Another day of winter

Well, only in this city can you have a warm spring day and an ice storm in the same weekend! Saturday was warm, beautiful, plentiful sunshine and today we woke up to this.....

Oh well... Today calls for lots of coffee and a warm fire:):) thankful to be home with my hubby:)

All joking aside.. It really is beautiful! 

The sun is peeping through and the snow that is still falling seriously looks like glitter falling from the sky!

Lord, You are so creative. The work of Your hands never ceases to amaze me:)

2 Corinthians 4:6

(From www.elmstreetlife.com)

Joy.

"In Philippians chapter 1, Paul discusses his difficult circumstances and faces them honestly.But his circumstances cannot rob him of his joy because HE IS NOT LIVING TO ENJOY CIRCUMSTANCES; he is living TO SERVE JESUS CHRIST."  He did not look at Christ through His circumstances;rather,he looked at his circumstances through Christ- And this changed everything."

-Warren Wiersbe

Romans 10:17

"The Word of God results in faith." - Beth Moore 

1 Timothy 6:6-7

  

Jesus is enough.

Psalm 63:3

Jesus, Your love is better than anything this world could offer me- any status, job, possession, recognition,etc.

I will rest in Your love for me and Your love will be my security and my satisfaction.

May I never cease to praise You!

Psalm 16:11

Thank you, Jesus, that You have made known to us the path of life and that is YOU. You are the never ending pleasure that is found at the right hand of the Father. You are our, "exceedingly great reward" (Genesis 15:1). Living in the knowledge of Your presence brings "fullness of joy."

Deuteronomy 12:18

2 Thessalonians 2:8- too good not to share

"And then the lawless one will be revealed,whom The Lord Jesus will overthrow WITH THE BREATH OF HIS MOUTH, and destroy by the SPLENDOR OF HIS COMING."
2 Thessalonians 2:8

Can you imagine? The sky is torn in two and Jesus is revealed....He has power to destroy him with the breath of His mouth! Satan is defeated forever.

"Where,O death, is your victory?
Where,O death, is your sting?"
(1 Corinthians 15:55)

We anticipate that day, Lord Jesus.

Verses

"For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth the He may strongly support THOSE WHOSE HEARTS ARE COMPLETELY HIS..."
2 Chronicles 16:9

"The LORD searches EVERY heart and knows EVERY motive behind the thoughts. If you seek Him, He WILL be found by you."
1 Chronicles 28:9

Exodus 33:15-16

     Then Moses said to Him," If Your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that You are pleased with me and with Your people UNLESS YOU GO WITH US? What else will DISTINGUISH me and Your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"

Exodus 33:15-16

Start a Fire . . .

Words can build you up or they can tear you down. Words can start a fire in your heart or put it out.

This is the newest single by hawk Nelson called Words:

It speaks about the power of words in your own life and the life of others. They say that they want their words to be life, to speak truth. They don’t want to speak a word unless it points back to Christ.

This is a humbling and sobering song that grips me by the heart every time.

We were created to be social beings. God formed us in His image and to have community with him and other believers.

Sometimes we forget that we were created to be in constant harmony with Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” If you notice that each key word in the passage . . . rejoice, pray, give thanks . . . all have to do with the words that we speak. 

Timothy spoke about the power of the tongue. “Look at the ships also; though they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. “

Let 2013 be the year that your words would praise God, build up, and start a blazing fire that shows the world that we are his Sons and Daughters who speak good and not evil. The most powerful tool God has given us to proclaim His name is the words that we speak.

Lord I pray that my words and the meditations of my heart would be pleasing to you, that I would speak life, that I would speak truth. 

~JP

The Advent Conspiracy

This video is such a great reminder....

"Into The Glorious"

So I tend to get obsessed with certain songs and hit repeat repeat repeat... but I can't help it this time because I love it when the Lord gives me a song that goes along with something He has taught me or is continuing to teach me. Right now it is "Into the Glorious" by Christy Nockels. The words of the chorus are:

        "And this is my heart's-cry for my life to say I love You, Lord, I love You

                                               So take me deeper, oh

                        I can hear You calling, inviting me in....into the glorious"

Christy explained in a commentary on this album that this came from the truth that,

       

"There is an invitation to invite the Glorious into the mundane..."

She further explained that sometimes it is the mundane, everyday activities, such as work, that crush us the most by making us feel unimportant because they are so routine. However, what a beautiful reminder to think that we have been invited to allow the Glorious (Jesus) to fill our lives and move and love through our bodies. 1 Corinthians 5:20 says, "We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. Galatians 2:20 says, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me..."1 Corinthians 12:27 says, "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.  If we were to BELIEVE this and, "invite the Glorious into the mundane," how differently would our lives look? An example of this in my own life would have to do with the number of children that I come in contact with on a daily basis as a pediatric nurse. If I would, "invite Jesus into my mundane," and allow the love that scripture so vividly describes that Jesus has for children flow through me....how my definition of mundane would change. I am then no longer just a nurse...at just a job...I am a vessel that the Lord Jesus actually CHANNELS HIS LOVE THROUGH! I am His representation as 1 Corinthians 5:20 says. I am to BE HIM in every hug, every smile, every word, every action, every thought (1 Corinthians 2:16 says," we have the mind of Christ!") and ENJOY KNOWING HIM...every minute of everyday of my life.

