Living Beyond the Ugliness of Life

I am reading through Deuteronomy in my quiet time. This morning I felt drawn to a couple of verses and so I have lingered here on these verses to examine them to my heart, to my walk of faith. My prayer is that one of you will find this scripture to also be sent from God within your own life. Examine Deuteronomy 10:16-18:

Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing.

Sadly, as Christians we often allow other things to encapsulate our hearts and, as we know, these things can interfere in us having a heart like God. Many time religious rules dictate our faith (like with the Pharisees recorded throughout John) or sometimes it is an old habit or stronghold that can stand in the way of our testimony. All too often, we judge others based on our belief systems and in reality it may not necessarily be God's.

I looked up the Hebrew word for circumcise,- it is lwm and means "to be cut off from destruction". Those strongholds, the clutter that fills our heart and prevents us from being more like God are to be cut off, removed. Communion involves circumcising our hearts. Daily we should and can partake in communion. What do you need to remove from your life? Is it an attitude or belief? Is it a habit or sinful practice? Is it a mindset? What is encapsulating your heart?

I was even more intrigued with how "stiff-necked" was used. The Hebrew word for stiff-necked is Qashah which means "to be hard, be severe, be fierce, be harsh, to be difficult , to make burdensome". How many Christians have you known to fit this picture? How many time, if we are honest, have we looked into the mirror of our soul to find us being difficult, too harsh, to hard because of our own attitude? Can we truly love as God loves if we are stiff-neck as implied through the Hebrew translation? More importantly, is there joy in this?

Look at these verses in The Message translation:

Look around you: Everything you see is God's—the heavens above and beyond, the Earth, and everything on it. But it was your ancestors who God fell in love with; he picked their children—that's you!—out of all the other peoples. That's where we are right now. So cut away the thick calluses from your heart and stop being so willfully hardheaded. God, your God, is the God of all gods, he's the Master of all masters, a God immense and powerful and awesome. He doesn't play favorites, takes no bribes, makes sure orphans and widows are treated fairly, takes loving care of foreigners by seeing that they get food and clothing.

We serve a God who calls us to be Holy. To be more like Him we have to examine our heart and our life and seek to remove any unholy growths-bitterness, unforgiveness, untruths, sin, and to relax enough to see God in all situations, no matter how ugly it can get. We are to live in and through God's word, making our own judgments carefully, scripturally, and with a spiritual love. It is in holding on to God and His Word that we will see amazing and wonderful things happen, even in the ugliest situations! "Ugly" is all around us isn't it? But in praising God in this ugliness, it brings out the spiritually sweet aroma of His grace and joy in our words and actions.

You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His name. 21 He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen.

~Deut. 10: 20-21a (NKJV)

I choose to live beyond the ugliness that satan plants before me and to live in God's promises. How about you? Look beyond the ugliness of what is in your life and praise God for the beauty that He wants you to cling to-His Truths!~Mrs JoeB

FREEDOM in Christ

1 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,
Because the LORD has anointed Me

To preach good tidings to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim FREEDOM to the captives,

And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,

And the day of vengeance of our God;

To comfort all who mourn,

3 To console those who mourn in Zion,

To give them beauty for ashes,

The oil of joy for mourning,

The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

That they may be called trees of righteousness,

The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”

~Isaiah 61

Every year I pick a new life verse to try and live out. This year, the above verse is what God laid on my heart. After the journey I have been on, I felt it was time to move on from my restoration and on to His service. This morning as I completed my Bible study, He reminded me of the FREEDOM I have in Him. I am free...free of ME, free of condemnation, of my past, of my failures, of my short comings. Are we not called to live in this kind of freedom and then to go out and proclaim it to those in captive?

As we celebrate living in a country that still allows us to worship in freedom, may we also be mindful of the real freedom we have in Christ. SHARE IT!!!

Happy FREEDOM day!! MrsJoeB

Time for some blog hugs!!

