Phil 4:4

Sometimes I'm not very nice

I've been going through some 'stuff' in my personal life lately.  One of those times when I seem to be at odds with myself and others at times.  I get caught up in the pressures of life and seem to disproportionately dump on those closest to me.  It's my humanness at its worst.
Then the Lord, in His mercy, steps in and reminds me of the important things, those eternal and everlasting things.
So thankful that His mercies are new every morning!
http://www.365promises.com/daily-promises/2017/10/1/promise-274-sunday-october-1-2017.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+365promises+%28365promises.com%29

His renewing grace enables us to love one another

His renewing grace enables us to love one another.
"This is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love each other as he commanded us."  1 John 3:23

 I woke up too early this morning and had gone to bed too tired last night, which left me in a funk.  Then the Lord stepped in and asked me to read 1 John 3 in preparation for my Sunday school class for the kids this Sunday.
Bible Gateway is my 'go-to' bible of late and I really appreciate how it coordinates with clickable FREE references on the sidelines!  This morning I read this from the ESV Reformation Bible, regarding 1 John 3:23:

this is his commandment. The two parts of this commandment parallel the two parts of the Ten Commandments, reminding us that our relationship with God takes precedence over our relationship with our neighbor. Faith in Christ relates us rightly to God, and His renewing grace enables us to love one another.

 My eyes (and heart) zeroed in on that ending note about His renewing grace.  Upon further reflection though, that is only half of what the sentence reads. It actually states two parts; 1.  Faith in Christ and then 2. His renewing grace.  Without faith in Christ and a right relationship (having a fully confessed presence) do we ever find His renewing grace, and THEN is when we are able to love one another with a right love (motivated and intentional).

And that is the delicate dance that we mere mortals dance. Finding balance in a right relationship with God through Christ enables us to love those around us (with skin on).

Am I ever going to get this two-step process in my head?  I find myself out of balance at times because business (or sometimes laziness) has thrown me out of sync with my Savoir and then I try to love others in my own strength and find that my attempts at love are forced or conditional.

The older I get the more I realize that God is love.  Right love.  Holy love. Perfect love.

We all need some...

http://www.365promises.com/daily-promises/2017/8/26/promise-238-saturday-august-26-2017.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+365promises+%28365promises.com%29

A Big Gulp of Water

Have you ever been so thirsty that you gulped down water loudly like a child?  Well, that was me this morning in God's Word!
Why, oh why, do I let myself get so thirsty for God?  Won't I ever learn? His Word is so refreshing and quenches that thirst in us that only He can quench!  Hallelujah for His grace and long-suffering!
 If you are reading this, and thirsting for Him right now, turn off the computer and open God's Word!

http://www.crosswalk.com/family/marriage/relationships/10-ways-a-wife-disrespects-her-husband-without-even-realizing-it.html

The fat belongs to the Lord (and everything else)...

My husband jokingly says that when we remodel the kitchen we should hang a vinyl saying up of Leviticus 3:16 ...All the fat belongs to the LORD!
We laugh and laugh about that!  But it's truly right!  Everything belongs to the Lord!  We simply are gifted all that we have by our loving Lord.
After working at a church now for over 5 years (my first non-secular job, ever), I have seen firsthand the way that a church body respects and cares for the bounty of goods and finances that the Lord provides.  An annual church budget is merely people trying to guess what the Lord may choose to provide in a given year and how to best utilize that gift.
I remember my first real tithe as a new believer.  It wasn't 10% by any means, but it was a sacrifice and a commitment of trust in the Lord.  I willingly placed that $20 bill in the plate, knowing full well that I had nothing left until my next pay day.
We had fallen on very hard times, my first husband was out of a job and we had two kids at home.  I had been denied food stamps and had the insulting experience of getting a food donation from our local food bank which consisted of a jar of Ragu, a box of spaghetti noodles, a cake mix, and a foil bagged garlic bread.  I remember thinking, I had no eggs or oil to make a cake with, but at least I could make meatless spaghetti and garlic bread for dinner.
Just as my children were beginning to eat, I sat down, opened the bread (that I had merely sliced and placed on their plates), only to realize the bread was moldy.  I will never forget that experience. 
To this day, I always try to give good food to people and food drives as much as possible.
My husband and I have absolutely nothing to do with the church finances, and we like it that way!  It is all handled by our treasurer, financial secretary, and the church board members.  We don't want to know what people do (or don't) give.  It's just best that way.
However, it seems that more and more, people do not understand the importance of faithful giving and how it directly impacts the operation of the church.  It amazes me how many times, lights are left on, ac/furnace units are cranked up and left running, and doors are not shut properly in any given day at the church.  I and my husband regularly go around shutting things off at the church.  Or how many people contact a church asking for money.  I often want to say, we're a church, not a bank.  But I don't!
Even when I was living in those hard times, I didn't ask the church for money.  It just didn't seem right.  After I got saved, I want to serve the church, not have the church serve me.  I literally volunteered to clean the church and found it to be a sweet time of fellowship with the Lord, just me and Him cleaning.
But that doesn't seem to be the norm in todays world.  Take last Sunday, we had to cancel church services, because of the weather.  It's always a hard call, and my husband left it up to the deacon's to decide.  Because on those extreme mornings, its really hard to expect trustees and others to brave the bad weather and get the church opened up and ready.  So church was cancelled, which means, no offering was taken.  Its no surprise that a missed Sunday offering will never be completely made up financially.  It shows in the bottom line, every time.
I found this page online all about tithes and offerings and found it to be very enlightening.  http://www.raptureready.com/resource/aycock/tithing.htm#a4 (I am not familiar with this website and cannot endorse it).  Its clear that giving to the Lord is more a heart matter than a financial one.  God wants our trust in Him, solely. 
So many times, the Lord has surprised me over the years,with His provision!  It never gets old!  God has my back and my heart!  I am so very thankful!