Saturday night was rough. I held hair back. I washed sheets. I listened as my daughter told me she hopes she gives me the flu. Yes, she said those words.
“I hope I give this to you.”
I laughed at the time, but wasn’t laughing so hard the next day when I doubled over with stomach pains. The whole experience reminds me of what I once heard a pastor share. He explained how Jesus coming to earth was in some ways the equivalent of a parent caring for a sick child. *Excuse the graphic example, but trust me I have a point.
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This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24
I am sitting in my office gazing out at yet another cold rainy day in the Midwest. I have a full day of writing ahead of me leaving me little time to play.
One of my assignments for today is writing a post for the Woman’s Day Happiness Blog, and truthfully, my level of happiness is feeling a little less than inspiring at the moment.
Wait a minute! It’s not about me. It’s not about the weather. It’s not about my circumstances.
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This week I attended a woman’s Bible study at my church. It wasn’t my regular study group. I was surrounded by new faces. Each one took their turn sharing their prayer request and slowly they made their way to the young lady sitting beside me. She was an adorable mother of two, all smiles and sweetness. But, the moment she opened her mouth her voice cracked and her eyes misted over. “Could you please pray for my marriage?” She asked. “With our newest little one, I am finding no time for my husband. And quite frankly, I don’t want any time with him.
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I hear that often from my 4 year old. If, in the course of a conversation, I happen to share a tidbit of knowledge that he’s heard before, I get a teen-sounding, eye-rolling, “I KNOW that!” Frankly, after the first time (where it was surprising and amusing), I find it more than a little annoying.
They say we’re most annoyed by traits in others that we also possess. I’m sure that over the course of my life various people have considered me a ‘know-it-all.’ They might not have said it out loud, but considering my own motives at various times, it must have been thought.
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Come near to God and he will come near to you. James 4:8 NIV
“Come back here!” I scolded my son as he darted across the Wal-mart parking lot.
“But, Mommy I almost caught one,” he told me, referring to the tiny birds always found hopping between the cars looking for cast-off French fries and other tasty morsels. I watched as my seven-year-old crept closer and closer to the bird standing next to our oil covered wheels.
Step. Step. Step.
“Aww, man.” He wasn’t fast enough. The bird darted away in search of a safer place to glean.
Do you ever feel like my son?
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Israel, what does the Lord your God want you to do? He wants you to fear Him, follow all His directions, love Him, and worship Him with all your heart and with all your soul. The Lord wants you to obey His commands and laws that I’m giving you today for your own good. Deauteronomy 10:12-13 (GW)
Have you ever wondered, what does God want from me? He doesn’t need anything. What does He want?
The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever— Psalm 138:8
The Life Application Bible Notes for Deuteronomy 10:12-13 read as follows:
Often we ask, “What does God expect of me?”
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Grace…
is the unexplainable hope
that washes away
the accusing whispers that dance in the darkness
and hide behind the mirror
and say, “You need to be thinner
and thinner
and thinner.”
Grace…
is the light that calls you
toward something so good that you’re scared to trust it.
You might even ignore it at first,
thinking it’s not for you.
Instead,
you try to get better
and fix things on your own.
You try to be strong.
Confident.
Perfect.
But hours of 3:00 a.m. sit-ups,
calorie counting,
dieting,
scrutinizing,
and hiding,
will make a person fall.
Yet Grace…
is the mighty hand that will catch you
and promise you
that you don’t have to be
perfect.
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Written on
January 18, 2010 by
Gina in
Blog
A while back, I read Joyce Meyer’s book The Battle Belongs to the Lord. It was a great little book and a quick read about overcoming life’s struggles through worship. What I took away from it is I need to worship God not because of what He does for me, but for who He is!
Joyce sites men and women of God in the Old and New Testament who worshiped God first before facing the enemy. Gideon, Elijah, Paul, Jesus to name a few. All worshiped God despite their circumstances, and God moved!
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
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