When it would be easier to say No God

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

John 15:4

There are days when the journey of Saying Yes to God is so very hard.

On those days fear, doubt, discouragement, pain, despair & hopelessness take center stage leaving nothing left but an empty ache where hope, strength & life once were.

I know these days. I lived these days. I AM living these days.

And now as I live the hard days it is very easy to say, “I’m sorry God I didn’t sign up for this - I didn’t sign up for the attacks, the pain, the loss. I can’t do this anymore I quit.”

Telling God no, -turning around and walking away- would be the easy way out.

It would be easy to say, “Sorry God I don’t have the strength to stand up & follow you. I don’t have the will power to go against the popular choice. So, God No, I won’t follow you in the calling you have placed on my life.”

It would be easy to continue living my comfortable, oh-hum doing the next thing that comes along life. But, that’s not what God asked me to do.

God didn’t ask me to live a life of comfort & routine.

He asked me to “Come follow Him.” He asked me to join Him on the adventure He has planned for me.

God never promised it would be easy but He did promise that as long as I remained in Him, He would remain in me.

In a day where I have been discouraged, broken hearted & just plain mad I realized I was losing sight of the Light of Christ.

Today I dug deep in His Word & focused on His Truth that he will always remain with me as long as I remain in Him. Today I used His Word as a Weapon & in doing so I was strengthened to continue saying Yes to Him.

Sweet friend, are you discouraged & wondering why you ever said Yes to God?

Will you please hear my heart? Don’t give up! Keep fighting & keep following the plans God has for your life. Lean on Him and He will strengthen you.

Choose to stay focused on His Light & His Truth & He will stay with you giving you the strength & endurance you need.

Dear Lord, Help me to choose to stay with you, help me to abide, rest & endure the hard, discouraging days with you. For I know Lord that when I remain in you, you will suffer & bear with patience, abide & stay with me. Lord I know that no branch, limb or member of a body can hold up or remain firm by its self. I know that it must remain attached to the stem that is attached to the root, the source of its life. Help me Lord remain, abide & rest in you so that I can hold up & remain firm under pressure. For you Jesus, are one with God & will be my source of strength & life. In Your Name I Pray, Amen.

I am linking up today to P31 OBS blog Hop for What Happens When Women Say Yes to God.


In His Calm,

Mary

Refocus ~ Focusing on The Cross

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Hebrews 12:1-2

Where is your focus? Upon what are your eyes fixed?

Do you see the dream God has given you clearly before you or do you see a blurry figment of your dream?

Oh so easily we become distracted by the things around us. We take our eyes off God, instead looking to people around us for the answers and direction we seek. We loose sight of the dream God placed in our hearts. The busyness & needs of those around us distract our mind & thoughts. Flashy lifestyles & desire for power lure us from the true focus of God's plan & call for our lives.

Hebrews 12:1 tells us to "throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles".

What or who hinders you from pursuing the dream and call God placed on your life? What sin has entangled you, blurring the vision of the dream God placed in your life? What do you need to "throw off" that is keeping you from finishing the race God has called you to?

"...let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith..."

The dream God gives us may not be reached with a fast sprint. It may be a marathon in which we must persevere and pace ourselves. There may be times when we become tired, lose our focus & stray off the path. But God has surrounded us with a "great cloud of witnesses" who will be there to encourage & strengthen us and point us back to the path that God has placed before us. Do you have someone-mentor who will come along side you and help point you back to the dream God placed in your heart?

Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith. He endured the shame, discouragement, pain & heartbreak of the Cross for us and NEVER lost sight of the plan God had for His Life!

When we keep our eyes focused on Him & The Cross we will not lose sight of the dream God placed on our lives.

Have you lost focus on the dream God placed in your life? What do you need to do in order to refocus on The Cross & the dream?

In His Calm,


Mary

Marriage Monday ~ Was Jesus invited to your wedding?

Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet."

And the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine.

He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. 

Then he called the bridegroom aside and said,

"Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."

John 2:9,10

I recently read a story about a little boy who was interviewed by Johnny Carson. Mr. Carson realized the little boy was a Christian so he asked the boy what he was learning in Sunday School.

The boy answered by telling him the most recent lesson was when Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding. The audience laughed and enjoyed his response. Mr Carson followed by asking what he had learned from the story. The boy thought a moment and answered, "If your going to have a wedding, make sure to invite Jesus!"

John 2:1-11 tells the story of Jesus' first miracle when he turned water into wine. The wine was so good that when the master of the banquet tasted it he didn't know it had come from the water used for ceremonial cleaning. The master thought it was the best wine and was amazed that the bridegroom would serve it early.

