Going Deeper

Happy Birthday Madeleine!!!!

2011-05-02T11:05:00.000-07:00

December 30, 2008

Dear Madeleine,

This afternoon I went to the doctor and got to hear your heart beat once again! I love hearing it. It is the highlight of each visit! The doctor says that you are a strong girl! I knew you were a strong one when we had your first ultra sound. You were just measuring six weeks and two days. Since you were so very small the ultra sound tech told your father and I that we probably wouldn’t see much of anything and most likely wouldn’t get a heartbeat yet. But just as soon as she began the ultra sound there you were tiny but strong!! Your heart was just flickering away like crazy as we watched the screen. The tech was surprised, and of course, we were so excited! I thought to myself in that moment, “She is a strong one!”

Madeleine I pray that you will grow and mature and give thanks for your strong physical body, knowing you were created and formed by God! I pray you will appreciate the wonders of your body and respect how God has made you.

Psalm 139 Says,

“You formed my inward parts You wove me in my mother’s womb.

I will give thanks to You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are Your works and my soul knows it very well. My frame

was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully

wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance,

and in Your book were written the days that were ordained

for me. When as yet there was not one of them. How precious also are

Your thoughts to me, O God! If I should count them, they would out

number the sand.”

How amazing to think little Madeleine that God wonderfully formed and wove you together fearfully and that He made you in secret! His eyes watched you even when you were unformed! He wrote in His book all your days and He has so many thoughts of you that they out number all the sand on the whole earth and each thought about you He says is precious!

Oh Madeleine let the truths take root deep in your heart and rejoice in God your Maker!

With Love, Mom

Just a little note that I wrote to her before she was born.

Poem Written by My Mother

2011-04-11T11:50:00.000-07:00

God’s Abiding Love

My child, it is to you I write

Because I so love you.

Do you not understand,

How I love you ?

My love I gave to you

from the very beginning.

Even before the foundations

Of the earth were laid,

It is you I have sought and

So loved.

For you I’ve done so many things,

Yet you do not listen, nor do you

Hear.

I’ve sheltered you, covered you,

So that you were kept warm.

Still you seek your ways,

And do not see it is I,

Who gives you comfort

And rest.

Through many struggles

And ways you’ve wondered.

It is yet the world that’s given

You nothing but pain.

My child, My child,

Haven’t I told you ?

I will never leave you !

My arms are out stretched,

And in My hands I’m holding

You.

O precious, precious child,

Do you still not hear Me?

I so love you, and yet…

“Until now you have asked for nothing

In My name; ask and you will receive,

so that your joy may be made full.”

- John 16:24

As God’s children we know there is no love greater,

Than God sacrificing His Precious Son Jesus Christ

In our behalf.

Written by - Marie Funk

April 9, 2011

2011-03-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

Do you realize that you always have and always will need to be sheltered?

Do you realize that you always have and always will need a shepherd?

God never intended us to be independent of Him ever!!

Look what happens in heaven…

Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple;
and He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Rev 7:15-17

The Blog Trail

2011-03-25T09:32:00.000-07:00

I would like to share this Spurgeon quote that I saw on Noel Piper’s Blog, which actually originated from her niece Sunny’s blog…

“To tell about Jesus without the cross is to betray Him with a kiss.”

This then led me to the Word of God…

Notice what Paul writes in I Corinthians 2…

“For I have determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”

I Corinthians 2:2

March 22

2011-03-22T07:59:00.000-07:00

Today is a day of memorial for us. It has been three years. Kevin wrote me this last year.

March 22,

Today is a day of sorrow laced with joy

We lost a baby in the womb we thought might be a boy

But now a girl to our surprise fills us up deep inside

She is the apple of our eye, little Mady sugar pie

The one gone is so missed

The one who is here will be so kissed

May God continue to give us strength and fill us with His grace

Knowing that someday we will see our beloved face to face

When we enter home, our dwelling place

I Love you Mary King.

Thanks for Sharing

2011-03-09T13:34:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my dear friend Cassidy asked for my bible, snagged it off the counter, eagerly turned the pages, and hit me with this...

"For My hand made all things, thus all these things came into being," declares the Lord.

"But to this one I will look,

to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word."

Isaiah 66:2

How can I add to that? Thanks for sharing Cassidy. I just can't get over this verse! I've been meditating on it ever since.

February 22

2011-02-23T08:58:00.000-08:00

Written by: Kevin King

February 22

The month after January, sometimes I wish it would not come

Oh that it would see March and just take off and run,

But here it is again,

With all it’s sorrow, tears and pain.

Thank God, He reminds me of the hope I have in His Son,

For on the 22^nd day of this month God told my brother well done,

Laced with great sorrow and great joy I thank God this month has come,

Reminding me this is the day He took my brother home.

In loving memory of Keith King

Beloved son, brother, friend

2011-02-09T11:09:00.000-08:00

Sorry my dearest blog! I promise I have not forgotten you!

My precious WEB LOG even though you may be feeling abandoned please know that you are in my thoughts daily. It has just been a very consuming and challenging couple of weeks between Kevin being out of town, Mady being sick, Kevin returning home busier than ever, Kevin getting sick, both cars breaking down on the same day and on and on…

But here is some food for thought…

“Watch over your heart [mind] with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.” Proverbs 4:23

My experience has been when life gets so hectic and overwhelming the mind tends to become the biggest battlefield! Discouraging thoughts barrel right in like they own the place, demanding immediate attention and affection. So I say, “be diligent, man the post, stay on guard!” Sometimes all it takes is a short sharp dagger of a scripture to renew. "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Or keep at it and try a whole chapter. Isaiah 43 (a great Cassidy recommend!)