Friends-when I was at She Speaks conference I met the sweetest gal. Her name is Mari, she is full of energy and never at a loss for words. More importantly, she is a women with a heart for God. She is new to blog world and I thought it would be sweet if we filled her day with some blog hugs and prayers! Go check out her site: http://marismorningroom.blogspot.com/ and give her a special blessing today!!

Then would you also stop over and offer a prayer and blog hug to Amy (http://amahoney-amy.blogspot.com/) who is having back surgery today, this morning, and will be bedridden for quite some time. She has a wonderful heart for God and is such a funny blogger. It is such a joy to call her friend too!! Though God is with her, she will need our support too!

Do you know do you understand that you represent Jesus to me?

Do you know do you understand that when you treat me with gentleness it raises the question in my mind that maybe He is gentle, too.

Maybe He isn't someone who laughs when I am hurt.

Do you know do you understand that when you listen to my questions and you don't laugh, I think, "What if Jesus is interested in me, too?

Do you know do you understand that when I hear you talk about arguments and conflicts and scars from your past that I think, "Maybe I am just a regular person instead of a bad, no-good girl who deserves abuse."

If you care I think maybe He cares- and then there's this flame of hope that burns inside of me and for a while I am afraid to breathe because it might go out.

Do you know do you understand that your words are His words?

Your face, His face to someone like me?

Please be who you say you are.

Please, God, don't let this be another trick.

Please let this be real. Please.

Do you know do you understand that you represent Jesus to me?

(This poem was written by a teenage girl named Sharon

when she was searching and checking out Christianity).

In Him~MrsJoeB

Yes to God Bible Study-Chapter One-The Map

I was excited to be starting this Bible study but since we started reading this book have you noticed life is hitting us with issue's from within it's chapters? Talk about making us walk what we are studying...ouch. He is making us real ladies!

In the introduction of "What Happens When Women Walk in Faith", Lysa stated (1) in order to go to a new level of faith, you must leave the old behind-I did that in my preparation for the She Speak conference and I am living at a new and improved level of faith!! (2) when your comfort zone is gone, you'll learn to depend on God like never before-He is the one I want to depend on. My only comfort zone is my 'come to Jesus' devotion chair. My dependence is reaching a whole new level with Him and it is exciting, challenging but exciting! (3) Believing God becomes too real to deny-this walk in faith has brought God to a more personal level. All those years of knowing who He is but now I am experiencing Him in a new way-I KNOW Him. (4)Coming to the end of your ability to make things happen is the only new way to life with Him-emptying my self to allow more of Him...it is a death process, painful, yes-but holds promises in the end! (5) the real joy isn't on the dream itself but rather in the richer faith you acquire along the way-now that is what I am after-richer faith!! The map of my life is this journey of building my faith, my relationship with my Lord.

"Though I still didn't know HOW God could possibly use me, I knew He could find a way. Though I didn't know WHEN God could use me, I knew the timing was in His hands. Though I didn't think I has much to offer, I knew God would fill in the many gaps. I simply knew God was calling me, inviting me, wooing me to something with His fingerprints all over it. And that was enough. ~Lysa TerKeurst (pp. 14)

Yes. This is where I am. God is testing my heart and mind, calling me to obedience in the small things and the big things, equipping me to serve-my husband and family, my ministry, my patients and students. I am not qualified, but He will qualify me. I am aligning my perspectives of my life to His calling, to honor Him, not redeem myself. It's not about what I can do in ministry but what God can do in and through me. Though satan comes to steal my new joy, to kill my spirit in Christ, to destroy the hope I have in my God (John 10:10), Jesus comes to give me fullness of life-completion. He fills any void I experience, He removes any emptiness that tries to steal my joy. He takes my insecurities and weaknesses and molds them into workable traits to strengthen me for His glory.

The Map...my dream? Serving in ministry, along side with my husband. Living in the spiritual-constant with my Lord.

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.~Hebrews 10:35&36 (NIV)

Confidence+Perseverance=God's Promise

I, like Lelia, like you, choose to be confident in Him, to persevere in Him and to hold onto His promises. Hang on ladies...I think there is going to be more turbulence as we venture through these chapters. As satan attacks, God will be there, we will be there for each other and in the end, our walk in faith will have equipped us for that next step towards His calling in our life.

