Join Me On the Journey

Imagine you’re staying in a beautiful cabin high in the Rocky Mountains.

Early one morning, you wake up before everyone else. It’s right before dawn, and you decide to go downstairs and watch the sunrise.

You pad downstairs in your thick, fuzzy pink robe and slippers, make yourself a cup of hot chocolate, and then settle into a comfy overstuffed chair.

Facing east is a huge plate glass window. You watch the eastern sky as it begins to turn a watery green-blue.

Gradually, the horizon begins to turn shades of pink and red and apricot. Soon, shafts of yellow and orange begin to radiate upward and then, the sun breaks over the horizon in all its splendor. As the sun rises, you notice a glint off the window in the corner. Curious, you walk over to investigate.

During the night, someone has shot a beebee through the window and there is a little hole. Now the window must be replaced.

It doesn’t matter whether you drive a beebee throught it or whether you drive your Hummer through it, that window is just as broken. The entire window has to be replaced.

That is how sin is in our lives. James 2:10-11 says:

For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. (KJV)

It’s human nature to categorize sin.

“I must be okay because I’ve never murdered anyone.”

“After all, it’s not like I’m sleeping with him. “

And yet, Christ addressed these very issue during His ministry.

You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! Matt 5:21-22a (NLT)

You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Matt 5:27-28 (NLT)

The next time you catch yourself justifying your sin, stop and think about that plate glass window.

Christ lived a sinless life and then died on the cross; a sacrifice for our sin. Instead of trying to justify sin, confess it and then thank Him for dying…so you don’t have to.

Praise God for His love for us!

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This blog has been such an awesome experience for me. I have met some wonderful people here. I have learned a lot about myself. It has helped me to become more consistent because I have come to feel that there are people out there who are waiting for me to write something to encourage and exhort them.

And, I have been struggling to find my voice.

I would love to be an Andrew Wommack or a Joyce Meyer. But, I have come to realize that’s just not me. Andrew Wommack and Joyce Meyer are teachers. They have spent decades studying the Word and they expound the word and “tell it like it is.” They have an urgent message and they aren’t afraid to share it. They don’t mince words.

And, I have received—and continue to receive—a great deal from them because I am not easily offended. It’s my personality to be able to easily see what someone is saying, regardless of how they say it…even it it’s in a less than sensitive way.

Many people cannot receive from them because they are stymied by the delivery of the words and cannot hear the message.

On the other hand, I am an encourager. Rom 12:6-8 says:

In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. (NLT)

If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging.

That is what I need to focus on. That is where I need to find my voice. And, I am still looking.

I have read and learned so much in my time on this earth. I do read and learn so much every week. But, my gift is more along the line of a John Maxwell or a Joel Osteen.

I need to learn to flow in the gift that God gave me. I don’t think that I have been envying other’s gift, I just think that it has taken me this long to learn that I am an encourager, not a teacher.

Father, help me to find my way!

God Bless You on Your Journey!

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When I was a young Christian, I was taught you were supposed to confess your sin…that it was necessary to confess every sin in order for it to be forgiven. I understood that if I didn’t take the time to ask God for forgiveness for each sin I committed, that sin wouldn’t be forgiven until it was confessed.

It was incredibly discouraging because I came to realize that there is no way to actually do that.

Considering what sin is and how ubiquitous it is in my life, I wouldn’t get anything done all day except confessing sin! So, I quickly gave that idea up and just began hoping that somehow, it wasn’t true.

However, it effected my relationship with God. I believed deep in my heart that God didn’t want to hear from me because I had so much sin in my life I had failed to confess.

I didn’t shed that belief until I was in my thirties. It was then that I came to realize that it just didn’t make sense.

If you had to confess sin for it to be forgiven, that would mean that a Christian who died instantly in a car crash while they were driving one mile and hour over the speed limit would go to hell (assuming they had been diligent all their life and confessed all their sin up until that time).

After all, the Bible teaches us to obey the laws of the land and if they died instantly, they wouldn’t have time to confess that they had been speeding.

