MONDAY’S MANTRA Wow, it’s August already! Thanks for joining us for Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power and Monday’s Mantra with Trench Classes United. You’re in for a treat today with some thoughts from our friend, Jenn Woolsey.
People love to quote the Bible verse about how God hates divorce. Well guess what, He does. But not for the reason it’s usually used... but because He hates the pain it causes His children and the future generations. I was in a co parenting class today… listening to tips on getting along and focusing on the child in a “reorganized family.” I found it helpful and I believe it’s necessary. But, I can’t get this nagging thought out of my head: what are we doing to prepare people for the fact that marriage is so important; that it can’t be taken lightly? It’s not about the excitement of feeling in love or filling a void, or even creating a family. It’s about choosing to love even when you don’t “feel” like it. I listened to the stories of other couples, I know my own story. I was woefully unprepared. I chose unwisely. How can we prevent this in the first place? Oh to spend more time on the answer before we are faced with the dilemma of this epidemic of divorce. Thoughtfully, Jenn
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Faith-Filled Friday Thanks for joining us for Faith-Filled Friday!
This week on social media a friend of mine posted a song that helped her during a season of anxiety and depression. It is by Hillsong, Young & Free, and it spoke to my heart so I thought it would be great to share it with you. You are peace to a restless soul Peace when my thoughts wage war Peace to the anxious heart That's who You are; that's who You are You are peace when my fear takes hold Peace when I feel enclosed Peace when I lose control That's who You are; that's who You are I've found peace far beyond all understanding Let it flow when my mind's under siege All anxiety bows in the presence of Jesus the Keeper of Peace And peace is a promise He keeps Shortly after reading the words to that song, my mom-in-love sent me a message about a passage in the Bible that talks about God anointing our heads with oil. I read the verse from Psalm 23, and the explanation of what it meant for the shepherds in that time to anoint the sheep. The sheep would get their heads stuck in a barrier, and insects would lay eggs on their heads and in their noses and this would cause them to itch uncontrollably so they would ram their heads into the wall to stop the itch. The shepherds would anoint their heads. This understanding gives so much clarity for this portion of scripture in Psalm 23:5-6 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. I got to thinking, aren't we just like these sheep, getting our thoughts stuck on things that aren't the truth; finding ourselves listening to lies of the enemy to the point we want to bash our heads to make it stop, to silence the constant chaos that is going on in our minds? It takes the simplest thing to set us off course, just one word from someone, one mistake we made, the list is endless. Beloveds, we aren't perfect and our imperfections make us easy prey for the beast to come to devour us, and he does so by turning us against ourselves. We must allow Him to anoint our heads with oil. What is this oil? It is His perfect word. Don't forget beloveds when the lies are overcoming you, to cry out Jesus and allow His Word to anoint your head/mind with oil. Anointed, Ashley Faith-Filled Friday Have you ever received a gift and then allowed someone to take it from you? Then why do we allow others and circumstances to get in the way of our specially-crafted God-given gifts? Thanks for joining us today for Faith-Filled Friday with Trench Classes United and Ashley. Come on in.
We all have been given gifts of the spirit. My gifts are writing, teaching children, and as my mom in love would say, I am a nurturer. It took me quite some time to be able to say these are my gifts, but now that I know, it's important for me to utilize each one God has given me. Has anyone spoke down to you or tried to squash your God designed gifts? Well, I pray you won't be like me and listen to their lies. The enemy will use anything or anyone to keep us from fulfilling what God has provided us with. People and their thoughts about us do not define us. Our identity is in Christ and all of us fall short. Our flesh runs amuck in us; we speak before we think; we lose our patience. The list can go on and on. However, this doesn't mean our gifts or our salvation is lost, just as Matthew 6:12 tells us: We may lose friends and/or family; but remember they don't define us. We continue to love them, pray for them, and ask God to help us move on. Beloveds, please don't allow someone to steal your specially-crafted gifts from God by believing the lies others say about you. Remember to take all things before the Lord and let Him weed out the truth from the lies. 2 Corinthians 10:5 ESV: We tear down arguments, and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Love, Ashley Faith Filled Friday Recently, I made a decision and I felt justified by my decision to remove certain people from my life. Now I didn’t make a big deal or scene with this decision I made; it was a decision I had made in my heart and mind. I felt no remorse for it and was convinced that God was behind this decision. You see I have been hurt by these people all my life, and my weary heart could not withstand it any longer, or so my weary self thought.
Thanks for joining me today for Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power and Faith-Filled Friday with Trench Classes United. Last Sunday during worship they played a song that talked about fighting for love. As I sang this song, tears flooded my face. I was to fight to love these people, not for me, but for God because this is what He instructs us to do. I cried my broken and weary heart out to the Lord. I came before him standing, but in my spirit, I was on my face asking God to forgive my wretched heart. After worship, I dried my tears, and the pastor begins to speak in 1 Peter about loving your brothers fervently. As I am listening to the message the tears continued to flood down my face. I couldn’t contain them. My purpose is to show Christ's love, and here my heart and mind’s decision was the furthest thing from His love. 1 Peter 1:22 New King James Version (NKJV)The Enduring Word 22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth [a]through the Spirit in [b]sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, Looking back, I do recall a period of my life where I had fallen away from the Lord, and lived my life the way I wanted for my pleasures, and didn’t want anything to do with God. Yet, He still loved me and sought after me, and here I am throwing in the towel. Needless to say, my heart was convicted to the core, but I love how gentle and tender God is with correcting us. He does it with grace and love. Can I encourage you beloveds, if there is someone difficult in your life who causes you pain or hurt, just ask God how you are to love them and for the strength to do so. It could be either through prayer or actions, a smile or a simple “How are you?” You see when we put ourselves and our feelings down and allow God to work it’s not us they see but Christ who lives in us. Let’s be like Jesus, though we didn’t deserve his love or grace, He still gave it abundantly. Let us follow in His footsteps. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 New King James Version (NKJV)4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not [a]puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, [b]thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. Love, Ashley |
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