Followers

Sunday, June 29, 2014

GRAMMY TIME


A little outdoor time with Grammy

Ellie is using her scooter she wants a razor like her cousin the one with hello kitty on it.

Noah is still working on his peddling skills and he loves his rubber boots

He loves to smile and has a great fondness of his Grammy 

They love popcorn and a movie

Ellie loves to help in the kitchen. She is making fresh squeezed orange juice.

She also helps with the clean up. They both love to visit Grammy so it is nice we live only 3 blocks away. Soon they will be old enough to walk over on  their own.
Great to have such precious kind loving grandchildren.

Sunday, June 8, 2014

ONE INTHE BODY OF FAITH

Hebrews 3:13
Encourage one another daily
1Corinthians 12:25
Care for one another
John 13:34
Love one another
James 5:16
Pray for one another
1Thessalonians4:18
Encourage one another with your words
Romans 15:14
Admonish one another
1Thessalonians 5:11
Edify one another
Mark 9:50
Be at PEACE with one another

Clay will harden if we stop molding it and let it sit alone. If we stop being kind and encouraging one another exalting each other to rightness we let our hearts harden. We must keep our hearts mailable and our minds teachable. If left alone our hearts will harden. If we are left alone without the company of believers we open ourselves up to sin. Satan will use our circumstances to decieve and mislead us .He tries and give us a false estimation of ourselves. We must trust our promises from God who loves us always.
Don't let your be harden
Don't let satan decieve you 
Choose today to walk like Jesus walked. 
Let's choose not to be like the self righteous Pharisee.

Blessings to as you seek to follow Jesus.

Saturday, June 7, 2014

SPIRIT OF REJECTION

We all feel unloved or rejected by someone in our life. We must learn how to overcome rejection in the right way. Otherwise the feeling of rejection can change how we make decisions. It changes how we treat people around us.
Unhealthy ways we deal with rejection:
1. We avoid the risk of rejection ( we don't try anymore)
God will never use us unless we risk being hurt. We need to be wise about choosing the people we are close to but we must take the risk. Sometimes we may need to be open and honest about our opinion when it comes to the truth of our faith and this will bring rejection of others but we must be true to God not people. We must not react to rejection we must express ourselves through love and kindness.

2. We deal with rejection with anger and aggression 

3. We feel hopelessness and despair
Our hearts are broken.These people get sick more and die from diseases more because they have nothing to live for. Satan is responsible for planting the spirit of rejection not God

4. We become over sensitive to rejection and become dependent on approval of others.
We can become people pleasers to an unhealthy degree. We must stand up for what we believe and where God wants us to be even when others don't agree . This is part of real life not everyone is going to agree with you. Some May chose to reject you.
Overcoming rejection:
1. Base your life on Gods perfect love and study Gods word to learn what it says about you.
Don't be controlled by people but by Gods perfect will for you. God will never leave you or forsake you. God doesn't bring you the feeling of rejection satan does. If we base our life on human love we will be scarred and disappointed. Only God can fill that void with His perfect love. God is committed to you. Words don't define commitment, trouble does. Bad times define commitment from others not good times. People will fail you during bad times. God will be with you at both times good or bad. He is dependable. Hebrews 13 helps us understand  some of this. 

2. Persue relationships with fellow believers who have a healthy walk with God. 
Christians are suppose to be different. Pursuing a Christ like life. Christians friends should be there for you when you are struggling, not run away or condemn you. Christians have a different value system. You should be able to count on these friends not to reject you. They might challenge you if your moving in a wrong way but they should be loving ,kind and faithful.

3. We should expect rejection and not take it so personally
Luke 6:22-23
We must stand up for what we believe is right through Jesus Christ even when it means rejection is possible. God is always faithful.

4. Forgive those who reject you and give them Gods love and acceptance in return
Luke 6:27-31
When Gods love is flowing on the inside you can rise above your circumstances. You can smilie when they frown you can love when they hate you can bless when they curse you. God has forgiven us from our past, present and future. We are called to do the same. When we overcome the spirit of rejection with our faith and love in Jesus Christ. Because God has forgiven us we have no chice but to forgive others no matter how they have offended us.

May God Bless you on your journey !