What about a whole book? I just have to say one of the coolest things is knowing the whole book of Ephesians cause when I start quoting it out loud by chapter 4 the devil is long gone, he knows that I still have two chapters to go and if he keeps it up I will just repeat it and hammer him all over again! I just had to do another scripture memorization plug! What can I say…? It has great benefit. Would you rather hear me say it wasn’t worth the hard work and perseverance? Well… I’m never gonna!! It was soooooo worth it.

Please don’t roll your eyes while reading this and say, “She makes it sound so easy to win the battle in the mind.” Believe me, I know it is not! This is just a shout out to say endure… hold fast… faithful ones.

“But resist him, [the devil] firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” I Peter 5:9-10

Fun in Minnesota

2011-02-02T15:17:00.000-08:00

Kevin and Peter were very busy during their down time at the Desiring God Pastors Conference in Minnesota...

Jesus Marveled

2011-01-27T05:30:00.000-08:00

Marvel - to be wondered at, to be had in admiration

And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented." Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it." Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.” Matthew 8:5-10

I just love that Jesus marveled! It is easy to read right pass that without pausing because we all marvel, but wait just a second... this is Jesus marveling, God in the flesh is saying…WOW! Why did He marvel? Because the centurion’s faith in Him was so great! Greater than anyone else in Israel!

Oh how I would love for Christ to look upon my heart and say,” WOW… you my child, have a faith that I hold in admiration.” I can feel tears welling up in my eyes as I think about that. Yes, I know that one day I will be completely sanctified in Christ and He who has begun a good work in me will have fully perfected my faith, but I am just thinking about today and asking Him to grow my faith because I just want Him to marvel again!

Jesus in Every Book of the Bible

2011-01-26T12:43:00.000-08:00

I just had to share this with you. Please excuse me as I type this with tears in my eyes. How completely AWESOME is JESUS!! About four years ago my husband was in a church planting meeting, where a group of men came together looking to start a church and people thought My husband was somewhat extreme about preaching Jesus. Some of them said, "You can't preach Jesus from the old testament." Well my brothers this 11 year old just did!!

Mady Loves Her Bible

2011-01-26T05:30:00.000-08:00

I just have to share this cute story about our little Madeleine. A few days ago she started taking her little Bible with her everywhere like to bed, bath and beyond (lol). And, “no” I wasn’t paid or perked for that name drop. (lol again) Mady is only 20 months old so her bible isn't a King James Version or anything, it is a little book that says” My first Bible” and it contains a few bible story’s. While reading it to her I told her in a very dramatic voice that God said,” NO! NO! Do not eat the apples from the tree" to Adam and Eve and when we get to Samson and Delilah I point at Delilah and say NO! NO! Don’t cut his hair! (A funny side note here, when she looks at the picture of Samson knocking down the pillars, she says, “daddy!” I hope that doesn’t make me Delilah. YIKES!) So this afternoon she was sitting on the potty browsing through her beloved bible, when all of the sudden I hear her yelling NO! NO! rather aggressively , so I headed right for the bathroom, quickly making my way down the hall, wondering what the fuss was all about. What did I find? Not a thing was wrong she was just yelling at Delilah, pointing her finger and everything. She is so into this bible thing! I love that she right away correlated, Mommy and Daddy have a bible and so do I, even though they look very different. Our bibles are big, brown and leather and hers is very colorful and made of cardboard but somehow she still knows they are all bibles even though we never told her.

I guess I am excited because she is noticing that we seem to have our bibles with us a lot and she is trying to be like us. She sees that we take them in the car, have them at church, use them in the morning and night and that daddy pretty much uses his all the time. Even at this early age, she understands the Bible is important to us and I feel so blessed to be a good example, at least this one time, because most of the time I pray she doesn’t imitate the not so great things about me, which I fear she sees more than I like. So now… my prayer is that she falls deeper in love with her bible everyday and of course I hope soon it will be big, brown and leather.

“Praise the Lord! How blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on the earth!!...” Psalm 112:1-2a

Enjoy The Ride

2011-01-24T05:30:00.000-08:00

It just completely boggles my mind how unpredictable life is! Isn’t it humorous how we still try to plan out everything even though it is completely obvious that we are not in control? Total DENIAL!! While Kevin and I were out for a run this afternoon I starting thinking “I can’t believe I am running down this street toward that house. I can’t believe we live here. I never thought we would… ever! I can’t even believe I’m even running. I never thought I would… ever. I can’t believe that somehow, someway, I am now a pastor’s wife. I never even dreamed…ever. I can’t believe I am a mother. I never imagined….ever.” I can’t even picture what tomorrow will be like because it is never what I plan or envision. So while pondering all these things I remembered a verse “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21 Even though my life hasn’t turned out even close to what I planned I rejoice because I know His plans for me are so much better! So I know I need to relax a little and enjoy the ride! [so to speak]

