God, I am waiting!

 Hello Ladies ~Do you have a minute to chat? Get your coffee, I have something to talk with you about...

                            

 Have you ever just felt disappointed? I mean, regardless of your age, or how long you have been serving God, are there things you want to do or accomplish, and you haven't ? Do you feel like you are lacking in some way ?

I was recently speaking with someone, and I made the statement "I have hopes and desires for ministry that I have not accomplished yet". After I said it out loud, I thought to myself, "wow, there is so much you want to do with your life still". It really caught me off guard I think..lol

Do you find yourself in the same place ? Are there personal goals you have set for yourself, and maybe you haven't reached them yet ? Do you have desires for ministry, and something is holding you back ? Are you holding you back ? Let's see what the word of God says.. 

Jeremiah 29: 11  says "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope".  

This is one of the most quoted scriptures regarding our present and future. And since God stands outside of time, He is present in our past, present and future, so we can confidently go as far as to say, this scripture refers to plans that were predetermined from the beginning of our conception ! 

Girl! this means, your past does not determine your future ! God will not withhold calling and desires based on the dumb stuff we did ! We are truly blessed to be one of Gods chosen. Do you know any human that is capable of this kind of unconditional love ?

Many times, and definitely in my case, the issue is that we are not patient with God. We have to trust that God is orchestrating everything for our good... God's word is very clear about this season of waiting.

 Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established Proverbs 16:3 

In the waiting season, we continue being faithful to God, and our commitments to our church. We continue teaching kids church, participating on worship teams, greeting, cleaning, etc, with a glad heart. We continue with excellence, because He is an excellent God and deserves nothing less. I know that sometimes the wait can seem endless, like maybe the door to your desires will never open. What if our desire is teaching, but God see's something different for your life, something far greater than you can imagine ? Isn't that kinda how God usually does things ? God sees the faithful and when He can trust us with little, He can trust us with the next big thing as well. 

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Psalm 37:4 

Lastly, if we feel a calling in our lives, we have to be prepared for that. The bible describes us as a temple of God. A place that should be holy. Because He is holy. Very often when we are feeling that we will never fulfill our calling, or desired ministry its because we are holding on to things that are taking up space... "temple space". Remember, light and darkness can not dwell together. It is possible that we have some cleaning up to do. What does this mean ? Well, let's ask the hard questions. What does our lifestyle look like ? Have we come to Go, but we're still going to the same places? Church on Sunday, the club on Friday? Are we praising Him with our mouth one minute, but cursing the next? What do our social media accounts look like? Are our pages showing more skin than scripture(we have to be careful about leaving the old us on our pages, that it doesn't bring glory to our sinful past)? How about music, movies, books, are these edifying God, or things that are contrary to the word ? This is a conversation to be had between you and Him..

But, if we know we need to clean up, we clean up, and we carry on with what we know is right and pleasing to Him. God loves us, He has called us, He has purpose for us, and He is willing to give us the desires of our heart..

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.  Romans 8:28

 

I hope this has encouraged you today... Let's chat again soon,

Love, J

 

 

 

 

Words, Words, and More Words

Hello Ladies, it has been a long while since we had coffee and a chat! Something kinda serious has been weighing on my mind, something we don't talk about much, so I wanted to talk about it today! 

I am a collector of Rae Dunn. If you are not familiar, Rae Dunn is a potter. She makes a huge variety of pieces, but the most common are household pieces such as, mugs, canisters, plates, bowls, linens, the list goes on and on... Her items all have words (or sometimes just an etched image) on them. Typically, a collector would choose pieces with words that speak to them, or their decor style. 

So, needless to say, there are words all over my kitchen!

Words....                  

Words are so powerful! Just as God spoke life with words, in Psalm 50:1 His spoken word tells the Sun when to rise and when to set,

"The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. 

We too, can speak life with our words.. Unfortunately our words have power to destroy as well. "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. Proverbs 18:21

It has been some many years, but I once saw a television interview with a female comedian. This particular comedian routinely used a very abrasive, if not somewhat rude tone when delivering her "shtick". When asked about this delivery method, she responded "I am just real".

While many thought her "realness" hilarious, the majority found it rude. 

