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Soaring in the Heavens.

20 Nov 2009 by sypace


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Originally uploaded by Stephanie Pace

A couple of weeks ago I had to go to an early morning meeting and as I approached my destination I saw a beautiful hot air balloon sailing along.  I chased the thing down and pulled some iffy traffic maneuvers so I could get a picture.  There was just something calling out to me about the beauty of starting the day riding the air currents.  Now, the part of me that is a control FREAK, gets a little antsy at the idea that you have no control over which way the balloon goes, only how high or low you ride in the sky.

Then on Tuesday we took my girls and met a friend and her daughter at a local kids museum.  Right smack in the middle of the museum floor is a replica of a hot air balloon with information on how the balloons work.  I watched the balloon as the air was heating up and then suddenly the balloon lifted off.  It started the wheels churning in my mind.

The last few weeks have certainly been weeks of growth for me.  God is really working on my heart in a tremendous way.  I have had to confront some issues in my own life that need addressing and they have been very painful.  One of the things that has come to my attention is the fact that while I like to control things I am saying to God, “I do not trust You to do this. . .” I’ve been attending a women’s bible study on Wednesday evenings.  We are using the Beth Moore study, “Get Out of the Pit.”  In this weeks video she spoke of how when we have that one thing that we don’t trust God with, we set ourselves up as our own god.  I don’t know about you but I don’t particularly like that idea nor that accusation, but hey, if the shoe fits. . .

I know that God has a purpose in everything He does and all things work together; I am especially seeing that in my life right now.  For the past two weeks I have been stuck in Galatians Chapter Five.  My heart is being truly bound up in God’s word here.  The part that has just pierced me to the core is the following verses from The Message: 19 – 21 It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time:  repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods, magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. . .

What I have learned while I am camped out here, is that even though I may not put a check mark beside every, single one of the things in this list, there are enough that qualify that my heart is crushed and my soul shaken.  All of these transpire because I am striving to always get what I want.  As I have contemplated these things this week it brings me right back to the hot air balloon.

If our lives are like that hot air balloon, we are lying on the ground a shapeless, inadequate mess until God’s hot and holy spirit moves in.  When His spirit fills us and we begin to heat up for Him and we give Him complete control of our lives we can leave the enslavement of these earthly bonds and soar into the heavens.  But what strikes me the most is that it is our choice as to how much we choose to let him heat up our lives.  BUT we are directed to let Him have control of where that ride goes.  And the coolest part is that he confirms He has that under His control in in Jeremiah 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.” Let me see. . . think that says He has a plan for me.  Not, I have a plan for Him.  He has given me His word repeatedly from all kinds of different directions.  He has given my feeble, distrusting heart a visual image to reassure my heart that He loves me and I can let go!  Trying to let that message sink into my very core this week.  How about you?  Are we gonna soar with the currents of His winds or just stay mired down and in bondage to our wants?

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Not Enough?

10 Nov 2009 by sypace

This morning a friend called me before a group of stay-at-home moms were supposed to meet and said that the guest speaker had to cancel and asked if I would prepare a 5 – 10 min devotional.  Honestly, I can say that my heart was singing, not because I was all that thrilled to get up there and talk, but God has really been dealing with my heart for several weeks now and He presented scripture this morning that really stopped me in my tracks right before Sarah called and I just feel like I need to share with you some things that I hope will help us all.

                I don’t know about you, but as a mom, particularly a stay-at-home mom, I often feel that my life is meant to serve others and go, go, go.  I never feel like what I am doing is enough.  My house is not clean enough, my kids are not learning enough, I am not righteous enough, I am not good enough.  There are never enough hours in the day to get it all done.  Anyone else feel that way? 

                Over the last few months I have been talking with someone who is helping me to delve into some of those feelings and the last couple of weeks I have really been struggling trying to find God’s truth in my life, not the lies that Satan readily gives us that we can never get it right.  This friend of mind has told me several times that I need to slow down, and that I can’t be the CEO of the universe.  That job is already taken.  Now, I don’t know if you can relate to this or not, but I am a control freak.  I like things done in a certain way (mine) and in a certain time (immediately).  I know too, that as long as I feel like I am in control and stay busy I don’t really have to hear when God is calling me to be still and to know Him.  To wait on Him to show me the way He wants me to go.  I like making the decisions.  I like feeling in control.