2011-01-19T10:50:00.000-08:00

Do you ever feel overwhelmed? Of course you do… Right? But what I want to talk about is that overwhelming feeling you experience when you know there is so much to be done and suddenly a loud voice begins to chant…,” You aren’t doing enough!” I have this feeling a lot especially when it comes to ministry. There is always a need. I see so much ministry opportunity, so many things to do and so little time, I just want to help out in everything! Can you relate? Here are some examples… You watch a movie about a missionary and then all you want to do is rush out of the country as fast as you can and save the world. Or you see a documentary about adoption and now you have plans to adopt a whole orphanage. Or perhaps someone you love is suffering and you are going to jump into action and save the day no matter what it takes!! Ok, so these examples are somewhat extreme, but don’t we all go there at times? Don’t get me wrong, I think all these feelings come out of a soft heart, and we should be open and ready for God to use us in any capacity He chooses, but sometimes we just have to take a step back and realize our limitations - God ordained limitations! He gave us a physical body that needs nourishment and rest… and our bodies of course are aging and seem to slow down a bit every year. He also gave 24 hours in a day and a chunk of those hours are to be spent with your head on a pillow!

So what is my point? Why am I blogging about this? Well… with the New Year in full swing we are all busy and I think busyness should not be confused with Godliness. (I am also writing this to myself, hoping that while I reread looking for spelling or punctuation errors, I may actually listen to my own lecture.) I used to sprint around in circles thinking, "who am I? What should I be doing? Where should I go? How can I help?" And if anyone told me I should do something I was going to get it done! After doing the precept upon precept study on spiritual gifts, I have begun to see things differently. God has given me at least one gift maybe more and my focus should be to serve His church with what He gave me and stay focused and content. I think allowing myself to feel overwhelmed and guilty, that I should be doing more, is often times a distraction so I lose my focus and don’t execute my gift. This gift is given to me from God Himself and backed with Holy Spirit power. When I focus, trust God, and employ my gift, God moves and the devil loses ground! I also have to remind myself what my current ministry is. I will always have the same gift or gifts but my ministry may change from time to time. So what is my ministry now? What does God have for me today? When Jesus was here on earth He didn’t set out to do everything but only the ministry God had for Him to do and He was completely satisfied and content in doing only that. Check out John 17:4 “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.” So I want to encourage us to stay focused on what God has for us today and trust Him because He can get work done without us! I’m not talking to the video game addict or couch potato, who needs to stop wasting their life, but I am trying to encourage those of us who will run our bodies mercilessly… you know who you are! Saying no and trusting God is not at all unspiritual!

Lastly, I want to share this prayer I came across that Kay Arthur wrote…

“Father, help me only to listen to Your voice rather than pursuing self-imposed goals or giving into the demands of others. Let me accomplish the work You have given me and then leave the rest in Your capable hands.”

Who AM I?

2011-01-17T06:20:00.000-08:00

I usually have so many ideas swirling around in my head that I want so desperately to blog about but taking care of a very intense 20 month old little girl absorbs most of my time and energy so I just take it day by day. Some days I come across something so powerful it just trumps all my other entry ideas and it immediately takes first place in my mental blog catalog! This is one of those days.

“My name is Pride. I am a cheater.

I cheat you of your God-given destiny… because you demand your own way.

I cheat you of contentment … because you “deserve better than this.”

I cheat you of knowledge … because you already know it all.

I cheat you of healing … because you’re too full of me to forgive.

I cheat you of holiness … because you refuse to admit when you are wrong.

I cheat you of vision … because you’d rather look in the mirror than out the window.

I cheat you of genuine friendship … because nobody’s going to know the real you.

I cheat you of love … because real romance demands sacrifice.

I cheat you of greatness in heaven … because you refuse to wash another’s feet on earth.

I cheat you of God’s glory … because I convince you to seek your own.

My name is pride. I am a cheater. You like me because you think I’m always looking out for you. Untrue. I’m looking to make a fool of you. God has so much for you, I admit, but don’t worry … If you stick with me you’ll never know.” Written by Beth Moore

“A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.” Proverbs 29:23

p.s. A blog (a blend of the term web log) Just thought you might want to know because I didn’t J

2011-01-14T05:30:00.000-08:00

A few days ago Kevin said,” Hey Mary let me read something to you.”

A note from Max…..

“Imagine that you are an ice skater in competition. You are in first place with one more round to go. If you perform well, the trophy is yours. You are nervous, anxious, and frightened. Then, only minutes before your performance, your trainer rushes to you with the thrilling news: “You’ve already won! The judges tabulated the scores, and the person in second place can’t catch you. You are too far ahead. Upon hearing the news, how will you feel? Exhilarated! And how will you skate? ... How about courageously and confidently? You bet you will. You will do your best because the prize is yours. The point is clear: truth will triumph. The Father of truth will win, and the followers of truth will be saved.” Written by Max Lucado

How then shall we run our race dear Christian? … courageously, confidently, joyfully!!! We are assured the prize if we are in Christ Jesus. I just keep going back to this story and pondering… Am I living today like someone who is assured of heaven? Hard to imagine isn’t it? That we can actually live in victory like that! We can, but this is where we need help from the Holy Spirit to open our eyes. That is why I love the prayer in Ephesians 1:18-19 ”I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.” Oh Lord, give us Holy Spirit power to truly see our inheritance so that we can run this Christian race in total freedom and victory!

p.s. Happy 63rd Birthday Dad!!

He Lives!! (Part 2)

2011-01-11T05:30:00.000-08:00

“But Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:24-25

Christ lives to pray for us!