My husband and I are looking for your thoughts with a youth ministry workshop we need to give at youth camp. If you have time, please stop by my previous post and leave me your thoughts in this...and your prayers! My husband is also having some real work issues to contend with. He may be forced to resign for his own sanity. I am ready for him to do so and to pick up the extra load with my work. Please pray God will provide for us and for my husband in the awful stress he is being put in. Again, thank you! ~Mrs JoeB

We need your help...

Joe and I were scheduled to present a workshop at youth camp in a few weeks on 'living through divorce/living in a step family'. Another person was presenting a workshop on 'communicating with parents'. That person has had to back out due to a family issue so the camp director asked my husband and I to direct the workshop topic now to 'Living with Parents' to cover all walks of kids that will be there.

So, as we prepare (and satan attacks us)...what issue's do you think needs to most be addressed with today's youth and how they can better communicate and live with their parents whether in a home with two parents, one parent, or stepparents?

Your thoughts and prayers are so so appreciated!!!

In the Shadow of the Cross

"Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between His shoulders." ~Deut. 33:12

Yesterday we will call "ATTACK THURSDAY" because I know I was not alone in that satan was throwing his evil at more than just me. A text message from a friend crying out for prayers for her daughter, Bible study blog friends reaching out....yet, how did we fight back? We fell to our knees in prayer! The most powerful weapon again satan and his evil attacks. After my quiet time this morning, still feeling disheartened, I immediately went back to my She Speaks notes and re-read the journal entries of that weekend. What a sweet walk back to of all the things God showed me. I re-read scripture that was used in this event, a sweet reminder that He is indeed bigger than my problem, bigger than your problem. Yesterday I wollered in the pain of my attack for about an hour, and then I gave it to God relenting my own power in the situation and identifying His power. I again choose to "rest between his shoulders, secure in His grace and provision.

For those of us who are feeling satans evil, may I remind you that..."the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him" (2 Cron. 16: 9) and He will "Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; and say to those with fearful hearts, Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, He will come with vengeance; with divine retribution He will come to save you" (Isaiah 2:3&4).

My prayer for you today (and for myself) comes from a favorite passage of mine in Colossians 1:9-14. You fill in the blanks friend-your name, the name of the one who is grieving you...and trust in God's goodness and greatness to do above and beyond on our behalf!

For this reason, since the day w[I] heard about [___], [I] have not stopped praying for [___] and asking God to fill [___] with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And [I] pray this in order that [___] may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that [___] may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified [___] to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued [___] from the dominion of darkness and brought [___] into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom [___] have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

On my knees....MrsJoeB

What is your passion?

O Sovereign LORD, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works you do?~Deuteronomy 3:24

At the She Speaks conference we were challenged to be real-transparent. So I will today. It is out of my comfort zone. I wish I could be funny or whimsical but God is doing some serious changes in my life and I need your prayers.

Are you passionate about anything? I have friends passionate about scrap booking and I know people who are passionate about sports. I met a very sweet friend in a round about way through the She Speaks blog named Catharine. We hooked up Thursday evening and stayed together before the conference. I would post a picture but silly me super glued a piece of trim on our camera that was loose and I guess I super glued the battery compartment door closed. My camera battery is dead and there is not a thing I can do about it. When my She Speaks friends e-mail me pictures they took with their cameras, I will post them later.

At dinner Thursday night, Catharine asked me what my husband was passionate about. I am afraid I had to think about it for a bit and in the end I felt a little ashamed that I couldn't come up with his true passion at that moment. Lets not forget, we have only been married for 3 years but....I know things he likes but whats he passionate for? Of course he would say he is passionate about me and he is but was that all? He is a passionate man for God. That is what I cherish about him the most but is that all he is passionate about?

