No Need to Weep!

Lately I have been reading in the book of Numbers, and today I was reading in chapter 11.  There were several verses that stuck out to me that the Lord used to speak to my heart!

Numbers 11:1  "And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD:  and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled;  and the fire of the LORD burnt amount them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp."

Numbers 11:4  "And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting:  and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?"

Numbers 11:10  "Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent:  and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly;  Moses also was displeased."

Numbers 11: 18-20  "...and ye shall eat flesh:  for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying Who shall give us flesh to eat?  for it was well with us in Egypt:  Therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.  Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; but even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you, because that ye have despised the LORD which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out Egypt?  

There certainly is a time to weep to our God and cast our cares on Him!  He tells us to do just that in 1 Peter 5:7 and I am so thankful I can give my burdens to Him!  However, the Lord showed me today that there is also weeping that displeases the Lord.  The weeping of our discontentment!

This morning as I read, the Lord showed me that just like the people of Israel, I am so often discontent and quick to complain.  I have wept tears of discontentment, asking the Lord to change circumstances for me.  However, just like the people of Israel, the Lord has me exactly where I need to be right now.  It might not be exactly what I want at times, but God knows best!  There is no need to weep and question "why"!  God was leading the children of Israel to the Promised Land!  He knew a future that they couldn't see!  There was no need to weep about the present or long for the past!  The Lord was leading them to a future that was exceeding abundantly above anything they could imagine!

I am so thankful for a Lord that loves me enough that He wants me to share my cares with Him.  I am so often refreshed when I take my cares to my Lord.  However, I don't ever want to displease the Lord with complaints, and weeping of discontentment to Him!  What a blessing to know He is leading each step, He has me exactly where I need to be, He sees tomorrow, and I can look forward to a future that He has planned all along!

"...whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he."  Proverbs 16:20

From My Notebook...

There are so many sermons that have been an encouragement to me!  Week after week I am so blessed to get fed with good spiritual meat!  I thought it might be fun to share my sermon notes here from time to time in hopes it can be a blessing to others too!

Last sunday evening we had a guest speaker at our church.  His message that evening was from John 7:37-38 and was titled "Thirsting, Coming, Drinking, Believing, Overflowing."

1.) Thirsting:  We need a desire to see God do something bigger than we are or what we could do on our own!  It is conditional...in verse 37 Jesus says "If and man thirst..."  It hinges on whether you want it or not.  Are you thirsting?  Do you want God to do something in your life?  We need to thirst for more!

2.) Coming:  Verse 37-"...let him come unto me..."  Jesus didn't give many options, He said "Come unto me." He is the only one who can satisfy that thirst.  If you want to see the Lord do bigger things in your life, you must come to Him!

3.) Drinking:  We need more than just a taste of Jesus.  We need to saturate ourselves in God's word and prayer and in our time with the Lord. If you are not satisfied, it is likely you are not "drinking from the springs of Living Water."

4.) Believing:  Trusting the Lord moment by moment.  Not only for salvation, but after salvation.  We must never get to the point where we think "I'm thirsty, but there's no point."  Before He does something thru you, you must let Him do something in you.  He may need to prune and chasten you.  Often when this happens, we back away an don't let Him do what He is trying to do because it hurts.  We have to believe there is something from God on the other side of this that the Spirit of God is going to do in our life.  It is a great thing to believe if you get on your knees, and pray, the answer will come!  Do you believe God for the impossibilities in your life?  As a a Christian are you believing God?  Do you have impossible prayer requests?  It's not what we can do for God, but what God can do thru us!

5.) Overflowing:  The result of thirsting, coming, drinking and believing is fruit overflowing!  Supernatural fruit that is not anything we could bring forth in our own strength!  Fruit of righteousness.  Fruits that prove God is working in our life!  When we present ourselves willing vines and branches we will bear this fruit!

This message was one I thought of the rest of the week and encouraged me to thirst more, to come to my Lord to satisfy, to spend time saturating myself in His word and prayer believing He will do mighty things in my life, and praying He will bring overflowing fruit as a result! I hope this blessed you too and I hope to share more encouraging sermon notes from my notebook in the future!

Pumpkin Bars!

