Renewing of the Home
The last week or two have really been quite uplifting for me. And it's not just because school has started.
For about the last two years or maybe 3, God has been working on mine and my husband's hearts. We were no longer where He wanted us to be. We didn't know what this meant and we weren't in the place we needed to be spiritually to know that that was what God was doing. It started with our Sunday School teachers stepping down and they went threw very trying times. We weren't so sure we were suppose to stay in that class, but we did. We were in the word and the other class that we were interested in was during the worship service we typically went to. Our church had two services and Sunday School went on during both. Plus had we changed classes we had 6 kids to change classes too.
So we continued and we were blessed by the Lord with fellowship and growing closer to Him, but there was something missing. We, Jeff and I, started feeling out of place. At first we though it was because we had 6 kids and while we did know other families with many kids, it's not exactly common. After Benji was born, our church family ministered to us and helped us through the trials of his heart condition and the surgery. We felt closer to the Lord and thought that that was what we were missing. You know that spiritual closeness that sometimes we forget about once the daily grind gets ground into us.
Some more time went by and we started feeling lost again when we would go to church. We made excuses and visited my mom's church once or twice but didn't think anything about this missing piece. Everytime the women's group would start a Bible Study I would go to sign up but then something would stop me and I would feel miserable. We lost any touch of the world outside of our home other than sporting events. (Not that we wanted worldly fellowship, but the fellowship that was available we felt we didn't have.)
Finally, a major crisis happened in our family and we were all alone. We struggled, we knew God was the only way we would survive. And it has taken us a year to get to where we could hear God's call on our lives.
We have recently changed churches. Our spiritual needs are now being met as we need them to. All of our kids are being blessed. Little Benji, the youngest, went from kicking and screaming when we would drop him off at the nursery at our old church to running from me when it's time to go to nursery where we are now going. The atmosphere is different to us. I am not saying that God's presence is not at our former church. That is not the case at all. We have just outgrown our former church. Sorta like as you grow up, you go through school and you change school's once you get so far.
So, now that we have changed churches... The kids are loving to go to church and learn about God. And they are really learning. I signed up for Bible Study and I also joined MOPs. I am looking forward to being part of both groups and some of the ladies are in both groups.
All of this going on and it is amazing to say that, now that the spirit man is being fed and we are getting back into the Word the way we are suppose to be. Our home life is getting calmer and renewed. Three of our children have issues that can stress a mom, and dad, out. Two are emotionally/behaviorally challenged and then the other is developmentally challenged. All three are in therapy and getting help, but we have good days and bad days that have to be dealt with.
In getting back to the Lord, our home is renewed by His love and grace. We are growing closer to Him day by day and that renewal is awesome.
In God's Love,
Labels: bible study, church, family, home, MOPs, renewal
Coming Soon
Hey everybody, I am so sorry I haven't been around the last week. I thought I was going to get things done and haven't been able to with the chaos in our lives right now.
God is good and He is in control, just my family has had to come first before me getting online.
I will get the next Bible Study up tonight. (Already have it almost done) I will also be announcing the winners of the Nativity Story giveaway tonight. (and should be mailing them out tomorrow)
Looking for good books to review over the summer, if you are interested drop me a line.
Until then, God bless you.
Labels: bible study, book reviews, life
God's Continual Presence
Isn’t it amazing how God will promise us blessings and we are willing to wait a little while and have faith that he will full fill the promise, but if it takes a second longer than we want it to we doubt Him? The Bible is full of examples about people that got impatient and took things into their own hands. It seems very natural to want instant gratification and not wait on the Lord.
Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.
(Proverbs 13:12 KJV)
What do you do when you think it has been too long for an answer from God? Do you pray more? Take the matter into your own hands? Turn your back on God until you get what you want? Be still and listen to what the Lord is telling you?
Abraham is a perfect example as to what typically happens in our lives when we are promised a blessing and then God waits to give it.
In Genesis 12:1, 2 God told Abraham to leave his country, his family, his father’s house and to go to a land that the Lord would show him. And here is the first time God promised Abraham that He would make him a great nation.
Later on in Genesis 13:15, 16 God promises the land and to make Abraham’s descendants as the dust of the earth. Abraham still had no children. How was he going to have so many descendants that they would be as many as the dust on the earth when Abraham did not even have a child yet? Abraham did not have a lack of faith, he just was not sure if God remembered that he had not had any children.
In Chapter 15 of Genesis Abraham asked the Lord if the man in his house was going to be his heir. God answered with a definite no, that Abraham’s heir would be from his body. The Lord goes on to say that Abraham’s descendants will be as many as the stars in the heavens. (Gen 15:4, 5)
Abraham wanted for a long time, but then finally decided to take things into his own hands. Abraham had a son with Hagar, Sarah’s servant, to help God in blessing him. This was not God’s plan, but God honored his promise. Then Abraham went on to have a son with Sarah who received the complete blessing. Ishmael, Hagar’s son, and Isaac, Sarah’s son, would always have strife between them. Ishmael’s lineage has become the Arab nations and Isaac’s lineage has become the Jewish nation. It was the Jewish nation that went on to Egypt and gave birth to the Hebrew nation.
God does not always answer our prayers in the matter in which we want. Sometimes He says no. Other times He says wait. God has perfect timing and in that timing, our desires will be met or changed. Sometimes, even if we take matters into our own hands, God still will bless us. Other times we have to come around full circle and things are much harder than they would have been in order to receive the blessing.
I am just as guilty s anybody else on wanting the answers now. I hate having to wait and I hate not being able to do what I believe I should be able to. As I am maturing in my faith, I am learning to be still and know that He is God and He knows what is best. It is in no way easy. Then again, trusting in the Lord and living according to His word is not easy either considering all the condemnation the world loves to pass on to you.
I encourage you to study in the Word and to see how waiting on the Lord is indeed the best thing to do.
The inspiration for this article is from Overcoming Difficulties: A Lighthearted Look at Joshua By Marilyn Meberg / Thomas NelsonLabels: bible study
Overcoming Difficulties
I have taken the last few weeks and prayed and searched for a way that my families difficulties could be used to help others. Then I remembered a Bible Study that I had picked up a while back. The book is Overcoming Difficulties, A light-hearted look at Joshua by Marilyn Meberg. So, I was thinking I could read through the book and share weekly what I get out of it and then I realized what would help the most is if we could do it together.
So, what do you the readers of this blog think? Would you want to do a Bible Study on Joshua? I do and I am willing to share my thoughts and prayers with you as we go through the study. I do realize that if we are going to do this that everybody will need time to get the book. So how about we start the study April 1, 2007? That way it gives everybody time to get the book and I will list the information here so that it is easily found.
If you are going to do this with us, please, leave a comment and let me know! That way it will feel like I might be offering something people are interested in. :)
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Overcoming Difficulties: A Lighthearted Look at Joshua
By Marilyn Meberg / Thomas Nelson
Women of Faith Conference speaker Marily Meberg is never funnier than when she is talking about the Bible. She is well-versed in Scripture and has devoted her life to the pursuit of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. Overcoming Difficulties is a light-hearted Bible study™ on Joshua and how he "stepped out of his comfort zone" and was able to overcome insurmountable odds by putting God before him. Marilyn related Joshua's struggles to life today and finds Biblical answers to questions like: Why aren't my expectations met? Why does God take so long to answer my prayers? I need more patience—how do I get it? 12 lessons include, personal stories from Marilyn's life, a look at what the Bible says, a Q & A section, discussion openers, and a prayer to close each lesson.
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Labels: bible study, Joshua
