In the beginning...

Beginnings can be full of so much excitement and expectation but they can also be full of fears and doubts. Will I be good enough? Can I do this? Will I succeed? I don't want to let anyone down or GOD! What if I let God down?? But when fears and doubts grab ahold of me I find myself drawn to scripture. Genesis starts with...

"In the beginning God"... Genesis 1:1

The Bible is very particular with its wording and it says in the very VERY beginning it all started with GOD. So to me I see this as all of our endevours should start with God. We must ask ourselves... Is this something that will give glory to God? Is this something done out of love? (since love is the greatest commandment) Are you in the will of God? and if you are confused if you are or not, just ask! The Lord will answer you.

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. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 20:10-13

Oh I give praise to God over this because I can feel lost and alone at times but God is always right there to comfort me and love me, to listen to me and give me guidance. My fears and doubts dissolve away in His pressence. He gives me the strength I need to stand up and do what it is He has me to do even when I don't feel worthy or even equipped and this is His promise to you.

"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

The Lord holds us in His RIGHTEOUS hand! Oh how comforting is this to us His children! So, as we step out next week starting a children/youth group at Shady Grove Church I am at complete peace over it. I know that God has called us to this church to help build something for these young people. I never went to Children's Church as I child like most others around here did. I'm still learning day by day from the Father above through prayer and consulting His word. I know there will be challenges to over come and purhaps disappointments too but I know that God has a plan. He is going to use us to teach this group of young people about the Lord, to show them God's love and hopefully get them excited about sharing the Good News! 

So as I step into this last week of preparation for the start of our new adventure I press into God and pray for the anointing over the words that are spoken and the activities that will be done. At the end of each meeting we will give God all the glory, because it is all done in Him! I ask for all of you to pray in agreement with us for this group to grow and the anointing to flow out in Jesus Name! Amen!!

Ascribe to the Lord...

A Psalm of David

“Ascribe to the LORD, O sons of the mighty, Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in holy array. The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; The God of glory thunders, The LORD is over many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful, The voice of the LORD is majestic. The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; Yes, the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, And Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the LORD hews out flames of fire. The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; The LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everything says, "Glory" The LORD sat as King at the flood; Yes, the LORD sits as King forever. The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭29

Ascribe... What a powerful word. The first definition says basically, Give credit as to the cause or source of. Oooooo Praise God! He is the source of all good in this world!  "And we know that in ALL THINGS God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 The second definitions says To think of as belonging as a characteristic... Think about that when you read the above verse...

“Ascribe to the LORD, O sons of the mighty, Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name Worship the LORD in holy array"

This is how I read the beginning of this scripture...Give Credit To the Lord, Children of God, The Lord is glory and strength. Give God His glory and praise due. Worship the Lord all out. Get your worship FREAK on. Dont worry about anyone around you because God is worthy of UNHINDERED praise.

"The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; The God of glory thunders, The LORD is over many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful, The voice of the LORD is majestic. The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; Yes, the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, And Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the LORD hews out flames of fire. The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; The LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve And strips the forests bare"

The voice of God is over the waters, He is as loud as thunder and His power is GREAT...Oooo Majestic this word fills me with PEACE and makes me think of the wonder you feel when looking out of a great expanse of winderness... Okay this part is good "The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; Yes, the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon." The cedars of Lebanon were prized throughout ancient Israel. This fragrant wood was highly desirable for building in Israel because of it durability and hard to damage nature. The Hebrew word for Cedar is Erez and it is associated with a people that do not like to be given orders or have a tenacity to dominance. The root word for Lebanon is lebab which means, inner man or heart...The Lord is telling us here that with the sound of His voice, THE SOUND, He can break the toughest child of God, a heart that is unmovable, unbending, unyielding, relentlessly determined to have its own way, no matter what. It is this cedar that will be broken when the Voice of God is heard. Oh so good...

"in His temple everything says, "Glory!" The LORD sat as King at the flood; Yes, the LORD sits as King forever. The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace.”

This last part just fills me with GLORY GLORY GLORY... God IS King. God IS our strength. God IS our PEACE. Jehovah Shalom

Proverbs 14:1

“The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭14:1‬

I awoke this morning eager to start my day and I threw myself into God's word. This verse jumped out at me in my study of Proverbs. A wise woman BUILDS her house... She builds it. Now usually when I think of contractor work I think of men, but here I believe the word is speaking of the household. What's it's a Woman's household?.. Her kitchen, her living room, bedrooms, bathrooms, all her possessions okay yeah sure, but there are more importantly people in her household.. A husband and maybe children. The household must be built up, encouraged, nurtured. I hold this responsibility to build my house up or if I do not my household will be torn down. Oh my! This is a big deal!! I don't want my household destroyed! Okay so my question became how do I build up my household? First I will start with the house, the building that holds my most precious people on earth...
My house needs:
1. To be cleaned
2. To be a display at all times for random guests to stop by
3. To be organized (totally different from cleaned)
4. To be treated as office, home and sanctuary all in one
5. To be a place my family wants to come home to
I'm not very good at all of these to be honest, but they are so important for #7 on the husband list!!
A husband needs:
1. To know that he is loved
2. To know that he is appreciated
3. To know he can trust his wife to speak well about him in the world. For a man's name is all he truly has at the end of a day.
4. To be fed
5. To know he is desired
6. To be encouraged spiritually
7. To have his load lightened
Well as I look over my list I realize I fall short at times. So today I asked myself:
 "Are you a load lifter or a load giver? Do I encourage or tear down?"
My children's needs:
1. To know they are loved
2. To be challenged mentally
3. To be reminded of basic hygiene (I have boys!)
4. To be fed
5. To be given disciple
6. To be encouraged spiritually
7. To know they are safe and have protection
8. To be given a bit of freedom
9. To have creativity and imagination encouraged
10. To be given lots and LOTS of hugs!
So as I look this list over, I pray I am preforming up to this standard! There are days I don't challenge them enough and days that showers don't happen (it's summer so swimming in the pool is like taking a bath, right??) making these lists make me feel better! This verse is such an awesome reminder to love your home and the people inside it. To build your household up, not to tear it down like a condemned building with your own hands from neglect.

I am the vine

 John 15:1-2

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”

As I gaze out the windows of our beautiful church I find myself reminded of this verse. My father in heaven is the gardener pruning me, perfecting me, convicting me daily through the Holy Spirit. This scene of Stained glass and vine is so beautiful to me. It's as if I am looking through God's rose colored glasses, an ordinary vine is transformed into art. Art that is climbing our church building, the place where my brothers and sister praise and pray and worship God. This vine is climbing toward the skies, toward heaven. It seems this vine and I have the same goal, but like this vine I still have a long way to go...