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, [obey the laws of the land] for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. Rom 13:1-2 NIV

Plus, what about the stuff that one doesn’t realize as sin? I know that as I mature in Christ, things that I once did without any thought, I know as sin today.

Plus, what about the stuff I know I’m supposed to do, but don’t?

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. James 4:17 (KJV)

I finally realized that God forgave my sin over 2000 years ago when Christ died for me on the cross. Technically, all the sin I ever did or will do is future-tense sin and it is already forgiven. My “confessing” wasn’t doing anything to help God forgive me more than He’s already forgiven me.

I’m so thankful for that realization. It doesn’t give me license to sin, it gives me freedom to come before God knowing that when He looks as me, He sees my righteous and holy spirit. He sees what Jesus did, not what I did. Praise God Forevermore!

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Perhaps you were shocked a bit by the title. What do I mean by that?

Paul said in his first letter to the Christians at Corinth,

“Everything is permissible”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is constructive. I Cor. 10:23 (NIV)

Because you have a Savior Who died for all your sin—even the ones you are going to commit—all things are permissible to you. The sin you commit after you accept Christ’s atonement is not held against you because Christ took all your sin upon His body 2000 years ago. This is part of the grace that God extends toward you when you accept Christ.

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? Rom. 6:1 (NIV)

Of course not, Paul says, and so do you, I’ll guess. As you begin to mature and you begin to meditate on just what Christ did for you on the cross, your desire to sin will lessen. You will draw closer to Him and the tendency to sin will decrease.

And this is how we may discern [daily, by experience] that we are coming to know Him [to perceive, recognize, understand, and become better acquainted with Him]: if we keep (bear in mind, observe, practice) His teachings (precepts, commandments). I John 2:3 (Amplified)

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. Gal. 6:16 (KJV)

When you’re a Christian, you can sin just as much as you want to…but you’ll want to less and less as you draw closer to Him.

(This is my post from last week at Faith Lifts.)

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Do you ever think about the fact that God experiences grief?

There are numerous references to God experiencing grief starting in Genesis. Here are just a few.

The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. Gen 6:6

How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert! Psa 78:40

In the New Testament, we find Jesus was grieved over men’s actions many times.

After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. Mark 3:5

Grief is defined as “pain inflicted because of loss.” We all know what greif feels like. If you can feel grief, God can feel grief. After all, you are created in His image.

Stop to think what it was like for God. He created the heaven and the earth and planted a lush garden for Adam and Eve to live in. The climate was perfect. There was an unlimited food supply. All their needs were met. And, to top it off, God Himself came down to talk with them in the cool of the evening.

We don’t know how long they were in the garden before they sinned, but when they did, just imagine the grief that God must have felt.

And today, when we despise the gift of His Son, how much must that grieve him?

This post was recently posted at Faith Lifts and I have re-posted it here for your convenience.

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A few months ago during my quiet time, I was reading in Deuteronomy:

There is no one like the God of Israel. He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies in majestic splendor. Deut. 33:26 (NLT)

I have heard it said when you see “Israel” in the Bible, you can substitute your own name. So, I did. “There is no one like the God of Tamera. He rides across the heavens to help me, across the skies in majestic splendor.”

Now, I must admit, it was a little awkward for me to read the scripture in that way. I felt a little self-conscious…and that surprised me.

I had thought I was “further along” than that. (Doesn’t that sound smug? ) I thought I had received a revelation that God truly loved me; not because of anything I had done, but because He is love. I thought I knew that He would ride across the heavens in majestic splendor…just to help me. My discomfort in reading that scripture with those personalized words showed me that I wasn’t as convinced as I thought I was about God’s love for me.

Isn’t it interesting when we’re faced with the reality that we’re not as mature in our walk with God as we think we are?

So, as was my habit, I wrote down the scripture that caught my eye. That day however, I took it a step further. I began meditating on the scripture throughout my day.

According to Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, meditation is:

the practice of reflection or contemplation. The word meditation or its verb form, to meditate, is found mainly in the Old Testament. The Hebrew words behind this concept mean “to murmur, “a murmuring,” “sighing,” or “moaning.”

