Hearts in Service

Something a bit different for Multitude Monday.  And I meant to say full leg brace, not cast!  And don't ask me why the video has to stop right where I have the weirdest expression on my face and my mouth open!  lol

Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV) ~ For the Lord your God is living among you.      He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness.      With his love, he will calm all your fears.      He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. Do you know how much God loves you?  He takes pleasure in you.  He actually sings over you.  That is a difficult concept to grasp. God is actually sings with delight! I know that I struggle with it.  I look at my many sins and feel like a failure.  I ask for forgiveness, and I know it's given, but I still carry the burden of the mistake.  I see the dirt on my soul and forget to realize that when I've been forgiven, I'm washed clean.  When I keep focusing on the stain that is no longer there, I cannot move forward. I want to encourage you today to remember that Christ takes your sin, forgives it and forgets it and casts it away!

I can say with absolute certainty that it is never dull around here.  Last Tuesday, I stepped off my back stoop on my way to go for a walk, and stepped right onto a patch of black ice.  I slipped and felt something "pop" in my knee.  I hobbled on it for a week before I was able to get in to see the orthopedist.  I just assumed that I had re-damaged the meniscus.  However, I have a fractured lateral tibial plateau which is the top of the tibia that is the weight-bearing part of the bone.  I'm in a full leg brace for the next twelve or so weeks, along with having to use crutches.  I have been instructed to put zero weight on the leg or I can cause further permanent structural damage to the knee and leg. And no, I shouldn't have been walking on it for the week that I did.  Physical therapy can take up to a year. I'm not happy.  When I really think of the ramifications of this, it makes me cry. I had to make a hard decision an...

Pressing, clinging, crawling, struggling and fighting. All of these verbs describe our life at times.  Often we can feel like we are just hanging on by a thread.  One snip and the rope we cling to will break and cause us to plummet downward. I have felt like this at times in my life.  I know precious ones who feel like this now. Yet, we have hope.  We have One who will catch us and hold us up when we fall.  We have a Savior who gives us strength when ours runs out.  We have a God who feels our pain and wipes away our tears. Press into Him.   He will replace your weakness with His strength. Cling to Him.   He will replenish you and give you nourishment. Crawl to throne of grace .  He will pick you up and set you on your feet again. Struggle and fight your way to His arms.   He will envelop you with His love. Isaiah 40:27-31 (NIV) ~ Why do you complain, Jacob?      Why do you say, Israel, “My way is...

I realize that we are now into February and I'm just getting around to some goal setting for the  year, but it's better late than never!  I've been spending January plugging through the book by Steven Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.  It's a good book though reading it before I go to bed isn't a good idea since it takes a lot of concentration.  One major thing I've gleaned from it is the activity of sitting down each week and writing down all the roles in my life - wife, mother, business owner, Great Commission Women's director, Children's ministry director and so on.  Then under each of those roles, I write out goals for the week and then transfer it onto my weekly calendar.  However, I then work through the things that will bring the greatest long-term investment and rewards first rather than just barrel through a to-do list.  For example, I had a list a mile long, but took the time to take Nathan out to breakfast last week to inv...

I Thessalonians 5:16-18 ~  Rejoice always,   pray continually,   give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. My life seems to be a constant struggle with trying to figure out God's plan.  Always concerned that somehow I'm not doing what He has called me to do.  Fearful that I’m not walking in His perfect will. Should I work?  Should I stay home?   Should I call this person?  Should I write to that one?  Does God want us to stay?  Does God want us to go? A thousand questions shoot through my mind every day.  A thousand voices create internal turmoil and chip away at peace. Yet, as I read these verses, I realize the following truth. God's will for my life is simple.  I don't think it matters to Him what I choose - work, don't work, do this, do that, go, stay, and on and on.  Only three small things matter to Him.  These short verses are the key to finding ...