and Joel over the past few years in these exact areas. God continues to amaze me everyday.

Chapter 5: Content in Relationships
     As I was reading chapter 5 I thought about how often do we unintentionally hurt others? I know that most of the time we don't mean to hurt someone else and they probably do not mean to hurt us, but we allow ourselves to get caught up in the moment. Think about the hurts that you have went through, was there a way we could have avoided that hurt? On that day were you actually looking to get offended? I think about this because our attitude is a choice. We can choose have a bad day and we can choose to have a wonderful day. It is a choice we have to make everyday. Sometimes it is very hard to make that choice and we have to remind ourselves over and over and over that we chose to have a good day, but it is worth it. Making the choice to have a joyful day will not only bring peace into your life, but also to those around you. Don't let a bitter root grow inside you and eat you from the inside out. Ask God to teach you, and mold you, show you how to make the right decisions every moment.

Chapter 6: Never Enough
I love this chapter. I think about how much is enough all the time. I use to do what you call shop therapy, where when I was down on myself I would just shop shop shop. I still struggle with this, but I have cut way down. At one point in time I had all of our credit cards maxed out, when I finally realized what I was doing it was almost too late there was no way I could afford the monthly minimum payments plus how was I going to shop with no money. One day a friend told me about Dave Ramsey. I told Joel and we sat down a made a budget together and followed Dave's MyTotalMoneyMakeover plan. In two years we paid off every credit card, Dr. bills, and even our second mortgage, we also learned about tithing and was giving all while paying off our debt. God has shown me that when we put God first in everything he always provides a way. That does not mean He just gives it to us, it takes work and diligence, but if we focus on Him in all our ways things will work out just fine.  People love to hear other people's testimonies about what God has done or is doing through their lives, but others are rarely willing to go through what they went through to get it. She asks us: Where is your treasure? Where is your heart? Whom do you serve? Where is your focus? I think we should ask ourselves daily about these exact things, and pray to God to search our hearts daily and reveal any hurtful way in us.


That is all for today I might think of some more this week. I pray you all have a wonderful and Blessed day.