Thank The Lord

Each morning I wake and thank the Lord for His grace and mercy.  Each evening I thank the Lord for His grace and mercy.

He is unfailing in His love for each and every one of us.

Last weekend I had the privilege of watching my 28 year old daughter be baptized.  Before she was baptized, she was asked if she wanted to share anything.  Lo and behold ~ she gave her life to Christ a couple of weeks before.

As a parent, I wonder where I failed through the years of her upbringing.

As a Christian, I know that to have Christ as my Lord is a choice I have to make on my own.

Each morning I wake and thank the Lord for His grace and mercy.  Each evening I thank the Lord for His grace and mercy.

I cry for joy that my daughter and I will have eternity together.

I cry for despair that many of my loved ones (family and friends) haven't yet bowed down at the foot of our Lord.

I pray for the lost and unreached.  I pray for all of us as we go through trials and tribulations.  Knowing the Lord is always by my side encourages me as nothing else!

Each morning I wake and thank the Lord for His grace and mercy.  Each evening I thank the Lord for His grace and mercy.

My daughter is turning 25 on Sunday.  Thinking of my baby girl turning a quarter of a century old makes me realize my age as well – lol!  She is such a blessing to me and has married a wonderful man.  I am honored to have them in my life.  I thank the Lord each day for them both.

I just finished the first half of a great class taught by our Teaching Pastor.  The knowledge he has shared has been amazing and will be beneficial in the future as I make this Christian journey of life.

Modest Dressing and Headcovering Anniversary

February, 2015 marked my two year anniversary of modestly dressing in skirts/dresses and wearing a headcovering daily.

I have been the only lady in my church to wear a headcovering.  Just this last Sunday, I had a lady (whom I have done volunteer work with) come up to me before service started and begin to ask about my modest dressing and headcovering – did I make my own headcovering?  Were the changes I made hard?  She had been convicted through a variety of situations and confirmed with her husband as the head of house.

I am so thrilled to have another Sister in Christ who headcovers. I did not ask if it was just during church or always as I do.  Either way, I was blessed with our conversation.

I did let her know that my headcoverings are purchased from www.garlandsofgrace.com and I am blessed by that group of sisters.

The Lord is good!

Christian Fiction

I just finished reading The Daughters of Boston series and The Winds of Change series which continues with the same characters.  Author Julie Lessman ( www.julielessman.com ) has done a superb job writing about a family named O’Connor which takes place at the beginning of the 20^th Century.  If you want to read a saga of faith, hope and love with a bit of history added in, please check these two series out!

I love books that share the Christian faith with those who are reading them.  I enjoy other types of books but Christian ones are my favorite as I get such a blessing and much encouragement from reading them.

A Mentor is a Blessing

A big shout out to my small group leader, Louise.  She is a mature Christian lady that has been leading this Bible study group for over 7 years.  I have been blessed to be a part of this group for the past four years.  Louise holds us accountable in a loving and kind manner.  She models Christian love, discipline and wisdom.  Her life reflects Christ to all who come in contact with her.  I thank the Lord for such a mentor as Louise.

Women's Ministry

My church’s Women’s Ministry hosted a Priscilla Shirer simulcast on Saturday.  What a great event to have at our church.  It was a great day – fellowship with other Christian women.  There were 50,000 attendees registered for the simulcast.  These attendees were throughout the United States, Japan and other countries.  Some of my small group was able to attend the event so we were able to sit together along with some other gals.

What a blessing our Women’s Ministry is to me.  Our church’s sermons and ‘philosophy’ are very seeker-oriented.  So to have something to encourage those of us that are Christians to continue in our growing more like Christ is wonderful and to be honest, refreshing from the ‘soft treading’ and ‘hip’ sermons/philosophy.

Being Intentional

I read this on A Wise Woman Builds Her Home blog [http://proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com/] in October, printed it and read it again this morning.  A wonderful reminder for us to be intentional in our relationship with our Lord and Savior J

Calming the Storm Within You

I loved these wise words from Nancy Leigh DeMoss that I read early this morning after my Bible time so I wanted to share them with you:

"Devotions" Without "Devotion"

Some of us have had devotions, but we have not had devotion. There's a big difference. We may have gone through the motions of reading our Bibles and "saying our prayers" but we have not been cultivating a love relationship with our God. We know alot about Him, but we don't really know Him. 

We are active and busy in a multitude of spiritual activities, but we have lost perspective of who it is that we are serving and why.

The result of our "devotionless" religion is seen in the way we respond to pressure. So many of us as Christian women are chronically stressed out. Everywhere I go, I see it in the eyes of women; I hear it in their voices; and too often I see it when I look in my own mirror. I know what it is to have demands coming at me from every direction. I know what it is to respond of weariness, with an impatient, demanding spirit.

And I know what it is to contend with God Himself, even as my eyes fill up with tears of frustration with myself and my reactions.

I also know that there is only one place where that angry, reactive, overwhelmed self can be transformed---the same place that Mary chose--the feet of Jesus.  I must take a conscious, deliberate, daily choice to sit at His feet, to listen to His Word, to receive His love, to let Him change me, and to pour out my heart's devotion to Him.

When I get into His presence, the whole world looks different. When I draw close to His heart, I find mercy when I know I deserve judgment; I find forgiveness for all my petty, selfish ways;  I find grace for all my inadequacies; I find peace for my troubled heart; I find perspective for my distorted views.