What does this mean, "I am just real"? I have found that for most, it means, direct, what you see is what you get, and unfortunately, very often... rude, and disrespectful. 

So, lets really talk about this...

Being real is not really about the supposed meaning. Being real is not always what we would expect this self given title to be, sometimes it is just a defensive way to say "like me or not"..This is not  a Godly perspective on being real. Being real would suggest honesty, truth, transparency. Being real would sound more like, "I am broken, wounded, angry, grieving, I have fear, I have doubt, I have anxiety, I don't like me". Often times, our "realness" is an emotional response to what we feel on the inside.

If this is the "real" you are feeling, there is hope for your future! God will give you a new start, a new life.... one filled with security, confidence, peace, love for yourself and others, self worth.

It is said a lot from women, "well, I have been hurt, you don't know what I have been through" If we are being "real" here, we have all been hurt, but we can not use our past as a license to use damaging words, or attitudes.

Further more, when we come to the Lord, and we invite Him in by the infilling of the Holy Ghost, and water baptism in Jesus Name, the old person is left in the water! "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." II Corinthians 5:17.

Let me be very clear, our past is always going to be our past, but with God living on the inside, we have the ability to influence our atmosphere! We no longer have to respond with our wounded emotions, we can respond with the Love of Christ. We can live free, and, delivered from the emotional bondage of our past!!!

After we are baptized, we are made new. We no longer look the same, we don't go the same places, and ladies... we don't talk the same! We have a new way of communicating! This is the glory of God working through us! 

The word of God shows us to distinct ways to speak..Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers Ephesians 4:29 AND She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. Proverbs 31:26

Ladies, these are only 2 of many, scriptures where God is giving us instruction on the way Godly Women should speak.

How empowering is it, that God gave us the ability to speak life? Can you imagine, if we allowed this power of God to control our every word?

One last scripture before I go, Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Romans 12:10

Ladies, let's get real with ourselves. Let's look at what we are really struggling with, and give it over to God! Again, it won't change the past, but it will change your future!

Thank you for the chat...💗

God Bless,

Joy

Humility.....

Sometimes the thought of humbling ourselves, whether it is humbling ourselves to our spouse, kids, friends, or even God, is a little overwhelming. We think of humility as lowering ourselves or becoming so vulnerable that we will be "walked on", or overlooked.
Humility is what I want to talk to us about today. Because without humility we can not have unity, and without unity we are just alone... just alone.... 
  

 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? ² Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

Philipppians 2: 1-2 

Sometimes in our "Christian Journey", things are asked of us that requires great humility. Our attitude can delude us into thinking that there are tasks that are beneath us, or that we are deserving of a "higher position". 
There is great instruction in the book of Philippians for us, as believers. In my bible it is titled "Having the attitude of Christ"

³ Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. ⁴ Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
⁵ You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

⁶ Though he was God,
    he did not think of equality with God
    as something to cling to.
⁷ Instead, he gave up his divine privileges
    he took the humble position of a slave
    and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
⁸     he humbled himself in obedience to God
    and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

⁹ Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
    and gave him the name above all other names,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father

Philippians 2:3-11, NLT

There is a lady I know, she is one of the sisters in our church, she will remain anonymous.. but I will tell you, if I can become half the woman of God that she is, I will count myself accomplished.

She is willing to do anything asked of her, although, in fleshly eyes, she is worthy of position, she has been there and done that, she has paid her dues, yet she is still willing...

She is always an encouragement, always has an answer, although the answer may not pet your ego, ...lol..... she always has an answer. 

She is graceful yet not proud, she is intelligent in the ways of God yet never haughty, if you ever complement her on her tallent, she will never take credit, but she will say "its all God"

This is the picture of humility....

What we are missing as women, (or even men, although I believe mostly women read my blog..) is that there is this untapped power in humility. Humility is a strength, not a weakness...

In the scripture we just read, verses 8-11, it talks about Christ humility and obedience.. God honored that, and gave Christ power, and elevated Him to high places of Honor.

So, you are saying " if I humble myself, God will give position and title?"... no, that is not what I am saying. Maybe in society, it works that way, but as Godly people we should be chasing the approval of God not man...

