Goodbye Blogger

I am no longer blogging here.............I have moved to Embracing the Journey: Experiencing the Joy.......see you there I hope.

Trusting Him with Them

We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.

(Clive Staples) C. S. Lewis

Be not miserable about what may happen tomorrow. The same everlasting Father, who cares for you today, will care for you tomorrow.

Francis de Sales

And again, "I will put my trust in him."And again, "Behold, I and the children God has given me."

Hebrews 2:13

Superman and T-Rex are on their way to Logansport Louisiana to be with Nana, MaMa and Bebe for the weekend. My heart is in pain through worry of their safe trip and time spent there, why? I am not sure but I am trying to give it to the Lord and allow Him to help me carry this fear away as I put my trust in Him. I plan on communing a lot with the Lord this weekend over my worry.

Anything big enough to occupy our minds is big enough to hang a prayer on.

George Macdonald

Devoted to Destruction

For it was the LORD's doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the LORD commanded Moses. Joshua 11:20

In Joshua this morning I read chapters 11-15 and verse 20 of chapter 11 struck an obvious cord. It was hard to swallow and actually is still lodged in my throat.

Rejoicing

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character and characte produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 5:3-5

This morning I read Romans 5 and 6 and this verse really stuck out to me. I mean it is obsurd to my fleshly nature to think of rejoicing in suffering. When I read that it kind of laughed and at first it was rather loud and obnoxious but as I read on it became faint. Because the Lord's wisdom began to drown it out. He explains the reason we have for rejoicing in our sufferings.

JOYfully in Him,
Kelli

Abiding in Him

The last 2 weeks I have been memorizing Psalm 1 and it is amazing how the Lord has used this verse in my life. I have read it several places, heard it referenced to several times, and been directed to it many times myself. It has opened up my eyes to many things and one of them is memorization oddly enough and its importance in the life of a Christian. In verse 2 my heart began stirring on what it meant to meditate on the word of God day and night and after listening to a sermon by John Piper on this verse I have been lead to a more consistent and constant life in memorization. The idea of memorization for me is painful and unpleasant in and of itself but memorization of the word is powerful and I would say necessary for the Christian the growing Christian. If we do not allow our faith to feed on the word of God not just in reading but in memorizing and meditating then it will be missing nurishment that it needs and will not grow. I am convinced of this and so have made it a part of my daily spiritual walk.

Psalm 119:11

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

After reading this verse and many others referring to the importance of storing up His word in our hearts. Here listen to these and think on them for a moment:

Joshua 1:7-8

Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

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John 15:1-11

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."

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Psalm 37:28-31

For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his saints.They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.
The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip.

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Hebrews 5:13-14

for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

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Matthew 4:1-11

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." But he answered, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, "'He will command his angels concerning you,' and "'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"

Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'"

Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

I am taking this next week to log my reaction to the behavior of my children, my husband, my friends, my mistakes, and to evaluate my attitude towards all of these and all of the things that I do through out each day. My hope is to collect a better idea of the areas in my life that I need to grow spiritually in and need to store the word of God in my heart to enable me to triumph over them and live a more peaceful life in Christ. At the end of the week I will have a list of scriptures to store up in this year 2007 and will be memorizing at least 1 a week. If you have a desire to join my please leave me a comment and we will venture in this together!!

JOYfully in Him,

Kelli

A New Look

This was not my choice! I decided to upgrade my blog and lost everything from my blog that I worked on for over 3 years, not a big deal of course but I do miss it :0(. I am going to be working on getting some of my look back. I like the colors of this one but miss my old graphics.

JOYfully in Him,
Kelli

Clutter and Chaos

Clutter: to fill or litter with things in a disorderly manner
Chaos: a state of utter confusion or disorder; a total lack of organization or order.

Normally we look at these in the viw of our homes but lets look at them in the view of our hearts. I am currently doing the Colossial Clutter Clean-Up by Amy at Dandelion Seeds and the vital ingredient to de-cluttering our homes is to first de-clutter our hearts. I enjoy her little description of these to unwanted guests. The Lord is working through her to remove the clutter and chaos that has accumulated in my own heart and I praise Him!

What is your heart filled or littered with in a disorderly manner? Let me share mine and what I think the root of the clutter comes from.

The Clutter in my heart:

1. Selfishness
2. Pride
3. Discontentment

These are what I have littered my heart with, they are all piled up inside and are accumulating at a fast rate. The things of God are unequally piled among them causing a lot of confusion and leading my heart into a state of Chaos! I am in need of cleaning out my heart of these things and replacing them with the word and heart of God instead. I rarely feel as though my heart is in a state of peace, I desire for peace to reign in the home of my heart.