                This morning as I was journaling about all of these struggles and putting onto paper my questions and confusion about what exactly God wants from me, I read the following verses and they left me reeling. 

Love God, all you saints; God takes care of those who stay close to him, But he pays back in full those arrogant enough to go it alone. Psalm 31:23 (The Message)

Love God: check, God takes care of me: check, who stays close to him: hmmmm, am I?  Pays back in full those arrogant enough to go it alone: me arrogant? Am I?  Is it arrogant to be in charge.  To get things done????  What does He mean to pay back in full if I go it alone?

                I think that we can easily feel like we love God.  I think that it is often easy to feel like, and give lip service to, the idea that we are letting God take care of us.  But for me, I have to confess that I often am in charge of my life.  God has given me the freedom to make decisions for myself, apart from what He wants and desires.  Unfortunately that often leads me to some poor choices and tough consequences.  I think what hit me most in this is the edict that we need to stay close to Him.  That is where our protection lies.  The idea that we are arrogant enough and sinful enough to try to go it alone is heart-breaking.  The idea that He is going to pay that arrogance back in full is terrifying.  As I said earlier, I often struggle with the idea that nothing I do, is ever enough; that idea if we let it dictate our actions and feelings will not allow us to love God completely and let Him take care of us.  So I am asking you to do a heart check with me.  Are we loving God fully?  Are we letting Him take care of the details in our lives?   Or are we walking this journey alone, pretending to walk with Him?

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Being Bound up in God.

03 Nov 2009 by sypace

I don’t know about you, but when someone tells me that I am wrong it makes me mad.  Sometimes they don’t even have to tell me I’m wrong all they have to do is suggest it even with a look, body language or tone of voice.  I don’t like that at all.  As a matter of fact, if it happens I often want to do whatever I can to prove that I am right and the other party is the one who is wrong.  I had one of those incidents yesterday that left me mad as a wet hen, as we say here in the country.  I was airing my grievances and issues to a trusted friend and that person let me know in no uncertain terms that my attitude just didn’t live up to God’s standards.  When I left that conversation, I vowed I was finished talking to that person.  What did they know, anyway?  They weren’t in my shoes.  They didn’t have to listen to and put up with what I was.  Whatever!  I stewed about it all evening.  I barely spoke to my family as I ran the earlier conversation over and over; vacillating between fury and shame.  I shot little darts of flaming prayer skyward asking sometimes for Him to reveal the truth, but really only if it proved I was right. This morning I went to www.d365.org and was confronted square on with how wrong I was!!  I read their first page and was thinking about what I was going to learn today. Looking forward to it.  This was the second page:

Deuteronomy 6: 4 – 9 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. [a] 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Yes!  I agree whole heartedly.  These things all need to be done.  I am feeling good.  These are some of my favorite verses!  Trying to do all this.  Feeling pretty good about it too.  So then here is the third page of today’s devotional:

Whether you have heard these verses many times, just a few times, or never before, you should read them again right now and get lost in their beauty. It arises from simplicity. If you need help putting specific actions to the disciplines you are adding to your life, here are things you need to do. Love God with all you have, and bind that love in your heart. Since these words were spoken by Moses to the people of Israel they have been held as sacred; we should hold them sacred as well. But don’t be fooled into stopping there. Your hand, head, and home (3 H’s) give you the specific actions involved in loving God. And guess what! Those actions directly involve others. When you offer your hand to someone, if your love of God is bound to it, you will act in kindness. When you think of another, if your love of God is bound to your head, you will consider them as Jesus does – a child of God – and act accordingly. When your home displays your love of God, you open it more readily to strangers and those in need. Your mastery of the 3 H’s will provide the specifics for putting God first. – Allan Burton

OUCH!!  What do you mean, God, that my hand offered if it is bound in You will be given in kindness; that if You are bound to my head, I will see others, even those I disagree with and am angry with them, through Your eyes.  NO FAIR!  I don’t like it.  I want to feel good about myself.  I want to feel like I’m getting it right and even when I know I’m wrong, I want it to feel justified in my thoughts and actions.  OUCH!!!