Sure it is great to hear, good job, but a humble heart longs to please the Lord more than the accolades of man. 

⁵ In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for

“God opposes the proud
    but gives grace to the humble.”

⁶ So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. ⁷ Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

1 Peter 5:5-6

God promises us honor for our humility. He loves us and wants grace for our lives. 

If we strive for humility, 

honor, power and grace from God, will be our reward. 

God Bless,

Joy

Far Above Rubies

Hello Ladies~ It has been a while... Spring is upon us, and I thought "What could be better than putting some "spring" back into our lives and marriages?"

Big Task? I know.. Well Gods word gives us all we need to manage every little detail of our marriages to perfection...

So, my thought is a Proverbs 31 Mini-Series of Blogs. Researchers say that it takes 10 days of activity or non-activity to make or break a habit... so keeping that in mind, how many days would it take us ladies to become the Proverbs 31 Wife? Is it even possible? 

I have often thought about this.. I have always thought it was possible to be parts of this passage at different times, but not possible to be all parts at all times.

Well, I don't know about you, but I love a good challenge, and I hope you do too... What do you say? Are you with me?

So in this series, I will take a selection from Proverbs chapter 31 and write about it. It will sometimes be out of numerical order, and grouped together in one thought, I will give you the character or attribute of the scripture, and 10 items for you to achieve per 10 day section..   

Are you ready?

I would first like to talk with you about a virtuous woman. What is a virtuous woman, why be one, and who can catch one?

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. Prov 31:10

What is a virtuous woman? She is someone who is moral, chaste, of high example, integral. She is rare, uncommon, valuable and desirable. You know, she is that women, who is in relationship with God, she strives to please Him, she is honest in all her ways, pure in all her love and compassion, she is a servant, and she serves with excellence to bring honor to her King.

Have you ever thought, I mean really thought about this scripture? She's rare, valuable, one in a million, so to speak, what kind of man could catch her? What kind of man could capture her heart and be blessed to marry her?

 Scripture says:

He who finds a wife finds a good thing,
And obtains favor from the Lord. Prov 18:21

Lets just make the assumption a wife, that is a "good thing" is a virtuous woman..

I am going to leave this thought of "what kind of man" for a while, but I want you to think about what kind of man deserves you, a virtuous woman! Don't settle ladies!

The charter or attribute of this scripture is: Rare

You are probably thinking.." How can I be rare?

Take a look at the world around you. What do you see? I am sure you see some good women, but how many of them do you see that are virtuous, rare?

In our world these days, women are different from say, our moms. No longer is the focus the same. The priorities have shifted,or necessity dictates it, resulting in less than committed marriages, children that struggle with stability, stress, loneliness, and depression. I know it sounds old fashioned, but our place is in the home..

Now, wait... I mean that figuratively.. regardless of whether or not you have a career or work outside of the home, your place in the home can not be duplicated. Whether you need to work or want to work, your priority is still being wife and mom.

I know, it is a lot of work, maybe you feel it is unfair, but "suck it up sister, that's the way it is"... lol... We women, are important, we are needed to keep the household running....lol

So lets talk about "rare". Rarely these days, do you see a solid family, that is happy, well adjusted, and successful. One who, shares faith, loves each other, plays together, communicates with each other, and cherishes life. More likely, your average observation of a family would be something like this: a Family Dinner Out, Mom sets in silence,  Dad can't disconnect from work, daughter with iPod in her ears, rolling her eyes at everything that is said, son, not speaking to anyone,clothed in black, pushing his food around on his plate. No communication, No love, No laughter, No respect. That is normal!

We as virtuous women, rare women, have to set our homes differently. We have to be rare women, of a rare husband, and rare children.

What to do to be rare

1. Strive for holiness.Dress in a way that sets you apart from the average. Dress to represent your God.
2. Avoid carnality. Carry yourself in a way that virtuous.
3. Be careful where you go. Avoid participating in activities that are "the norm", in the world.
4. Be God honoring
5. Always honor your husband, whether he is with you or not.
6. Speak highly of your family.
7. Be the "soft spot" for your husband and children
8. Do Not be a gossip! nuff said!
9. Serve in anyway you can, with a joyful spirit
10. Be an example. There is always someone watching you.

