Beloved Children of God

I want to share something so sweet that has touched my heart ... If you are in Christ you are God's Beloved!!! You are a child of The Living God!!!

“I WILL CALL THOSE WHO WERE NOT MY PEOPLE, ‘MY PEOPLE,’AND HER WHO WAS NOT BELOVED, ‘BELOVED.’” “AND IT SHALL BE THAT IN THE PLACE WHERE IT WAS SAID TO THEM, ‘YOU ARE NOT MY PEOPLE,’THERE THEY SHALL BE CALLED SONS OF THE LIVING GOD.” - Romans 9:25-26

Oh please let that sink in to your heart!

Now take a look at these verses (emphasis mine) from Eph. 1:3-14:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will–to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment–to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession–to the praise of his glory.

Oh sweet one you are God's Beloved, He loves you! He chose you, you are God's special possession - His treasure! He has redeemed you, you are forgiven, adopted, and richly blessed in Christ Jesus!!! You have a inheritance, an eternal home, you are cleansed from all sin and have been made holy, set apart... you are part of a royal priesthood to the praise of the Father!

Oh sweet ones rest in Him who loves you... Seek Him and draw near to the One who knows your name and who desires an intimate relationship with you. It is not by our works and busyness that cause Him to look upon us with favor (remember Martha and Mary)... it is by grace, it is by faith...

What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written,“BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE,AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." Romans 9:30-33. Please also see 1 Peter 2:4-8!

Sweet ones He has done it all! His grace embraces us and we are set free from works... the works we produce are not to attain but out of love and thankfulness. May His love and kindness touch your heart in a special way today and always.

Speaking Truth & Love

Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? ~ Gal. 4:16

This has been heavy upon my heart today... Whoa to us who knows what we should do but we do not do it! (See James 1:22-25) There are areas that people call gray areas... that might be true, however there are areas people would like to say are gray areas that are not according to the Word. I pray that the Holy Spirit would convict us of any of these areas, gray or otherwise that grieve Him! When we are confronted with sin may we repent.

Following the path of righteousness may not be easy; it will go against worldly and mainstream ideas, even against what our own flesh desires... but still it is what we should and are called to do. We are called to live differently than the world. We are called to glorify God... we should desire to be pleasing, honoring and obedient to Him. In living for God and following the path of righteousness we will be blessed... maybe in the here and now, definitely when we come into His Kingdom. Not that we should do the right things for blessings... We should live righteously because God came wrapped in flesh, He lived among His Creation, He suffered, He died and He rose again that we might have eternal life with Him... that our sins would be forgiven and we would be put in a right relationship with Him... that we would love, obey and glorify Him, our Creator.

After all He has done for us is this asking too much?! Is it too much for us to obey Him? Is it too much for us to strive to please Him and not grieve Him? I think not.

I say this that the Holy Spirit might be at work among us... that we may encourage, build up, strengthen, and bring glory to the Father. Please take a moment to read some of the following verses:

Prov. 10:17; Matt. 18:15; Luke 17:3; Eph. 5:11; 1 Tim. 5:1-2, 20-21; Eph. 4:15; Phil. 3:1; 1 Th. 5:14; 2 Tim 4:2; Tit. 1:13; Heb. 3:13

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. ~ Ps. 139:23-24

Learning from our Past

As I sat down to write in my journal today this is what was all the sudden on my heart... not what I would have thought but well here it goes...

I heard this morning a reminder that today is the 67th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. And as I sat down to write hours later it came to the fore front of my mind. It brought to mind the loss our country suffered on 9-11. How real, how shocking these times were for Americans... the unthinkable had happened.

We will never forget these moments... but with time, the emotions pass. They are not as strong, dormant maybe, ready to surface if provoked... but not like they were following these events. Our memories fade some what... we remember but have forgotten some of the smaller details that seemed so fresh, real and unforgettable to us at the time. These moments are tragedies for our country, especially for those who lived through it and lost loved ones. For them it is more personal, more real, more tangible.

We are to learn from history, so as to not repeat it - you know the mistakes and such.... & as I sit here I ponder these things... which brings to mind other thoughts of a spiritual nature. In our spiritual life- our walk, our journey... how at the moment of salvation or even moments where we are on a spiritual mountain top, things are so alive, real, vibrant... We are on fire, spiritual speaking.