I”m not sure I’m ready to thank Him for unequivocally showing me that I was wrong in my thoughts and words.  But, I’m working on it.  How about you?  Need to do some binding on of God in your head, heart and hands?  I KNOW I do.

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The Voice of God.

30 Oct 2009 by sypace

Just recently my daughter, Mia, said to me, “Mom, I wish God was human.”  I asked her why. She said, “well, I know he’s my best friend and I know he loves me, but it’s hard when you talk to Him and you can’t really hear what he says.”  Her response had the honestly that most of us feel but seldom express.  We want a God who’s almighty, but really one just like us so we are “comfortable.”  Two days ago, I found out first hand, that God doesn’t need to be human for us to be able to hear his voice, we just have to be quiet and listen.

I coach the local volleyball team and God put together an awesome group of young ladies.  I have struggled for the last almost eighteen months with family issues, health issues and have had to deal with some pretty tough stuff.  God knew that I needed to coach these girls to give me a place to serve and honor Him while getting my balance back.  Two mornings ago I was reading in my quiet time from a book titled, “When God Speaks to My Heart,” by Rosalie Willis, and there I read the following,

“Dear One,
Can you hear My voice?  Are you walking in My way? My way shines as a beacon of light.  Are you tottering on the borderline? Follow Me and hear My words of love. Lean on Me and My Word, and keep your heart full to overflowing.  Let your life become a beacon of light drawing others to Me.

I love you,
Your Father”

I sat there thinking about the team.  I had a dear friend also tell me recently that I had to let go of control of the team.  Our success couldn’t necessarily be measured by our wins and losses and I could neither take the blame nor the credit for that.  I also struggle with perfectionism and this friend shared with me that I needed to make sure I stepped aside and let God work and not try to do everything in my life, including coaching, my way.  The combination of the spoken and written words pierced my heart and made me want so desperately to hear God’s voice.  I opened my Bible, and I guess because I have been camped in Psalm 139 for almost two weeks now, thanks to our preacher, that’s where my Bible opened to.  There I read Psalm 139: 15 – 17 (NIV) My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.  All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.  How precious to me are your thoughts O God! How vast is the sum of them.  Mia was sitting beside me in our chair and we talked about how awesome it is that God loves us enough to have all of our days ordained for us, even before we are born and that he cares enough to write about us.  As one who loves to write, but knows how much time it takes and how involved I get in my subject, I am overwhelmed by how much God is really “into” each one of us.

I sat in that chair and prayed that God would fill me with His spirit and let His voice be so evident to me that day.  I prayed that he would guide my every thought, word and deed.  I prayed that he would help me by-pass myself to get to Him and that more than anything His voice would fill my ear that day and that I would let go of control to hear Him.

Mia and I went upstairs, where she was to start packing for a visit to her MeeMaw’s.  When I went into her room, I was not a happy camper.  She was having some issues with the messiness of her room, in particular clothes everywhere.  At that point, all thoughts of honoring God fled, trying to hear His voice was the last thing on my mind.  I was just MAD.  So, of course I started the usual parenting thing. . . I started to fuss.  Mia is one of those kids that if you say anything negative to her she feels like you are screaming at her and falls to pieces.  After 3 – 4 minutes of giving her clear instructions on getting her room clean I went to get a shower so we could leave for the kids visit.