Meditation is something few of us utilize in our Christian walk. I suppose we don’t really understand it, but there is nothing mysterious or complicated about meditation. It’s really nothing more than reciting a scripture repeatedly; allowing that scripture to speak to you. It’s simply a matter of forming the habit of meditating.

I love this quote from the entry on meditation in Nelson’s Bible Dictionary, “Meditation is a lost art for many Christians, but the practice needs to be cultivated again.” (from , Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

There are several scriptures in the Bible that mention meditation. It is likely that many of these scriptures are familiar to you.

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Josh 1:8 (KJV)

I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds. Psa 77:12 (NIV)

I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. Psa 119:99 (NIV)

There are other words used in the scripture to describe the concept of meditation: consider, think on (or think about), study.

My favorite passage about meditation and the benefits of meditation is found in Psalm chapter one. (I love it in the Amplified Bible because it’s so down to earth.)

BLESSED (HAPPY, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather. But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night. And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity]. Psa 1:1-3 (Amplified)

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Psa 1:1-3 (KJV) (Gotta love the King James!)

I must be honest in saying that my practice of meditation has been haphazard. One thing that I have come to understand is that God desires consistency and so, I believe, to see the benefit of meditation, I must be consistent with it. So, I am purposing to begin meditating on God’s word on a regular basis.

How do we practice meditation? Here are a couple of suggestions

• Ask God what He would like you to work on in your life. Look up scripture that speaks to that area of your life and write those verses down in longhand. (There’s something about writing scripture out in longhand that helps you to absorb it better.) Take moments throughout your day to slowly read each scripture and think about its meaning.
• If you read a passage of scripture in your quiet time, write down the verse or passage that catch your heart.  Think about this throughout the day. What was it that caught your attention?
• Choose a passage from the Bible to memorize.  As you memorize the passage, consider each phrase.  Why do you think God used that particular word or phrase?

Have any of you successfully integrated meditation into your spiritual life?  Do you have suggestions you could bless us with?

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I want to take a moment to welcome you to my blog.

This has been quite an experience over the last several months.

I began this blog in February after attending an online writer’s conference and realizing that I had a burning within me to share with others what I have learned over the years.

I read a lot!

I have always been a reader.

When I was a little girl, I read pages and pages of fiction. As I grew older, I began reading about different subjects: psychology, self-help books, personality types, success, time management. A great deal of what I read in these areas was written by Christian authors.

Today, I also read widely about subjects that are important to me. I read books about prayer and Bible study and quiet times. I started reading about homeschooling before my oldest daughter was even born. I read about marriage building. I read about how to be a good mother and how to keep house.

It has also been my habit that each time I got interested in a new hobby, I bought books about that hobby. Consequently, I have a library in my home with large sections on photography, gardening, quilting, and numerous other subjects.

Like you, there is usually one or two points in a book or article that I read that really stick with me. However, when you add that all up, it gets to be a head stuffed full of tidbits about a diversity of topics. All those little tidbits are arranged in a manner peculiar to me. In the history of time, there is only one person who has read all the words that I have read and had all the experiences I have had.

That puts me in a very unique position; a position of sharing what I know with you from a very singular perspective.

On the other hand, I’m very much like most of you. I’m a Christian. I’m a woman. I’m a wife, a stay-at-home mom. I used to work outside the home in a fairly high-pressure job. And so, the wisdom that I have gained in my years on this earth will—I trust—translate easily into your life.

And that is why I have begun writing here. I have so much inside my head, it’s just bursting to get out! I feel like if I don’t begin sharing, my heart will explode. Writing here has been like a spillway letting pressure off the dam inside my head.

Writing here is also causing me to shift my paradigm from that of learner to that of teacher.

Now, some of you may not be familiar with the word paradigm. It’s an awesome word that simply means the set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that dictate the way you view your world. In other words, you are a product of your beliefs and decisions. The Bible puts it this way:

For as [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he: Prov 23:7a (KJV)

A paradigm shift is that “aha” moment that you experience when you connect the dots in your mind. It’s that moment you finally learn that lesson that God has been trying to teach you. It’s the moment you read a scripture and it speaks something totally different to you than the last time you read it. It’s that moment that you realize that your husband really does mean it when he says he’s thinking about nothing. (see my entry In the Box With No Words)

I have come to realize this forum is a paradigm shift for me. I am going from the mindset of a learner, or a gatherer of information; to the mindset of a teacher, or a sharer of information.