Now maybe there are those who can attest to having never lost that... that fire has for years burned bright and strong. However for many of us the fire is still there burning steady but it has become more tame as we have come down from our mountain top moments and gone to the valley, as we should. I do not believe that our whole spiritual journey was meant to be a mountain top experience... why even the disciples who witnessed the transfiguration had to come down and go through the valley... and you know what - it was worth it! What Jesus taught, claimed, did and commanded them to do became something that transformed them... from the disciples who just didn't seem to get it, the ones who wanted to be the greatest, the ones who wanted to call down fire upon the Samaritans, on and on... to the men who lived out what Christ had spoken, who proclaimed His message unashamed; who loved; who were merciful; who were servants & humble; who would suffer & die for their faith.

Getting back to my point - God will take us through times of great joy & times of trails - we should learn from both of these experiences. Yet, don't we at times on our walk... well those moments can fade and seem less real to us. In our times of joy do our trails seem to fade and in our times of trail do we "forget" what all we have seen and experienced - what God has done for us... the miraculous; the faithfulness; the grace; etc. Thankfully we have the Holy Spirit who will remind us, who will teach us and guide us. Because we need to remember & we need to learn.

I have been on the mountain top & I have traveled through the valley, & no matter what the Lord is always with me. He is my Strength & my joy... He is my Rock - upon which I stand and hold fast. Circumstances come & go; this world will one day fade away but the Word of the Lord lives on forever. What is eternal will not fade, it will be transformed. We will be transformed. What a precious gift we have in Christ Jesus.

Holy Spirit never let us forget... let the things that are eternal be very real & present upon our hearts & minds... That our actions would bring you glory. Amen!

Conversations with God (Prayer) - Part 1

I woke up this morning with this upon my mind... Conversations with God - Prayer. I have so many different thoughts here and could go all over the board with this... & I know there are many, many books written on this subject. But I feel compelled, led if you will to search God's Word here on this subject matter... to dig deeper and draw closer to my "Abba" Father.

So today I started doing just that... & WOW! Of course I know how important prayer is.... which means of course there should be lots for me to read up on concerning this subject... & there is! However for me to full grasp what I think the Lord wants me to here, this may take some time...
Which means I am sure that this will be a subject I am sure to be writing more about in the future... stay tuned! =)

Something to meditate upon:

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Col. 4:2

I got this award from my dear, sweet friend, Jenny...

As part of the award I am suppose to answer a few questions...
So here it goes... =)

Answer the following questions with single word responses. (or, if you're like me, answer them with as many words as you want!)

1. Where is your cell phone? beside me

2. Where is your significant other? at work

3. Your hair color? varying shades of light to dark blond

4. Your mother? probably at home

5. Your father? probably at home

6. Your favorite thing? my bible & chocolate with caramel

7. Your dream last night? that I might actually get sleep (ha ha) - Don't know

8. Your dream/goal? to write a book.

9. The room you’re in? living room

10. Your hobby? Bible study, blogging, facebook, reading, and a few other random things...

11. Your fear? Missing out on the opportunities God has for me on earth... & that loved ones may not know Jesus.

12. Where do you want to be in six years? Where God wants me... Hopefully in a deeper walk with Jesus - maturing in Christ.

13. Where were you last night? At our church's women's Christmas event

14. What you’re not? perfect.

15. One of your wish list items? black, winter boots (Warm & Comfy)

16. Where you grew up? Alabama

17. The last thing you did? prep for dinner

18. What are you wearing? a long sleeve shirt & sweatpants.

19. Your T.V.? off

20. Your pet? dog

21. Your computer? on my lap

22. Your mood? peaceful

23. Missing someone? YES!

24. Your car? Escape

25. Something you’re not wearing? lipstick

26. Favorite store? Amazon!

27. Your Summer? Fun!

28. Love someone? YES!!!

29. Your favorite color? blue & green

30. When is the last time you laughed? last night

31. Last time you cried? humm I am sure it wasn't that long ago... I did tear up last night but no crying.

And now I am passing this on to my friend - Amy & Eryn - who I am so excited has joined the blogging world!!!