I stepped into the shower, started shampooing my hair and it hit me.  I started praying.  I knew I hadn’t even tried to hear God’s voice in my parenting of Mia.  I had just let my own desires for her to have a clean room take over.  I was not patient with her. I was not kind with her.  I was demanding and bossy.  I stood there and the thought hit me.  You know, the solution to this could be very simple.  I give her a certain amount of clothing items that she has to keep put away for a week and if she follows through she gets to add to her collection.  If she doesn’t she is limited to what she has.  This will teach her responsibility.  It will keep me from losing my patience.  It will give her positive rewards for a job well done and natural consequences if she fails.  That’s when it smacked me square in the face.  I could feel the presence of God and knew that that idea was not my own.  God had answered my prayer to hear His voice in a very evident way.  I started to laugh out loud and then began to cry.  I hit my knees in the shower and begged for forgiveness for not listening and thanking Him for being loud and clear.

About 30 minutes later, I went downstairs and saw on my phone that I had a new email and saw that it was from a someone helping the volleyball team we were supposed to play that night.  It was a playoff game and the person was responsible for putting together our opposing team’s programs.  She needed the roster from our team and earlier that morning I had sent it to her.  She was at this point responding to my information.  At first I just assumed it was going to be your standard “thank you for the information” kind of email.  But then I read the first lines and she was telling me that she needed the email from me on a personal level.  I have a signature on my email that has Romans 12:2 on it.  I also have the blog address posted.  She told me she needed the scripture that was at the end of my email and on the blog.  I sat there totally overwhelmed by God’s timing.  Within an hour and a half of praying to hear His voice he had spoken to me not once, but twice.  That wonderful lady may never know how much I needed her email and how God used her to speak to my heart.  I knew that we hadn’t met that team in the playoffs for a win or a loss, but to share His love and to hear His voice

I wonder today, how often do I miss His voice simply because I fail to listen.  How often do you?

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The Good News of God’s Healing.

07 May 2009 by sypace

As I read through my devotions this morning, it occurred to me that everyone has something in his/her life that is either a bother, a hurt or a problem that needs addressing.  Not only do we all bear the wounds inflicted on us by a world rife with sin, we have the wounds buried within that are of our own making.  God’s word tells us that it is not a matter of if we will have trials, it is a matter of when and how we will handle those things.  As I read the words of Charles Spurgeon this morning I just thanked my God, that He is who He says He is.

“Great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.”
— Matthew 12:15

What a mass of hideous sickness must have thrust itself under the eye of Jesus! Yet we read not that He was disgusted, but patiently waited on every case. What a singular variety of evils must have met at His feet! What sickening ulcers and putrefying sores! Yet He was ready for every new shape of the monster evil, and was victor over it in every form. Let the arrow fly from what quarter it might, He quenched its fiery power. The heat of fever, or the cold of dropsy; the lethargy of palsy, or the rage of madness; the filth of leprosy, or the darkness of ophthalmia—all knew the power of His word, and fled at His command. In every corner of the field He was triumphant over evil, and received the homage of delivered captives. He came, He saw, He conquered everywhere. It is even so this morning. Whatever my own case may be, the beloved Physician can heal me; and whatever may be the state of others whom I may remember at this moment in prayer, I may have hope in Jesus that He will be able to heal them of their sins. My child, my friend, my dearest one, I can have hope for each, for all, when I remember the healing power of my Lord; and on my own account, however severe my struggle with sins and infirmities, I may yet be of good cheer. He who on earth walked the hospitals, still dispenses His grace, and works wonders among the sons of men: let me go to Him at once in right earnest.

Let me praise Him, this morning, as I remember how He wrought His spiritual cures, which bring Him most renown. It was by taking upon Himself our sicknesses. “By His stripes we are healed.” The Church on earth is full of souls healed by our beloved Physician; and the inhabitants of heaven itself confess that “He healed them all.” Come, then, my soul, publish abroad the virtue of His grace, and let it be “to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign which shall not be cut off.”

Charles Spurgeon

What do you need to be healed of today?

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What’s in a Name?

22 Apr 2009 by sypace

So, I’m standing in the kitchen this morning listening to Matt and Carol in the morning, and Carol was talking about baby names on there.  She asked for people to call in with unique and unusual names.  Of course, as a mom, it made me think of the names of my own children.  Now, as is the case with most moms, I thought I was picking wonderfully unique and beautiful names for our girls.  But more importantly to me, I wanted strong names that gave credit to our God.  I would like to tell you a little about our girls names, how they got them and why they point to a Great Big Wonderful Daddy!!