Now anyone who has prepared any type of a lesson knows that when you look at information with a mind toward teaching the material to someone else, you look at the material differently. You actually learn information more thoroughly when you know that you are going to be teaching it to someone else—whether formally or informally.

For that very reason, I look forward to great changes in my life from this website. As I share with you, I expect to become more focused and accountable. I look forward to feedback and critique. I know that sharing with you will make me a better person, and I pray it will benefit you as it does me.

God Bless You On Your Journey!

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I have a phrase that has been throbbing in my heart the last several weeks…deeper life.

I’m not sure what it means.

I only know that I want more of God.

I want to know Him more. I want to learn His likes and dislikes. I want to grow closer; to be more intimate; to discover what He thinks about.

But, how do I do that?

When I was a younger Christian, I was taught that you can’t really know what God’s going to do. After all,

“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” I Cor. 2:9 (KJV)

I don’t know about you, but I have heard that verse quoted often. However, do you realize that’s a quote from an Old Testament scripture? It’s a quote from Isaiah 64:4 which says:

For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. Isa 64:4 (KJV)

Old Testament believers did not have the benefit of being indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Paul goes on to say in I Corinthians that you can know the things of God because His Spirit dwells in you and reveals Him to you.

but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. I Cor. 2:10 (NIV)

In the beginning of this chapter, Paul begins by reminding the Corinthians that when he first visited, he did not use “wise and persuasive speeches” but spoke to them simply and plainly. He concentrated on Jesus Christ and His death on the cross. In verse five, he tells us why:

I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God. (NLT)

But then in verse six, he shifts his focus and writes to mature Christians.  He talks to them of “the hidden wisdom” of God.

But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom…No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. I Cor. 2:7a, 11-12 (NLT)

What an incredible thought! You can know God’s deep secrets because His Spirit resides in your heart along with your spirit.  The Holy Spirit talks with your spirit and you need only learn His voice to have the deep things of God revealed to you.

It requires quiet.  It requires peace.  It requires diligence to listen and understand.

Won’t you journey with me as we discover how to listen to God’s Spirit?

God Bless You on Your Journey

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Most of us remember the story of David and Jonathan. Jonathan was Saul’s son and he formed a close friendship with David. They made a covenant with each other and Jonathan saved David’s life in response to that covenant.

Later, when Jonathan was dead and David was king, he sought to find a way to honor his covenant with Jonathan. He questioned:

Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan’s sake? 2 Sam 9:1 (KJV)

David found Mephibosheth. You can read the story in 2 Samuel 9.

Now, Mephibosheth understood covenants. He lived in a time and culture when covenants were not uncommon. The Bible isn’t clear whether Mephibosheth was aware that David had a covenant with Jonathan. If he were aware of the covenant, he must have known that he could go to David’s door, knock, and say, “I am Jonathan’s son and I know that you made a covenant with him. I’m here in Jonathan’s name to claim my rights.”

But, he didn’t go.

David had to send for him, and when he did, Mephibosheth fell before him and said, “Behold I am your servant!” (I Sam 9:6)

Perhaps he was afraid because in that time, it was not unusual for a king to put to death any relatives of the former king to prevent them from attempting a coup in the future.

David then said,

“Don’t be afraid! I’ve asked you to come so that I can be kind to you because of my vow to your father, Jonathan. I will give you all the land that once belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you may live here with me at the palace.” 2 Sam 9:7 (NLT)

Now, isn’t Mephibosheth’s response interesting? In verse 8, he answers, “Should the king show such kindness to a dead dog like me?”

Think about that for a moment. Mephibosheth called himself a dead dog.

• Did he use that phrase because he had believed his life in danger from David?
• Did he use that phrase because he was handicapped? (The Bible tells us that he was injured as a child and we therefore lame. II Sam 4:4)
• Did he use that phrase because he had lived most of his life hidden—most likely in poverty—in a town called Lo-debar?

