THANKFUL THURSDAY....spiritual sweet tooth

DO YOU HAVE A SWEET TOOTH? What is the sweetest thing that you can think of? Is it a favorite flavor of ice cream (Oh... chocolate mint!) or is it your favorite candy (snickers for me!) or maybe it is just that rich chocolate cake that melts in your mouth!

Before there was refined sugar (which is needed to make all of those yummy things I just mentioned!), the sweetest taste that people could enjoy was HONEY!

It comes no surprise to me then that when the psalmist tried to describe how good the Word of God was, he thought of the greatest example of sweetness that people could recognize at that time ... honey!

PSALM 19:9,10 "The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair. They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb."

The Psalmist was saying that the Word of God tastes like the sweetest thing he had ever known.

What kind of taste does reading and meditating upon the Word leave in your mouth? Is it a sweet taste or a sour one?

God intends for His Word to be an invigorating taste sensation ... a treat! It is my desire to have a spiritual sweet tooth so I can savor each and every delicacy of His Word! I am so thankful on this Thankful Thursday for each of you, my friends and for the sweet cravings of more of Him.

What are you thankful for today? Please write about it and share your grateful heart with us by linking up with us below in mr. linky!

*confused about the hostess schedule for TT? Please see my sidebar for the schedule for future Thankful Thursday host sites. *

** looks like mr linky is acting up tonight. If you go ahead and click on the following Mr linky, it will take you to the place for you to link your TT post to us. Check back, I will try to fix it as soon as mr. linky will let me, otherwise you can just click on the mr linky header below and visit the TT participants that way. **

WEDNESDAY WEEKLY WORD...mission statements

WEDNESDAY WEEKLY WORD is a post devoted each Wednesday to share my thoughts on a current study that I am doing. This week I
studied purpose, more specifically the purpose and mission of Jesus Christ. I love to hear your comments about this study...

I love technology today, if I am preparing to go on a trip, all I have to do is get out our atlas or go to the computer and map quest for my directions. It is so easy to find directions to get me to my final destination.

When I am looking for directions in my life though, it is much more complicated. All around us, we can find different directions pulling at us ... different religions and philosophies, astrology, talk show hosts, etc. If we listened to any of it or all of it, no doubt we would be handed a different "road map" for life from each one of them.

The looking for direction is not where we go wrong. In fact, even Jesus set out to be intentional about finding His direction. For example: didn't He go into the wilderness for 40 days to wrestle with the Devil and to seek God's guidance? Jesus found His guidance and in fact returned to His hometown, the town of Nazareth to tell people that God had given Him His mission:

LUKE 4:16-19 "He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As usual, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. (17) The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him, and unrolling the scroll, He found the place where it was written: (18) The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, (19) to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

It is not the looking that trips us up, our final destination will depend upon where we are looking!

Jesus looked to His Father for the leading. He had a mission and He set out to complete the mission laid before Him. Alot of businesses will write out a mission statement for their employees, usually these mission statements provide purpose, inspiration and motivation for their staff. Look at these mission statements that I found:

WAL-MART: to give ordinary folk the chance to buy the same things as rich people.
WALT DISNEY: to make people happy.
MARY KAY COSMETICS: to give unlimited opportunity to women.

While many companies mean well when they issue a mission statement, many fall short of fulfilling their original purpose. Jesus, on the other hand, lived (and died) His mission statement:

JESUS CHRIST: to preach the good news to the poor; offer freedom to those bound and oppressed and to proclaim to all the hope of the Lord.

When Jesus returned to Nazareth, he did not need to map quest the trip. He went with a clear purpose and mission. How about you...when you return to your hometown, what is your purpose?

In last week's YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL, I asked the readers "What would you look forward to when visiting your town that you grew up in?" The top 3 responses were:

1. 20% of the responses said that they would like to see their old home.
2. Another 20% voted and said that they would like to see all of the changes in the town.
3. 20% of other readers, voted and said that they have no desire to even go back to their hometown.

Returning home can be fun, but yet, for others it brings back nothing but bad memories and thoughts. That is obvious when I see this weeks poll and that 20% of the readers have no desire to re-visit their growing up home place.

I know people who have remained in a mind set of "what could have been". For those that still live in the past and wish things were different, I wonder if they have set in place a personal mission statement? You know... a mission statement that would outline the goals, the aspirations, and the changes that they would like to see in their relationships and spiritual growth.