Before I got pregnant with our oldest daughter, I was pregnant with another baby.  At first things seemed to be fine.  About Eight weeks into the pregnancy, I got violently ill and as many of you know me, you know this is the hallmark of my pregnancies.  I was put into the hospital over Valentine’s weekend for dehydration and to get the nausea under control.  Then miraculously around the fourteenth and fifteenth weeks my nausea started to subside and we began to rejoice.  Then we went for a checkup and the nurse was unable to find a heartbeat.  At first no one was worried.  They thought we might how miscalculated the dates, so we were taken back to a room to have an ultrasound.  At that point, we discovered that my precious baby hadn’t developed properly and there would be no rejoicing at the end of the pregnancy with a bundle of joy.  Anyone who has been througa miscarriage knows how devastating that is.  I can still remember and feel that pain.  But God is so good and so wise.  And we are so pitifully week and lacking in wisdom.  Our doctor informed us that after a D & C we could wait a few weeks and try again.  

About eight weeks after the miscarriage we were going on vacation with our extended family.  We always stayed at our Aunt’s house as a half-way point to the beach.  The morning that we woke up at her house I turned over in the bed and she has one of those devotional flip books on the night stand.  The verse that morning read, “I asked the Lord to give me this child, and He has given me my request.” 1 Samuel 1:27.  I KNEW I was pregnant again.  I had no doubts that God had answered my prayers and was giving me proof.  So, when we chose her name we knew that we wanted a variation of Mary, because there is a “Mary” in every generation of our family that goes back a long time.  We also knew that FAITH must be her middle name.  Therefore when our little girl came into the world on March 7, exactly 2 days shy of the one year anniversary of the loss of our first baby, we knew her name had to be Mia Faith, because God had been faithful in answering our prayers and we also had faith that He would do so.

Our second child came almost five years after Mia.  I could not face another pregnancy until Mia was older and could do more for herself.  Prior to this pregnancy Barry and I had been through some rough times in our marriage and a few times we weren’t sure we were going to make it.  But with the help of some wonderful counseling and a lot of support from our Lord we worked though the problems and decided we were ready to add another member to our family.  This pregancy was difficult from the start.  I had to be hospitalized for dehydration.  They implanted a port-a-cath to deliver fluids and anti-nausea medications with home health care.  I had blood clots and had to be hospitalized for a week with them around the sixth or seventh month and then our little girl was born almost seven weeks early.  As we discussed her name, early on, we knew that we wanted something special.  The word Selah’s definition is debated and no one really knows what it means but most theologians say that it is either to indicate a pause in worship to focus or it is used as an amen.  We also knew that our lives had been marked repeatedly by God’s grace.  So we wanted her name to mean “To pause and reflect on God’s grace, ” thus Selah Grace’s name was chosen.

Not long after we had Selah, our pastor, Jerry preached a sermon and a verse in that sermon really struck me and I know that God gives us what we need as we need it and this was the verse: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—” Ephesians 2:8.  This verse sort of sums up what I want the lives of our family to be about.  God’s grace is such a gift.  There is nothing that we can do to deserve it.  We don’t deserve His grace, but through our faith, he readily gives it.  Why does he give it?  He loves us.  We are His chosen children.  He has named us and called us His.  And I don’t know about you, but I am so grateful for His grace and His name.

 

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Trust God and Hand Over the Spoon.

01 Apr 2009 by sypace

Recently, my eldest daughter, Mia was helping me cook dinner.  It is something that she loves to do and so do I . . . occasionally.  I’d be lying if I said that I love to cook with her all the time.  I am too much of a control freak for that to be true.  But God has been on me for a while now about my issues with attempting to control my life and not trusting Him to take care of me.  A counselor once told me that I couldn’t be the CEO of the universe because that job was already taken.  That is so true!  So why can’t I just let go and let Him be in control? Why don’t I trust Him to take care of all the details?  God used Mia the other night to once again drive home the fact that He is the CEO of the universe.