I have found that James 3:16 shows what the root of disorder/clutter is.......For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. Selfish ambition can only lead to distruction but first will come disorder and it moves very slowly as to not come to our attention to quickly. It is something that we all deal with to some degree and I pray that we all can keep a close eye on. I am in the begining of this de-cluttering process and have so many thoughts running freely in my mind. I hope to share them with you as they relate closely to my spiritual walk.

JOYfully in Him,

Kelli

Friday's Reading

This morning I read Job 1-2 and gleaned much wisdom from his example. I have read those two chapters many times before but his morning they shined with many things that I missed before. He was deeply concerned with the glory of God and the spiritual state of his children and when his entire world came burning to the ground he remained just as faithful to God in his humble and revered response. I can only pray that I would have the same reaction in a time of great trial. I have to say though that it is always hard to swallow the passages where God points Job out to satan not only once but twice.

I am anxiously awaiting tomorrows reading in Isaiah 1-6. I have read some of this book before in the past and I just remember God revealing so much of himself to me through it that I can not wait to dive in tomorrow morning and swim in it all through out the day. I wanted to share a commentary that I really enjoy and that I will be using for Isaiah, David Guzik. For me he is able to help me understand some of the text better and show me through others quotes a deeper meaning to the wonderful truths of God.

Have a great day........and I hope that today you will take great delight in the law of the Lord, enjoy them and ponder them in your heart all day long.

JOYfully in Him,
Kelli

Perseverence in the Word

Psalm 1 is beginning to soak into my heart as I daily meditate on it through memorization.

Listen:

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.

The blessed or happy man finds his delight in the law or instruction of the Lord and he meditates on it morning and night. Delighting in the law of the Lord is more than just thinking about God every now and then it is truly dwelling and meditating on His instruction which is not always easy because His instruction often goes against what we want to do. I don't know about you but I want to be like the blessed man, the tree that is planted by the stream of water, who's leaf does not whither, and in whatever he does will prosper.

Life seems to always get in the way of reading the word, but the thing that I am learning is that if I truly delight in the word then I will find a way to get into it every day whether that means rising early, turning off the tv, turning down long phone call conversations, reading in the car, while cooking dinner, or reading it right before the lights go out. My personal thought for myself is to get up earlier than all my family to get in the word but on some mornings it just seems impossible. I think one thing that has really helped me is to leave a bible conveniently laying in nearly each room that I may dwell in for awhile. I can't seem to help pick it up for even just a moment to get a little bit of honey. I think we have this mindset that we have to read a whole chapter in order for it to count but the word of God does not loose it's power by the amount of it we can read in one setting. Take little bites here and there if you must.....just get in the word of God and also memorize...............hide his word in your heart and it can not get away from you! It will follow you everywhere and you are unable to get it out of you for it has literally become a part of you.

"Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee." Psalm 119:11

In my sidebar right below my profile description I have a Revivie Our Hearts image, click on it to listen to Nancy Leigh DeMoss's radio show. I was amazed yesterday when I read it because of how much I have taken my bible for granted. Here in my home there are at least 10 or more bibles and in some countries there are children of God who are surviving on just a page or two of the bible and their souls are starving for more of His word, you must listen to the testimonies of two women through her show.

JOYfully in Him,

Kelli

A Challenge to Women

By John Piper January 1, 1995

1. That all of your life—in whatever calling—be devoted to the glory of God.

2. That the promises of Christ be trusted so fully that peace and joy and strength fill your soul to overflowing.

3. That this fullness of God overflow in daily acts of love so that people might see your good deeds and give glory to your Father in heaven.

4. That you be women of the Book, who love and study and obey the Bible in every area of its teaching. That meditation on Biblical truth be the source of hope and faith. And that you continue to grow in understanding through all the chapters of your life, never thinking that study and growth are only for others.

5. That you be women of prayer, so that the Word of God would open to you; and the power of faith and holiness would descend upon you; and your spiritual influence would increase at home and at church and in the world.

6. That you be women who have a deep grasp of the sovereign grace of God undergirding all these spiritual processes, that you be deep thinkers about the doctrines of grace, and even deeper lovers and believers of these things.

7. That you be totally committed to ministry, whatever your specific role, that you not fritter your time away on soaps or ladies magazines or aimless hobbies, any more than men should fritter theirs away on excessive sports or aimless diddling in the garage. That you redeem the time for Christ and his Kingdom.

8. That, if you are single, you exploit your singleness to the full in devotion to Christ and not be paralyzed by the desire to be married.

9. That, if you are married, you creatively and intelligently and sincerely support the leadership of your husband as deeply as obedience to Christ will allow; that you encourage him in his God-appointed role as head; that you influence him spiritually primarily through your fearless tranquility and holiness and prayer.

10. That, if you have children, you accept responsibility with your husband (or alone if necessary) to raise up children who hope in the triumph of God, sharing with him the teaching and discipline of the children, and giving to the children that special nurturing touch and care that you are uniquely fitted to give.

