Maureen Ferguson, senior policy adviser for the Catholic Association, called it “amazing” that the trial of Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell “did not touch Nancy Pelosi’s heart.”

“What we learned from the Gosnell trial and what we understand is going on inside other clinics is not only human-rights abuse’ but it also puts women in harm’s way,” she said in a statement.

Gosnell was a Philadelphia late-term abortionist who was recently convicted of several counts of first-degree murder for the killing of infants who survived his abortion attempts, among other crimes and health violations.

During a June 13 press conference, Pelosi was questioned about the matter by a reporter who asked what the moral difference was between legal late-term abortions and the infanticides of babies of the same age committed by Gosnell.

The question came in reference to Pelosi’s opposition to a bill introduced in Congress to ban late-term abortions after 20 weeks gestation unless doctors deemed the mother’s life or basic health were deemed to be at risk.

Pelosi did not answer the question, saying instead that the bill was an effort to ensure that “there will be no abortion in our country.”

She also framed the protection of late-term abortion as a matter of faith.

“As a practicing and respectful Catholic, this is sacred ground to me when we talk about this,” she said. “I don’t think it should have anything to do with politics.”

via Catholic Groups Criticize Pelosi’s Claim That Abortion Is ‘Sacred Ground’ | Daily News | NCRegister.com.

On Monday I came home from work and exhausted, collapsed on the couch for what I had planned would be 20 minutes… 20 became 30 and when 45 minutes had passed, I suddenly realised how pathetic and second-rate my thoughts had become – and the Holy Spirit reminded me of something spoken at church the night before; “Nobody sins in the presence of God”. I got up and found an old worship CD and soon found strength and rest in God’s presence.
A friend from school bbm’d me with questions about work and somehow an incredible conversation opened up wherein I was able to encourage her and simply allow God to pour out into her heart through me. This conversation would not have happened if I had indulged in another 15 minutes on the couch.

Such a simple example, but such a poignant lesson. Have been humbled by the realisation that we are called to seek God’s face with pure hearts and clean hands (Psalm 24:6,4) – we are called to seek God’s Heart and dwell intimately in His Presence. As we become deliberate in breaking into the sweet spot of surrendered worship of Him, we find the Strength, Rest, Joy and Freedom to become everything God has planned for us to be… and filled with all His Goodness, it is a simple consequence that we will naturally begin to pour out that same Goodness into those around us – its the Overflow. I think sometimes we’re living in a deprived state of Lack – not from God withholding His Goodness, but from us not seeking to receive. We end up living (and striving) in limited amounts of Strength and Love and find we grow exhausted and follow a dangerous path towards bewilderment and hurt. We need to live (and love) from a Place of Overflow – that its the excess that is pouring out to everyone around us because we cannot contain everything that God has poured into our own hearts.

How do we enter the Place of Overflow? We worship. We humble ourselves before God and seek His heart, simply to adore Him and delight in Him. Psalm 24 promises “blessing and vindication” for the generation who seek God with clean hands, a pure heart and who do not lift their souls to idols. We come before God with an honesty and openness that leaves nothing hidden; we worship in surrendered abandonment – joyful vulnerability. The tricky thing about this verse is that we are so easily deceived – idols are sneaky little things that manage to worm themselves into significant places while we’re not looking; much like weeds growing in a garden unnoticed during winter. Despite having had an awesome revelation on Monday, by Friday I was once again repenting for getting it so wrong. My idol? God’s beautiful promises for the next season! In the space of a few days I had managed to shift my focus from the Truth & Provider to the Situation & Promise. How silly. How very easy.

Again, I was reminded of the importance to deliberately break into God’s Presence through worship – and to never lose sight of the battle we’re called to fight against the enemy. He will use every tactic to delay and destroy the promises God has for us – and too often we allow him that opportunity. There have been some very specific Words and Promises spoken over my church and people within the church, yet we’re not seeing it fulfilled. In this week, God has shown me very clearly how He is waiting – almost hovering above us – to release the Abundance of His Goodness, yet because we are not pressing into His Presence through worship (seeking His Heart and not His Hand), we have hindered the hand of God. He is unable to give, because we are not ready to receive.

