The Hard Thing...

"Unparalleled joy and victory come from allowing Christ to do the "hard thing" with us."
~ Beth Moore~

I had to stop and be still before the Lord when I read this quote ...was there a "hard thing" in my life that I was to learn from right now? Oh yes, I really didn't even have to get all that still to know. It came right down to OBEDIENCE. Such a word. DISOBEDIENCE..ouch, another word. Sometimes we find ourselves in those hard places because God has asked something of us and we fail to obey. We can obey for awhile and then find ourselves slipping right back to where we were before. Forgetting all the while that it was God who spoke these things to our heart in the first place.

Through the years in my walk with the Lord I have found that nothing can bring more joy than being obedient to the things that God has asked of me. Walking in the things I know to be true, obeying when I hear the whispers from Him in my heart, surrendering those things He asks of me...sometimes walking in those things means they become the "hard things". It all comes down to allowing Him to have His way with us, all for His glory.

Victory is mine in Christ, bought and paid for by His blood. At times, I don't always feel it or walk in it. When I have been obedient, I feel victorious. Oh what a feeling! There is unparalleled joy and victory in the hard things when we allow Christ to have His way with us.

Are you experiencing a "hard thing" right now? Is there anything God is asking of you while you are in this hard place? It can be ever so small and doesn't have to be a big thing. I think of when my kids were young and I would tell them to do something and there would be that, "Why." Because I said so, I might reply. Even in the small things God has a reason for asking us to do or not to do something. Why? Because He says so. We don't have to always understand, we just need to obey, and then....joy will follow!

"For it is God who is at work in you,
both to will and to work for His good pleasure."

Philippians 2:13

Patty's Pantry...

I have started posting my holiday recipes on Patty's Pantry. I have been slow getting all my recipes back on my blog since I deleted it...but I am slowly getting there. I hope you'll pop over and see if there is something that sounds good to you and your family. Enjoy!

Quitter Or Obedient?

" The enemy tries everyday to get us to quit...then he calls us a quitter."

I was going through my night stand next to our bed and I found this slip of paper that I wrote the above quote. I don't remember writing it. I had to be watching a DVD of Beth Moore's or listening to the radio and jotted it down.. I really needed that encouragement the day I found it. God knows when we need those special touches.

It's so true..he, Satan does everything he can do to have us quit the things that we do in obedience to God. He puts every obstacle in our way that he knows will discourage us. Sometimes those things come right after another like waves, knocking us down so we can hardly catch our breath. We have probably given in and quit before so he knows what tactics will work in our defeat. He whispers, You can't do this." "You have never succeeded before, why try again." "Your life is too busy to do this." "Everyone is smarter than you." Oh my gosh, the whispers that he plants in our minds continues, sometimes until he wears us down and we quit. Then...he calls us a quitter. How fair is that? Remember, the enemy doesn't play fair. He comes to rob and destroy us. He is such a deceiver.

Is there something in your life that you want to quit? Are you hearing whispers from the Lord or the enemy? If it is the Lord telling you to quit, He will call it obedience. If it's the enemy...he will call you a quitter. Then he lays on the guilt. See what a vicious circle it is?

We have to walk in the Spirit everyday to recognize the tactics that are individually designed just for us. When we do, we won't walk in the flesh and be tricked by the enemy. This quote stirred up my righteous anger...to think he would chip away at me day and night and when I had been pecked enough, to then think he would call me a quitter! Grrrrr.

Be wise and be aware of whose whispers you are listening to.

Veterans Day...

~Thank You ~

Beside Still Waters...

"He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters."

Psalm 23:2

I have been pondering for days what I wanted to write after the election results on Tuesday. I believe in God's sovereignty in allowing Barack Obama as our next president. But my heart is saddened and heavy. I will out of obedience pray for this man, that God would touch his heart, that he would be transformed, that he would have godly wisdom, that he would lead our country back to the ways of God. It's a big request, but I will pray those things because it is right to do so.

I really believe that God has allowed this to happen for several reasons.One...this is what the people wanted. Like in the days of Saul, the people wanted a king and God gave them Saul. The people of the United States wanted Barack Obama and God allowed them to have their way. Two...these are the final days before the Lord raptures His church and this plays into those end time events. There will be a great falling away in those days. Just look at the Emerging Church and the power sweep it has on so many, including mature Christians. Even the elect shall be deceived, the bible says.

This has happened, what do we do now? We can't change anything, this is just the way it is. Things could get really rough for our country. I don't think the word "could" is accurate...I believe they will. It's already happening, we need only look around. For the election we prayed and we voted. Now, we must pray and walk the walk that God has put before us as believers in Jesus Christ. People are losing their jobs, homes and their life savings. All the things that made them feel secure. Here is the opportunity for all of us to be encourager's to those who will be caught up in the chaos of change. We have to witness like we never have before to anyone that will listen. Millions of people have put their hope in Barack Obama...we need to share with them that their only hope can be..in the Lord Jesus Christ.

If I let myself think of all the chaos and uncertainty that lies before us, I can get fearful. But if I am fearful, what good will I be to others who need to be encouraged? The rain falls on the good and the bad. We have to put the umbrella of God's Word over us and remember that He is faithful. God has always delivered His people from His wrath and He will do the same for us.

These are exciting times in which we live. We have the opportunity to watch God's plan unfold. Each one of us have been placed at this time, this generation, for such a time as this. He thinks we can handle the adversity before us, including the changing of a country that once was based on God and His truths. Yes, these are uncertain times, but think of those whose hope lies only in a man who makes promises that tickle their ears.

So, here we are, for such a time as this, to pick ourselves up, to do the work we have before us to do, to reach out and to pray for those who are lost. God will use each and every opportunity that comes before us to reach out to a hurting person caught up in the winds of change. We can't walk around with a down cast spirit, all doom and gloom....we must be the light that people see. We have to be their example like never before. We can do it!

My prayer is that God will lead us beside the still waters and we will find comfort for our souls and be refreshed..because we have work to do!