A PIECE OF MY HEART...what are you passionate about?

This week, I have been thinking about the things that I am passionate about.

Usually when asked about our passion, we will name WHO we are passionate about.

~ I am passionate about Jesus

~ I am passionate about my family

~ I am passionate about my co-workers

~ I am passionate about my church

How often do we think about WHAT we are passionate about? Take some time and ponder that question...

Are you excited about your career?

about your ministry?

2 CHRONICLES 31:21 "He did it with all his heart. So he prospered."

WHATever you are passionate about probably first started with a WHO.

• if you are passionate about your family (who) then you will have a passion to spend time with them (what).


• if you are passionate about your coworkers (who) then you will have a passion to work well with others (what).


• if you are passionate about Christ (who) then you will have a passion to serve others (what).

What stirs up your passion? ...is it cars, shopping, gardening, cooking, sports or traveling? Is it your job, your ministry or your walk with the Lord?

Understand what your passion is and then take it to the extreme.

LIVE IT!

BREATHE IT!

GO BEYOND THE NORM!

So WHAT are you passionate about today?

and that is a piece of my heart today;

AT THE WELL...mothering the little chickadees

Today, I am joining up with the ladies gathered over AT THE WELL. Today's discussion is a good one. Look at this week's discussion questions:

Life's storms will come sometimes when we least expect them, how do we give our children a "safe feeling" in the midst of a life storm?

Sometimes chaos is created by our own efforts of trying to do too much, how can we maintain a peaceful home where chaos is prevented?

How can we as wives and mothers actually calm the storm?

YYYYYYY

When I think of safety in relation to my children, I often think of when my children were small and they would get too close to the street or when they would get too close to the edge of the riverbank. My first instinctive reaction would be to snatch them out of harms way or holler, STOP!

I was thinking about how a momma bird so safely keeps her young chick so close to her, keeping watch over her baby so no harm will come to it. A young bird will nestle into the warmth and safety of its mother's feathers. Doesn't that paint a picture of total safety and hope for the young birds future?

A momma bird is not only looking after the baby in their moment of need, but she continues to do this with her baby until it is old enough to go off on their own. It is an ongoing relationship of tending, caring and keeping safe.

I am reminded of the story of Ruth in the Bible. Ruth chose to seek refuge in God as a lifetime commitment. She chose to leave Moab, which was an immoral and arrogant nation that worshipped different gods and she committed to a new life in Bethlehem. Boaz heard that she had set her devotion on taking care of Naomi, and serving God, even from the time of her husband's death.

RUTH 2:11, 12 "Boaz answered her, 'Everything you have done for your Mother-in-law since your husband's death has been fully reported to me: you left your father and mother,and the land of your birth, and you came to a people you didn't previously know. May the Lord reward you for what you have done, and may you receive a full reward from the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge."

Ruth's devotion led her to a place of refuge under God's wings. REFUGE (or chasah) means to "confide in, have hope in , put trust in."

These were the actions of Ruth's heart. She sought refuge, and found a new spiritual dwelling place with God - an ongoing relationship with Him.

So, in answering today's questions over AT THE WELL...taking the story of Ruth into consideration, the first step to "creating" a safe haven for our families is COMMITMENT!

Stay committed to them. Stay committed to prayer. Stay committed to have faith no matter what may come.

The 2nd step is HAVE A RELATIONSHIP with them. It is difficult to emulate a safe feeling when you are distant from each other.

Spend time together (have a relationship). Do things (by having a relationship) that your kids or husband enjoy (even if you don't). Pray together (have a relationship). Have family devotions together (have a relationship).

You may not be able to alter the crisis that your family is in, but through prayer and commitment to each other, you can alter the relationship you have with each other and with God!

PSALM 62:8 "Trust in Him at all times. O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge."

Please visit the homepage of AT THE WELL for more discussion on this topic. You can also visit Monday Thru Friday for daily devotions. Click HERE to find the chatter around the well.