There is a call for God’s People to stir themselves and seek Him; to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth – to rise above circumstances and this apathetic state of Waiting. My prayer is that we may become a generation that seeks God’s face simply to adore Him and in so doing, become a Blessed Generation living in the Place of the Overflow – because then we really will become a light in the darkness, reaching out in Love and Power.

I recently sat through a Singles discussion, and although every word spoken was good, right and Truth itself, I left feeling that somehow there was more to it all… that something was somehow missing. Singleness isn’t something I look at in horror – I’ve walked and lived the path since I gave my life to Jesus at 5 – and maybe I see the world differently to many people, but the discussion raised some interesting questions, as did a later conversation with a friend. She asked me how I see Jesus and my response seemed so strange to her that I had this bizarre realisation that I may not be quite as conventional as I’d always believed…

I don’t really remember a time in my life when Jesus wasn’t my best friend who I’d thank for the fluffy white clouds, my Mommy and Daddy, the trees, the air we breathe – everything that seemed important to a child. As I grew up, those prayers may have changed slightly, but the heart of our relationship pretty much remained: even at my most sullen teenage state, I was always aware of the Holy Spirit beside me and of Jesus’ constant interest in me. I saw and experienced Him everywhere – from the fluffy white clouds to the trees to the words in my Bible. Although there are times when I deliberately focus my prayers as intercession for others, most of my prayer life consists of a running dialogue with Jesus throughout my day. He’s just there. At times He is more real to me than the people I am sitting with; I thought that was how everybody experienced Him. Apparently not.
Please understand, I am not looking for special honour or setting myself up as this amazingly perfect example (I am so not that person..!), I just felt I have a perspective that needs to be shared.

Back to the Single discussion; the main point raised the benefits of being single – that as unmarried people, we can devote ourselves with pure devotion to God. Yes. This is true. I love that I can be absolutely indulgent with my times of devotion to God; that I can spend an entire day simply worshiping Him and ignoring the world. Its incredible. But I don’t do that because I am single; I do that because I love Jesus. I am completely, irrevocably, madly, crazily in love with Jesus. My Best Friend has become the Lover of my soul. That is not dependant on my marital status; that is dependent on the state of my heart. I have seen too many unmarried people not experience that intimacy or have any revelation of that aspect of Jesus’ love for us – just as I have seen married people live it daily. Regardless of our marital status, I believe God’s greatest call upon our lives is pure devotion to Him; that we may live in a constant state of delighted contentment for where we are and who we are in Him. If we are living with our hearts and souls sold out for Christ Jesus, and if He has the treasured place of our Everything, how will we not live lives that change the very environment we find ourselves?

Psalm 37:4 says “delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” I cannot tell you how many times I’ve had that scripture prayed over me or given as part of a prophecy. For years I struggled with the idea of delighting in God simply to gain my heart’s desire. It seemed so calculated and sinful. And then God took me on an incredible journey where He taught me about Delight and Living in that Place of Delight; of simply Resting and Revelling in Everything that is Him – to become so in tuned to His presence that I’d feel his arms tangibly around me, that in worship the gaze of his eyes would leave me breathless. And once again my heart and soul would fall ever deeper in love with him. How can you not fall in love with Him when He reveals Himself as King of all kings, speaking with both uncontested Authority and unfathomable Grace, that He is both Supremely Mighty and Intimately Gentle, both Everywhere and right Here? As He draws us to Himself in abandoned surrendered worship, how do we not willingly give up every desire of our heart for those of His? As we delight in Him, so we find ourselves choosing the things He desires because they’re far better than anything we could choose for ourselves. His heart towards us is always good, always protecting, always faithful.
The intimacy experienced in those moments cannot compare to anything felt in human relationships; its too pure, too holy and too precious. I don’t believe for a moment that I experience Jesus in such a way because I am single. I experience Him like that because my heart is captivated by Him alone – regardless of the other relationships in my life. I choose to place Him above it all and know that only He will ever satisfy the deepest part of my soul. And its because I trust Him with that deepest part of me, where my joys and sorrows are in their purest form and completely unexplainable to anyone but Him, I can walk, live, laugh, love and minister to others from a place of Grace and Goodness. And I hope, because my very soul is satisfied in Him alone, when I do get married, I won’t place those expectations or needs upon my poor, fragile human husband. Its not his role to fulfil; his role will always be to encourage and lead me deeper into Worship of my true Heavenly Husband. As it will be my role to help and inspire him to do the same.