Do you have a busy day today with a lot of tasks that must get done? Jesus is praying for you

Are you a student, who maybe has a huge exam coming up? Jesus is praying for you

Are you feeling alone, heavy hearted? Jesus is praying for you

Do you have a difficult decision to make? Jesus is praying for you

Are you tired and worn out because parenting is hard? Jesus is praying for you

At least once today stop and think about how Christ is praying for you at that very moment and know that the Father hears and answers His prayers. How marvelous to know that moment by moment we are never alone and left to our own strength and wisdom because Jesus is interceding for us!

He Lives

2011-01-10T06:12:00.000-08:00

This is something that I read the other day and immediately underlined!! Now of course… I keep going back and reading it over and over, so I wanted to share it with you…

“Many Christians do not sufficiently realize the work which Jesus Christ is doing for us at this very moment. Many of us believe that He died for our sins. We believe in His death, resurrection, but we forget that after His resurrection, He ascended into heaven and sat down on the right hand of the Father and began to live for us as truly as He died for us.” Corrie Ten Boom

“We have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man”

“But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises” Hebrews 8:1-2,6

In God We Trust?

2011-01-06T05:30:00.000-08:00

Jeremiah 17

Thus says the LORD,

"Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind

And makes flesh his strength,

And whose heart turns away from the LORD.

"For he will be like a bush in the desert

And will not see when prosperity comes,

But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,

A land of salt without inhabitant. (Vs.5-6)

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD

And whose trust is the LORD.

"For he will be like a tree planted by the water,

That extends its roots by a stream

And will not fear when the heat comes;

But its leaves will be green,

And it will not be anxious in a year of drought

Nor cease to yield fruit. (Vs.7-8)

You know how I love to make my lists. Here is a good one for you…

Cursed Man Blessed Man

Trusts in mankind Trusts in the Lord

Makes flesh his strength Is like a tree planted by water

Heart turns away from the Lord Will not fear when heat comes

Is like a bush in the desert its leaves will always be green

Can’t even see when prosperity comes Will not be anxious in drought

Will live in stony wastes in wilderness never ceases to yield fruit

So here is the question of the day. Who do you trust in?

Do You Need A Blanket?

2011-01-04T05:30:00.000-08:00

Do you feel like you are in a difficult situation that is never going to change? Are you going through something that is just too much to bear and sooooo big that you just can’t allow yourself to hope for victory? Are you discouraged? Do you feel like giving up?

Oh come on, you know what I mean! We all have those days when we shout, “I’m just going to stop praying about this because it doesn’t help and nothing is ever going to change!” Maybe you have been in a trial for years now and there seems to be no end in sight and you just don’t think you can bear it another day!

Sometimes when I am discouraged like this the last thing I want to do is pick up my bible and start searching endlessly for that one special passage to make the dark cloud lift. It almost seems safer to cozy up to the discouragement and try to make it my home. Well recently while I was cozying up to some less than comfortable discouragement, I was doing a study in the Word preparing to help someone else, and zap I was jolted with the most awesome verse which has not allowed me to stay discouraged for any length of time since. Of course it was no coincidence that it was the memory verse for the week! So I eagerly committed this one to memory and I fervently beg you do the same. Oh and please… Pray it too!

“Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?” Jeremiah 32:37

NOTHING is too hard for Him, NOTHING is too big and NO ONE is out of His reach.

So there you go… that my friends is one warm cozy blanket! Snuggle up!!

Human Hearts Are Amazingly Alike

2011-01-03T06:31:00.000-08:00

Throughout Corrie Ten Boom’s travels she talked with people in America, England, Switzerland, Germany, Holland and many more places and one thing she always said was,” human hearts are amazingly alike.” To that I give a hardy AMEN! In my few years of ministry I have seen the exact same thing. We all need Jesus, all of the time!

So this year I implore us to walk closely with the Lord and spend some intentional time in the Word of God daily. I was reading Kay Arthur last night and she laid out what happens to us as we try to live a life separate from God’s Word. I actually thought it was one of the best expositions I have heard on the subject of faithful bible reading. So here it is for you…

“I believe that it is absolutely crucial that you and I slow our pace and discipline our time in order to be in the Word of God on a daily basis. Why? Because when we’re not in the Word- reading it through consistently- we forget who our God is and what He expects and requires. We have a tendency to rationalize our humanity and forget His holiness.

We lose our perspective of eternity and become ensnared in the temporal. We lose the burning, overriding passion fueled by truth that brings our flesh into subjection. We lose the heart-desire to be holy, to please God, to be perfect even as our heavenly Father is perfect. We lose the driving inner hunger for righteousness, which comes in those quiet moments of meditation as we sit at the feet of the Most High God in prayer and adoration.”

Have you seen that progression in your life? I told Kevin last night that one way I know I haven’t spent enough time with My Lord is that my mind shifts from thinking of eternity to thinking of the temporal. This may sound strange to you but I think about Heaven often and each day I feel it is closer and more real, but when I move away from the Word, I find that all of the sudden, Heaven doesn’t seem like such a reality anymore.

I know the emphasis here is placed on what we lose if we don’t remain in the God’s Word, but check this out… Just spin the list the other way…

If I slow my pace and discipline my time and spend time in the Word daily:

I will know God and what He expects and requires

I will see God’s holiness

I will not rationalize my humanity

I will have a heart-desire to be holy

I will have an eternal perspective

I will not be ensnared by temporal things

I will have a burning passion fueled by the truth and my flesh will be in subjection to the Spirit

I will desire to be holy and please God

I will hunger for righteousness

How amazing is that! That is definitely what I want this year! How about you?