We decided to cook chicken pot pie for dinner.  Now I love to cook it for my family for a variety of reasons.  Not all of which are good.  The first reason is because it is healthy.  The second reason is because my family loves it!  The third reason is because it is really good and I get rave reviews from anyone who eats it, and thus I cook it because I am proud that I can!  (I see a whole new issue here. LOL!) So, when Mia started helping cook THE dish that is MY dish you can imagine how that went.

Mia – “Mama may I cut the chicken up?”
Me – “No, sweetie it has to be carefully shredded and it’s really hard to do. Can you put this bowl of frozen veggies in the microwave for exactly 15 seconds?”
Mia – “Sure, Mama.”
Mia – “Can I pop open the can of Cream of Chicken soup?”
Me – “No, let me do it.  You might break the tab off the top like you did last time and then it’s really hard to open.”
Mia – “Oh, ok Mama.  But I really think I can do it…”
So of course I opened the can.
Me – “You want to put the soup in the pot with the chicken broth?”
Mia – “YES!!”
Me – “Ok, but be very careful, the broth is hot and if you don’t do it just right you will splash the hot broth on you… OH, be careful… here let me help you do that.”
Mia – “MAMA, I CAN DO IT.”
Me – “Ok, you finish scraping out the can and stir it really easy…”

I finished shredding the chicken, layered the veggies on, poured the sauce over the chicken and veggies; all with Mia watching by my side offering to help.  Then we came to the part that I know is the most important part of the pie, the crust.  I let Mia help me measure the flour and milk. I let her stir the butter and other ingredients until the batter began to form.  But I noticed that there was a lot of flour in the center of the whisk and so, of course I had to take over and Mia of course informed me that if I had just told her she would have taken care of the flour.

Mia – “Can I finish stirring it now?”
Me – “Well, I changed some of the portions of the ingredients and I need to feel the batter to see if the consistency is exactly right.”
Mia – “Oh.  But I’m a really good stirrer Mom.”
Me – “Yes you are, but I really need to do this part.”
Mia – “Well, can I put the batter on top?”
Me – “No, honey, that is the most important part.  I have to make sure it is done just right.  If I don’t the juice will seep out and come up over the batter and the batter will have a hard time rising and then it might get soggy.  So I better just do it.  Here, finish stirring it and then I’ll put the batter on.”
Mia – “Mama you just gotta trust God and hand over the spoon!”

Dead silence.  In that moment my God reached deep into my heart and showed me how wrong my attitude was.  I was letting my pride in “my dish” and my need to always be in control take over a precious moment with my child; a moment that had the potential to be a moment filled sharing God’s grace and love with my own daughter as she realized perfection is not necessary to be loved.  I was denying God his rightful place in our home and lives.   How self-centered?  How sinful?  So what did I do?

Me – “You are absolutely right. Here’s the spoon.  You can do it.”
Mia – *Eyes sparkling* “ALLRIGHT!!”

I turned away, got a baking sheet to put the dish on in the oven, wiped the tears from my eyes, washed a few dishes at the sink and didn’t turn around again until she said, “I’m finished Mom.  Look how good I did.  It wasn’t so hard.  I told you, you just had to trust God.”  And there sat that pie with holes in the batter, juice on the top and my precious baby girl grinning from ear to ear.  I grabbed that pie up, plopped it on the baking sheet, tossed it in the oven, grabbed my girl up and told her she was fabulous and had done a remarkable job on that batter.  We ate that pie, soggy crust and all 30 minutes later and it was the best one ever!

“Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust. . . “ Psalm 40:4(NIV)

So who’s holding your spoon today?

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40 Day Challenge.

23 Feb 2009 by sypace

All right ladies, God gives us in His word what we are to strive for in our lives.  It is laid out for us in Proverbs 31: 10 – 31:

10 Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?
      She is more precious than rubies.
 11 Her husband can trust her,
      and she will greatly enrich his life.
 12 She brings him good, not harm,
      all the days of her life.