So, regardless of being married or unmarried, my prayer for each person reading this, is that you may have that same revelation of who Jesus is as the Lover of your soul – that you may experience the intensity of His love for you and that you may be captivated by His very presence. I pray for lives to become so delighted in Jesus that pure devotion to all things Him will be a natural Overflow.

Nothing makes the enemy quite as nervous or edgy as a Christian confidently Resting in God, secure in their identity in Him and drawing ever closer in relationship with Him. It is the single greatest weapon we have in spiritual warfare. It’s in this place that we have unwavering Peace, knowing God’s Sovereignty beyond a shadow of a doubt and subsequently being able to stand in the authority that we have as Children of God. But before this can take place, we must know who God really is in our lives…

Jesus asks His disciples a simple question. Not because He’s having any doubt over His identity, but because the answer is pivotal for our own foundational understanding of our Identity. How we see God determines how we view ourselves. Once we have secured that foundation, we are able to stand in the place where Breakthrough and Blessing can take place; where we can find a place of Rest and Refuge. Without a revelation of God, you will run from His presence; Revelation draws you into God’s heart. It gives you confidence to approach Heaven’s Throne-room.

There are infinite ways of knowing God. He is God Almighty, Victorious Conqueror, Prince of Peace, Gracious Redeemer, Mighty Healer, Loving Father, Incredible Creator, Powerful Provider… the list continues. God reveals an aspect of Himself to each of us in a unique and profound way. This does not mean that we won’t know Him in any other way; it simply means there is a way of Knowing God that resonates within our souls – it’s this aspect of Him that draws us most readily into His presence. As I have said, each of us has our own Revelation of that part of Himself which God most wants to reveal to each of us. In the Bible, Paul Knew God’s Grace. Peter Knew God’s Holiness. Moses Knew God’s Glory… How do you Know God?
When we focus on the True Image of God, this has a dynamic impact on the way in which we live our lives; it immediately affects our prayer lives – we approach God in the way that we view Him. We present our prayers and petitions to the God we are most confident in; the God we Know most intimately. Knowing God establishes our Identity and sets us Free to live the life He has called us to; when we focus on His True Image, our values are affected and thoughts are determined – our very lives begin to reflect the understanding of that image and its effect must become evident through actions and attitudes.

Having heard all of this, (thanks to awesome message by Graham Cooke yet again – bless him Lord!) I immediately reflected upon how I view God. He’s my Daddy. I’ve always just taken it for granted that God is not just “Father”, but the Daddy who loves me abundantly; that in worship and prayer, it’s the most obvious and natural thing to bounce into the Throne-room of Heaven and climb onto His lap – I’m His Little Girl, why would I behave any differently? But that’s my view of God. I always thought everyone sees Him like that, but over the years having spoken with countless people, have realised this is not the case. Many people battle to see God as their Loving Father (to embrace or receive the Father’s Heart and Love) because of the emotional baggage caused by their experience with their “earthly” father. So many hearts have been left hurt by the mistakes made by broken human men – lives have been left shattered because of the mistakes and bad choices of fathers. God the Father’s heart breaks over this. He is not like man that He should fail, falter or lie to His children. That’s one of the most beautiful things about God’s character – He is consistent in Who He is. God is Love. He is not going to change that. Ever. My prayer for each person who reads this, is that you may have a Revelation of the Father’s Heart of Love for you. That no matter what you have experienced in relationship with (or without) your earthly father, may you bring it all before God and leave it at His feet… and find Restoration in the identity of Much Loved Child of God. He is crazy about you. May you have an innocent child-like encounter with His Love and experience His Joy and Acceptance in ways you have possiblly never ever experienced before. I pray the Holy Spirit stirs something new in your heart, drawing you closer into the very core of God’s heart for you – and that you may be fully convinced of Abba Father (Daddy God)’s immense and immeasurable love for you.