“My son, give attention to my words… Keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their body” Proverbs 4:20-22

Bye Bye 2010

2010-12-31T06:06:00.000-08:00

So today we all prepare to close another chapter in our lives, so to speak, and embrace another new year. In just a few hours the ball will drop and we will welcome year 2011! So many things to think about…maybe 2010 was a joyous year for you, your best year yet, or maybe it was a year filled with pain and regrets or possibly a little of both, right? Some may be ready to wave goodbye to 2010 and others not so sure, but either way time rushes ahead, the clock keeps ticking, and our hearts full with hope and anticipation for what lies ahead. I love thinking about the future I can even feel my heart smile, if that is possible, because I know what a glorious future awaits me. As Christians we are banking on what the future holds for us, it is our Hope! God’s future grace and promises are what we hold fast to as we continue our race of faith, especially when the road is rugged and all uphill at times. So I consider a few of the promises I can bank on for year 2011

I am one year closer to beholding my King face to face (1Cor.13:12)

The Good work Christ has begun in me will be more completed this year (phil. 1:6)

I will become more transformed into the glorious image of Christ (2Cor. 3:18)

And of course there are many more. Take some time and consider the glorious future that is awaiting you as God’s child. May I encourage us to make 2011 a year of pressing on for the prize, holding fast to Christ and His promises and laying up treasures in heaven and not on earth!

“Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23

No Room In The Inn

2010-12-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

Before we leave the Christmas season and move on to celebrate the New Year I just have to share one more thing about the Christ of Christmas.

“If Jesus were born one thousand times in Bethlehem and not in me, then I would still be lost. There was no room in the inn for Him. Is there room in your heart for Him?” Corrie Ten Boom

My beloved Corrie Ten Boom always evangelizing the world even still today although she died in 1983. She pleads with us not to miss the reason for the season, Christ in us! Christ born in Bethlehem so I may have new birth, dead to sin and alive in Christ.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:4-7

He Sent His Word

2010-12-29T05:30:00.000-08:00

After rocking Mady to sleep last night I rushed straight to my bedroom, grabbed my bible and my stack of books and plopped on the bed eager to spend some time with the Lord. One of the lessons I was working on had me doing a chapter study on psalm 107 which I soon fell in love with! So be prepared you may get more than one blog out of this one!! So there I was, back propped up with a stack of pillows and amidst all the underlining and highlighting there it was the verse of the night, verse 20! I immediately began praying it for myself as well as all of you and wishing I had been praying it my whole life. I hope you love it as much as I do and pray it like crazy!!!

“He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.”

Look how God healed and delivered… by sending His word!

The word destructions can also be translated “pits”. I know we all have hurts of some kind and have all experienced pits at some time or another or maybe even now for some. So I pray that God would send His word and heal you and deliver you out of your pits. Join with me in learning to pray this powerful verse! Psalm 107:20

Wait for the Lord

2010-12-28T05:30:00.000-08:00

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord”

Psalm 27:14

So today in my devotions this is the verse that jumped off the page of my bible and worked its way deep into my heart and I hope there it will stay! How I need to wait for the Lord!! Look at the imperatives in this verse… wait, be strong, take courage and again wait. It is strong and courageous to wait for the Lord. There are so many times I want to act cowardly and take matters into my own hands. This is one of those days for me. Is it for you too, my friend? I have learned that in times like this my words impart no comfort, so here is God’s promise for us…

“Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed…” Psalm 25:3

O Little Town of Bethlehem

2010-12-24T05:30:00.000-08:00

So our traveling stops today in Bethlehem that of course is where we must eat! Why do we need to eat here? I am so glad you asked.

“Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:4-7

I marvel at the scene of Christ’s birth and the beauty of the imagery. Bethlehem where Christ was born, means “House of Bread”, and where He was laid, a manger is a feeding trough. God divinely ordered all these details because they represent who Christ is. So this is why I say we are invited to eat because God laid our Christmas present in a feeding trough.

“This is the bread which comes down out of heaven; so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I give for the life of the world is My flesh.” John 6:50-51

Let the Christ of Christmas feed your soul this Christmas! He is all you need!

Merry Christmas!!!

To Us A Child Is Born

2010-12-23T05:30:00.000-08:00

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

I just had to spend one more day blogging about Isaiah 9:6. To me this verse is a treasure chest overflowing with the radiance of Christ our Lord! So, you know me, I had to make a list of all He is from the text. With this verse I actually like to make 3 lists just so I can try to absorb it all!

List One List Two

Christ is… Christ is…

Wonderful Counselor

Mighty God

Everlasting Father

Peace Prince

How powerful each word is as you look at them separtely! But let us not forget list #3

List Three

Christ is…

Child

Son

Seems strange doesn’t it? How can this list go with the first two? The previous lists seem so awesome and powerful and the 3^rd so lowly, empty, but oh so divine. This is the Christ of Christmas!

“Although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Phil.2:6-8

This is what Christmas beckons us to do, come and behold Christ in all His deity as well as all His humanity!

“Glory to God, Glory in the highest… O come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him Christ the Lord!”

