He Crowns Us With Love

This morning I awoke to some sad, yet peaceful news. A friend of this community is at rest from all the busyness and hurt of this world. Can you imagine being in a position of complete rest and peace with no more sorrow and no more pain?
I praise God for what He has done in my friend's life. I praise Him for her teachings and encouraging words. During a time in my life when I didn't understand or know why God said what He said to me, I followed Him. I went through what my friend revealed to me as "faith by fire." God wants to know if you are going to trust the people in front of you or the God who created you."  We were sitting in her home, face to face and in  the presence of the LORD. Her voice was soft and tender like that of a mother speaking to her small child. Isn't that like God though?  He speaks truth with such a tender and soft voice?
I praise Him for the work He has completed with my friend, Pat Kinney.


 Praise the Lord, my soul;

all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
    and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewedlike the eagle’s.

The Lord works righteousness
    and justice for all the oppressed.

He made known his ways to Moses,
    his deeds to the people of Israel:
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
    slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
    nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
    or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion on his children,
    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
    he remembers that we are dust.
As for mortals, their days are like grass,
    they flourish like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
    and its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting to everlasting
    the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
    and his righteousness with their children’s children—
with those who keep his covenant
    and remember to obey his precepts.

The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
    and his kingdom rules over all.

Praise the Lord, you his angels,
    you mighty ones who do his bidding,
    who obey his word.
Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,
    you his servants who do his will.
Praise the Lord, all his works
    everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

After reading this passage this morning, the song from Matt Redman came to my thoughts and I began to sing it to the LORD. 

With this season of my life and all the transformations I am going through, this song truly speaks to my heart. 

Psalms 103

You can hear this song on 91.3 Hope FM online or on your radio dial. 

I encourage you to praise in your misery and in your joy.

~Be encouraged today and sing like never before!

Road Trip

I am about to go on a road trip to Virginia and visit the home I felt secure in, the town I was familiar to, and the groups I belonged in.
I really felt like I belonged and then I moved to another state. I was out of my comfort zone, didn't belong to any group and didn't know a soul in this new place. The song "Finally Home" by  Kerrie Roberts, shares that we have a home that we not only will we be comfortable in but we belong to.
The first line of Kerrie Robert's song says "I miss the feeling that I belong." I have a few friends that have recently moved to new cities with young children and they had to move into new schools.  It's tough being the new kids on the block and not knowing anyone. These kids might sit at a table by themselves eating lunch, studying in the library; alone, and feeling completely unattached from anyone. It is difficult to be in this season. Their ache is so deep that they can't believe they are in this place or that anyone even notices them. BUT GOD!
He doesn't leave us, He has a home being preapred for us (John 4:13), and we will belong. We will be so happy to be there that we will want to praise His name all day long.
Iif you are in a season of your life that you feel like you don't belong to your new school, neighborhood, or job know there is a God bigger than your empitness and He wants you to be comfortable in your present and future with Him.
 
Lyrics Finally Home by Kerrie Roberts
I miss the feeling that I belong
Surrounded by the love that I know at home
I never get to stay long
I might stop, but I then I gotta move on
When I'm not there, there's a craving in me
An ache so strong that I can't believe
There's a place that's better
Where I'll spend forever

When I'm finally home
And I finally know
What it really means to praise his name
What it feels like to know amazing grace
And there's no more road
Nowhere else to go
Nothing left to miss
Nothing left for this wandering soul
When I'm finally home

I'm reminded again and again
I live in this world as a stranger and
As good as it's been
Or as bad as it gets, it all will end
I want to stand where hope and faith and love
All meet in one face
Oh, I wanna be where I can see
What I now believe

Ultimate healing
Where hurt can't reach me
I won't need to find every answer
All I need will be found within you

Setting an Example

I love it when God talks to me because I get filled with a joy that is unexplained and my eyes well up with tears.  Don't you enjoy sitting with a friend that you can laugh and talk with about anything?  Jesus and I had a great conversation today.
I was traveling down a four lane highway and just ahead was a Florida Highway Patrol car sitting on the right side of the road. I automatically look down at my speedometer and tapping on my breaks without even noticing the speed I was traveling. It was an instant reaction. Do you ever have one of those moments?
The question  that came to my mind at that moment was "am I setting an example?" On the front doors of my van are magnet signs for 91.3 Hope FM. Within a few moments I was transported back to the night before when a gentleman from our Celebrate Recovery group was leading. I have witnessed this young man change from the inside out and it filled my heart with joy and eyes with tears to see him lead the group last night. Before we adjourned to our cars, he stopped me to ask if he did alright in leading and shared his enjoyment in doing so. I feel like a proud parent. I am truly proud of this young man and the u-turn he has made in his life. He even mentioned how he desires to start his own ministry. I want to share that a young woman has been working hard at getting her children back and did. She went above and beyond what the legal system asked her to do. She knows God loves her children more than she does, but also knows He is as close as a brother. I can't wait to hear how she is doing as she moved out of the area to care for her children in a better environment.
The Lord showed me within those few moments how I have led by example. I was once lost in my ways of the world, partying all the time, dependent on others, and more. Now I am leading others into the fullness of who they are in Christ. WOW!
I give praise and glory to God for pulling me out of my pits, allowing  me the opportunity to help others out of theirs and the courage to pass on the torch.

I want to encourage you today that if you are in a season of change, know that it won't last a lifetime. God has great plans for your life and you just might be going through it in order to help someone else. It is difficult to trust in what you cannot see, but when you push through the unknown everything is brought to light. It is then you look back and say "so that is why I had to go through the mud."

~Be encouraged your praise has meaning at all times

His Ways ARE NOT Our Ways!

I have begun writing my prayers in a notebook. It is quiet rewarding to see god actually them to fruition. Others, I have seen him place on hold or answer "no."

One lesson I have learned through this prayer book is God will answer prayers the way He sees fit, according to His word and not by my request alone. For instance, I have a great desire to please God with the work of my hands, but I was unkind to someone.  So picture this: you are sitting in your favorite meeting place with Jesus and praying for success of your work. Later that day this acquaintance walks in your path and you are unkind and rude in your thoughts, as well as your actions.

Do you see the unclean hands and heart you have? They may not see it, but God does. He will not give you anything you ask even if you  believe He will answer it and it would give glory to His name.
However, when you repent for having the character of Satan and ask for forgiveness of the one you are thinking those characteristics too, He is faithful and just to forgive you. Your prayers will then be answered. Again, not according to your ways, but His.

Are you praying for something and believing God will do it? Are you harboring a hurt or a characteristic of Satan?  May I suggest you take inventory of yourself and ask God to reveal any uncleanness in your heart?
When or if He reveals it to you, repent and make amends to that person unless it would harm you or others. Next, watch God answer that prayer you have petitioned Him about and have waited for an answer.  He will amaze you one way or another.  Last, put on the character of God and let His characteristics shines through you!

God tells us to leave our gift at the altar and if we have something against our brother to leave our gift there and go make amends. What I walked through His command just recently. Since then, a relationship has been restored, my daughter is seeking Christ, and I am at peace.

Girls, our bra straps get twisted and we may not recognize it until the middle of the day. Usually we may not feel it until a most inopportune time, it will bug us until we get it fixed, right? It's the same way with God working in our lives if we are holding onto something that is twisted and wrong. God loves us so much to help us get straight and be at peace, when we let him.

~Be encouraged, give God a chance to work in your life and change you from the inside out.
Marjorie