THANKFUL THURSDAY...just one call away!

My son called me the other day to ask me a favor. Him and his wife are moving to a different apartment this weekend and they need our help. I remember how much work is involved in moving, so of course, I cleared my calendar to be able to help them in any way possible.

I was thinking about that phone call, and how easy it was for my son to call us up to ask for help, and how eager we, as his parents, were to help him.

Isn't that the same picture we should have of God?

Our Heavenly Father is so eager to be there for us, to help us, and guide us, but unlike my son, we sometimes are not as eager to ask Him for the help.

When we are sick, the first person we consult is our doctor.

When we are broke, the first place we go to is to the loan office.
Many times, in our times of need, going to God is our second choice or our last resort.

As a child of God, I want to be like my son, and not be hesitant to ask for help. I want to have a childs confidence that no matter what he needs, that he can count on his parents. God wants to help us, we can count on Him...but we have to be willing to make the call.

He is just one call, one prayer away. I am so thankful today that no matter the time, the day or the situation, that God is always near and always willing and able to help me.

Psalms 121:1-3 "I will lift up my eyes to the hills — From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber." NKJV


IRIS is hosting THANKFUL THURSDAY today. You can share your grateful heart with us by linking up over at http://www.eph2810.com/ . Next week you will find TT over at Lynn's place!

PAY IT FORWARD!

God is so good to us. His blessings are just overflowing. Even in the darkest, troublesome times, God has a way to open up the heavens and shower us with His power and blessing!

How come we don't fully recognize His blessings?

Sometimes it is because we lose focus. In our desperate time of need, when we finally get to the place of  safety, we are just so relieved to have the storm behind us that we lose focus on how we got thru the storm. When God pours His blessing out upon us, it is not always for our benefit. Have you considered that His blessing is not to be kept to yourself?

Why not pay it forward?

When God blesses you...you turn around and bless someone else. I have come to realize lately that when God blesses me, it may be so I can be obedient and turn around and bless someone else. Sure, God could easily bless that other person and meet their need...but He is looking for obedience and when I am in tuned to His Spirit to pay it forward, it becomes a double blessing!

The indebted servant in Matthew 18 had an opportunity to "pay it forward". The servant owes his master an incredible amount, the king could have punished him greatly for not being able to settle it, but instead he pardons him and wipes his debt clean. The very next thing that happens is so amazing and so real-life to me. The servant goes out and is given the same opportunity, he has the chance to also forgive a debt owed him, but instead he attacks his debtor and demands to be paid. His injustice and inability to pay it forward lands him back in jail until his debt is paid in full.

MATTHEW 18:32, 33 "You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?"

We can be like the wicked servant in Matthew 18. We each owe God an incredible debt, which none of us can ever re-pay. Each of us deserves to be thrown into a "debtors" prison, but instead, God has mercy on us, He pays our bill in full. Because of Calvary, our debt is paid, we are forgiven.

Have you been forgiven?
Then your debt is no more. So, go out and pay it forward!

A PIECE OF MY HEART.. hunger pains!

It never ceases to amaze me how the human stomach works. It appears that the more we eat ... the hungrier we become. For instance, last night I ate so much that it felt like my stomach was going to burst, I was so full that I vowed to never, ever, ever eat again. But what happened? First thing this morning, my stomach was growling and turning and crying out for MORE food! I was starving!

It is no different in our spiritual body. We are hungry, so hungry for God's Word, for His touch, His anointing, and for His power. Once we dine with Him, we cannot be satisfied. We want more. We need more. Without it, we can never be fully satisfied.

But often times, because of hectic schedules, and lack of good time management, we push aside our spiritual hunger pains. We ignore the stabbing ache that we have to have more of Him and we slowly trade a satisfied spiritual appetite for a undernourished one.

REVELATION 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”

Are you hungry this morning? Feed your spiritual appetite by spending some time with God today. Once you dine with Him, you will crave to have more of Him!

and this has been a piece of my heart today!

Going the extra mile!

Last week, we took advantage of school being out for spring break and took a road trip to Wisconsin to visit some of our family. It had been quite some time since we have seen some of them. Traveling from Arkansas makes the drive a long and exhausting trip. A mere 795 miles which equates to about 12 hours of constant driving. But when we finally pulled into my mother's driveway, we were so glad to finally be at our final destination.