With the right image of God, Heaven opens before you and Hell cannot prevail.
Intimacy with God intimidates the enemy. He had better be nervous – I know exactly who I am in God and who my Daddy is… and I am claiming my Inheritance!

See! The winter is past;
The rains are over and gone.
Flowers appear on the earth;
The season of singing has come,
The cooing of doves is heard in our land.
The fig tree forms its early fruit,
The blossoming vines spread their fragrance. – Song of Solomon 2:11-13

In the past couple of weeks God has been speaking to me about Blossoming – of a Season of Joy-filled Spring… a season of Fulfilled Promises and New Adventures; New Stories to tell. At first it required a bold step of obedience to really allow Him the permission to begin this journey in my heart. I knew that He was asking me to become deliberate in opening my heart to the people around me; to share from the depths of all that He has done in my life and heart and to learn to be vulnerable before people as it would open the way for Him to do many things and would result in God being glorified.

I was terrified.
I hate – more than anything in this world, including frogs, cockroaches and raw onion – being vulnerable with people; truly, heartbreakingly real and uncomfortably exposed-vulnerable with people. I allow a very specific, trusted few into aspects of my heart, but even then, I share only what I feel safe enough to speak of… God was asking me to step out from this Place of Hiding.
I hesitated.
I asked for practical steps.
At first he was not as forthcoming and allowed me to figure that one out… it didn’t take long. I knew He had been calling me to do three things;
1. Step out in Faith and begin to serve on the Worship Team at church
2. Become accountable to three specific (and awesome) women of God
3. Begin to share and Speak Out at our weekly community group meetings.

In the space of a week, He enabled me to accomplish all three; I cannot begin to express the impact that obedience has had in my life! A journey of sorts was started – a Journey back to my Heart; a Blossoming. The past fortnight has been incredible; Jesus has truly brought me back to that ‘sweet spot’ in worship where my soul delights only in who He is. Its an awesome place to be.
And yet.

With this Journey came several Promises, and even in the Glorious Process I managed to lose sight of Jesus for what He was doing – I stopped enjoying the moment and became impatient for the fulfilment.
How silly.
He reminded me of the beauty of Changing Seasons – how every leaf that changes colour is breathtaking, or every blossom that appears on a stark branch is magnificent in it fragile beauty. Each of these seemingly insignificant appearances needs to be recognised, acknowledged and celebrated. The truest glory of a changing season is the change itself – not the fulfilment of the Next Season. I paused; considered the blossoms forming in my heart and life – and once again became impatient for the Fulfilment.

This morning – while the winter weather kicks in with a vengeance outside – Jesus drew me into a place of worship… and gave me such a stunningly clear image. When I was a child (who am I kidding, I still do this every spring!) I would (still do!) rub the petals of the jasmine buds, opening them in anticipation of their fragrance – but there was none. This morning Jesus spoke so clearly;

Do not force the blossoms open!
A young bud opened before its time releases no fragrance and dies a premature death, never fulfilling its purpose – no bee is attracted, no pollen is collected, no seed is germinated and no new plant can grow.
But.
A blossom allowed to open from within awaits the Perfect Moment, when all that’s within is ready and fully formed. In that Beautiful Moment, as its petals unfold, a glorious fragrance is released – it is intoxicating, overwhelming, lingering – and draws you in… the fragrance is simply the evidence of what is within: the life begetting pollen, sweetened with nectar. In the perfect time, it fulfils its purpose, made beautiful in its perfection.

No matter how ‘ready’ a bud may look, until everything within is Ready for Release, the Perfect Moment has not yet come. Once opened, its fragrance speaks of Blessing and Favour; of God’s Workmanship.

