Full of Thanks Friday: God's Workmanship

"Let us come before His Presence with thanksgiving,

Let us shout joyfully with psalms. 

For the LORD is a great God,

and a great King above all gods,

In whose hand are the depths of the earth;

The peaks of the mountains are His also.

The sea is His, for it was He who made it;

And His hands formed the dry land.

Come let us worship and bow down;

Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker."

Psalm 95:2-6

On this Full of Thanks Friday, I am thankful for God's beautiful workmanship.  Last week, my husband and I had the privilege of spending some precious time with some friends of ours out of state.  On Saturday, we spent the day out on this beautiful land - exploring the perfect nooks and crannies that only God could have created.  The earth is truly His workmanship ...

And so are we.

What are you thankful for on this Full of Thanks Friday?

Full of Thanks Friday: The next generation

"One generation shall praise Thy works to another,

and shall declare Thy mighty acts.

On the glorious splendor of Thy majesty,

and on Thy wonderful works, I will meditate.

And men shall speak of the power of Thine awesome acts;

and I will tell of Thy greatness."

Psalm 145:4-6

On this Full of Thanks Friday, I am finding myself especially thankful for the precious opportunity to influence the next generation for Jesus.  I am humbled.  And I recognize every single day that my son is a blessing and one that I certainly did not deserve ... 

My husband and I experienced a few disappointing miscarriages prior to my son's birth.  I share this with such fragile care, as I know so many women experience hurt and heartache regarding becoming pregnant.  

Not one day goes by that I am not humbled by the fact that God has blessed us with this little one.  But as I have mentioned before on this blog and at a recent speaking engagement -- After my second miscarriage, I resolved in my heart that I would trust God regardless of the outcome.  That I would trust God that I would become a mother.  Whether from my own womb or not.

God allowed my sweet little Hamilton to come into our lives.  But He did not have to.  And I am well aware of that.  Absolutely and fully aware.

So today ... I am thankful for him.  And I am thankful for the opportunity to influence the next generation for Jesus.  I long to praise His works to my son.  And I pray that Hamilton grows up to know and believe that our God is mighty and powerful and awesome, as the Scripture above states. 

I long to tell of His greatness.  Do you?

And here is a fun picture from our family photo shoot this afternoon.  Our little guy was worn slap out after all the pictures.  I know you're probably thinking it's terrible that I am posting a picture of my child looking so upset, but it really was actually a pretty humorous moment ...

Even in the "cranky" moments ... his mama is thankful :) 

What about you?  What are you thankful for on this Full of Thanks Friday?? 

Full of Thanks Friday: Quiet

In the spirit of the season ...

And just because colorful fall leaves for some reason send my heart into praises of thankfulness ...

And because this Scripture has blessed me SO:

"Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of the lips that give thanks to His name.  And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." (Hebrews 13:15-16)

From now until Thanksgiving, I thought it would be neat to do a post each Friday for what I am thankful for at the moment.

On this Full of Thanks Friday, I am especially thankful for the quiet.

Quiet not to lie down and take a nap, or even read a book, but quiet to get things like this done ...

I know, it may sound crazy, but life is busy and I am thankful today for quiet.  To get this mound of clothes ironed and drink my chai tea latte.  Yep, I've turned into an official housewife/mommy.  And I'm remarkably proud of it!

What are you thankful for on this Full of Thanks Friday?  
Offer up a sacrifice of praise to your God! 

Restoration: A Choice

"He restores my soul."

Psalm 23:3a

My Bible study leader made the following statement last week during her lecture.  I have had the concept of restoration on my heart for the past month or so, so her timing was impeccable.  

So often we miss out on how God wants to restore us

because we don't want to admit we've done anything wrong. - AV

Her comment was in reference to the story of Cain and Abel.  [Read Genesis 4 if you need a refresher.]  After presenting an offering less than his brother's, Cain rebelled in anger toward the Lord.  His own resentment led him to kill his own brother, Abel.  Before going through with the murder, the Lord approached Cain in effort to prompt his heart to confession, repentance and ultimately restoration with Himself.

"The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 

but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. 

So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 

If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? 

But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; 

it desires to have you, but you must rule* over it.'"

(Genesis 4:4b-7)

*The New American Standard Bible uses the word master in verse 7, it's origin meaning to rule, to have power, to have dominion over, reign.  

The Lord's words in Genesis 4:6-7 acted as a warning to Cain of the sin that was fixin' (as my husband likes to say) to approach.  