Marybeth Whalen addressed this area again at the conference. She challenged us to live in our passion. It gives our life joy and contentment and allows us to be used more fully by God for His ministries. That is when it hit me. As I was exploring my own passion while listening to her, I thought of my husband. His passion and joy (outside of God and I) is in remodeling and fixing up houses. How many times had I heard him voice his heart at how he would like to be doing that for a living. He is so miserable at his current job managing a warehouse. He has been there just over 25 years. I have not been supportive of him leaving and risking the loss of income (we are a large blended family with teenagers-need I say more?). We have prayed over a year for God to open doors of opportunity for him to leave and there seems to be no answer..so I thought.

Now I have to ask myself the same question my husband ask me months ago, maybe a year ago- "Is He, God, asking us to step out in faith?" Have I prevented this step because of my own fear? I could argue in that we own two houses and getting finances for Joe to live in his passion is probably not possible with this current economy. Yet is that enough to keep Joe from living in his passion and living in the joy he so deserves? Marybeth stated "passion makes an eternal impact, an emotional connection, and is a life-changing break through." Joe could live that by doing what his heart longs to do. I want that for him and for me. He could also spend more time in ministry which he is so richly talented and blessed in. Two possible doors have open just in the last few weeks where it may be possible for him to step out into this dream with the resources of a partner. Though this plan is only in the works, I plan to get out of the way. I want my husband to live out his passion more fully because I love and adore him! There will be sacrifices. It will require faith.

I too have examined my passion. Catharine and Jamie boldly inquired of me to identify my own passion as we drove to the airport on Sunday. My heart is all about loving God and knowing Him more. Professionally, my heart is most content when I am caring for my patients verses teaching students how to care for them. Spirituality and nursing-that is my passion. The teaching I enjoy the most is when I coordinate and teach in the Faith Community Nurse course (parish nurses). The course trains and equips registered nurses in how to develop a ministry of nursing in their congregation (I included a picture of our last class). So God has started moving in this. Hang with me as I share what God has done in the last 48 hours...then pray for us as we move forward.

I made a decision to go part-time at the college for the 2008/2009 school year. Originally it was denied. When the new dean came to the college in February, I approached him with a part-time contract-he made it work but now I feel I have stepped out of God's will. My thoughts have been "how am I going to get out of this one?". Monday an adjunct nursing instructor (adjunct=works as needed) came to my office inquiring how I obtained the part-time contract as she is seeking this. Immediately God laid it on my heart..."here is your way out". So I will explore how we can trade contracts. Pray for me as I approach my director with this new decision.

I then opened up the employment section of a local hospital I enjoy working at to see what possibilities might be there. I have been doing this on a regular basis. An ideal situation would be for me to work the "weekend option" (working two shifts every weekend but getting paid the full-time wages of three shifts). I would not have my Sunday church ministries affected if I work Friday and Saturday and it would allow me to be free to be a wife and mother during the week. This hospital has just opened such a position on the unit I want to work plus there is a sign-on bonus!! I had an interview this morning. I have been offered the job, they will work around those things I already have scheduled this summer to make it happen. Doors are continuing to open.

I also work "as needed" through an agency and the income there alone could cover my husbands salary if I had to pick up extra shifts while he gets this potential new business up and running. Sacrifices-stepping out in faith-I will be able to continue to work in my church ministries, teach some of the courses I love at the college, the kids needs will be covered, Joe would have more time for his ministries and he will be happier in his work. Even though I couldn't ask for a more blessed marriage, Catharine, Jamie and Marybeth assures me we will be more blessed as a couple and as a family if we live in and through our passion (may I add if we live in God's will!?!?!).

It all seems to be coming together. I think. It's scary but it is time to step out in faith. To live our passion. To serve our God better. Pray God will continue to unfold His will for us in this.

And now, isn't it wonderful all the ways in which this distress has goaded you closer to God? You're more alive, more concerned, more sensitive, more reverent, more human, more passionate, more responsible. Looked at from any angle, you've come out of this with purity of heart—that you would realize and act upon the deep, deep ties between us before God. That's what happened—and we felt just great. ~2 Corinthians 7:11 (The Message)

I appreciate your prayers in this!! MrsJoeB