In Him, I find an eye in the midst of the storm.  

Oh, the storm around me may not immediately subside;


but the storm within me is made calm. 

Sovereign Lord

I am reading the Irish fiction series The Emerald Ballad by B.J. Hoff.  This quote is from book 2 and is part of a prayer by Pastor Jess Dalton:

“Remind us of the trust, that Your sovereign will does not depend upon our faith, nor can Your mercy ever be understood by our finite minds.  Our part is to trust Your mercy and acknowledge Your right to fulfill Your purposes—in Your own way, in Your own time.  Surely we can do that much, Father. Surely we can trust the mercy…and the love…of a Lord who would die for us.  Surely we can trust the Lord of the Cross…”

Although the group is praying over someone ill, the words resonated with me so much that I put a sticky note by it so that I could share it with others.

Our God is the Almighty One and His grace and mercy sustain us.  Thank you Lord!

CHRISTIANITY

  

I just finished reading Basic Christianity by John Stott and Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.  I recommend all Christians and non-Christians alike to read these two books.

They are both straight-forward, informative and eye-opening!  I raved to my small group when I read Mere Christianity.  However, as I finished Basic Christianity, I knew I needed to let the public know how insightful these books were.

I thank my heavenly father for inspiring these men to write these books to share Christianity with the multitudes who are unbelievers, seekers, dabblers, believers and all others :~)

Modest Dressing at work

I have changed out my jeans and pants for skirts and dresses. I found some appropriate skirts for work at a second hand store.

The 1st day, the ladies in the office asked “What’s the occasion?” To which I replied I am starting to wear dresses, and that I used to wear them a lot more often. The 2nd day, the ladies said “I like your outfit today”. The 3rd day, my carpool driver asks “What’s up with the skirts, are you Amish now?” “I see you are wearing a scarf, too.” “I figured it was for Lent or something.” I replied that I am wearing skirts for modesty reasons and that it is very freeing; and the headcovering is for prayer reasons. She mentioned she may have a couple of skirts for me (as she only wears pants).

In my immediate work area, there is one older gentleman (with all of us gals). He chatted with me for a few minutes and noticed that I was not wearing pants but a skirt. He complemented me on my feminine/modest dress and said that there are so many crazy styles out there and he wishes more women dressed in skirts or dresses as they used to when he was younger (currently 70). I thanked him and said I believed more women were beginning to dress modestly again.

I think the awkwardness at work is over (for the most part) and I don’t think there will be any other places that I will feel uncomfortable in my new mode of dressing.

Skirts (and I’m sure dresses) are definitely more freeing and comfortable than pants. I also feel more feminine in them.

I received my new headcoverings and am very happy with the finished products from www.garlandsofgrace.com – so happy that I have ordered 2 more of one style which is the discreet one for work.

Our weather is still “winter-like” but I just wear my hiking boots to and from work as needed.

The Lord leads the way and we are to follow. I know that the way we dress doesn’t make us better Christians; yet, the way we dress is an action that gets judged by others. By my modest dress and actions, I hope to convey an appropriate Christian attitude to all who see me.

Modest Dressing and Headcovering Thoughts

I have been praying about wearing a headcovering. In the Bible, Paul is speaking to the church in Corinth to set away the doings of the world and be set apart. 1Cor. 11: 3-16 is clear about prayer and head covering:


3 But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man,[a] and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. 5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved. 6 For if a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head.

7 A man ought not to cover his head,[b] since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10 It is for this reason that a woman ought to have authority over her own[c] head, because of the angels. 11 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12 For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.

13 Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, 15 but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering. 16 If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice—nor do the churches of God.

I wore a bandanna all last weekend, although I haven’t worn it to work. I did order a couple of headcoverings and am waiting for them to arrive. I believe I will begin wearing them to work. They are a softer material than the bandannas I currently have at home. Of course, I will wear the bandannas as well for variety. I am convicted to wearing a headcovering at all times. As I grow in my faith and try to obey the scriptures in “praying unceasingly” this seems to be a natural progression.

My other prayer has been with a concern of modest dressing. Most of my clothing I would consider as modest. However, the more I read about Christian modesty, the more I am inclined to wearing skirts and dresses. Tight shirts and jeans accentuate a person’s curves. Is it right to flaunt your form in public; is that being a modest Christian woman? Modest doesn’t have to be frumpy. Of course, I feel frumpy while I am overweight. Gee, another reason to continue exercising :-)

I am at peace with my decision to wear a headcovering.  I am still waiting about the modest dress issues.

Change in the Air

I lift up praises to the Lord!  He is infinite and I am nothing.  Each day I am amazed over and over as I relish the changes of the seasons :-)

I wish I lived next to some gorgeous scenery such as this; however, I can always drive a short distance (20 miles or so) and enjoy the beauty of flora and fauna alongside flowing water the Lord has provided.

My daughter and I have been enjoying life for the last two years; free of mental abuse and control.  We have a home of our own and are flourishing between work, school, volunteering and continuing to pursue a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

I have recently joined a small group (mentioned in a past post) and we have begun a study on the Book of Daniel.  I am excited to continue learning, understanding and applying the awesome knowledge the Lord has given us.

My life has changed quite drastically in the past two years and I am grateful and blessed.  The Lord has protected me and blessed me beyond all measure.