How often do we rush ahead in life, looking at all the signs of the budding blossoms and thinking (in our own pathetic human perspective) that ‘Its Time’? Unless the Opening and Release comes from within – from the promptings of the Holy Spirit – we deceive ourselves and only do damage, possibly even resulting in a premature death of what should have brought Life.

The beauty of the Season is in the process of change; the journey. God delights in the Journey He has begun in each one of us… I pray that you may have patience to wait and take delight in each step of whatever journey He has called you to – that every blossom that forms in your heart may be celebrated and bring praise to Jesus… and that when the Promise is Fulfilled, you’ll realise the treasure was in each blossom, not the Next Season.

You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. (Psalms 32:7, 8 NKJV)

Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left. (Isaiah 30:21 NLT)

Believe Again!

Shontel
http://www.shontelthomas.com

Auntie Seraphic has a really important run-down on the differences between loving, liking, and fancying someone.

MentalFloss posted 11 Dating Tips from Ovid, including such gems as “Never judge a man, or woman, by candlelight.” (Make sure it’s daylight and you’re sober.)

For an emergency compliment, click here. They say things like this:

You’d be the last one standing in a horror movie.
9/10 dentists agree, you’re the BEST.

I got “You are the most charming person in a 50 mile vicinity.” Why, thank you.

A rose from my own garden

Not a lot of words written today but significant progress as the word count creeps up – over 69,000 in total today – and the story moves to denouement and completion. I’ll be sad to see them go, these lovely people I’ve spent the last year and a half with. I hope there will be readers for their story who will feel the same way!

What I did today was move a chapter about the romantic interest (he’s called Frank Everett) to where it belonged chronologically – which I now know because I worked on the time lines yesterday. And that makes a difference. I can see where to weave in the next Frank chapter – which will be about Jock Troup’s time in Dundee in late 1921. It was a very exciting time and there’s a wealth of first-hand accounts to draw on for background and atmosphere.

I only wrote 300-400 words today to tidy up the previous section and introduce the next one. What I really need to do now is think! My heroine, Lydia, and Frank have got themselves into a real tangle. Lydia has jumped to unwarranted conclusions about Frank and he’s puzzled but determined to present himself as an acceptable suitor. To add to the complications, Frank witnessed something in the First World War when he was a chaplain – something that Lydia’s younger brother, Robbie, who was also there at the time, has spent his life hiding, to protect his parents who idolised his older brother.

When Robbie met Frank again in his sister’s company in Great Yarmouth and realised that the pair were attracted to one another, he knew he had to keep them apart in case Frank blurted out what he knew. Frank, so far, has not remembered what it is – but he knows Robbie has a reason for his disapproval of his relationship with Lydia.

This is going to take some working out but I’m determined to give Lydia her happy ending!

“I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty convinced at this point that I want to live my life believing God. Too much is at stake, and too much Adventure stands to be missed.” – Beth Moore

I thought I knew quite a bit about Adventure with God. I mean, I’ve walked some pretty interesting paths with Him – trusting for some pretty huge things, going overseas and overcoming some hectic obstacles, coming home and overcoming some even greater mountains… I thought I had this Adventure thing sorted. Yeah. The closer we walk in Adventure with God, the less the enemy likes it. For every glorious victory, comes an equally dark battle – the valley experience so often thrown about in religious circles. My friend, the greater the victory you’re longing for – the greater the battle you’re going to have to overcome. Sorry if I’m bursting any sweet rose-tinted Christian bubbles here, but the greatest Reality you can face is as a Child of God, you’re called into a battlefield that is not going to go away through wishful thinking. This is not to cause Fear or Anxiety, we have the confidence of a Reigning Victorious Savior who has overcome and already achieved success; we are simply called to dig deep and hold position until the victory is evident in our lives. Too many times I’ve seen (and experienced it first hand) Christians succumb to the pressures of the battle and step out of action. The enemy gains advantage by our own surrender, based upon Fears and Doubts. He cannot win in his own strength.