FRIDAY FUNNIES... things you don't say to your wife

TODAY is FRIDAY FUNNIES. I always like to close out my blogging week with a laugh. Usually by the end of the week I am in dire need of a chuckle - this week is no exception!

Watch this video - it shares ideas of what a husband should NEVER say to his wife. If your hubby has said any of these things ... well, go ahead and laugh with us anyway!

Kim from HOMESTEADERS HEART hosts Friday Funnies each week. Click HERE to find more giggles today. Be glad and share a smile with someone today!

THANKFUL THURSDAY...purpose

Nobody can make something out of nothing. Have you ever tried to just grab some "air" with your hands and try to mold something out of it? Impossible, isn't it? Only God can make something out of nothing. In fact He did just that - look at creation, God made everything out of nothing!

Isn't it incredible that before God created the universe, nothing existed except God Himself. Everything that we see, the mountains, the oceans, the stars and the earth all came into existence simply by God speaking.

HEBREWS 11:3 "By faith, we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible."

The same is true for the precious gift of life. God created each and every one of us and in us He has placed purpose and meaning. Everything that exists has purpose, it has a goal and a reason for being.

On this THANKFUL THURSDAY, I am so grateful for Gods hand in creation. Not only has He created beautiful things on this earth for us to enjoy but within each of us He has placed a purpose.

When I think of having purpose and meaning, I think of our dear sister, Iris. Within Iris, God placed a purpose and desire for this weekly meme. A place that we, as fellow sister bloggers could come together and offer up thanks for His goodness every week. What an encouragement this place has been for me as I have participated every week for the past year. What an encouragement Iris has been to me as we have connected not only here at TT but over at Laced with Grace and personally thru private emails.

I am thankful for Iris.

I am thankful for her diligent work with TT.

I am thankful that God gave her a passion for giving thanks.

As you know, Iris is taking a "blogging break". She will be missed dearly. It is because of her passion and her creativity that this weekly meme THANKFUL THURSDAY will continue. God is bringing forth some new passions within Iris and I pray that His hand will touch each step she takes!

ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR THE PASSION

THAT GOD HAS PLACED IN YOU?

WHAT ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR TODAY?

With Iris taking a break, it is with great honor that she has asked me to join Lynn of SPIRITUALLY UNEQUAL MARRIAGE to co-host THANKFUL THURSDAY. Lynn and I will be rotating months as the TT hosts and this month you can link to TT over at Lynn's place. CLICK HERE to find more grateful hearts!

I can't wait to hear what you are thankful for today!

WEDNESDAY WEEKLY WORD...basic training

WEDNESDAY WEEKLY WORD is a post once a week designated to sharing my thoughts of a current personal study that I am doing. Currently, I am studying ways that I can leave a legacy, and leave a spiritual impact for those in my world. Thank you for joining me on this journey this week!

1 CORINTHIANS 9:24-27 "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. (25) Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. (26) Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. (27) No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

So many times we put well known athletes up on pedestals. We idolize the greatness that they have achieved. We watch as they cross the finish line, or win the Superbowl or score the best game of their career. We rejoice in their triumph. However, we seldom recognize the hard work it took to get them to this point.

The Apostle Paul must have been a fan of sports or at least familiar with the hard work that goes into developing a great game. Several times, he uses this sports imagery in his writings.

2 Timothy 4:7 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race."

In a race, only one person or one team gets the prize. Nobody remembers who came in second or certainly not last place.

Have you ever been at a track meet?

I used to enjoy attending these when my boys were younger and one of my boys ran track. Something that always interested me was the stamina that it took to continue in the race when you are bringing up the rear. When the team is jumping hurdles, seldom do you notice or follow the one that is in the back knocking over every single hurdle, instead your eyes are on the one in the front who is sailing over each hurdle and seemingly the winner.

But isn't the winner the one who even in times of difficulty, when the hurdles are hard to master, still perseveres and fights all the way to the finish line?

