Steps to fearless, radical action.

Last year while I had the joy of staying with and helping a young family, I was able to attend church with them one Sunday. Listening to this sermon I felt as though I had sat down at a table covered with a feast of spiritual food. It was so practical, and so Biblical and had plenty of things to "digest." I was able to jot some notes down while having little boys sitting on my lap from time to time, drawing on my notes. :)

The points are straightforward, and are something I find very helpful for me at this time in my life. May the Lord use them to help you too!

This message was given by Josh Johnson, based on Jeremiah 1:4-10:

“Fear keeps us from doing so much.”

God has prepared good works for us…

"There is no reason you shouldn’t give yourself for His Kingdom.”

1.) God wants to use you, stop making excuses. It makes the power of God look weak when we do.

2.) Know the words and promises of the Bible. Saturate yourself in this book.

3.) Pray for God’s leading and direction.

4.) Seek guidance and wisdom from others (adults)  (i.e. How do you think I should be radical? etc.)

5.) Take a step of faith and do something where you’re at right now.  Something you can only do by His strength.

6.)  Fight against chronological snobbery.

He will work in you…

For parents:

You have a valuable influence on your children…

How to help students become radical for Jesus Christ:

1.)  Set an example for the youth… Look at how you spend your time… What do we celebrate? (it shows what we value)

2.)  Commit to encouraging and supporting and praying with them. Grab a student in the hallway and ask if you can pray with them or for them.

3.) Offer wisdom and insight from the Bible and your own experiences.

4.) Fight against cynicism.  It’s really easy to be skeptical.

5.) Be willing to let students take steps of faith.

6.) Trust in the promises of God.  They’re for you and your child.

For all: It’s Christ and His work on the cross that gives us the ability and motivation to be radical.

A beautiful, glorious tapestry...

I just wanted to share this quote with you all quick ~ I find it very encouraging!

"But we forget the fact that God sometimes makes things an awful lot worse before they get any better. Just remember that God may do the opposite of what you expect, but don’t forget it might look like the backside of a Persian rug to you but on the other side, the side that God sees, it’s a beautiful, glorious tapestry. What we’re seeing today is the backside." 

~ John MacArthur

Isn't it a delight to know that the Lord is at work even when life seems dark or confusing? In the end, it all will be worth it. In the end we will be like Him, when we see Him face to face. Not one thread in this life, whether it be painfully dark or beautiful, is there by mistake. It is all there to make a beautiful tapestry of His grace and glory! 

Yes, Lord! I can trust You!

Rescuer of the drowning

I looked out across the lake.  At the waves. Rippling. Ebbing. Water holds such soothing beauty. And yet, such danger.

And this thought kept stirring in my heart as I gazed out at this dangerous beauty: Jesus walked on water.

That awes me. Especially since I've almost drowned two times in my life. 

Drowning equals complete helplessness. There is nothing to do, except vainly fight for life and hope that someone will rescue. 

And so it is with my soul. I am completely helpless and hopeless in and of myself. I begin to drown when my eyes are focused on the storm and not my Savior. Focusing on the circumstances around and tensing with anxiousness can come close to harming me {Psalm 37:8}. 

Jesus is bigger than any wave of fear or any problem that comes crashing.

Storms threaten to take my gaze off of Him. But there is hope in hopelessness. He hears the cry in the heart of His child. And rescues. 

Relaxing may not be a natural default setting for me, but the Lord can fill me with perfect peace. Because He is peace. I can surrender my cares to Him. 

And my heart is quieted as I look out at the rippling water, knowing that the Lord is an anchor in the storm. A rescuer of the drowning. I can rest and put all faith and confidence in Him, the author and perfecter of this unshakable faith.

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” ~John 14:27 

Author's note: Near drowning has not damped my love for water in the least bit. =)

A selfless heart.

"Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”"

~Romans 15:2-3

{"Build him up..." i.e. edify and strengthen.}

Oh, how refreshing an edifying person is! They are selfless. Their focus is outward. They know the relentless, steady love of their Savoir, Father, and Husband and it overflows. This is where dying to ourselves brings life, not only to us, but to others.

Philippians 2:3-4 echoes this: 

"Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."

This is humility. Casting pride aside. And letting this broken vessel of our lives pour forth Jesus. Ephesians 4:29 follows this theme of building up: 

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."

Die to ourselves. Build others up. Give them grace. It's a shadow of the gospel. It glorifies the Lord.