The Jews' of that time believed that a person became symbolically unclean by touching objects of everyday life. The ceremonial water was used before a meal to cleanse the hands of the Jew of anything that made them unclean. 

In today's world we are faced with obstacles and influences that can make our marriages unclean. Daily we face temptations, stress from financial issues, work issues, family turmoil and influences from the world's view of what a marriage should be. 

But, Jesus can cleanse our marriage. He can take an empty, cold as stone marriage and fill it with fresh, living water. He can bring it to new life giving you the best now!

Was Jesus invited to your wedding? Is He a part of your marriage? Are you living the "best", "choice" marriage now? 

If not, what do you need to give over to Jesus today in order for him to fill the cistern of your marriage with fresh living water? What objects from your everyday life do you need to be cleansed from?

May we take advice from a little boy and invite Jesus into our marriages everyday!

I'm linked today with Women Living Well Wednesdays

In His Calm,

Mary

Merry Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all have a wonderful day celebrating the birth of Immanuel

our Lord and Savior!

"I believe in a Cross, 

I believe He came for one, he came for all

Heavens child became a  plan, 

gave His life for me In spite of all I am,

I believe, I believe, oh I believe

Christmas lives in me

I believe"

In His Calm,


Mary

Marriage Monday - Wives of the Bible - The Proverbs 31 Woman

"A wife of noble character who can find?... but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." Proverbs 31:10,30

The Proverbs 31 woman was a manufacturer, importer, manager, realtor, farmer, seamstress, upholsterer, and merchant. She was hard working, devoted to her family, honorable, reliable, strong, caring, and wise. She was an ambitious lady with many excellent qualities. Trying to live up to the standards of the Proverbs 31 woman can be daunting.

As a wife, mom, daughter, sister & friend I struggle each day with juggling the daily responsibilities. Are you like me? Do you find it difficult to keep the house clean, keep the pantry & refrigerator stocked, laundry washed & folded while working outside of the home or volunteering, oh & don't forget about spending time with your friends and husband & kids?

During this Christmas season even more responsibilities are piled onto us. Each year I go into the Holidays saying "this year I will focus more on Christ and the reason why we need to be Thankful & the reason why we celebrate Christmas". And each year before I know it Christmas is here and I have completely forgotten to slow down and enjoy the nativity with Baby Jesus in the Manger.

This year has been no exception. I knew I was going to be busy as I worked on a special project but I underestimated how busy I would be. As deadlines loomed and life at home continued as busy as usual I had to stop and look at my responsibilities. If I didn't, I knew those around me would suffer along with my ability to do the best work I could.

As busy as the Proverbs 31 woman was I knew I could gain some insights into where God wanted me to focus my priorities.

"She gets up while it is still dark: she provides food for her family..." verse 15

• The Proverbs 31 woman spent time in communion with God first thing in the morning. There were days when this was really hard for me (I have a son that will wake up as soon as there is a hint of movement in the house in the morning).  On those mornings when the distractions and needs began before I was able to spend time in God's word I made sure I asked for an extra measure of His Grace and found a few moments throughout the day to read His Word.

"Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life." verses 11 & 12

• Jeff has been very supportive of my new responsibilities. He loves me and sees how important it is for me to follow God in His leading for my life. Even though Jeff is supportive and knows there are sacrifices that will be made I still have a responsibility to him as his wife. I need to show him love and support. I can not neglect my time with him. Each night after we get the kids in bed we make it a priority to sit with each other. Some nights we watch tv. There have been nights we have done Christmas shopping online for the kids. While other nights we've snuggled in front of the fireplace, sipping hot tea.

"She watches over the affairs of her household... Her children arise and call her blessed..." verse 27 & 28

• There are many good things for me to do with a lot of those being ways to serve God. But, my kids will only be young once and each day with them is a gift from God. Each day I tried to find something special to do with each of them. Some days it was a lunch outing or Christmas shopping, while other days it was reading a special story or baking Christmas treats. One thing we have made a point to do each night as a family is gather pillows and blankets in front of the Christmas Tree and read our Advent devotion. 

Each of these insights has a common thread...slowing down and spending time with those who are most important to me - my God, my Husband & my Children. 

I write this blog so that I - along with each of you - will remember in this crazy busy life to sit and spend time in The Calm of His Presence. This Christmas season I have been reminded through the Proverbs 31 woman what my priorities are. I know I have not posted as regularly as I had been but please know that I value each and everyone of you who stop by and visit. I have just had to step back and spend time with my family.

I would love to hear from you. Has God used something this Christmas season to remind you what your priorities are?

I'm linked today with Julie at Come Have a Peace.









In His Calm,

Mary