Let me share a very personal experience; I had been trusting God for finances to return to Ireland to begin a magazine ministry for the youth. Due to visas and a whole bunch of things, I returned home for a few months, confident that God would come through for me in this Season and I would be back in Ireland by the end of the year. I truly believe it was God’s will that I work towards that vision, as I saw the need and spiritual battle surrounding the youth. The spiritual forces against me increased to such an extent that I found myself in a Valley Experience that I wouldn’t wish upon anyone. After several months of ‘nothing’, the Fear and Doubt encircling me seemed greater than the Power or God’s Promise or Provision and one day, my mom challenged me on the focus of my faith. I still do not know how she had the strength to watch as I melted before her into a mess of tears and screams. Not at her, not even at her question – but at God; at how He could ask me to do something so beyond my ability and then not come through for me. My meltdown continued for an hour or so, where, in my room I told God that I had come to the end of what I could give. He had asked too much and no more; I was done. I wanted out of the Adventure. And a Silence surrounded me. It was the most heartbreaking moment of my entire life. The loneliness was instant; almost overwhelming.
And what followed was the voice of Grace itself, the quietest of whispers asking me where I would go. And at that moment I knew with more certainty than I’ve ever had, that no matter what God asked of me, I would follow – because ultimately, I cannot face a life without Him. It’s just not worth it. I feel I need to confess that the finances for the magazine did not come though; I cannot honestly say its because I gave in to Fear and surrendered on the battlefield, or if God knew better. Its still one of my heart’s greatest desires to begin a youth based magazine ministry and by God’s grace, I have received several prophetic words that it will one day happen – when God can trust me enough to rely on Him entirely with that ministry.

But I surrendered to Fear and Doubt. I walked off the battlefield. I abandoned the Adventure.
It’s taken several years to get back to that point of allowing God into those deepest areas of my heart. Two years ago God began a very gentle tugging at my heart, healing many past hurts and disappointments and it’s been a special journey filled with unexpected twists and turns. I am not going to share the details quite yet – one day, definitely, but right now, I’m back on the battlefield and the enemy has found reinforcements! Even in this past week, the enemy came against me in an attack that had left all others in the dust and I was faced with a choice: give in and walk away again or face the “Impossible” and Praise God. And this is what I have learnt; God’s truest Adventure requires us to reach that place called Impossible. We have to come to an end of ourselves, our desires, our needs, our abilities – even the promises from God upon which we stand. All we truly have and need is our relationship with Him. It is there, in that Place of the Impossible, where God’s power is most prevalent and His glory is magnified.

To Adventure with God means abandoning your need for Security or Stability. There is no Security in what God does – He is unpredictable and scary in His methods. Remember the scene at the beginning of Mission Impossible 2 (or 3, who can keep up?!) where Tom Cruise is climbing the face of the mountain with nothing but his fingertips gripping the rock surface? Yeah, that would be my analogy for the Extreme Spiritual journey you experience when you take on God’s Adventure. No safety rope, no directions, no net below, no nothing – just the promise that He’s with you and in full control. And that is your Security – His Character. God does not change. He is who He is. God is Love. God is Almighty. God is Gracious. God is Strong to Deliver. Mighty Redeemer. Safe Refuge. Drawing into God’s character, pressing into Relationship with Him, that’s our Security within the Adventure. There is no clear-cut map when Adventuring with God; no precise directions, no itinerary of what to expect. Maybe a few clues here and there, but that’s it.
To Adventure means to Walk by Faith. Its about reaching that place where all else fades into insignificance before Him; where surrender is not a sacrifice – its simply the obvious reaction in the presence of God’s abounding love. Its where God is able to replace your mediocre wishes with His dreams; dreams that have the potential to change lives. Its the place where Provision and Blessing come effortlessly as you walk in the ways of your Lord.

