Thursday, November 28, 2013

Thanksgiving 101

"Thank God ! He deserves your thanks. His love never quits." 
Psalm 136:1 MSG

Whatever situation you find yourself in remember there is always someone that is in a more difficult place. Some things are life choices, other things happen because that's part of life. 
People tend to blame God when they get in the rough spots of life, but He is the only one that promises to stick by us through it all! His love never quits! 
I'm having some more side effects with this second round of chemo. My legs hurt, had a few bloody nose episodes, etc., but I have side effects because I'm alive! God will restore me and revive me! 
Holidays can be tough for a lot of people. Some have lost family members this time of year, some don't speak to family, some are sick, and the list goes on. Just hang on!
My prayer for you is that whatever you face today, during the holidays or any other day is that you would hold on to Jesus! His love never quits and He deserves all of our thanks! 

Monday, November 25, 2013

Rock Star!

"And now I’m going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out." Matthew 16:18 MSG
Peter didn't start out like this. In fact, a lot of the time you can find him being less than stellar. I'm sure he tried Jesus' patience as well.
I can relate to Peter. I would get out of the boat even if no one else would. I would ask who, what, when, why, where? I also want to be the one who God looks at and says, "Rock. I will build on you because I know you can handle it."
While going through chemo, I told the Lord that I would love to be a rock star on this journey! If I could feel great and give God the glory, it would be a win, win!  It doesn't always work like that.
Sometimes I don't feel well and it's hard for me to be vulnerable and let others know I'm not feeling all that well. I've decided though, that it's not about how I feel, but how I handle myself. I can feel crummy, but handle others with care. That is being a rock.
My prayer for you is that as you journey through life, you will rely on the rock of your salvation to help you be a rock during and through your trials. If you let Him, God will use you and build on you.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Hair Today ... Gone Tomorrow

"Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God."
1 Peter 3:3, 4 NLT
Well, I won't have any fancy hair to worry about! I'm not saying that we as women shouldn't look nice and the Bible isn't either. I believe that it shouldn't be such a huge part of our lives that we forget that we are beautiful! We are God's handiwork! When we focus on the inside, we will naturally radiate beauty on the outside! I love to do my hair, nails and makeup. I also like to dress as nice as possible and when I do all these things, especially if I'm not feeling well, I do feel better about myself! In the same way, when we encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ, have a gentle or forgiving spirit towards others and show grace and mercy, we will sense God's grace upon our lives! People will notice that you look and feel happy. You will feel better about yourself and even in your trial, people will see Jesus through you!
My prayer for you is as you read these words that you won't get caught up in legalism about what you should or shouldn't wear, but that you would ask the Lord to clothe you with grace, mercy, kindness, empathy, etc. Hold your head high for you are a child of the king!

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Infuse This!

"But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you." Acts 1:8a ~ AMP

While undergoing chemo, they draw blood and run tests to check your platelets, white and red blood cell counts, iron, etc. They discovered I was low on iron. My main iron level was at 19 and should be between 50 and 150. They explained that this has probably been a problem for a while, but I haven't had labs done in a while. This, however, could explain the fact that I'm always cold and tired.

We need our body to produce and maintain certain levels in order to have power and strength to do life. Since my iron was so low I had to have an infusion. I started to feel better the very next day.

In the same way, we need the Holy Spirit in our lives to give us the power to live right. I love the Amplified version for how it states that power is also ability, efficiency and might!

The dictionary defines these three words as follows:

Ability: "Power or capacity to do or act physically, mentally, legally, morally, financially, etc."
Efficiency: "Accomplishment of or ability to accomplish a job with a minimum expenditure of time and effort."
Might: "Superior power or strength; force."

Take a look at what this means on a spiritual level...we need the Holy Spirit in our lives like iron to function fully and completely! We won't die without it, but we can't live at our full capacity without it either!

My prayer for you is that as you venture through life, you will see and understand that we need the Holy Spirit alive and active in our lives so that no matter what we are going through we will have the power we need to accomplish what the Lord has set out for us. I'm thankful that I received iron for my physical body and I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit in my life during this whole process. He is the strength of my life.

Traditions - Change?