I hope over the next 10 days, you can achieve the qualities of a Rare Woman. If God has designed us to be, and has given us the tools necessary, IT IS POSSIBLE

God Bless you
Joy

 

A MIRACLE IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER.....


Good Morning all~ I just have to tell you what God did for us! I hope this will bless and encourage you today!


It is no secret, that my husband is a Federal Employee, and is not, and will not be paid until the Government re-opens... this is a very scary position to be in, because we have been fearful to spend any of the money we have, because we don't know when we will have anymore...SOOOO, we have reduced all of our spending to gas, and grocery.... okay, now for the miracle part

Our car has a 18 gallon tank...currently, we get 19.5 mpg... On Wednesday night we filled our car up 4 miles from home.. When we filled up, we had 345 miles until empty...we drove 4 miles home. I didn't go anywhere during the day on Thursday. On Thursday, my husband came home, and asked me if we should go ahead and go to church? Pastor had released us from Thursdays, {since we are faithful to 4 services a week} until this financial crisis is over. My husband was really torn, but we decide we are just gonna trust that God will keep us and be our provision... We went to church...

We drive 54 miles from our driveway, to the church parking lot, one way...

Service was Great! We are so glad we went, Bro Rafael preached a good message, and it was a blessing to both my husband and I. We almost missed out!

After service a dear friend came to me (they will be anonymous, but they are integral to the story) and said, we would like to fill your car up with gas.. would you follow us to the station?.. Well, I balked at this.. explaining, everyone is struggling and there are others in the church who are really in need.. Sometimes the devil uses our own flesh to cheat us out of a blessing. We pray, "God make a way", then when the way comes, we reject it! Then she said the words.... " so, you would rob me of my blessing?"..... ughh.... she got me! I thanked her and told her I would accept her blessing, but my car is almost full right now... so we made plans for a future time...

We left and got in the car.... when I turned the car on, my husband said "Hey, look at the fuel meter!" We had 354 miles to empty! Immediately, I turned to my husband in astonishment, and said "You gave
 Bro ________, the keys to our car to fill it up?" He replied,"No, I didn't!"...

I said " Oh, my word! Bro _________, went and got a gas can, and filled us up!"... My husband said, "no, you can't do that with this car, only a gas pump nozzle will release the valve".... Instantly, my flesh began tying to figure out, how was that possible? Just like the rotten enemy, to plant doubt that my God is enough, to supply all needs. How can I serve the creator of all things, and doubt his ability to turn my situation around! We sat there in astonishment..... as we left the church, everyone got their cell phones out to do the math... Here's the bottom line.....

We filled up at 354 miles till empty...
We drove 4 miles home after fill up...
We drove 54 miles to church...
and we left the church with 354 miles till empty....
OUR GAS METER SHOULD HAVE READ......296 MILES TO EMPTY!!!!!!

THAT IS A MIRACLE! God has blessed us for going to church when we had permission not to.... When it would have been perfectly understandable to miss. God blessed our faithfulness! TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY!

This brings me to a few scriptures:

Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.
Psalm 68:19

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 6: 30-33

This may seem small to some. There are those this very minute struggling for their lives, in broken marriages, living in a spiritual desert, and so on... but I know, that God sees my needs, and how huge they are in my eyes... and He cares about me...AND I HAVE TO THANK HIM FOR EVERY LITTLE THING....

GOD BLESS YOU ALL!
J

Fall...

   So, I am just sitting here, windows open, Iced coffee in hand, listening to the sounds of the world around me.. I can hear birds, and the occasional dog, the breeze blowing the trees... it is wonderful. It is hard to imagine a scene so relaxing and serene, with all the "yuckiness" of a government shut down, negative

headlines, and illnesses that are plaguing us.

   When I think of Fall, with all of its "Pumpkin Mania" IE: pumpkin candles, pumpkin drinks, pumpkin cleaners, pumpkin ice trays, pumpkin perfume, pumpkin dog treats... the list goes on and on... Fall is a wonderful slow season... Its a time to kick back and enjoy all that God has created. 