If you think of this passage as a dialog between God and yourself, you can make application in your life. When God calls to you, do you stand before Him and say, “What could you possibly want with someone like me?” or do you say, “I’m here to claim my rights in Jesus’ name!”

Your response to God is a reflection of the way you truly feel about yourself. Have you ever stopped to listen to the things that you say to yourself all day?

I would encourage you to stop and listen.

• “Well, that was a stupid thing to do!”
• “What was I thinking?”
• “I never do anything right!”
• “I’m such an idiot!”

Is that what you hear, or do you hear kinder, gentler words?

• “Well, that probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do, LOL. “
• “Maybe I should have done that differently.”
• “Now I know what not to do next time.”

Once you take the time to listen to your self talk, you need to determine whether it’s acceptable. Would you talk that way to someone else? Would you say those things to your children?

What if your self talk is damaging? more like the first list?

Think about where those statements came from. Is that what you heard growing up? Are you in a relationship where verbal abuse is continuing to occur? It is difficult to overcome, but you can make it a priority and change that abusive self talk.

Sometimes, your self talk is just a bad habit you need to break. You have already done the work to change your self image, but you haven’t taken the time to examine your self talk and you need to make it a priority to become more aware of it. You cannot change what you do not acknowledge.

When you are striving to change that self talk, there is only one way to do it. You need to replace the bad with something good.

When you catch yourself saying, “I’m such and idiot!” stop and say to yourself, “OK. I’m not an idiot! Father, I forgive those who have told me that in the past and I refuse to believe them. I know that You love me and that You have given me a sound mind.” Say it out loud if you can (probably not when you’re in the grocery isle). Hearing it with your ears and not just in your head is important.

In your quiet time, seek God about which scriptures He would like for you to memorize for those moments.

Changing your self-talk is hard. It doesn’t happen overnight, but you can do it!

Today, pay close attention to your self-talk and see if it needs some attention.

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I have been meditating on faith over the past several months.

Have you had that experience when God drops something in your heart that you think about all the time. Then, whenever you hear a Bible teacher speak, whatever you read, things that people say in passing seem somehow to be related to what you have been meditating on. It’s been that way for me lately.

I have written quite a bit about faith over the last several weeks. Feel free to go back and read what I’ve read. (Go to the “Categories” section down the right-hand side and click on “faith.” That will bring up all the posts that I have on faith.) If you have been reading here, you know now that we have all been given “the measure of faith.” You also know that one of the fruit of the spirit is faith.

So, if this is true, how do we get that faith to work?

Today, I would like to share an awesome little verse tucked away in Philemon that will give you a clue.

…that the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. Phil 6 (KJV)

What does that tell us about faith?

When you acknowledge “recognize or have full discernment of” every good thing which is in you in Christ, your faith becomes effectual. The word effectual is from the Greek energes (en-er-gace’) and means active or operative. It is translated either effectual or powerful in other verses of the Bible. This is where we get our word “energy.”

In other words, an acknowledging of what Christ acquired for you—and then gave you when you accepted Him—will cause your faith to become effective or active or operative.

Now, some of you have a hard time thinking that there are good things in you. You might ask, “What about that verse that says there’s nothing good in me?” Well, I’m glad you asked. Romans 7:18a says:

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing… (KJV)

This verse says that in your flesh dwells no good thing. The flesh is another word for your body and soul. Remember that the part that is regenerated when you accept Christ is your spirit, and that your spirit is made perfect by what Christ did for you on the cross. It is part of the atonement. Your spirit is the part of you where all those “good things” referred to in Philemon are stored. Those good things are sealed there by the Holy Spirit…safe from any type of defilement.

The way you activate your faith is to acknowledge those good things that reside in your spirit; this includes (but is not limited to) the fruit of the spirit, which includes faith.

This “acknowledgment” isn’t a passive head knowledge. It isn’t something that you can think about just once and just forget about. You have to meditate on the fact that you already have all the faith you need on the inside of you; meditate on the implications of that knowledge.

Won’t you take some time in your quiet time to meditate on the good things that are in your spirit?

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