All of us need to find ways of seeing ourselves, what our strengths and weaknesses are, and what we are called to do. Jesus saw these things, and He helped others to see them as well.

What are you doing to fulfill your mission?

Do you have a personal mission statement?

Dear Lord...thank you for giving me the tools that I need to find direction in my life. Open my heart and my eyes to see the road that you are drawing me down. It is my desire to have a purpose in my living and that others around me will see the mission that I am pursuing. May all the twists and turns of life lead others to You. AMEN

YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL... please take time to vote in this weeks poll. Are you discouraged? Your opinion really does matter ~ find the poll on the side bar of the blog. :)

A PIECE OF MY HEART ... are you listening?

As I sit here at my computer, I can hear the television in the background. Seems these days that no matter if someone is watching it, the television is always on. I personally like it quiet in the house, but some other family members seem to like that noise box on at all times.

Do you ever just leave your TV turned on even though nobody is watching it? You can hear it, but you're not really listening to it.

We treat people the same way sometimes...we hear someone talking but are we really listening? It is one thing to understand what the person is saying but do we accept what is being said?

In Matthew 7:29, I read that Jesus taught with real authority - quite unlike the teachers of religious law. When Jesus sat in the Temple teaching or even on the hillside, people were utterly amazed.

Sometimes we become amazed with what others are saying but we still reject it or ignore it. Even when someone speaks with authority - we still refuse to submit to it.

JAMES 1:25 "If you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it."

So with this in mind, I must ask:

• Am I listening to what God is saying to me?
• How about you, are you listening and hearing the voice of God?

and that is a piece of my heart today!

LACED WITH GRACE ... seashell promise

TODAY, YOU CAN FIND ME OVER AT...

I have shared a devotion today entitled, "SEASHELL PROMISE"

"Summer has finally arrived at our house! School is out and the sun is shining more and more. This can mean only one thing for our family….THE BEACH!

The highlight of our summer is spending time at the beach. It is so relaxing to sit down by the water and listen to the waves rolling and crashing. Each evening, on our vacation to the beach, we stroll down the beach looking for treasures. Mostly what we find is sand crabs and litter. Occasionally, we find something worthy to hold onto though.

Have you ever noticed that when the water washes up to the shore, it also washes up things that have been rolling around deep out in the ocean. Most of the time, what is washed up is ..."

CLICK HERE to read the rest of todays devotion!

CIRCLE OF LOVE ... meet Laurie Ann

I have been so excited about this week's CIRCLE OF LOVE feature! I get excited each week, as I introduce to you a new blogging friend, but this week is alittle bit different. Not only can I tell you about a sweet sister in the Lord that I have met on the web but this particular friend I just met in real life! Now, not too many of us can say that about our bloggy friends.

MEET MY FRIEND....LAURIE ANN

author of:

Last Friday, my real-life (and blogging friend ) Jennifer and I took a rode trip to Grenada, MS. It was a 2 hour drive from our hometown in Arkansas, but we had a mission and that was to meet our sister in the Lord, Laurie Ann. Laurie Ann also had a 2 hour drive to meet us, so at our half-way stopping point, the 3 of us met for lunch at McAllisters. It was a beautiful day outside, so we sat outside and for the next 3.5 hours we talked, we laughed, we shared, we drank tea and we even prayed. It was like 3 old friends getting together and reminiscing about the "old" days.

Laurie Ann with

Jennifer (Ordinary Christian Woman's Heart) and myself at McAllisters

Laurie Ann sipping tea with Jennifer

I was trying to think of how Laurie Ann and I started to connect with one another thru blogging. I narrowed it down to about a year ago or so, when I started reading some of her writings thru Thankful Thursday and the At The Well sites. I remember it was shortly after I first started blogging and I was very (very!) green around the gills about blogging. I had tried and tried to figure out how to insert my signature like I saw in so many other blogs. But I just could not figure it out! So I commented on Laurie Ann's blog one day about it and she sent me her email address. She walked me thru it step by step and we have been connecting not only thru our daily blog posts but even in personal email ever since!