Wonderful Counselor

2010-12-22T05:30:00.000-08:00

Just looking at all that Christ is in this verse is incredibly amazing! So once more let’s take the time to quiet ourselves and intentionally worship the Christ of Christmas. Today I just want to pause at His first name, Wonderful Counselor. If you look up the transliteration and meaning of these two words they basically mean exactly what they say. Wonderful meaning extraordinary and counselor meaning, giving counsel, advise.

So the beginning of the verse says... unto us He is born to us He is given. The Wonderful Counselor was given specifically to me and to you. How has He been a Wonderful Counselor to you personally?

As I reflect, let me share with you one way He has been a Wonderful Counselor to me. He has given me His word and allowed me to feast on His truth! One special thing this Wonderful Counselor has shown me is that He is a covenant God. I am so thankful that He has revealed Himself to me that way through the wonderful counsel the word. “The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He will make them know His covenant.”(Psalm 25:14) Thank you Wonderful Counselor for revealing Yourself to me.

Please take time today to reflect on how the Christ of Christmas, born for you, has been a Wonderful Counselor to you personally. Then go and adore Him once more!

O come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!

Come Let Us Adore Him (part 2)

2010-12-21T05:30:00.000-08:00

“And she gave birth to her first born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

Luke 2:7

I invite you…. come close to the manger, gaze over the edge and behold the wonder of this baby who is…

The Word of God, God, Creator, Life, the Light of Men, the True Light, the Only Begotten from the Father, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Lamb of God, Jesus of Nazareth, King of Israel and the Son of Man!

This is the Christ of Christmas that you find in John chapter one. How amazing to find all of that in just one chapter! I hope you had a chance to search this out for yourself and spend time worshiping Him. Have you experienced this Christ personally? Which name or names are you reflecting on? Take some time tonight, pause the wrapping and baking, dim the lights, light some candles and worship Him.

O Come Let Us Adore Him

2010-12-20T05:30:00.000-08:00

Recently one of my girlfriends shared her interesting black Friday experience with me. While accompanying her friend, whose microwave had recently croaked, to Target early that morning to grab a smokin’ deal on a new one, she spotted some very serious shoppers prepare for what seemed like , battle. This courageous group of about 6 people, which I will name Troop 6 for the sake of this blog, had of course claimed the most coveted place of all, front of the line. It appeared that Troop 6 had camped out all night and were now keeping all their fingers and toes warm by a cozy little fire. As they stood huddled around a huge blown up map of the entire store, Troop 6 intently studied their specific routes, which of course were all marked out. Each one armed and ready to shop holding in their hands a handy dandy list, all necessary ad clippings and an envelope with just the right amount of dough. As the time drew near for the unlocking of the doors they eagerly reviewed their plans and recited what each was to do, keeping their eye on the target. (ha ha that’s where they were shopping!) As their long wait was quickly drawing to an end, pressures mounted with each tick of the clock as Troop 6 suddenly became aware that their map wasn’t quite as accurate as they thought. Knowing the doors would soon swing wide open, Troop 6 regrouped and remapped out some final strategies. Can you just see this whole seen playing out in your mind’s eye? I sure can and I chuckle a little with a non-judgmental smirk painted on my face, knowing that I get the same way about things that are important to me. As she so descriptively relayed this story to me, I thought what effort, what intention and focus Troop 6 had, all for the right gift at the right price.

This reminded me of a challenge that I had recently received from Kay Arthur in one of my morning devotion times. She urged us to intentionally quiet ourselves and spend some time each day reflecting and meditating on the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Right away I noticed the word intentionally and realized how accurately she had penned that word. In our commercialized culture with most of the emphasis placed on material things, this time of year a majority of our time and energy are spent planning, shopping, and driving ourselves more into debt. You really do have to do some upstream swimming to refocus things on Christ. Just like Troop 6, we too have to plan, prepare, maybe even map out a strategy, and be super intentional during this season to celebrate what it is all about… Immanuel, God with us.

Now I know you have heard this message all before, so all that to say this… I have a challenge for you, but it is going to take effort, focus and intention. I was given this challenge so I am just passing it on to you. I myself also completed the challenge and really enjoyed it. Of course you know that because it is the whole reason for this super long blog! So here is what I challenge you to do… Read the first chapter of John underline or circle all of the words that describe the Christ of Christmas. Write them out on a list and then worship your King for all He is. Don’t forget the last three words in the chapter. Go ahead be intentional!

“O come let us adore Him, o come let us adore Him, o come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.”

Corrie Ten Boom You Hit The Nail Right On The Head!!

2010-12-17T05:30:00.000-08:00

Have you ever learned or experienced something that you just couldn’t put into words. Then all of the sudden someone says it so eloquently, and it hits you right between the eyes, and you shout “yes! I know that. You are right! You are right!” Well that is exactly what happened to me a couple of nights ago while reading Corrie Ten Boom’s, Tramp for the Lord. Corrie said, “I wish I could say that after a long and fruitful life, traveling the world, I had learned to forgive all my enemies. I wish I could say that merciful and charitable thoughts just naturally flowed from me and on to others. But they don’t. If there is one thing I’ve learned since I’ve passed my eightieth birthday, it’s that I can’t store up good feelings and behavior- but only draw them fresh from God each day.”

So in total agreement… I shout, “You are so right Corrie!” What a surrendered heart, totally dependent on God’s grace, and therefore He gets all the glory! What else do I need to say? Like I said, she hit the nail right on the head!

Lamentations 3:20-26

“Surely my soul remembers and is bowed down within me. This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I hove hope in Him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. It is good that he waits silently for the salvation of the Lord.”