11. That you not assume that secular employment is a greater challenge or a better use of your life than the countless opportunities of service and witness in the home the neighborhood, the community, the church, and the world. That you not only pose the question: Career vs. full time mom? But that you ask as seriously: Full time career vs. freedom for ministry? That you ask: Which would be greater for the Kingdom— to be in the employ of someone telling you what to do to make his business prosper, or to be God's free agent dreaming your own dream about how your time and your home and your creativity could make God's business prosper? And that in all this you make your choices not on the basis of secular trends or yuppie lifestyle expectations, but on the basis of what will strengthen the family and advance the cause of Christ.

12. That you step back and (with your husband, if you are married) plan the various forms of your life's ministry in chapters. Chapters are divided by various things—age, strength, singleness, marriage, employment choices, children at home, children in college, grandchildren, retirement, etc. No chapter has all the joys. Finite life is a series of tradeoffs. Finding God's will, and living for the glory of Christ to the full in every chapter is what makes it a success, not whether it reads like somebody else's chapter or whether it has in it what chapter five will have.

13. That you develop a wartime mentality and lifestyle; that you never forget that life is short, that billions of people hang in the balance of heaven and hell every day, that the love of money is spiritual suicide, that the goals of upward mobility (nicer clothes, cars, houses, vacations, food, hobbies) are a poor and dangerous substitute for the goals of living for Christ with all your might, and maximizing your joy in ministry to people's needs.

14. That in all your relationships with men you seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in applying the Biblical vision of manhood and womanhood; that you develop a style and demeanor that does justice to the unique role God has given to man to feel responsible for gracious leadership in relation to women—a leadership which involves elements of protection and care and initiative.

15. That you think creatively and with cultural sensitivity (just as he must do) in shaping the style and setting the tone of your interaction with men.

16. That you see Biblical guidelines for what is appropriate and inappropriate for men and women in relation to each other not as arbitrary constraints on freedom but as wise and gracious prescriptions for how to discover the true freedom of God's ideal of complementarity. 17. That you not measure your potential by the few roles withheld but by the countless roles offered. That you turn off the TV and Radio and think about...

The awesome significance of motherhood

Complementing a man's life as his wife

Ministries to the handicapped

hearing impaired
blind
lame
retarded

Ministries to the sick:

nursing
physician
hospice care—cancer, AIDS, etc.
community health

Ministries to the socially estranged:

emotionally impaired
recovering alcoholics
recovering drug users
escaping prostitutes
abused children, women
runaways, problem children
orphans

Prison ministries:

women's prisons!
families of prisoners
rehabilitation to society

Ministries to youth:

teaching
sponsoring
open houses and recreation
outings and trips
counseling
academic assistance

Sports ministries:

neighborhood teams
church teams
Therapeutic counseling:
independent
church based
institutional

Audio visual ministries:

composition
design
production
distribution

Writing ministries:

free lance
curriculum development
fiction
non-fiction
editing
institutional communications
journalistic skills for publications

Teaching ministries:

Sunday school: children, youth, students, women
grade school
high school
college

Music ministries:

composition
training
performance
voice
choir
instrumentalist

Evangelistic ministries:

personal witnessing
Inter Varsity
Campus Crusade
Navigators
Home Bible Studies
outreach to children
Visitation teams
Counseling at meetings
Billy Graham phone bank

Radio and TV ministries:

technical assistance
writing
announcing
producing

Theater and drama ministries:

acting
directing
writing
scheduling

Social ministries:

literacy
pro-life
pro-decency
housing
safety
beautification

Pastoral care assistance:

visitation
newcomer welcoming and assistance
hospitality
food and clothing and transportation

Prayer ministries:

praying!!!
mobilizing for major Concerts of Prayer
helping with small groups of prayer
coordinating prayer chains
promoting prayer days and weeks and vigils

Missions:

all of the above across cultures

Support ministries:

countless jobs that undergird major ministries

Mid-Week

I am enjoying my bible reading plan so far. It is refreshing each day. I was a little weary at first because of the way it skips around but it helps me to stay interested. I have been getting up early to get into the word alone and it has been a struggle. I use to could get up by 5:00 but am now struggling to get up by 6:30. I didn't make it this morning until 7:00 and then suffered the consequences when T-Rex decided to join me at 7:20. This pregnancy is really affecting me.

Memorizing Psalm 1 is coming along slowly but it is coming. For a few weeks I will be jumping each day from Romans to Genesis to Joshua to the Psalms to Job to Isaiah to Matthew. I can't wait to really get in deep with each of these books and get to know the Lord better through each one.

It is getting late and I need to begin my day with my family.......we have a lot of things to do today.

JOYfully in Him,
Kelli