I love the fall! I love the crisp cool days, the leaves changing color and the taste and smell of pumpkin! Yesterday I had the day off, and last night we had a get together with some friends, so I decided to make some of my favorite pumpkin bars now that we are in the season of fall! If you are craving some pumpkin on these beautiful autumn days here is the recipe I use to make my pumpkin bars!

Pumpkin Bars: 

Mix in Bowl: 
-4 Eggs
-2 Cups Sugar
-1 Cup Vegetable Oil
-1 Can Pumpkin (15 oz.)

Mix in Separate Bowl: 
-2 tsp. Baking powder
-1 tsp. Baking soda
-1/2 tsp. Ground cloves
-2 tsp. Cinnamon
-1/2 tsp. Ginger
-1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
-2 Cups Flour

Slowly add small amounts of wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix throughly each time. Pour into a greased and floured 12x18 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting: 
-4 oz cream cheese
-1 1/4 tsp Vanilla
-1 Tablespoon Milk or Cream
-1 Stick of butter
-4 1/4 C Powdered Sugar Mix and frost!
(This frosting recipe makes a bit more frosting than what I usually use)

No doubt there are some people who are in easier circumstances than others,—some who are in positions where they enjoy many comforts, while others are in places where they suffer many hardships; but, after all, happiness lies more in the mind than it does in the circumstances in which any individual is found, and the man within has far more to do with his own joy or sorrow than anything outside of him has. ~C.H. Spurgeon

Lord I Need You

Lord I need You, when the sea of life is calm
O Lord I need you when the wind is blowing strong
Whether trials come or cease, keep me always on my knees
Lord I need You, Lord I need You

Sometimes when life seems gentle and blessings flood my way,
I turn my gaze away from you, and soon forget to pray
But when the sky grows darker and courage turns to fear
My anxious voice cries upward with words You long to hear

Lord I need You, when the sea of life is calm
O Lord I need you when the wind is blowing strong
Whether trials come or cease, keep me always on my knees
Lord I need You, Lord I need You

Lord help me to remember, I’m weak but You are strong
I cannot sing apart from You, for Lord You are my song
Although I’m prone to wander and boast in all I do
Lord keep my eyes turned upward, so I depend on You

~Ron Hamilton

"Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever." Psalm 73:25-26

Two New Nephews!

These two sweet boys were born into our family a few weeks ago!  I'm sure there is lots of fun to come with these two cousins!  I'm so excited to be their auntie!  

Griffin James born 08/17/2013

Jens Albert born 08/23/2013

Praying these two little boys grow up to one day to be men who love the Lord with all their heart! 

It is Not Vain!

This past weekend, I went to a retreat with some friends from church.  It was a blessing to spend time at the lake, get away, and hear great preaching!

I am so amazed how God answers the needs of His children all the time.  The first message we heard preached this weekend was about how it is not vain to serve God.

The Lord knew I needed to hear this message! I had been discouraged for some time in a few areas and this message spoke to my heart and encouraged me so much.

The message came from Malachi 3:13-18.  I will share with you some of my notes and some of the thoughts that encouraged me!

There are Two Types of People:

1.) Those Who Say it is Vain to serve the Lord:  
Verse 14 says:  "Ye have said, it is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts?

There are people who start their walk with the Lord and then when trials come, waiting gets long, or they have been hurt, they allow their flesh to give up.  They end up feeling it is vain and worthless to serve the Lord, because they don't SEE the working of God.  Verse 15 says:  "And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up;  yea, they that tempt God are even delivered."  We all could develop a negative feeling when we don't see the manifestation of God working in our lives.  We may even FEEL that it would be better to live again like the world, or that there would be no difference if we quit serving and walking with the Lord. However, we need to remember this is not truth.  Rebellion against God will not get you where you want to be.  Seek the Lord and His righteousness-then you will see things happen God's way, and there will be no sorrow added to it!

2.)  Those Who Trust and Fear the Lord and Will Continue to Serve Him:
Verses 16-18 say:  "Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another:  and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his nam.  And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels;  and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.  Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not."