We hadn't been sitting in my mother's kitchen but a few minutes when we heard a knock on her door. It was late in the evening and we couldn't imagine who could be coming to her place at such a late hour. To my surprise, in walked my 2 older brothers and one of my nieces. My oldest brother and his daughter drove all the way from Ohio to surprise me. The three of us siblings had not been all together in 13 years. It was a wonderful surprise! Knowing that he drove all night long, 8 hours on the road, over 500 miles to come see his baby sister was definitely going the extra mile in my book!

(Me acting up with big Brothers Don and Larry. Their daughters, Sarah, Abby and Nikki. My daughter Anna, and our mother!)

This small act of love made me wonder just how far I would go for my brothers and sisters in Christ...

Would I be willing to go the extra mile for one of them?
What would I give up for someone in need?
Would I give my time?
Would I give money?
Would I put my needs aside to minister to someone in trouble?
How far would I go to express my christian love for someone?

Matthew 25:37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

In order to fulfill what Matthew is speaking of, we must be willing to go the extra mile. How far are you willing to travel for the least of your brothers and sisters?
 

LACED WITH GRACE...thou shalt not murder!

Today you can find me over at LACED WITH GRACE! I have shared a devotion over there entitled, "Thou shalt not murder!"

Even though most of us probably have not actually taken someones life literally, the anger that we allow to fester sometimes towards someone could be just as deadly!

CLICK HERE to find todays devo!

THANKFUL THURSDAY...peace that passes all understanding!

Many times when I hear people talk about "peace", my thoughts wander to the warm thought of world peace or peace attained between two quarreling people. I wonder why when we speak about having peace, we don't automatically think of the biblical term of peace?

After all, without it, the peace of God that is, it is difficult to attain any other kind of peace. God really showed me this week how His peace is the first stepping stone to bridging the gap with any other kind of turmoil, disagreement or confusion.

For instance, if we are concerned with the turmoil that our country is in, without having the peace of God, having a peace of mind that our "world" is going to be alright is almost impossible. Peace does not come from our politicians, or our employers or from our bank accounts...it can only come from God!

Philippians 4:7: "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

I had something weighing heavy on my heart this week. I wasn't sure what to do or how things were going to work out. But I chose to trust God in my situation. As I began to trust Him, a peace came over me. I still did not know how things would turn out, but I knew that I knew that God was in control. And almost as quick as I just typed that, God backed up His promise that He would never leave me nor forsake me by giving me concrete evidence that He had everything under control. I received an email from someone that offered me EXACTLY what I was in need of and that I was praying about.

Do you see how that worked? Trust was first, peace was second, blessing was delivered! His peace is the kind of peace that will pass all of our understanding. Even when we don't know the when or how, we can trust the Who!

Aren't you thankful for God's peace? I truly am.

Iris is hosting THANKFUL THURSDAY this week. Please share your TT post with us by linking up. http://www.eph2810.com/

WEDNESDAY WEEKLY WORD...give it up!

There are some things in my life that I would really like to give up, like eating. But giving it up totally would not be a good thing ... in order to survive, I need food! My problem isn't "eating", it's eating too much.

In last weeks YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL, I polled the readers the following question, "Is there something you couldn't live without?" The top 3 answers were:

1. 80% voted and said that they could not live without God!

2. 60% said that they could not live without their family!
3. Another 60% voted and said prayer is what they could not live without!

After reading the results of this weeks poll, I have to say a loud AMEN to that! Those would probably be the 3 toughest things to try to live without. But yet many of us make choices each and every day that lead us away from these things. Many times God, prayer and family take a backseat to other things going on in our lives. We get so busy with our lives that sometimes we find ourselves at the end of the day without having spent any time with any of these things.

In order to make the important things "important", sometimes we have to give something up. That's what I love about going on a fast...it allows me time to just focus on God and rid myself of the unwanted and certainly, unneeded toxins that have crept inbetween me and my Father. There is just something so sacrificial about fasting, giving up things, things that I like, in order to get closer to Him.

I see fellow Christians doing this very thing. Giving up things in order to help others. Giving up their time to come and teach a class. Giving up money to invest in the children's ministry. Giving sacrificially to others, especially those in need. They give someone a ride to church. They visit the sick in the hospital. They bake a cake for a grieving family. They pray for a Missionary that they have never met.

John 15:12-13 - My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. (NIV)

Giving of ones time and treasure can be a very sacrificial thing. When we give sacrifically to others, it can only bring us closer to God. And when we become closer to God, we will be driven to give sacrificially to others. Do you see how this works?

When I think about how Jesus gave His own life just for you and me, for our salvation, it makes giving of myself to others alittle bit easier. Really, when you think about it, there isn't anything besides God, prayer and family that I couldn't do without. How about you?