Paul is suggesting that the "prize" is an eternal one.

Running the race is life.

The prize is hearing those words at the end of our race..."well job My good and faithful servant". To continue in the race, the Christian must develop spiritual discipline. Just like the hurdle jumper must discipline himself and train, we also must be disciplined and train ourselves to stay in the game!

Last week, in YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL, I polled the readers the following question: "What as a teen required you to be disciplined or took practice?" The top 3 responses were:

1. 50% polled said that they needed discipline to complete homework.

2. 21% voted and said they had to practice for dancing or cheerleading.

3. 2% of those voting said that it took practice to play a musical instrument.

There are standard rules of training if we are to succeed.

• In order to do well in school - we discipline ourselves to study.
• To master a musical instrument, we must practice.
• In order to be a good athlete, we must train and do the hard prep work such as lifting weights, stretching and exercising.

Nothing comes easy without preparation and hard work.

In order to finish this race (spiritually) we must condition ourselves and the only way we can do that it is by regularly exercising....

1. PRAYER

Discipline yourself to have a regular time of prayer. Not only letting your requests be known but also a time to "listen" for God's leading. "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10)

2. DEVOTIONAL READING

In addition to reading scripture daily, be in the habit of reading Christian books or using a daily devotional. Reading Christian blogs such as this one is also a great source of encouragement.

3. WORSHIP WITH OTHER CHRISTIANS

Hebrews 10:25 suggests that we will receive encouragement from other Christians by meeting together. Corporate worship is not only a time to bring forth praise to God but to encourage one another.

4. FASTING

Our church just finished a 21 day DANIEL FAST, fasting is a discipline that will allow us to submit our physical impulses to God. God can speak very loudly to us when we purify our bodies before Him.

Isn't it tough to be disciplined? For some time now I have been talking about going to the track, but I don't. I know people who have talked about quitting smoking for some time, but they don't. The hardest step to take in a race is the first step.

TODAY IS THE DAY TO START YOUR BASIC TRAINING FOR DISCIPLINE!

THE RACE IS HARD AND LONG...

BUT THE PRIZE IN THE END IS WORTH IT ALL!!

YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL: There is a new poll for you to vote in. It is about friends...find it on the side bar of this blog and VOTE! Your opinion really does matter!

A PIECE OF MY HEART...believe it or not!

How many of you are on facebook?

It is the new craze for connecting with people. What I love about it is the opportunity to connect with people I have lost touch with. Recently, I connected with a relative of mine that I have not seen in several years. We began to talk on facebook and it didn't take long before our conversation was directed towards God and faith.

In the conversation, I found out that this relative of mine is really struggling with his faith. He is confused with what he believes and confused about whether or not what he believes is truth or not.

One night he asked me this question:
"What did you believe before you were Assemblies of God?"
"and what made you choose Assemblies of God?"

Before I could answer his question, I had to think about it. That was truly a loaded question. Certainly one that was thought provoking to me.

I began to ponder on the things that I believe and why I believe them. It is easy to say "I believe", but when asked WHY - how many of us can say why we believe.

Nobody said it better than my son a couple of years ago: shortly after enlisting in the Air Force, my son came home on leave. It happened to be around Veterans Day, our church was having a special service honoring the veterans, and our senior pastor asked our son if he would say a few words about how difficult it is to serve our country and serve our God at the same time. I will never forget my sons comment:

"While completing my training in TEC school, I found myself to be roommates with an atheist and a Catholic. Since our beliefs were very different, we found ourselves to be in quite the challenging conversations. Sometimes there was such a darkness in my room I would have to just get away. I found myself having to know what I believed and why I believed it. It was no longer good enough for me to say 'I believe because my parents believe' or 'I believe because my dad is a pastor'. I had to stand on what I believed and not on what my parents did."

Wow. That is the kind of faith, the kind of belief that my "searching family member" is seeking. He is looking for that kind of faith.

How about you ...

what do you believe? and more importantly WHY?

