Day 3: Thankful for God's Word

Day 3:  Today, I want to touch on how wonderful and living God's Holy Word is.  A dear friend of mine and I have been consciously observing the living aspect of God's Word in our day-to-day lives for a few months now.

Let me tell you--it is AMAZING!

In our daily lives, God has been making His presence known very clearly.  We could be struggling with something, and then BAM!-a scripture somehow finds its way in front of us.  Whether we catch a glimpse of a picture, or a book, or checkout a website, God's Word always finds its way into our line of site to respond to our "issue."

That is something only God can do.  If you ever wonder "Is this really from God?", you don't ever need to doubt the validity of God's Word speaking to you.

This is what I read this morning on Lysa TerKeurst's blog:

"I will never doubt the power of a simple note again.  Especially when it contains God’s word that will go forth and will accomplish things human reasoning can’t. I love that about God’s word."  (from http://lysaterkeurst.com/2011/11/the-scribbled-truth-that-changed-my-life/ )

I love that too!  I love how I can receive a card in the mail that contains a scripture verse.  It was written days before, but it speaks to me in THAT exact moment.  It is so amazing how God works.  Such a blessing!

My dear friend Traci and I have a mental picture to go with times like these when God is speaking directly to us.

Think of a beautiful spring day.

A lovely cool breeze.

Your bare feet running through a field of perfect daisies.

Source: dosfamily.com via Prudence on Pinterest

I call it my "field of daisies" times.  Traci knows exactly what I mean.  I hope you have something similar to describe that beautiful conversation between you and our Heavenly Father.  Something that will minutely describe what your heart feels like when God speaks to you so clearly.  It's such an awesome, indescribable place to me.  The field of daisies is my feeble attempt at describing that feeling; but it works for me.

Do you have a "feeble attempt" at describing God's grace in speaking to us?

I welcome comments at any time!

Day 2: Thankful for my husband, Seth

Seth at Cowboys Stadium

Day 2:  This is my husband, Seth.  I love him so very much--he is my best friend. We got married right out of high school and have been married nearly 17 years.  The success of our marriage these days is extremely rare.  We have grown up together, been through the military together, are raising 2 teenagers together (prayers please!), and now I assist him as he pastors the youth of our church.

Absolute....*bliss*....(sigh).

Life has not always been great, though.

We have had lots of ups and downs; but the one thing that has always kept us together on the same track is God.  We have learned to keep Him in focus through our everyday life, and especially when we are going through tough times as well as wonderful times.

Forgiveness has been a key in our marriage as well.  I'm not going to embellish and say that it is easy.  It's not.  But, since Seth and I are both believers, we have been forgiven of our sins by Christ.   How could we not forgive when we fail each other?

Renee Swope is talking about "I'm such a failure..." in chapter 7 of her book, A Confident Heart.  She says:

"How many times has the enemy used a little distraction to lead you into a pattern of destruction and then condemned you for it?" (pg. 123)

That happens a lot.  We start having a bad day; or HE is not doing things the right way; or, I can't seem to do anything to please HIM.  We start to feel like a failure.  All of a sudden, this marriage thing is too hard.  Maybe we should give up.

Jesus says in the Bible:

"Let any one of you who is without sin cast the first stone."  (from John 8:6-8)

Don't ever let Satan win and just give up.  We all fail at some point--whether it is in our personal life, our  marriage, or our job. Ask forgiveness and freely give forgiveness where it is needed.  Ask God to help you do that very thing, because it is hard.  You can't do it alone.  Supernaturally, God works in our lives and helps to change our hearts to be able to forgive freely. It is amazing!

Seth and I have become better with forgiveness--with God's help.  God can do amazing things in your marriage if you and your spouse will just let Him have the reigns.  It can be better than you have ever dreamed!  We have to remember that Satan wants to tear us down.  God wants to build us up.

I love you Seth, and I always will.  I am so thankful to be able to go through life with you!

"I have found the one whom my soul loves."(Song of Solomon 3:4)

Day 1: Thankful for Renee Swope

(This was yesterday's post and life happened, so I never got it published.  It's amazing how that happens sometimes!)

I decided, coming off the heals of "31 Days of A Confident Heart", that I would participate in the "Days of Thanksgiving" that many of my friends and family members are doing right now.  I think I will relate it to the Bible study that a group of us are doing surrounding Renee Swope's book A Confident Heart.

Day 1:  I am thankful for Renee's obedience in writing this book.  As many of you know and have experienced, it is tough sometimes to be fully obedient.  Satan is prowling around like a lion waiting to devour us.  Our dear friends tend to discourage us inadvertently.  Our family may distract us from completing the task God has asked of us.
That is why I am thankful for Renee.  Despite how tough it may have been at times, she relied on God's strength and guidance in order to write a fantastic book that touches the hearts of many women around the world.

She also has a wonderful blog that I currently follow that is great as well.  You can check it out here.

Thank you Renee!  Thank you for being so obedient to God's calling on your life.  Thank you for spelling out the hope for a confident heart that we can have when we trust in Jesus.