True Adventure begins in the place of honest, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.
It may, at times, be a pretty challenging road to walk, but my friend, God is Faithful and life will never ever be the same…

It is truly an amazing feeling to me as an artist to randomly find inspiration. That little spark can be the key ingredient to someone’s masterpiece. One of the most common forms of inspiration comes from one person studying another’s work. For example, if you head to my Flickr photostream and search for my photo entitled “Surrounded”, you’ll see that it was done differently than most of my other work. Here’s the story behind my photo:

I was browsing a photography blog when I came across an article about a guy around my age that was currently working on a 365 project using surrealism. I had seen beautiful images of surrealism in the past, but none that were modern. He seemed very passionate about his work, and obviously put forth a lot of effort into his self portraits. After clicking through the majority of his pictures, I found another photographer that solely did fine art self portrait photography. These two people inspired me to try to create my own work of art by viewing photography as an art form instead of just the process of taking pictures.

Once I got an idea in my head, I went outside on a cloudy day to set up the shot. Of course, my original idea was slightly different from the final edit of the photo. That little broken mirror effect was actually discovered by accident, as were the colorful clouds while I was playing with different effects and lighting. Before I found those editing options, however, I was a little disappointed in my picture. It was too much too plain and simple, and it was nothing like those other photographers whose work could win awards. That got me thinking, does inspiration have a better effect when we stop trying to copy the very thing that inspired us? Yes. Originality is something that is missing in this culture. In church, many think they can be saved simply by acting like everyone else. Only when that very person truly sees God’s work and believes that He exists will they be saved. There is a difference is acting like others around you to fit in and being like Jesus called us to be. The same principle applies to kids in school. Some choose to act like the popular kids, even if that means doing things they shouldn’t, just to be accepted by their peers.

Inspiration’s purpose is to give someone an example of how to do something, not step by step instructions on how to copy something without giving it any meaning.

Once we start acting like ourselves, we will be much better off. For those of you reading this, have you ever had any issues with being original?

yahoo images

I dare say most Christians know the first verse of the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy”. I want to focus on the THIRD verse today.

Holy, holy, holy!  Though the darkness hide thee,
though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,
perfect in power, in love and purity. (hymnsite.com)

Though the darkness may envelope me, HE IS.

Though the battle rages about me and the armor feels too heavy, HE IS.

HE still sits on the throne. The Blood still redeems. The Word still conquers. The Spirit still comforts.

Though my spirit feels overwhelmed, my body fails me and my mind deceives me….I AM that I AM still reigns and retains all power, might and glory forever and forever.

Maranatha!

Title: Josiah’s Treasure

Author: Nancy Herriman

Date I Finished Reading: June 18,2013

My Rating: 5/5

The following is a portion of the description located on the back cover of the book:

Praying through Psalm 18.

I use The Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan to keep a record of what I read. I don’t follow the suggested plan and it usually takes me more than a year to finish the whole Bible, because I allow for those times that God moves my heart in a different direction. I use the ESV Bible.

3/15/96 – Blew no snacks.  Begin again tomorrow.  Thank you Lord for all your mercy, love and grace – thank You for all you shower on us.  Thank You for loving me enough to care for me.

3/16/96 – Pray group down to 2.  Wonder what is happening with L?  Need to discuss with her.  Tithe or bills?  Tithe or enroll?  Tithe even when it can’t be afforded?  Need to finish the $ book.

3/17/96 – My ambition should be to serve Jesus and have my life pleasing to Him.  All things take second place to that — ate-ate-ate — all weekend.  So much for no snacks.  With the Lord’s help will begin tomorrow.  Need God’s grace and help tomorrow.  Wheel rattling – shall call Barron S&S first thing.

3/18/96 – Put god first literally!  What a goal especially in light of this world.  Wheel bearings out again.. Mega car repair again!  Satan unleash my finances!  Turn lose financial area – in the Name of Jesus I give HIM dominion over my finances, money and belongings.  God it is Yours.  I’m not going to fret just practice good stewardship..  Put God first even in area of food and eating.  21 days no snacks begins tomorrow.

3/19/96 – did ok until tonight – need to begin again tomorrow.  Boy it is hard.  Had group tonight – for a bit of prayer time first – enjoyed it – prayer and the Word.  Need more of both.  and Less food and stuff!