ROMANS 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek."

Too many times we get caught up in "religion", what Paul is saying here in Romans 1 is that the Gospel of Christ is for EVERYONE. It doesn't matter what the name is on the front of your church building.

If you are struggling with what to believe or not to believe ... test it with the Word of God.

Is the church that you are attending teaching what Gods Word says?
Test it.
Prove it.
but most importantly know what the Word of God says.

The Assemblies of God has 16 fundamental truths. One of the reasons I chose a A/G church to attend is because I believe every 16 of those truths line up with the Word of God.

It also was a good idea that I chose Assemblies of God (ha ha) since my husband is an ordained A/G minister!

Can I share with you a few things that I believe?

1. I believe that all scripture is inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:15-17)
2. I believe there is only one true God! (Deut. 6:4)
3. I believe in the deity of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:23)
4. I believe that it was man who willing succumbed to sin (Gen. 1:26,27)
5. I believe that salvation is for everyone (Luke 24:47)
6. I believe in Water Baptism and remembering Christs suffering thru taking Holy Communion (Matthew 28:19)
7. I believe in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 2:4)
8. I believe in the Divine Healing of the sick (Isaiah 53:4,5)
9. I believe in the Blessed Hope ... that Jesus rill return for His church (1 Thess. 4:16,17)
10. I believe in the Millennial reign of Christ (Zechariah 14:5)
11. I believe in the final judgement (Matthew 25:46)
12. I believe in a new heaven and a new earth that Christ is preparing for His children (2 Peter 3:13)

CLICK HERE to view all 16 fundamental truths of the Assemblies of God

KNOW WHAT YOU BELIEVE MY FRIEND,

FOR ONE DAY, YOU TOO WILL BE ASKED....

"WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE AND WHY?"

and that is a piece of my heart today;

AT THE WELL...persistent to the end

PERSISTENCE
This is today's topic over AT THE WELL.

The discussion questions today are:

Think about your daily life as a wife, mother and child of God...

What are some ways that you have persisted when you have been knocked down?How have these circumstances brought glory to the Father?

YYYYY

One of my favorite stories from history is the story of how Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. Before Edison could accomplish this great feat though, he had to endure hundreds of failures before perfecting his first light bulb.

Most people would have thrown in the towel long before the 100Th failed attempt, but Edison had such confidence in his ideas that he viewed failure not as a setback, but merely a stepping stone toward a greater goal. I have read that a young reporter once asked Thomas Edison the following:

"Mr. Edison, why do you keep trying to make light by using electricity when you have failed so many times?"

Edison simply replied, "Young man, don't you realize that I have not failed but successfully discovered six thousand ways that do not work!"

Talk about PERSISTENCE!
Another word I think of when I hear persistence is PERSEVERE.

EPHESIANS 6:18 "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints."

I love these words of Paul in Ephesians. As a wife, mother, and a child of God - I have had to persevere in some things.

No matter what the difficulty, I have had to persevere ....

~in discouragement
~during sickness
~with financial struggles
~when needing wisdom
~dealing with teen issues
~experiencing death
~in my weakness

These (and more) have all been areas that without God, would have been easy to throw in the towel and be defeated. But (thank God) He has given me power to be an over comer. To keep my eyes on the prize. To stay focused on the goal.

PHILIPPIANS 3: 13,14 "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, (14) I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

Jesus did not say life would be easy, but He did say that His "yoke is easy and His burden light" (found in Matthew 11:30). Don't try to persevere or be persistent in the worldly things without Him. If you fall down or fail ... get up, shake yourself off and keep trying. The prize is worth every effort!

WHAT IS YOUR GOAL?
PERSEVERE TO THE VERY END!

PERSISTENCE is the topic over AT THE WELL today. We are all gathering today over there -please join us over at the At the Well homepage and see what others are saying today. If you would like to post to the questions ... why not join us, be sure to link your AT THE WELL post back to the homepage. CLICK HERE to find the chatter!