Meeting Laurie Ann in person was one of the greatest things about my blogging experience. So many times when I sit down at my computer and begin to write, I am reminded of the ministry that God has placed at the tip of my fingers. His leading and guiding speaks thru my heart and ministers at times to many readers that I will never have the chance to come face to face with. But on this particular day, on a sunny Friday, in a little town in Mississippi, sitting at a McAllister's deli...God gave me an opportunity to see face to face the ministry that is present in this thing we call "blogging".

Laurie Ann was as sweet, and tenderhearted and God loving as she portrays in her writings. What a precious and beautiful lady. I was so touched to meet her and now I feel such a bond between the three of us (Laurie Ann, Jennifer and myself).

Laurie Ann is one of those writers that shares the love of Christ in every single post that she writes. She is an amazing teacher. She loves to take a word and tell us what it means. I like that! I like to dissect the meaning of words. She also likes to break down scripture and give us simplified application. I love that also...after all, what good is it if we can't figure out how to apply it to our lives? If you visit Laurie Ann's blog on a regular basis, you will also notice that she likes acrostics. This woman can make an acrostic out of any word!

Not only is Laurie Ann an amazing teacher, but she cares about her readers and her hearts passion (besides her husband, her bonus daughter and her two grandsons) is for ALL to receive Jesus Christ and His love and forgiveness. She genuinely cares about the salvation of those she may have never met face to face.

Laurie Ann is an encourager. I don't know how she does it, but daily I see her posting comments on several blogs and every word is always an encouragement. If you have not met Laurie Ann, I encourage you to visit her and see if you don't see the same godly attributes as I see in her. Recently, Laurie Ann shared about "courage" with us on her blog....

Courage
As men and women of Christ, we are given this command to be of courage. The Greek word for courage is andrizomai.

This verb means:1) to make a man of or make brave 2) to show one's self a man, be brave. Bravery is not for the fainthearted.

We must be of courage to tie all these things together. With the way the world is going, indeed it is a necessity. By our courage, we can show others our faith and perseverance, our standing firm and being on guard. Timidity has no place in the Christian faith. (Reverential awe does, but this is not about that right now.)

How many stories have you read in the Bible about courage and bravery? Countless, no doubt. One of the bravest men I know is Paul. In chains he still preached the Word. I doubt if he turned on the television today that he would shake in his boots over rumors of swine flu (he was bitten by a snake and lived) or be kept up at night because there is talk of going to a one world currency. No! He would remain content, no doubt, and while praying for the moral depravity in the world, keep preaching the Word. We should be as brave.

Just as the Lord promised Joshua, we, too, can be men and women of courage, being on guard and standing firm on faith, because we know God is with us.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." ~ Joshua 1:9 (NIV)

~ Y ~

I told you she was an amazing teacher and encourager! Recently, Laurie Ann shared from her heart with me online and this is what she had to say:

1. PLEASE TELL US YOUR NAME AND WHERE WE CAN FIND YOU ON THE WEB?

Laurie Ann Pierce - you can find me blogging at http://www.magnoliaheartbeats.blogspot.com, on facebook, and through email at magnoliaheartbeats@gmail.com. You can find me on Twitter as msbookhound but between facebook, blogging and emailing, I forget to Twitter. I'm also in a yahoo group called Wow-Gals and Daughters of Sarah.

2. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN BLOGGING AND TELL US YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT BLOGGING?

I actually created my blog in 2004. Back then it was Magnolia Musings. I blogged about family and problems I was having. It was more of a diary then. I stopped blogging for a while and picked it back up seriously in 2008. My favorite thing about blogging is reaching women for Christ with topics that are relevant for spiritual growth.

3. WHAT ARE THE MAIN THINGS THAT YOU BLOG ABOUT?

I love to expand on Bible verses or a topic. I love stretching and growing in God and hope to pass that on to others.

4. TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF...if you work ~where? ...have a family ~ tell us about them?

I work outside the home. I will begin my 20th year of work in October. I work for a state agency and manage travel policies, procedures, and contracts for the State, as well as approve requests for international travel and requests for waivers when employees deviate from normal policies. I enjoy my work.

As for my family, I have the best! I have been married to my husband Steve for 18 years. Although I do not have any living biological children (we lost Sydney Michel to miscarriage 7/20/98), I am a bonus Mom to Kristyn, who was 6 years old when we married. Steve already had custody of her before we even met, so when we married, I had an instant family. I have considered it a privilege to raise her alongside Steve and Tabitha, her Mother.

5. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SERVING THE LORD?

I never remember a time of not knowing Jesus. I was an older teen before I totally committed my life to Him and an even older adult before I realized what true Christianity was all about. You can read my testimony later here: http://magnoliaheartbeats.blogspot.com/2009/03/my-story.html

6. CAN YOU GIVE US A TESTIMONY OF HOW GOD HAS PROVEN HIMSELF FAITHFUL TO YOU?

I went through eight long years of infertility and miscarriage. A little over after our loss, I had a hysterectomy at age 29, ending my chance at becoming a biological parent. The faithfulness of the Lord shined through. He had called me to pray for those eight years and the reward was a rich heritage of children. I have not only my bonus daughter Kristyn, but my son-in-love Corey and 2 precious grandsons, Nolan and Liam, ages 19 months and 7 months. I am an aunt many times over and a cousin to many young children. God has rewarded my time of prayer in moving me closer to Him and opening my eyes to being content with what He has given me.

7. COULD YOU SHARE WITH YOUR CIRCLE OF BLOGGING FRIENDS YOUR FAVORITE SCRIPTURE?

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." ~ Luke 12:34 (NIV) - this is my life verse. My heart beats to serve my Treasure.

8. HOW HAS THAT SCRIPTURE MINISTERED TO YOU RECENTLY?

It has really tied together many things in my life. It kept me grounded when my Dad was going through a crisis recently and helped me unpack alot of baggage from the past and leave it in Room 12 of the ER. I realized that my treasure was actually an alabtross of emotional and verbal abuse I had carried around from years of growing up with an alcoholic father. I didn't realize I was so unforgiving until I thought about how easily the health crisis Daddy was going through could have turned out for the worse. And it was a minor injury compared to some of the things he has been through before. I think it was all about God's timing. He allowed me to slow down that day and ask myself where my treasure really was.

9. WHAT ADVICE ABOUT BLOGGING WOULD YOU OFFER TO YOUR CIRCLE OF BLOGGING FRIENDS?

Pray about every post. If it lines up with what He wants you to write, by all means, write about it. Follow your heart and have fun with your blog. If you're a Mom and have great tips, blog about that. If you are a photobug, post those pictures. If you want to write to encourage others, by all means, do so. If your blog is geared more toward humor, keep us laughing! Follow God's plan for your blog.

If it becomes work, step back and ask yourself if it's what God intends. Take breaks when you feel you should and blog like there's no tomorrow when you are called to do that.

"Thank you Laurie Ann for always giving us your best as you blog! I look forward to many more lunches in the future! You are a an awesome encouragement to me and to WOMEN TAKING A STAND!" -LAURIE

Please visit LAURIE ANN over at MAGNOLIAHEARTBEATS today. You will be blessed! Find her page by clicking HERE!

WOULD YOU LIKE your blog featured here on a future CIRCLE OF LOVE segment? CLICK HERE to find out how you and your blog can be highlighted!

THANKFUL THURSDAY...what big things can God do?

Lynn of Spiritually Unequal Marriage is hosting THANKFUL THURSDAY this week. Lynn has challenged all of us to consider obedience and hearing the voice of God. To be able to hear the voice of God, we must first know the voice of God. It is when we are able to recognize the voice of God that we can be obedient.

"God will help us become the people we are meant to be, if only we will ask Him." - HANNAH WHITALL SMITH

Wow. What a great quote. Think about the latter part of that quote ..."if ONLY we will ask Him." Most of the time we have not because we ask not.

JAMES 4:2 "You do not have, because you do not ask God."

It is easy for us to pray for the little things in our life and be obedient...

"Lord, help me today to be on time for work."

and we leave the house 10 minutes early and arrive on time!

"Lord, give me a hunger for your Word today."

and during lunch your co-worker asks you to help her with a Bible Study lesson.

It is so easy to be obedient when it comes easy. But what about the big things in life? How easy is it to be obedient? and the big question ... how easy is it to believe God for the big things?

When we pray fervently and earnestly - great things usually happen. Unfortunately, often times we are too doubtful or too timid to even ask God to do big things. But God can and will answer your call for even the big things in your life. But it may take some obedience on your part. The type of obedience that may not be easy or comfortable.