Love Makes You Do Crazy Things

2010-12-16T05:30:00.000-08:00

I am learning more and more that love can move you do some bizarre things you would have never done! Love will compel one to do something like, oh should I admit wear a big red Elmo shirt. Let me just paint this picture for you with a little deeper dimension. Love compelled me to rummage through the rack to find my exact size, wait in a very long checkout line, dig deep into my wallet, and shell out some dough, rush home and find just the right pants to compliment my brand spanking new Elmo shirt. Then amid all the excitement I slapped it on and wore it before even washing it!

Those of you who know me personally are cracking up right now because you wouldn’t expect to see me sporting this cool shirt , you know it’s a bit outside of my character, and not really my style, but for a wide eyed toddler little girl who can’t stop shouting “ELMO”, I couldn’t help myself.

Praise be to God for His GREAT love. Who never has to go outside His character to express His love to us! He is love. All that He is, He is to us all of the time faithfully. We could never say, “That doesn’t sound like something God would usually do!” How awesome is His perfect love! So hard to comprehend and incomparable with our ways, and exceedingly greater than anything we can grasp.

I call this GREAT love because that is how God’s love is described for us in Ephesians 2

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions made us alive together with Christ…”

I say we are not able to comprehend this love on our own because Paul prays in chapter 3 of Ephesians that we know this love because it surpasses human comprehension.

“… And that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.”

Delight Drinking

2010-12-15T05:30:00.000-08:00

Again I am utterly in awe of the Holy Word of God! Do simple texts sometimes just knock you out of your chair? Well I know I am a bit crazy but this seems to happen to me often. Well to be honest I look everyday for this kind of experience from the Word. So check this out:

Psalm 36:7-8

“How precious is Your lovingkindness, Oh God! And the Children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; and You give them to drink of the river of Your delights.

Okay, out of my chair, look right there at the last phrase “You give them to drink of the river of Your delights.” How amazing, I get to drink of what delights the living God. Have you ever thought about that? Stop for a minute and let your soul take that in! What does God take delight in? One of my favorite books, The Pleasures of God, by Dr. John Piper, can really help answer and take you deeper with that question.

This text portrays God’s delights as a river. This river is always flowing, never dry, and always safe to drink from. Think about the word drink for a minute. Drinking refreshes, sustains, cools, strengthens and hydrates, it is something you do slowly sip by sip several times a day. So soak this in with me… Almighty God, full of joy and delight that is continuously flowing like a river, gives me full access to drink from this river and as I do I am refreshed and strengthened. So why would this delight drinking be so refreshing? Well as John Piper says, you don’t really know someone until you know what they love and take joy in. So as I drink deep of all that brings Him joy I experience Him, know Him, walk with Him, enjoy Him, and grow closer to Him. So if you are one of those who take refuge in the shadow of His wings, understand that you have full access all of the time to drink of His delights! So what are you waiting for? DRINK UP!!

Oh God, that I may drink of Your delights today, so fill me with what brings you joy, and let an abundance overflow on all those around me.

Praying the Book of Ephesians With A Twist

2010-12-14T05:30:00.000-08:00

Over a year ago, one of my dearest friends began the vigorous journey of memorizing the entire book of Ephesians. I thought, wow you are incredibly brave and way smart! Shortly thereafter during one of her visits by the house she fearlessly handed me a stack of pages bound together in the corner by a staple. My eyes gazed over the title and it read, An Approach to Extended Scripture Memorization, by Dr. Andrew Davis. http://seekinghim.net/docs/scripture_memory_booklet.pdf Knowing how much she had already gained by pursuing this wonderful task, I eagerly went on and read through the method. It seemed pretty straight forward and much to my surprise quite simple. After quieting the loud voice shouting in my head,” you could never do this”, I then took Dr. Andrew’s advice, asked God for help and off I went to begin with verse one. With great joy and delight I can say, by God's awesome strength and abundant blessing upon us, we both memorized the whole book along with a few others who joined us along the way. It was a wonderful experience and really a lot of fun!

So these days, we are in the retention part of the memorization method, where you are to quote the whole book every day for 100 consecutive days. My 100th day actually lands on Christmas… how fitting.

Well all that introduction to set the stage so I can talk to you about praying the book of Ephesians. Chapters 1 and 3 of Ephesians hold two of the most wonderful prayers and while quoting them we have learned to pray these passages for ourselves as well as others. So recently my friend told me while out for her daily run she has begun praying the entire book of Ephesians for her husband. Wow! The whole book… I love that! Then a few days later she told me while praying she became a little perplexed with chapter 6 verses 1and 2. “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right honor your father and mother which is the first commandment with a promise, so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth.” Since she has only been married a few years with no little ones yet, who was she to pray this for? All of the sudden she felt the Lord say, “I want you to pray it for your children.”

So now I picture one of the most beautiful scenes in my mind, my dear friend out jogging the canal, sun on her face wind at her back, quoting the book of Ephesians while her heart prays it for her husband and the children whom will join their family one day. Is there anything sweeter? It sure puts a smile on my face and a song in my heart! Praise God!

Ephesians 6:18

“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.”

I Love This Prayer

2010-12-13T05:32:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, as a counseling session was ending, a young man prayed. At this very moment the words he said are still reverberating in my heart. I love this prayer!

“Lord, you have pierced my pride and it hurts but please keep doing it.”