... and that is Glorious!

-N

The Presence Of Jesus...

"From Heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind; from His dwelling place He watches all who live on Earth. He who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do."                                                                                       Psalm 33:13-15 

Something that the Lord began showing me years ago was the realness of His presence in my life. The fact that He KNOWS me and is constantly watching me is life- changing. Psalm 139 says He knows when I sit down and when I stand up, He knows every word I am going to speak before I speak it, and that He is, "familiar with ALL of my ways."  Proverbs  15:3 says, " the eyes of the LORD are in every place, watching the evil and the good."  This is not something I should take lightly but should be a convicting, life-altering reality in my daily life. Jesus stands before me always and knows everything that I say and do-- shouldn't this make me think before I utter a harsh word or selfishly blow off someone else's needs? He "CONSIDERS everything I do"( Psalm 33 says). I don't know about you, but most days I would like to forget this truth...I am terrified to think that the God of heaven is CONSIDERING every one of my words, thoughts, and actions, and yet some days I do not slow down enough to even consider that He is aware of my behavior. Paul warned the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15:54 about the dangers of not recognizing God's presence. He said, "Awake [ from your drunken stupor and return] to sober sense and your right minds, and sin no more. For some of you have not the knowledge of God [you are utterly and willfully and disgracefully ignorant, and continue to be so, lacking the sense of God's presence and all true knowledge of Him]. I say this to your shame." Not only should this be a strong convicting reality in my life to make me more aware of my sinful tendencies, but it should also be a mighty force that causes me to not fear man, to not fear circumstances, and to not fear any other earthly dread. Jesus has already won and He is so present in my life that He literally says I am, " in the shadow of His wings.(Psalm 63:7)" Why should I fear? Joshua 1:9 says, " ...do not be afraid, do not be discouraged for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."  His presence in our life should be convicting, be peace- giving, but also should be simply enjoyed. How I long to be someone who, as Isaiah 58:2 says, "...delights in the nearness of God," and who, " ... comes into His presence with thanksgiving...( Psalm 95:2)." Someone who lives their life as Deuteronomy 12:18 says, "celebrating in the presence of the LORD your God in all you do," and someone who says, " ...in Your presence is fullness of joy...(Psalm 16:11)." Someone who always is mindful that Jesus left this earth saying,“…And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”(Matthew 28:20).

Psalm 41:2 says, " You uphold me in my integrity, and You set me in Your presence forever."

Thank you, Jesus

-N

Verses...

• "Fear God and keep His commandments, for THIS is MAN'S ALL."                  Ecclesiastes 12:13

[ How often I need the Lord to remind me of this through His Word! With my busy little tendencies, I tend to forget what I am on this earth to do and that is to love & enjoy Jesus with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to DO what He says ]

• "You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me."               Psalm 139:5

[ John McArthur's commentary on this verse says, " God used circumstances to limit David's actions." How true I have found this to be in my life! So many times I have seen the Lord open and close opportunities. What peace it brings to know that He uses circumstances in my life to accomplish His will.]

• "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."                

       1 Corinthians 15:58

-N

"The Garmets of Salvation..."

Through the months of Jonathan and I being engaged, the Lord began to sweetly teach me of His love and character as I prepared for our wedding. I have wanted to put it into words but have not had the opportunity until now. One of the sweetest memories was as I began dreaming and searching for ....THE dress. While trying on the most beautiful article of clothing I have ever worn....it came. It was sweet. It was quiet. It was a voice that said what Isaiah 61:10-11 so beautifully explains.... 

            

           " He has clothed me with the garmets of salvation. 

              He has covered me with the robe of righteousness..."

Since a wedding is a picture of our relationship with Jesus Christ, that dress was a symbol of the purity and righteousness of Jesus being PLACED OVER ME. My sin....my fleshliness....my selfishness....COVERED with the righteousness of Jesus. It is not in my own effort that I  can be like Him...it is something that He does, something that He willingly lays over me. There is no more striving...it is finished, Jesus said. His beautiful, perfect righteousness laid over my sinful, fleshly self. This is how He sees me. Because of this, I view the forgiveness of Jesus differently now. Whenever my sin and my fleshliness are overwhelming and debilitating, I view myself in that white dress....that white dress representing the righteousness of Jesus that HE has placed on me. Forgiven....paid in full....covered in the purity of Jesus.....Praise Him!

-N