Summer Time...

It's summer. Our schedules are more relaxed. We get to sleep later. We have more time for fun. But, one thing that I really like about summer is that my Tuesday night Bible study girls don't have to rush home to get children in the bed for school the next morning. This allows us more time for discussing our current lessons. I am especially glad about that this week.... I think that my girls might even want to bring their pajamas tonight. This week has been a doosey!!

When we were finishing up our last study... I started praying about what study God would have us do next. I had narrowed it down to two or three different studies. I prayed and prayed for direction.... but I just didn't feel completely led to one study. When I talked with the group about them.... they kept bringing up the title of another study. Beth Moore's study... Breaking Free. Now... I've done that study before. And.... in my mind, I kept thinking.... "we are not doing that". Not because it isn't a great study.... but it is personal and intense. I just didn't think I could lead that. Well... in the next 24 hours, God made it pretty clear to me that this was the study He wanted us to do. So we started 2 weeks ago.

Oh my.... God has just thrilled me with this study so far. I have so much highlighted and written on the sides of my pages. I can't wait til tonight. Will you let me share some of it with you?????

**According to Isaiah 43:10 one of my chief purposes on this planet is to know God intimately! He wants me to know Him... and believe Him. Not just believe IN Him... but believe Him... what He says about himself... and about me.

**God never sheds light on our weaknesses or shortcomings for the sake of condemnation... only to make us aware of hinderances so He can set us free!! Only when I come face-to-face with my weaknesses can I allow Christ to heal me and make me whole and free.

**According to John 8:32 Christ continually uses the TRUTH as the means to our destination. It is His Word that will lead me to freedom.

**AND our destination is freedom according to Gal. 5:1. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

**This statement just about brought me to tears.... A person can receive Christ as Savior, serve Him for decades, and meet Him face-to-face in glory without ever experiencing satisfaction IN Him on this earth. Oh Lord.... please don't let that be anyone in my Bible study group.... or anyone else for that matter. How tragic. To be satisfied with Christ... that is enough to make me have a spell.

**Along with the statement above.... there is a huge difference between salvation from sin and satisfaction of the soul. Salvation secures our lives for all eternity. Soul satisfaction insures abundant life on earth. I want the abundant life here on earth as well as security for eternity.

**The key to peace is authority. When we allow the Prince of Peace to govern our lives, peace either immediately or ultimately results. Peace accompanies authority.

I wish that I could share every single thought here.... but there is just too much.

I started this post on Tuesday morning.... and here it is on Thursday. Can I just tell you that I wasn't the only one that had lots to say on Tuesday night?? We were able to talk about three out of the five days worth of questions..... in almost 4 hours. No time for the video teaching. We will have to finish up next week. Now, that is a lot of talking.

I can see that God is up to something huge in our little group. I can't wait. I am so thankful to be an eye-witness to HIS work.

I hope that God is up to something in your life too. Why don't you tell me a little bit about it??

Not guilty...

You have got to listen to this..... I have said before how much I LOVE Mandisa... but this will show you why...











There is nothing that I can add to this.......... my hands are in the air!!!!!!
Face to the ground!!!!

When God doesn't obey.....

Okay... I am way behind. I was suppose to post the winner of the giveaway this past weekend... and I am just now getting around to it... And the winner is...

Tammy from Not Mine but God's story

Tammy please send me your mailing address and I will get this little prize out to you.

On to what is on my mind today....

God is tricky sometimes. Okay, well... HE is really not tricky... but things about Him are. How do you prove to someone that God is good. Especially when He is not doing what they want Him to do??? I love it when Beth Moore says, "when God doesn't obey". And that is what we want isn't it?? We want Him to obey us. He want Him to do what we want Him to do. But fortunately.... God doesn't work that way.

And yes, I said fortunately.

If God did everything that we think we want Him to do... we would all be in a mess. Everyone would have more than enough money.... leaving us with no way to reach out and show God's love to others. Everyone would have perfect children... leaving us no way to teach them about forgiveness. Everyone would be healthy... both physically and mentally... leaving us no way to pour out our lives to help others, to show compassion and love in their times of trouble. And everyone would be saved and headed to Heaven... leaving us no way to serve God and carry out the great commission. And we would just be so self-sufficient that we would no longer need God. We just can't have what we want all the time. There are times that God has to say "no" to what we want. And even to somethings we think we NEED. It is all according to His calendar... not our watch.

I am glad that I can trust in my heart that if God says "no"... or "not now" it is because He can see the big picture and knows what is best for me and the ones around me. Not to mention for His Glory. I have been in some places that I would rather not be... but with God... knowing what I know about Him... and His character..... I can endure and persevere. I can lean on the verse in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 that says....

"Rejoice always, pray continually, and GIVE THANKS in ALL circumstances, for this IS GOD'S WILL FOR YOU in Christ Jesus."

I believe that God has a purpose in every circumstance that He allows me to be in. I can rest in that. I have come to realize that I don't have to like the circumstance.... but I can know that He is there... and it is His will for me to be there... for His glory. I am glad for the faith that HE has given me to trust in Him in times that seem bad.

But what do you do for someone that can't trust that??? Someone that just doesn't have that belief or trust into their heart yet????

That is where I am sitting today. I have come to the conclusion that I can't prove God's goodness to anyone. And I want to . I want to pour out some of what I have... into their heart so that they can trust too. Persevere. Endure. Grow. Believe. Trust. Wait. BUT I can't.

This morning I looked up every verse that speaks of goodness. They were all great verses.... but even they can't prove to someone that God is good. It comes from experience. It comes from walking the hard path. It comes from being in places that you don't want to be... and then coming out on the other side. Looking back. It comes from faith. It comes from studying God's Word and seeing the way He has dealt with man over time.

I have no answers. All I have is faith and trust.... How do you give it to someone else??

Any thoughts?? I'd love to hear them.