Oh, let us live selflessly, as Christ did. Loving selflessly. Forgiving when people hurt and sin against us, even if it's again and again. May we faithfully point people to the Savoir ~ the Refresher of the weary.

 Sometimes it's the littlest kindnesses from a selfless heart that bring the biggest joys!

Your mercy remains!

"Yet in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake them in the wilderness..."

Nehemiah 9:19a

Despite the many times I stumble, the Lord's mercies are there. They are unfailing. They are manifold. And they are new every morning! 

It's a comforting and humbling truth that His beloved can rest in. :)

Less of me and more of You, Lord!

"He must increase, but I must decrease.” ~John 3:30

My birthday is coming up... Birthdays and the beginning of new years often tend to make me stop and take a look at this life in a different light. Am I wasting my life? What areas do I need to grow in?

Ever increasing is a desire within me to die to myself more and more. I recognize how very unhelpful my flesh is!  I find a growing frustration with my flesh and can echo Paul's words: "For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate." (Romans 7:15) Can you relate?

To be the hands and feet that bring refreshment to weary souls, is the desire of my heart. What could be better in the long run? Dying to self is eternally the most joy producing life, because what people really need is Jesus. And in Jesus is where true hope and refreshment is found.

For quite some time now, I've been fascinated by Job's description of his life before the Lord allowed Satan to test him:

"I delivered the poor who cried out, the fatherless and the one who had no helper. The blessing of a perishing man came upon me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban. I was eyes to the blind, and I was feet to the lame. I was a father to the poor, and I searched out the case that I did not know. I broke the fangs of the wicked, and plucked the victim from his teeth."

~Job 29: 12-17

That kind of life starts now in being faithful in the little things {Luke 16:10}.

And yes, this quote rang a bell in my heart when I read it:

“The Christian life can be explained only in terms of Jesus Christ, and if your life as a Christian can still be explained in terms of you -- your personality, your willpower, your gift, your talent, your money, your courage, your scholarship, your dedication, your sacrifice, or you anything -- then although you may have the Christian life, you are not yet living it. True Godliness leaves the world convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that the only explanation for you, is Jesus Christ."

~Major Ian Thomas

 Oh, may there daily be less of self and more of the Lord. Let us follow hard after Him, and there find abundant life and peace.

The Lord Brings Peace

From:  FreeDigitalPhotos.net

"Never did a sinner trust Christ too much. There was never a case of a guilty one who believed that Jesus could forgive him and afterward found that He could not - who believed that Jesus could save him on the spot and then woke up to find that it was a delusion. No; plunge into this river of confidence in Christ. The waters are waters to swim in, not to drown in. Never did a soul perish that glorified Christ by a living, loving faith in Him. Come, then, with all your sin, whatever it may be, with all your deep depression of spirits, all your agony of conscience. Come and grasp my Lord and Master with both the hands of your faith, and He shall be yours, and you shall be His."
~Charles Spurgeon

"Turn to Christ your longing eyes,

View His bloody sacrifice:

See in Him your sins fogiven;

Pardon, holiness, and heave;

Glorify the King of kings,

Take the peace the gospel brings."

My keyboard. =)

Have you ever had a desire in your heart and then experience God graciously granting you the gift that fulfills that desire?

I have... and it helps me to remember these stories while I'm struggling with other areas in my life. :)

One gracious provision the Lord has given me is: a free keyboard! :-) I know, I know... you're wondering "why is this so exciting?!"

Let me explain... Ever since I was a little girl I've found much enjoyment playing by ear on the piano and making my own songs up. It still gives me great pleasure sitting down and playing new songs... and? My family loves it when I make up new songs. :-)

So a few weeks ago I had an extreme desire to be able to get a keyboard so I can actually connect it to my laptop and use a special program to write out the music (instead of promptly forgetting the song)! The day after, my family told me about a free keyboard a family was trying to get rid of!! I emailed them quick and they wanted to get it to me as soon as they could. Amazing.

I'm learning patience through this though, first I had to wait for my keyboard, once I got it I had to wait for my laptop to come back from getting fixed, and now I'm waiting for the right cord.

But this waiting is giving me time to write words... and come up with music for some of those songs.

Ohh, I love songwriting! I feel God's smile on me while I do it.
I know I have much to learn on this journey but it is a happy road to travel. :-)

"Praise the Lord!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful."
Psalm 147:1