"Dear Lord, I will do anything if you would bless us with a new car."

and God does bless you with a new car and then He asks you to give it away to someone less fortunate than you.

Obedience.

"Dear Lord, its been hard times financially...please provide us with a good raise this year."

and God answers your prayer and then asks you to give your entire raise for the year in the offering for the missionary.

Obedience.

Obedience and hearing God's voice. We honor God by asking big requests, but we can't expect God to do all of the work. When we do our part (obey) ~ He will do His part. And when this happens - expect a miracle ... a BIG miracle to happen!

I am thankful for the miracles that await me. Dear Lord, help me to be obedient and patiently listen for Your voice!

What are you thankful for this Thursday? Come visit all of the grateful hearts over HERE!

PLEASE COME BACK NEXT WEEK... I will be hosting TT for the month of June!

WEDNESDAY WEEKLY WORD ...what's in a name?

Some time ago I heard the following story...

"There was a little boy in his room at night when a storm brewed up. The boy called out to his mother and she came in right away and consoled the boy. Before leaving his room, the mother reminder her son that God was there with him all of the time, so there was no need to worry. He responded, "I know mommy...but I want someone with skin on them!"

Have you ever desired to see someone with "skin on?" From time to time, we have encounters with people that we actually do not see face to face, possibly we communicate with them via the computer or over the telephone. It could be a business associate, a blogging friend or a long removed relative.

Several years ago, I worked for a very big paper company as a customer service rep. For several years, I worked alongside a sales rep. Every day we communicated on the telephone for over 2 years. I was his right hand gal, the one that all of his customers depended upon when it came to servicing their customer needs. Even though we worked together as a team, I had never actually met this co-worker of mine face to face. In my mind, I had mentally conjured up a picture of what I thought my district sales rep looked like and then one day, he came to the home office where I worked. Believe it or not ... he looked NOTHING like I had imagined.

As a Christian ~ have you ever wondered what God must look like?

In the book of Job, Job hungered for being able to see God. Job said, "If only I knew how to find Him, so that I could go to His throne." (Job 23:3) However, Job became frustrated in his search..."If I go east, He is not there, and if I go west, I cannot perceive Him. When He is at work to the north, I cannot see Him; when He turns south, I cannot find Him." (Job 23:8,9)

For those who were alive at the time Jesus was born, they experienced what Job desperately hungered for - they saw Him in visible form - they saw Christ with "skin on Him."

One of the greatest miracles we can experience is the birth of a child. Even before my children were born, while they were still in my womb, I loved them. But when I held them in my arms that very first time, and looked into their lovely face and touched their soft skin, and called them by name...it was then that the miracle of life came alive to me. The name of my baby really meant something to me at that moment, as there was now "skin" to their name.

The ultimate great miracle of a child being born would undoubtedly be the birth of Christ. Isaiah set the stage for the name that was to come. As he heard from God, Isaiah declared that "a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14)

So what does a name mean anyway?

In last week's YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL, I asked the following question, "When you were a child, how did you feel about your name?" The following were the top 3 answers...

1. 22% of those polled said that they didn't go by their real name, but a nickname instead.
2. Another 22% of those voting said that they liked their name - it seemed to fit them.
3. 11% voted and said that they had a common name and it made them feel common.

What does your name say about you? Is there a special meaning behind your name...are you named after someone or were you given your name because of some special memory or thought?

Isaiah reported that the Son born of a virgin would be called Immanuel which would mean "God is with us." In the human eye, it is difficult to believe someone can be with us when we cannot physically see them.

When I worked with that sales rep, even though I did not come face to face with him for a long period of time, I knew he was real because I talked with him day in and day out. To know the name of Christ, to fully understand that Immanuel is God with us ... we must spend time with Him day in and day out.

When we put our trust and faith in the unseen, we will become like that boy in the story and we will believe that God is truly with us ALL of the time.

Wednesday Weekly Word is a weekly post devoted to my thoughts and insights on a personal study I am doing. Right now I am looking at the truths and prophecies of Christ. I pray that you will put your trust in the promise that God gave us ...that "God is with us!"

YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL...please take time to vote in this weeks poll. It is located on the side bar of the blog. Your opinion really does matter and you will find the results of the poll in next weeks post on WEDNESDAY WEEKLY WORD!