 13 She finds wool and flax
      and busily spins it.
 14 She is like a merchant’s ship,
      bringing her food from afar.
 15 She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household
      and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.

 16 She goes to inspect a field and buys it;
      with her earnings she plants a vineyard.
 17 She is energetic and strong,
      a hard worker.
 18 She makes sure her dealings are profitable;
      her lamp burns late into the night.

 19 Her hands are busy spinning thread,
      her fingers twisting fiber.
 20 She extends a helping hand to the poor
      and opens her arms to the needy.
 21 She has no fear of winter for her household,
      for everyone has warm[b] clothes.

 22 She makes her own bedspreads.
      She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.
 23 Her husband is well known at the city gates,
      where he sits with the other civic leaders.
 24 She makes belted linen garments
      and sashes to sell to the merchants.

 25 She is clothed with strength and dignity,
      and she laughs without fear of the future.
 26 When she speaks, her words are wise,
      and she gives instructions with kindness.
 27 She carefully watches everything in her household
      and suffers nothing from laziness.

 28 Her children stand and bless her.
      Her husband praises her:
 29 “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world,
      but you surpass them all!”

 30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;
      but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.
 31 Reward her for all she has done.
       Let her deeds publicly declare her praise. 

If you are not a wife you can substitute woman for wife and still see what God wants from us as women.  Is this truly attainable?  I say yes.  Is it attainable overnight and all at once?  I don’t think so.  (I caveat this by saying these are my opinions, which is subject to all the flawed reasoning of the sinful, human mind! ) But in my opinion, this is a lifetime endeavor in which we have times that we will be successful and sometimes failures.  There are things in our lives that make being a Proverbs 31 woman very difficult, but not impossible.

So, here’s the deal:  WHAT IN YOUR LIFE IS KEEPING YOU FROM HAVING A CLOSE AND INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD AND BEING A PROVERBS 31 WOMAN?  We all have things in our life that keep us from having a relationship with God that is transformational.  We want to do it all on our own.  We want control.  We want to walk our own path in life and do it our way.  With that desire comes questions, doubts, pain and confusion.  We have strongholds in our lives that keep us from being in love with our Saviour and being loved by Him.  We have things in our lives that make us doubt God and ourselves.  What is your stronghold?  

This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, marking the 40 days Jesus was in the wilderness prior to his crucifiction.  My challenge to you and I is to take the next 40 days, starting Wednesday, to identify one stronghold in your life and for these 40 days attack that stronghold everyday.  Give it to God.  Let Him erase that stronghold in your life.  Ask Him to help you walk in the words of Proverbs 31.

I am going to create a group on my facebook page where we can go and give each other support through the next 40 days.  If you want you can post your stronghold there and how your walk is going.  What kinds of things are you doing to erase your stronghold?  What tools is God giving you to do that.  Where are you succeeding and where are you stumbling?  Let’s go ladies it’s time to start the race.

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Generation to Generation.

18 Feb 2009 by sypace

Yesterday I had the priviledge of attending the meeting for stay-at-home Moms, Common Ground, at Grace Community Church.  We had a wonderful guest speaker who addressed how important it is for Moms to really treasure the times that we have with our children because they grow up quickly.  She also spoke to how wonderful Grandchildren are and she said she knew why they were called “Grand.”  The impact that families have on one another has been on my mind a lot lately, especially the impact we have on our children and they in turn have on their children and on and on…  I went to Psalms 78 and this is what I found:

 1 O my people, hear my teaching; 
       listen to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in parables, 
       I will utter hidden things, things from of old-

 3 what we have heard and known, 
       what our fathers have told us.

 4 We will not hide them from their children; 
       we will tell the next generation 
       the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, 
       his power, and the wonders he has done.

 5 He decreed statutes for Jacob 
       and established the law in Israel, 
       which he commanded our forefathers 
       to teach their children,

 6 so the next generation would know them, 
       even the children yet to be born, 
       and they in turn would tell their children.