3/20//96 – Prospective pastor, here, young, same vision as I have.  Seems focused – devoted – wife quiet.  Supports women in ministry.  How will he do?  Tired – rough day at work!  Fail on no snacks.  Try again tomorrow.  K to doctor in morning with heel.

3/21/96 – It is not I but God.  I only allow Him His will in me.  He does the rest!  Daily Bible study – consistent prayer – committed obedience and openness to the Spirit.  Then He can grow me, change me and use me.  hallelujah.  My task to prepare my time for Him.  His is to change me and use me.  Not my will but Thine Oh Lord.

3/22/96 – Burning desire – no longer do I want to work for money, prestige and power, but only to serve!

3/23/96 – Looks like we may have a new Pastor.  I like his enthusiasm and vision for the church – growth and training.  Shall being 1 meal a day on Monday – for the Lord’s glory with His Help.  Thank you Father.

3/24/96 – Pastor DB is the new pastor, begins 4/21 – I begin teaching  Sunday School next Sunday.  Thank you Father for the opportunity – may I prove worthy.

3/25/96 – snow – snow – snow!  Sent in for first lesson from Berean – tonight’s message was on not letting anything – even working for the Lord – interrupt our walk and focus.  I need to spend quality time daily.

Wow –  how many times does one have to fight the same battles.  However – I now realize that this is all me and very little God –  no wonder it is such a struggle.  And how easy to follow someone else’s vision for their life and try to make it fit your own.  It is truly a challenging thing to truly find your own path with God.

He was 10 minutes early, which was good, since I gave him crap about being late on the first date. He also openly admitted he’s usually late to everything, which I implied wasn’t cool. The first thing he did when he came in was apologize for the way Saturday panned out. Which is obviously appreciated since he recognized his butt-head behavior before I had to point it out, but I let him know I wasn’t impressed. I also have to keep reminding myself he’s only 25, and may not be as stuck in his ways as my last boyfriend was. He at least seems like he’s trying to do things right.

He eventually got around to asking me about my dating life which lead in to my lack-of sex life conversation. I knew he was on board with the whole looking for a chaste relationship thing, but unfortunately he’s not a virgin. Bummer.

I thought we were supposed to go do something, but we ended up siting in my apartment all night. He’s really affectionate, which I like, but he also kept kissing me. I don’t mind kissing, but it’s only the third “date”, I was hoping to do something a little more productive. Since it didn’t really seem like he had intensions of taking me out anywhere, I made him buy take-out and watch 2 hours of the Bachelorette. Muahahahaha. PUNISHMENT!

He asked if he could see me on Wednesday. What we are going to do is still TBD, but it better be better than sitting in my place again.

On a side note: I couldn’t help myself and joined a free dating site 2 days ago. I started talking to this guy who is clearly looking for a chaste relationship too. He’s a former TV journalist, now lawyer. He’s hot. He’s supposed to call tonight – I’m curious to see how long it will take to ask me out. We’ll call him Silver Fox, since he had a full head of prematurely greying hair.

“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.”

(Luke 13:24)

Most everyone knows this passage (Luke 13:22-30) in which Jesus uses the metaphor of the narrow door to describe entry into His Kingdom which is not of this world.  Once the owner closes the door, no one else is admitted, no matter how much they thought they were worthy of admittance.

The clear message is that we need to do something to be admitted, and you can see this in verse 30:

“Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”

If we live our lives with an attitude of selfishly holding on to our life, our own interests and our own advancement in this world, we might well be first in this life, but where will we fall when we come tor that door?  Will we even be admitted?

Self  is the great enemy of spiritual growth; spiritual growth is the building of our relationship with our Lord.  If we are stuck on self, we will not be able to grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ, for the two are opposites. When He says that we should “make every effort” that tells us that we have work to do.  Of course that is not to say that salvation comes by works, but rather that we must put effort into our relationships with Christ just as we must put effort into our relationship with our spouses and families.

I wonder, are we willing to be last, so that we might become the first?