Sometimes God just wants to see how committed we are to Him.  He wants to see if we REALLY trust him.  Our faith is put to the test in a dry and thirsty land and it is not always easy to keep walking with Him.  Just because we may FEEL a certain way does not mean God has changed!  God does not change!  It is my job to be faithful.  The rest is up to the Lord.  Job knew God, and there was no way he could say it was vain to serve the Lord.  Abraham waited a very long time to hear from God, but he didn't give up on Him, he just did what God told him, and God honored the promise He made to him in the end!  Don't ever come to the end of your faith and think God deserves to be given up on!  Don't cast away your confidence.  Sometimes, it's just the right time to wait and trust the Lord!

I needed this message so much! I have been through that dry and thirsty land where I have been hurt and discouraged at times. The Lord used this message encourage me to keep doing right, keep waiting on Him, and keep telling others about Him, and I know that in the end His blessing will be attached to it, and there will be no sorrow!  By God's grace, I hope my life is one of faith, and that even when I am going through that dry and thirsty land, that I will keep fearing Him, and serving Him no matter what!  May I never say it is vain to serve the Lord!

"The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it."  Proverbs 10:22

We don't have to Sink!

I often go through times where I feel full of faith, and that I am so confident in the Lord, and then, so suddenly because of a circumstance or a wrong, untruthful thought, I begin to have doubt, and fear, and distrust.  Recently I was reading in Matthew 15 and a few verses stuck out to me that I could relate to.

In verses 26-31 it says: "And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying It is a spirit; and they cried out of for fear.  But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.  And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.  And he said, Come.  And when Peter was come down out of the ship he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.  But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying Lord, save me.  And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"

Peter was so full of faith when he took those first steps, but when he got his eyes off of Christ and onto the storm instead, he began to sink.  I often do the same thing.  I will one day have a strong confidence that God is working all things for good for me, I am fully trusting in Him and have a peace in my heart that He is in control, then, so quickly, I can take my eyes off of Him and His word, look around at my circumstances, and that faith that I had can so quickly fade.  I begin to sink.  But what stood out most to me in these verses as I read the other day, is that when Peter recognized that he was beginning to sink, he cried unto the Lord for help, and it says that immediately Jesus stretched out His hand to help him.  Those times when our faith begins to sink, our eyes are off the Lord, all we have to do is cry unto Him, and He will pull us up again!  We don't have to keep sinking!

It's my hope at those times when I begin to take my eyes off Christ, that I would quickly recognize it, call on Him for help, and put my focus back on the truth of His word.  He will immediately help me and pull me up again!

"For we walk by faith, not by sight."  2 Corinthians 5:7

A Fun Evening with Sweet Friends!

A few evenings ago a few of my friends and I decided to go to Thunder Road for some mini-golf, laser tag and go-cart riding!

Rachael, Erin, and myself getting ready to ride go-carts!  

Rachael, Erin and Heather

  Golf clubs can be dangerous!  :)

Elissa and I

There is nothing better than friends that love the Lord! I have been blessed by these young ladies whose sweet spirits always encourage me to grow closer to Christ!  

 "Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend."

Proverbs 27;17

His Way is Perfect

A few weeks ago, I decided to drive to church early Sunday morning and do my reading in my car before I had to go in to choir practice.  The weeks prior to this time the Lord had been reminding over and over that His way is always right and perfect through different situations.  Then, that morning, I read Psalm 18 and verse 30 particularly stood out to me.  It says:

"As for God, his ways is perfect:  the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him."  

It was just another encouragement to me to hear from God once again, that I can trust Him, and by trusting Him, I will not be ashamed, because His way is always right.  Doing things my way only leads to hurt and shame.  

Then I silently asked the Lord to somehow use this verse in a message or sermon soon, just as another encouragement to me to keep trusting.  When I got to Sunday school that morning, our Sunday school teacher started preaching out of Psalm 18 and focused on verse 30!  The Lord was so kind to me to answer that prayer and my heart was so encouraged!  

It takes faith to believe that God's way is right.  It takes faith to obey Him.  It takes faith to yeild my thoughts and my plans and my ways to His, even if I don't understand what the Lord is doing at the time. He is always working in our lives!   

And the best part is, when we do things God's way, all glory goes to Him!  And that is exactly what I want Him to have from my life! We have a perfect God who can do nothing imperfectly!  Keep yielding and trusting in Him!

Meet my Family!

Let me introduce you to my family!

Jim and LouAnn, my mom and dad  

My oldest brother Eric, his wife Jessica and their son Gavin (New baby coming in August!)