Wow! How amazing I thought. He gets it! God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble! How precious the grace of God has become to him.

What a wonderful, honest, holy prayer. May that be my cry!

Psalm 10:17

“O Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear.”

Learn to Pray for Tackle Boxes

2010-12-10T05:33:00.000-08:00

Learn to Pray for Tackle Boxes!!

Just recently our church Bethel Bible celebrated its 2^nd year anniversary. So in honor of the occasion we had a church retreat. At this time, we are still a small church and are able to do these incredibly cool things like go tent camping in November at Roosevelt Lake. Although it was cold at night we all bundled up and kept warm by the camp fire singing and making melody in our hearts to the Lord.

During the day it was so calm, peaceful and completely serene, just the time and place to do a little fishing. Well for those of you who do that. The water was just a short hike down the mountain and the lake was nearly deserted. So well equipped with a tackle box, a couple of fishing poles, and corn as bait one of the gentleman made his way to the water’s edge and spent a good amount of his day fishing. And since Bethel seemed to be the only group of people brave enough to be camping, it seemed completely logical to leave the poles and tackle box near the water’s edge for another round of fishing after a break. Well much to our surprise when He returned the tackle box had been taken. This of course was not the end of the world but a total bummer… right?

Well Kevin has been preaching through the book of Ephesians and was just finishing up in chapter 6 on spiritual warfare and at this time He had landed on the offensive weapon of prayer. Encouraging us with the idea of 3-D prayer from the text, Pray for the saints, Pray for the preaching of the gospel, and Pray for the unbelieving. He had given some incredible examples of answered prayer some very large, like millions of dollars of medicine being given to heal the sick in Africa, and some simple, God helping a little girl find a lost earring after Kay Arthur had prayed with her. Kevin very enthusiastically told us to pray at all times for everything, assuring us our heavenly Father is that intimate with us. So right there in his message he stopped and in faith asked God to bring the tackle box back. Of course, I am thinking are you crazy we are all leaving after this message in about an hour or so how could it be possible to get it back before we head out, but it was a kind gesture anyway... right?

You know what I am about to tell you don’t you? Just as all the festivities were wrapping up and all of us wonderful brave campers were finishing packing and making plans to hit the road, a car drives up, out jumps a kid and returns the tackle box, right there in front of us all. No one had left that campsite without knowing that the tackle box was back!! We were so excited! God had just showed Himself to us in such a real way to grow our faith and He didn’t have to but He chose to and it left a mark on us all. What a wonderful way to close out the retreat.

I know it may seem like a small trivial thing but oh not to us, not to us!! So I say what is your tackle box? Will you lift it to your Father in heaven who cares deeply for you? I promise you can trust Him. You know that I am not talking about praying to get what you selfishly want or trying to manipulate Him. I am encouraging you to pray like crazy for everything and trust your Father. He says in Psalm 139, “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. “ He has that many thoughts about you and all of them He says are precious. He is our Father and He will never be little what is important to us. He longs for us to trust Him and acknowledge Him in all our ways. So go on and do some tackle box praying!!

Psalm 5:3

“In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; In the morning, I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.”

Sweet Sixteen

2010-12-09T07:29:00.000-08:00

Sweet Sixteen!!

Years of marriage that is. Today is the day 16 years ago, my high school sweetheart, Kevin and I were married. How fitting that today is my first official blog entry. I could go on for pages on what a glorious triumph this is but instead I just have one thing that keeps running through my mind… By the grace of God I stand. Glory to Him as we celebrate, He is the one who has so blessed our marriage beyond anything I could ask or think.

Yesterday I was surprised a little early with 16 red roses. Red for love! How romantic or some might say easy… right? But the red is a reminder to us of the bloodshed so that we could make a marriage covenant and have strength to keep that covenant. It reminds us who our marriage is to display, Jesus Christ.

Kevin says that marriage is a light to the world to display the gospel. Oh how I pray that our marriage will do that for the sake of the glory of God.

Kevin here is 16 things I admire:

1. I love how you care more about your people than taking a shower!

2. When we are in a large gathering, I love how you spot the oldest woman in the room and comment on how beautiful she looks.

3. I love how you leave me love notes written all over our mirrors

4. I love how your favorite movies are the Love Come Softly series.

5. I love how you have never let me sleep on the couch when I am upset. You always come and pick me up and carry me back to bed. You will do it 10 times if you have to.

6. I love how you are vibrant and full of life and super funny but at the same time dead serious about what matters, the Word of God.

7. I love how I have to fight you to get a chance to rock our little Mady to sleep because you say it is your favorite part of the day.

8. I love how you love people. Your example has taught me so much.

9. I love how you say, “You can love people or stuff but not both!”

10. I love how you are a daredevil and we have to keep extra insurance on you for all those ER visits!

11. I love how no matter where you are you light up the whole place and have the most fun out of anyone else there. (Even if it is the dentist office or hospital bed)

12. I love how when I call you CRAZY you always reply, “CRAZY in love with you!”

13. I love how you can’t sing but yet you are the loudest singer in the room, and right in the middle of a song you will change keys if it gets too high for you.

14. I love how you always know someone everywhere we go even when we are out of town. How do you do that?

15. I love your faithfulness to love and forgive me always

16. Last but of course not least… I love how you love the Lord. It shines through everything you do and inspires all of us around you to imitate your faith!

Eph. 5:31

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”