   It has always frustrated me, how the commercial industries just rush us through Fall.... the minute the costumes go out, so does Christmas...Wait!, where are the Thanksgiving decorations?? WHY? Why do they do this? MONEY... They want to rush us from an $89 dollar costume into at $1500 dollar Christmas...lol, I am serious...

If we don't ever slow down, we just speed through life never enjoying the things God has created just for our enjoyment... We catch ourselves so busy that we forget why we even celebrate Thanksgiving.... For christian people, Thanksgiving is huge, we are celebrating the freedoms of the United States.. We came to the "New World" to enjoy freedom of worship, to worship the way we wanted, to worship the one true living God!

Thanksgiving is HUGE... Yet for most it is just a bump in the road on the way to Christmas...

Fall is a cherished time in my family... although, my kids are growing up, and we have a lot of church responsibilities, we still try to take time to enjoy the season. We spend a lot of time outdoors, we have always lived in a hot climates, so fall weather is such a reprieve, we enjoy sitting outside in the evening, enjoy watching the kids toss the football, or riding bikes... while loving a bag of candy corn...

We don't celebrate Halloween, but I do enjoy loading my patio down with pumpkins of all sizes, and Indian corn, cute scarecrow dolls... and as reluctant as I am to "buy In" to societies definition of Fall, I do burn a pumpkin-something type candle... we prepare for Fall, and Thanksgiving.. and even though, the menu never changes, my daughter and I begin thinking about Thanksgiving Day Dinner, we get out the cook books, we tear through the magazines, as if we are gonna do it up White House style.....lol

I guess the point to this blog today is, even though you have inventoried your Christmas decor, and you have it all ready as if it were lined up at the starting line of the Indy 500, STOP, sit down and enjoy the beauty God has handed you, enjoy the season, beg it to stay a little longer, enjoy your family, make every moment count for something...ENJOY FALL....

God Bless You,

J

Drawing A Line In The Sand.....

 How do we mark the times in our life, where the enemy thought he had us? When you have been tried and tested, sometimes you have passed the test, sometimes you have failed, but by the grace of God, he has lifted you up and set you on the right path...How do YOU mark that in your life ??

This is just a short blog today, just a thought from the scripture I was reading today.. I wanted to share with you. This mini blog is about your line in the sand, so to speak. You know that place in your life where you say "In your face satan, I declare right here, in this spot, YOU LOSE!" 

You know, that place in your life, where you say, " I have been there before, God delivered me, and in that moment, I determined, I will praise you Lord......" Your Monument...

The Children of Israel  were on their way to the Promise Land, the land that God had promised to them. They had suffered, not because they had to, but because they didn't listen to the voice of God, they were disobedient to God, they complained, grumbled, and bickered, all the while, God was showing them miracle after miracle. God was delivering them over and over...

 And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day.

 And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaister them with plaister:

 And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee.  Deuteronomy 27:1-3

It is unfortunate in this day and age, we have to declare and announce to the world that we will be Godly people, we will uphold his laws and commands at all times, but the truth is, we have to declare what in days past, were just good old fashion morals and values. We have to chisel Gods commands on our monuments so that all can see who we are, what we stand for...

Therefore it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaister them with plaister. 
 And there shalt thou build an altar unto the Lord thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them.
Thou shalt build the altar of the Lord thy God of whole stones: and thou shalt offer burnt offerings thereon unto the Lord thy God:

And thou shalt offer peace offerings, and shalt eat there, and rejoice before the Lord thy God. Deuteronomy 27:4-7

There are times in our life, where we have to stop, look back at all God has brought us through, and say "at this monument, I will praise thee, I will offer myself to you, I will honor you" This monument is where you celebrate freedom from sin, you celebrate with liberty in worship.

Even if God hasn't delivered us into the Promise Land yet, we have to Praise him for bringing us this far, and for where he is taking us... 

When we build monuments is our lives, and the enemy comes up behind us, he sees that monument and all that it represents, he knows, we have already passed this way before, we have overcome somethings, we have struggled and found victory. The monument says I am not going back that way, I am headed into the promise land.... A monument in your life crushes your enemy, limits him, binds his evil plan for you....Building a monument makes us strong, it shows wisdom, and commitment to serve God

If you have not built a monument in your life, what are you waiting for? Do it today!

God Bless You,

Joy.