My brother Evan, his wife Joye, and their daughter Clara.  (New baby coming in August too! )

Love them all so much!  

So much fun being an auntie to these sweet little ones!  

And we can't forget this guy... our buddy Ace.  :)

Rejoice in the Lord!

Lately I have been thinking of the goodness of God.  How even though circumstances in our lives are not what we would ask for, His way really is the best!  He sees the big picture, we only see right now.  One of my favorite verses for some time has been Joel 2:21  "...be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things."  It is so wonderful to know the joy of hoping in the Lord.  Though trials may appear to be God's wrath and lack of blessing, really, trials are a blessing and a way in love our Lord molds us to be more like Christ.  We can get bitter when we think of a trial as being forsaken by God, or we can grow in faith and in character when we accept a trial, and trust the Lord has a plan.  I'm so glad He loves me enough to want me to be better for Him!  I can only hope that by His grace, I allow trials and testings to change me and make me more Christ-like!  

I heart this encouraging song on the radio this morning:   

Rejoice in the Lord

by Ron Hamilton
God never moves without purpose or plan
When trying His servant and molding a man.
Give thanks to the LORD though your testing seems long;
In darkness He giveth a song.

I could not see through the shadow ahead;
So I looked at the cross of my Savior instead.
I bowed to the will of the Master that day;
Then peace came and tears fled away.

Now I can see testing comes from above;
God strengthens His children and purges in love.
My Father knows best, and I trust in His care;
Through purging more fruit I will bear.

O Rejoice in the LORD
He makes no mistake,
He knoweth the end of each path that I take,
For when I am tried
And purified,
I shall come forth as gold.

Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So!

One of the reasons I wanted to start this blog was to share with others the things the Lord has done in my life!!  I want people to see that God is real!   My relationship with Him started seven years ago and I am so thankful that in His goodness, he led me to see my sinful state, and cause me to repent and put my trust in Him.  I'd like to share with you what the Lord has done and how He gave me a new life in Him!

I grew up in a loving home with loving parents and two older brothers.  We grew up going to church each Sunday.  I was baptized as an infant and confirmed in Jr. High.  My parents wanted me to know about the Lord and I am so thankful my mom talked about God and told me I needed to have Him in my heart.  It is likely the influence of my parents making church important that made me interested in the things of God and gave me a respect for Him.  

When I was about nine years old, I began to have some problems with anxiety.  At a time when life should be simple and carefree, I was so fearful and full of worry.  We had a neighbor lady we were close to who had gotten cancer, and I began to be afraid of death.  It was also around this same time that I had some friends tell me that you needed to be "saved" in order to get to heaven.  One day, thinking it would make my fears go away, I prayed to be saved, however, I did not fully understand what that meant, and that prayer was not based upon the Bible.  I had not yet understood WHY I needed to be saved.  I did not see myself as a sinner.  There also was no change in my life after that prayer.  The Bible states in 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away;  behold, all things are become new." 

I went on to have a normal teenage life and decided after graduation from high school to go to college in North Dakota for dental hygiene.  I started college in the fall of 2000, and thought it would be a good thing to join a Bible study on campus.  I went to a Christian Fellowship each week, but never felt comfortable.  We sang songs about God, and they had discussions, but I was nervous every time I went because I felt I needed to act like I was spiritual and that I knew the Bible well.  However, I hardly knew anything about the Bible.  What I needed was someone who knew their Bible, and had a real relationship with God, to just simply explain it to me.  

In the fall of 2001, I started classes in the dental assisting program.  We were just about to start class one day when a young man in the dental hygiene program came in and announced he was doing a Bible study Thursday nights.  I went to this Bible study the following week, and from that first week I knew this was the Bible study I was looking for.  Everything this man said was backed up with scripture and it was explained in a way that I understood!!  Finally I had found a place where I could just come, and listen and learn!!!  