Friday, June 6, 2014

PERFORMANCE LOVE

Ephesians 2:1-10
There are two ways we can look at how God loves us
Uncondtional love which is the correct way or Performance love wich is the wrong way.
Performance love tells me these things:
Jesus loves me but there are conditions. His love is based on my performance
I have to earn his love by what I do. Always trying to please Him.
When I please Him I feel loved
When I don't please Him I feel rejected.
We have to understand that God loves us always in our good times as well as our bad times. When we have performance love we only feel Gods love when we are performing well and it leaves no room for failure. When we fail we feel rejected by God and He doesn't love me. This has nothing to do with what God is . It has everything to do with your feelings. God is not asking us to feel guilty. He is asking us to be thankful. Jesus paid the price when He died on the cross for everyone . We don't need to add our guilt to it. When we fail, we need to ask forgiveness and stop doing what ever it was. You can't keep on living your life in guilt.
If God who is all loving does not always love, accept and value me then how can I believe I am valuable  and loveable ? 
With performance love I don't believe I am a loveable valueable person
I don't trust others who say they love me
It is difficult to accept love from others
There is a feeling of rejection if I let them in and of course they do.
We then can start using the worlds standard to prove to others we are worthy. God loves us all the same. There are no conditions.
With performance love we need strokes and feedback from people to prove to ourself we are loveable. We become dependent on constant affirmation from others just to get through the day. The problem is only God can fill this void we are looking for. We get ourself worth from God and He never fails us.
Performance love makes me put impossible demands on people who do love me. We frustrate them. We can't be satisfied with what they give us. We don't let them be honest or confront us. If we did we would have to change and believe we can't do anything to earn Gods love. We become consumed with ourselves but we are blind to it. Our actions become more about who loves me and who I think does not. We try to please people by doing what we think is good to those we think deserve it. This gives us the feeling of " I earned it". There is nothing we can do to earn Gods love. He gives to all unconditionally by his mercy and grace. We need to stop worring how to avoid rejection and learn how to build loving, lasting relationships.

The only way to recover from addictive behavior is to know who we are in Christ. We must believe we have worth and value because Jesus died for us. We need to be rooted and grounded in Gods love. This is truly all you need. Once you accept this you can move forward knowing God has your back. People will always fail you but God never does. He loves you and He knows what is best for you. You can stop the people pleading merry go round. Hit the stop button and get off. Start trusting God today for the rest of your journey .
May God Bless and keep you as you seek to honor Him.


Thursday, June 5, 2014

BIRTHDAY

My birthdays just around the corner and I recieved and early gift. Sometimes these little surprises show how much someone really cares.



I love it!!

ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOR

The word of God applied in your life brings truth and it is this truth that sets us free. God wants to heal us. If your emotions are all messed up, if you have addictive personality behavior because of  wounds in your past your life will not emulate Christ. Even more important very few other people are going to want what you have as a Christian. We need to be stable, mature, healed, whole individuals. If we are living the life that Jesus died for us to have, we will not have to beat people over the head with a Bible. They will know you are different and they will want to know why.
When your personality or God given temperament is damaged early in life a lot of negative things begin to happen. As adults we are messed up. To fix this we need to know who we are in Christ and love ourselves. I don't mean with a selfish, I'm always right , look at me kind of attitude. When we don't trust Gods love we put a great burden on others we are trying to have a relationship with to make us feel good about ourselves. They can't do it only God can. God loves us unconditionally, often people love us with conditions . Only God can really make you happy. People will eventually fail you. Isaiah 61 says in verse 1 the spirit of The Lord is upon me, The Lord has anointed me we can heal our behaviors through Christ. The whole chapter is worth reading.
We need to overcome our past in order to move forward in our future. By studing God's word we find His promises. He reveals to us what is wrong with us if we let Him. We cannot get to where we need to be if we don't face where we are at. We limit what God is able to do in us. Stop blaming everyone else and ask God to show you - YOU. Often we get so focused on what others are doing wrong we can't see what we are doing wrong. You can't change anyone only God can. We can let God change us and pray for others that they will make the same choice.
In order to change addictive personality behavior we have to admit it before God, study His Word and let God change our hearts, mind and soul. We need to submit to Him and learn self control.
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and shelf control ..
God has given us the ability to control ourselves but it takes practice. We have to choose it not make excuses . God gave us the seed of self control but we have to water it. We do this by studing Gods Word and applying it to our life. Praying everyday to help us. We cannot do it on our own we will need His help. When we studing the Word it helps to renew our mind, change our thoughts  and perspective.
Self control means we are not being controlled by others. People who are broken hearted and wounded do one of two things. They let others contro them usually out of fear in their life or they become controlling which inturn makes them so obnoxious nobody wants to be around them.
We need to choose to follow the Holy Spirit but when we do the Devil is usually right behind us using other people to keep us from following the leadership of God in our life. Often we find other people want us to do it their way, they think they know what is best. The problem arises when we don't follow them and know God has a different plan for us. They will turn against you but remember God loves you unconditionally He knows what is best for you.
When we study the  Bible we need good doctrine but also as important is life application. It seems we almost always fail when we try by ourself. We have to let God in our hearts and mind to control us and keep us where He wants us to go. We cannot rely on just us God can gives us what we need if we let Him. Self control is possible and with this we can overcome our additive behavior.

Meditate on the fruits of the spirit it will change everything if you let it.