 7 Then they would put their trust in God 
       and would not forget his deeds 
       but would keep his commands.

 8 They would not be like their forefathers— 
       a stubborn and rebellious generation, 
       whose hearts were not loyal to God, 
       whose spirits were not faithful to him.

As I read this I wondered, am I doing enough with my children that they will teach their children to love God?  AmI close enough in my own walk where it is evident that I love Him?  Is my heart loyal to God and my spirit faithful?   these are tough questions and ones that I know I will struggle with daily as long as I live.  

This passage also made me think of my own ancestors and in particular my Grandparents and I wrote this poem about them that I want to share.

Frank and Ruby

Rock solid, steadfast love
Fiery Woman.

Silent strength, determined soul
God-filled Mama.

Open arms, tender touch
Ever-present Nana.

Generous spirit, heart of gold
Great GRAND Mother.


Twinkling eye, mischievous grin
Dapper Man.

Serious demeanor, loving spirit
God’s path Daddy.

Gentle giant, limitless love
Stead-fast Paw Paw

Proud pal, giver of time
Great GRAND Father.

Bended knee, valiant honor
God’s House Keeper.


Lifelong  love, embracing souls
enduring Couple.

Solid ways, uncompromising walk
Hard-working Parents.

Giving time, generous heroes
Stupendous Grandparents.

Laughing hearts, smiling eyes
Awesome Great GRAND Parents.

Others first, God above all
Jesus Followers.

When I am old…… will my Grandkids see me this way?

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I Want to be Cracked Up.

10 Feb 2009 by sypace

Have you ever been in that place where just getting through each day was the goal; anything more just can’t be managed?  You feel like life is just one big treadmill that is set on the hill-climb mode mode and you just don’t make any progress.  That’s where I have been for months.  I haven’t felt like blogging.  I haven’t wanted to read my Bible.  I haven’t wanted to teach Bible Fellowship.  I haven’t really wanted to leave my house.  Thankfully God understands. (And if there really is anyone reading my blog they will too…)  The last few weeks I have seen some sunshine and felt it’s warmth on my heart as I have felt God’s presence.  There are two things I want to share today that have hit me hard.  I am currently attempting to do Beth Moore’s “Breaking Free” study and on page 14 she quotes Oswald Chambers and I want to share that with you here:

Our soul’s history with God is frequently the history of the “passing of the hero.”  Over and over again God has to remove our friends in order to bring Himself in their place, and that is whre we faint and fail and get discouraged.  Take it personally.  In the year that the one who stood to me for all that God was died–I gave up everything?  I became ill?  I got disheartened? OR — I saw the Lord?  

It must be God first, God second, and God third, until the life is faced steadily with God and no one else is of any accoung whatever.  ”In all the world there is none but thee, my God, there is none but thee.”

Keep paying the price.  Let God see that you are willing to live up to the vision.

Wow!  I think about how in my unrest and dissatisfaction I have turned to friends for consolation.  I have called, text-ed, emailed, visited, done anything but be quiet and put Him first, second, third or even 99th.  I have just slogged on in my unfaithfulness and my unbelief.  But God is so good and so patient.

The second thing that I want to share is the scripture that has helped me see the truth of God.  In my Beth Moore study-time this morning I found scripture that put this all in perspective for me.  First is 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.  How often do I wait patiently for the Lord to fix things?  How often do I want it now.  ALWAYS.  But God knows so much more than I could even imagine and sometimes he is just waiting for me to turn to Him.  The last few weeks as I have been homeschooling Mia we have really focused on reading the Bible and memorizing scripture and it hit me this morning as I was having my quiet time that it doesn’t do any good to memorize scripture if we don’t apply it.  We have memorized Psalm 40:1 I was patient while I waited for the Lord, He turned to me and heard my cry for help.  God hears our cries for help, but are we patiently waiting for Him to help.  The last scripture that I want to post today is 2 Corinthians 4:7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.  This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.  While we are here on this earth we have all kinds of limitations on our bodies, minds, souls, etc.  All of these limitations allow us to shine with the power of God within us, but for that light to shine through there have to be cracks in the vessels.  The more cracks in the vessel, the more the light shines forth.

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