I continued to go to these Bible studies and I learned so much about God's word that year! I was so excited about what the Bible said!  I would go home on weekends and share with my family what I had learned!  However, even though I had learned so much, and was so excited about it, I still was too full of pride to apply the things I was learning to my life.  I was still blind and didn't understand in my heart.  The Bible says in Matthew 13: 15 "For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted and I should heal them."  That was me.  I understood and agreed, but not with my heart. Many times the young man who did the Bible study would speak about sin and how we are all born sinners and spiritually dead.  He would speak about how Christ said "Ye must be born again."  John 3:7.  When he would say these things I would always cling to that prayer I made as a child and try to tell myself I was ok, but deep down, I knew I was not in a right relationship with God.  I knew I did not live in obedience to the Bible.  So, I began to try to clean up my life myself.  I tried to read my Bible and pray,  I tried to listen to better music, and not watch certain television shows, but while I tried to make everything clean on the outside, these things could not make my dirty sinful heart clean on the inside.  

The young man that did the Bible study graduated that spring, and I continued to go to school for dental hygiene.  He and his wife stayed in contact with me, and he would sometimes come and do Bible studies with me.  During the next three years, I didn't go to church or Bible study, but I could not forget all I had learned.  In the spring of 2005 I graduated and had moved back home.  I didn't know what was next for me or where my life was going.  I remember praying that God would somehow give me a Bible study like I had before.  I still wanted to know God and knew I needed His word!  A few weeks later I got a call from the Bible study leader.  He called to tell me a friend of his from his church was doing a Bible study in a town near my hometown!  I got off the phone and was so excited.  I KNEW God had provided this just for me!!  

I started going to this Bible study the next week and was so excited I was hearing God's word again.  God was able to work on my heart again through the preaching of His word, and about six months after I started going to this Bible study I was under very strong conviction.  Not only was God's word showing me my need for a savior, but I had also met new friends who really lived for God and had seen how true Christians lived.  Christ was not just a part of their lives, He WAS their life!!  I knew I did not have the peace, joy, and purpose like they had and the fruit in their lives was convicting to me.  

The man doing the Bible studies stated one night "How can you be saved, if you've never seen yourself as lost?"  He then shared the verse in Luke 19:10 which says "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." This is when Christ did the most beautiful thing in my heart and life that could ever happen.  God humbled me, He opened my ears and my heart, and showed me that because I was a sinner, I was worthy of hell.  Romans 6:23 states "For the wages of sin is death;  but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."  It's a scary, humbling thing to admit what you are, but it is what is needed for a person to come to Christ.  Christ saves sinners who want mercy, not the self-righteous.  Christ said "They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.  I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."  Luke 5:31-32. I did have a sickness-it was my own sin. I had been so self righteous and prideful.  So ignorant and blind.  But spiritual blindness is only taken away by the Holy Spirit of God through hearing the truth of His word with a willing, open, and tender heart.  God had to draw me before I could be saved.  It was so hard and scary to finally admit I was lost.  Conviction is hard, fear of going to hell is hard, but this work in my heart was so beautiful!!!  

Even though I knew I was lost, I still struggled with giving God control of my life...I still wouldn't trust Him.  I feared what others would think of me, because if I was going to really make Jesus the Lord of my life, and obey what the Bible says, I would be different.  Finally, six months later, I came to the place in my heart where nothing else mattered to me but being right with the Lord and knowing He would save me.  I came to Christ, with a changed mind and heart about my sin, and I accepted Christ's blood as the only way my sins could be pardoned and the only way I could get to heaven!  I am so thankful that the goodness of God led me to repent! He saved me May 7, 2006 and life since that day has been different for me!

So many things have changed in my life since that day.  I look at the world and people completely different.  I love people like I couldn't before.  I care about people's souls!  Before, I didn't think about if someone was saved or not, but now, I want to help people to know the Lord and help them to know for sure where they will go when they die.  Also, because God showed me what I was, and because He died for me, I love Him and I want to know how to obey Him!  I used to be able to just live life day to day and not even think that much about God and pleasing Him.  Now, He is constantly in my thoughts all day!  My only fulfillment is in my relationship with Him!  I do the things I do because I love Jesus Christ.  The Bible states in 2 Corinthians 5:14 "For the love of Christ constraineth us..." Because I love Him I want to know how He wants me to live.  It is now my desire to obey Christ, and I want to make Him pleased with my life in every area!  I am so thankful that He is helping me to grow in Him.  It is only by His grace that He has changed my heart to want to please Him.  

God has given me the purpose to live for Him, to serve Him, and most importantly to tell others how they can know Him too!  I give all glory to God.  Salvation is a beautiful miracle and it is my prayer that you would know that miracle too!  

"Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;"  Psalm 107:2