A few of my favorite verses.....

I just wanted to share a few of my favorite verses. It has only been in the last year that I have truly begun to go to the scripture to find solace. I used to long for the desire to dealve in to God's word, but there always seemed to be something more interesting to read. This list is constantly changing, but these are the ones that are on my heart right now:

7"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. 8He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." Jeremiah 17:7-8

20"Do men make their own gods? Yes, but they are not gods!" 21"Therefore I will teach them—this time I will teach them my power and might. Then they will know that my name is the LORD." Jeremiah 16:20-21

30"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is vain; but a woman who fears the LORD shall be praised." Proverbs 31:30

28"And we know that all things work together for good for those that love God, and have been called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

31"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

7 "The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 8The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. 9The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous." Psalm 19:7-9

26"You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Galatians 3:26-29

11"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

God's Blueprint

Do you ever have those introspective days where you look back over the path your life has taken and you wonder.....What was God's plan, His blueprint if you will????

I look back at my path so far, and it fascinates me how God has worked in my life. He has used the chaos to shape and mold me. When in the midst of a trial, it's so easy to blame Him for your circumstance or to lose faith that He even cares or is aware of your situation. But I'm here to tell you, He DOES know, and He DOES care, and He will NEVER leave you alone to suffer. His plan is SOOO much bigger than our tiny minds can fathom.

Over the past five years, my path has taken me in directions I never would have imagined, most of them not to my particular fancy. But in spite of the difficulties, God was there all the time using each experience to make me a better child of His.

I had to die to myself......and I'll tell you, it's not a fun process. He literally had to bring me to my knees before I would obey Him and give myself fully to Him. But once I gave up the control that I had been fighting so hard for, I was filled with the most amazing peace. I had been fighting Him, afraid that He would make a mistake, while all the time I was the one making the mistakes.

He has promised to never forsake us. "6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6


That promise is all I need.......

The Ides of March

Today is one of those days prime for reminiscence. This, the Ides of March, is the 3rd anniversary of having lost my daddy. I miss him everyday, but as the years go by and the ache begins to dull, I start to pinpoint those little things that I miss the most.

I miss his laugh....he had one of those chuckles that pulled you in and made you want to laugh too.

I miss his hands....he had a workers hands, rough and calloused, but his touch was always gentle.

I miss his wisdom....anyone who knew Tom Rose knew what a wonderful fount of wisdom he was. He always gave the most wonderful advice without seeming to direct you. He would simply give you his opinion and thoughts on any given situation and then let you make your decision.

I miss his hugs....he could squeeze you like no one else.

I miss his scent....daddy always smelled like outdoors and aftershave.


While I miss him, I know that he is safe in the arms of the angels and that I will one day get to see him again. Thank you God for that promise, thank you God for eternal life, thank you God for sending your Son to die on the cross so that I might live.

Thank you........

A new life

Do you remember the day you were baptized?? I do, I was 14 years old, and it was at the South Texas Youth Conference in San Antonio, Texas. I had that all important moment when I realized if I died that day, I would not go to heaven. That was the instant I knew I wanted to be baptized. Now you might find that odd for someone who grew up in the Church, baptism is usually the natural progression. But you see, I wanted this, the biggest decision I would ever make, to be my own. My mother had begun to despair of me ever becoming a Christian. She had resorted to making me study the Bible, and baptism in particular.

But it wasn't that I did not know what baptism was or what it meant. It was simply that I would not be pushed in to making a decision that I was not ready to make. I took my eternal life very seriously, and I wanted to do it for the right reasons, not simply to make someone else happy. I cannot imagine what would have happened if I hadn't had that "come to Jesus" moment.

This morning I had the privilege to witness two women be baptized. These women had been brought up in the Church, but had fallen away and both had only recently come back to Him. They both talked about how they had always meant to be baptized, but had just never seemed to get around to it. Wow! How easily that could have been me.

It has been a while since I have viewed a baptism. I'd forgotten what a beautiful thing it is when someone dies to themselves and decides to live for Him. This morning it was a joyous occasion, one chock full of clapping, praising and joyful tears. It gave me just a minute glimpse of what heaven might be like....and I have to tell you, it was AWESOME!!

Faith

Have you ever wondered what faith is??? I was recently reading Hebrews 11, and if you've ever read that before you know that it talks a LOT about faith. The definition given in Hebrews 11:1 is, "faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

How beautiful and simple an explanation. "By faith we understand that the universe was formed by God's own hand."

It tells of what Enoch did by faith, Issac, Abraham, Abel, Noah, Jacob, Moses and so on. The list is far too long to recite here. But the point is, all of these individuals went out, in faith, and did what God told them; all the while knowing that they may not receive their reward while on earth. In fact, Hebrews 11:39-40 says, " 39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect."

Many died for their faith. That's an incredibly humbling prospect for me. I LOVE the Lord with all my heart and soul, but to die for my faith..... I pray that this earthly life has no such hold on me.

"For our God is an ALL consuming fire"