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

GOD IS NOT MOCKED

Going through my devotions today I came across this passage . I really am amazed when God is working thru me and brings me just exactly what I need. I strive to be a REAL Christian . My goal is to really be Christlike , a real Jesus Follower .... The Bible says By your fruits you shall know them. I am trying to plant goods seeds so I can grow like God wants me to into a beautiful flower. 

Galatians 6:1-10
Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.
Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 
If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.
Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, 
For each one should carry their own load.
Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor. 
Do not be DECIEVED: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap DESTRUCTION; whoever sows to please the SPIRIT will reap ETERNAL LIFE.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Therefore, as we have OPPORTUNITY, let US do GOOD to ALL PEOPLE, especially to those who BELONG to the family of BELIEVERS.

God is so good if we will only let Him in to our hearts. I sometimes think there are two kinds of Christians 
The ones who have head knowledge ... This type knows a lot has probably accepted Jesus as their personal savior but doesn't let God into their heart and soul
The other type has Heart knowledge.... This type truly follows Jesus and His examples. They emulate Christ and their fruits show it. They have taken the knowledge from thier head and let it soak into their heart. They let the true love of Christ flow out to all. They allow God to control all parts of their life. 
My goal is the latter. I want God to consume me until His love flows thru me.

God Bless
There is always hope with Him

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

I AM A CHRISTIAN

I am not perfect just forgiven. 

LIVING IN PERFORMANCE

If you are trying to find favor with God by doing and performing I am sorry to let you know you are never going to be able to do enough to win Gods favor. Jesus shed His blood and did it all for us.
PERFORMANCE is all about ME
OBEDIENCE is all about GOD
PERFORMANCE is about ME
GRACE is about GOD 
It isn't about you it is all about the grace of God and the grace of God is all that qualifies you to do anything.
How do you know if your walking in grace? Grace is all about God and all about Gods goodness.
Performance is all about us and how qualified we are and how well we are doing. It isn't about performance it is all about OBEDIENCE. We don't deserve anything God has. Everything we receive is a free gift from Gods grace. ALL I can do is PRAISE Him and OBEY Him. 
When we choose to show our grace and mercy to only those that we think should receive it we dishonor God and we put ourselves above God.We must OBEY God ALWAYS. 
When those times in your life start falling apart the Devil always shows up to make it about you. He tells you your not good enough, you are a failure, you failed so many times, you are defective. The Devil wants you to believe you can't be used by God. In those times the way you defeat the Devil is by the blood of the lamb and word of our testimony. We have a God of mercy and grace. When we have a performance attitude we begin to show our mercy and grace to those who we think deserve it. What makes you greater then God? God loves the whole world and has asked us to do the same. When you close your heart and mind you start down a very dangerous path. My prayer today is you get off that path and start a new one. Be obedient to God. 

Monday, June 2, 2014

MAKING A CHOICE

Watch your THOUGHTS for they become  WORDS
Watch your WORDS for they become ACTIONS
Watch your ACTIONS for they become HABITS
Watch your HABITS for they become CHARACTER 
Watch your CHARACTER it becomes your DESTINY

You may choose to continue as you are or you may make a choice today to follow the path God has laid out in the Bible.

Proverbs 11:17
The merciful man ( or woman) does himself GOOD, But the cruel man ( or woman) does himself HARM.

Proverbs 31:26
She opens her mouth in WISDOM, And the teaching of KINDNESS is on her TONGUE.

Galatians 6:10
So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to ALL, and especially to those who are of the household of the FAITH.

1 Peter 3:8-9
To sum up, let ALL be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted , and HUMBLE in SPIRIT; 
Not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving BLESSING instead; for YOU were called for the very purpose that YOU might inherit a BLESSING.

Ephesians 4:32
Luke 6:35
Colossians 3:2
1Corinthians 13:4-7
1John 3:18
Philippians 2:1-30
Ephesians 4:29
Romans 15:22
Galatians 5:22
Zechariah 7:9
James 4:17

Please take time to read the rest of the verses. There are many more. If you don't own a bible you can go online and get them there.

When we harden our heart to Gods plan we become cold hearted, unloving, unkind and unmerciful to others. Granted to those we think deserve our kindness may still receive it. God gave it to you even though you don't deserve it. We all need to be more like God. When we offend others we offend God more. We need to have an attitude of kindness to everyone not just the ones we think deserve it. I am thankful God doesn't work that way. He gives grace and mercy to all of us even though we don't deserve it. When we choose to be selective of our love and kindness to others we put our selves above God. Remember what happened to Satan when he took on these attitudes. The more our hearts are harden the more difficult it will be to be kind and forgiving to others. As believers we have  the responsibility to love, be kind, show grace, show mercy and be humble to all people not just the ones we think have earned it. We actually have an even greater responsibility to show it to those we think don't deserve it. God does.... Do you put yourself higher than God?
Every hurt is followed by a choice. We can get bent out of shape or we can let our response be shaped by grace.
May God Bless You and help you on your journey to become more Christlike.