Tulip Girl

Standing in my closet once again on a Sunday morning, my heart is not geared towards the coming fellowship or sermon. How many Sundays, Tuesday morning Bible Studies or MOPS must I stand in my closet and my only preoccupation is with my clothes? I stand in a spiritual quake known as an Identity Crisis. Who I am in Christ is replaced by my desire to be accepted by my fellow Christians. Disclaimer: I only WISH that were my closet. ;) For the record the amazing women God has put in my life these last few months that I desire so much to please couldn't care less about my attire. It is plain and simple Satan and my sin nature working together to distract me from the purpose of my every move; to know God and make God known. In high school , I remember wishing for uniforms. In my professional life, I remember envying my husband's old military uniform. The great thing is that God has given us some great guide posts in His Word that we can rest in when our flesh nature rears its ugly ...

As followers of Christ Jesus, most assuredly when we decide to challenge the norm, dig deeper in the word and incline the listenings of our heart toward the Holy Spirit and all He has to teach us, Satan will not like it. That is actually an understatement. I know that in the times when God is revealing "deep and hidden things" as Daniel put it, the circumstances around me grow less pleasant. Wiggles will get irritable, miscommunications become less fixable with Hubby, my own health declines, I get moody (which happens more than I care to admit), temptations arise, you get the the point. I have to very seriously put ink to prayer journal at times like these, shed some tears and press on. So press on I will do. :) Recently a friend introduced me to an awesome website, Blue Letter Bible . I am really loving the verse by verse commentary plus the more over arching commentary as well as the Greek and Hebrew words. There is a lot more than that but I am pretty new to this s...

I've been studying this week on a three part concept from Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest; Co-Crucifixion, Co-Resurrection and Co-Eternal Life. I've been utilizing my commentaries to really get in depth into these three that are taken from Romans 6:5-11. I've been working my way through Co-Crucifixion. For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin - because anyone who has died has been free from sin . Romans 6:6 " It is...the greatest moment in your life once you decide that sin must die in you- not simply be restrained, suppressed or counteracted, but crucified - just as Jesus Christ died for the sin of the world. No one can bring any one else to this decision. We may be mentally and spiritually convinced, but what we need to do is actually make the decision that Paul urged us to do in this passage. Pull yourself up, take some time alone with God and make t...

Currently my church gals and I are going through the Living Proof Ministry's study on Revelation; Here and Now...There and Then. Part of the study is continually praying for a fresh revelation from the LORD. Well, I got one yesterday! I wanted to share with you how God has been leading me in my time with Him, how Satan has tried to distract me and how ultimately God's light has broken through, a new day is in its beginning. I am excited to see where this new day takes me. As you may recall if you have been around the last couple months, God has brought to my attention Rahab , Boaz and Ruth. I am intrigued by their lives, choices they made, perceptions they may have had, what their lives were like and how God viewed them and brought their lives to a place of bringing Him glory. Can you imagine a prostitute and her family being the only people God saw fit to save of an entire people? Can you imagine what it was like for her son to grow up seeing his mom, a foreigner married to a...

Before we get to the before and after (or in the process of) pictures I want to share with you a different sort of before and after. We all love a good before and after I'm sure. Well, this morning in Bible Study we wrapped up our study into the book of Ruth. We delved into Naomi and her before and after story. There is a woman who went from hopeless to blessed among women. After her husband and two sons died she even changed her name to reflect her devastated state. By the end of the book however she was full beyond measure holding her grandson and praising the Lord. That isn't even the final after. Her grandson is the grandfather of King David, one of the greatest grandfathers of Jesus. Leave it to God to go above and beyond expectation in His redeeming story. We also were made aware of the only four women mentioned in the geneology of Jesus in Matthew chapter one; an adulteress, a prostitute, a foreigner and a woman who concieved her son via her father in law. Now don't ...