Psalm 23:3a is one of those Scriptures that is just so precious to me.  I think it is because the whole idea of the Lord restoring my soul just overwhelms me.  Physical healing is one dynamic thing, but the idea of the Author & Creator of the Universe healing my soul -- the storehouse of all my emotions, thoughts, frailties, insecurities; my inmost being -- yes, this is absolutely astonishing to me.  

God was so gracious to Cain.  He saw his anger, his entitlement, his bitterness, and He still longed for a relationship with Cain.  He desperately longed for Cain to accept his offer of restoration.  

You see, the problem with Cain is that he didn't want to admit he had done anything wrong ...  

Something tells me there are many of us walking around like Cain.  On the verge of allowing sin to rule and reign over us, to master us, to have power and dominion over us.  Too prideful to admit our wrongs.

What is bothering you?  Deep in your soul?  Like Cain, perhaps you have been plagued with jealousy, resentment, or bitterness?  Are you overcome with temptation?  Do you struggle with insecurity, inadequacy, insufficiency?  Is there someone you hate or someone you have hurt?  What are you hanging onto that is unproductive and could lead to future sin? 

Maybe you don't even know what is bothering you, but you feel that something is just not right in your heart ... 

Take some time today to pray to God.  Ask Him to reveal to you the contents of your soul.  Then spend some time confessing those tender spots to Him.  Ask Him to bring to your mind how you need to repent.  Then repent.  Turn away and ask Him to help you change.  He promises to walk with you every step.

But it's a choice ... 

Glorious restoration awaits you.  Restoration with the Father.  

Don't be like Cain.  Accept God's gracious invitation for healing.  

Our souls were not meant to bear the weight of our burdens...

They were meant to live freely in the restoration of God.    

Memorial Stones

Justice and truth are your virtues 

With many too vast for our words 

No mind contains the splendor of all that You are

Our God, our God has done great things 

Our God, is greater than all

Miracles are your memorial 

The promise of wonders to come 

You are the author, God You complete it all

We sang the song, Greater than All, by Hillsong this past Sunday during our worship service.  Our worship leader shared briefly before the song about how in the Old Testament, God's people would set up physical stones as memorials of God's faithfulness.  They did this so that for years to come God's people would see the faithfulness of their God, and would be reminded that when He promises to act on their behalf -- He stays true to His word.  

In the first few chapters of the book of Joshua, God calls Joshua to lead the Israelites to their promised land.  This was no ordinary feat, however.  God provided Joshua with very specific instructions to convey to the priests who would be carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord through the Jordan and into the promised land ...

"You shall, moreover, command the priests who are carrying 
the ark of the covenant, saying, 'When you come to the edge of 
the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan."

(Joshua 3:8)

Once the priests dipped their feet into the edge of the water, the God of all heaven and earth promised to overtake the waters of the Jordan and cause the waters to cease flowing.  And that He did ...

"And the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of 
the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan 
while all Israel crossed on dry ground, until all the nation had 
finished crossing the Jordan."

(Joshua 3:17)

After the entire nation of Israel had passed through the Jordan on dry ground [talk about miracles], God instructed Joshua to appoint 12 men - one from each tribe of Israel - to take the journey back to the middle of the Jordan where the priests were standing firm.  Upon arrival, the 12 men were to each pick up a stone and carry it back to the dry land that had been promised to them.  They were to set that stone up in remembrance of how God had acted on their behalf (Joshua 4:1-5).  

"Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children 
ask later saying,'What do these stones mean to you?' 
then you shall say to them, 'Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off 
before the ark of the covenant of the Lord ...

So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.'"

(Genesis 4:6, 7)

Joshua 4:9 tells us that Joshua even went a step further and set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan right at the place where the priests stood.

And when all was said and done - when every last person had crossed the Jordan, including the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord - the stones remained as proof to future generations of the faithfulness of God.  

And those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan,

Joshua set up at Gilgal.  

And he said to the sons of Israel, "When your children ask their fathers

in time to come, saying, 'What are these stones?'

then you shall inform your children, saying,

'Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground.'

that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD 

is mighty, so that you may fear the LORD your God forever."

(Joshua 4:22, 24)

What precious reminders the Israelites were given by way of these stones!  The Lord knew that doubt would surely creep in at times and hearts would go astray and other gods would be served and seasons of waiting would occur ... so He led Joshua to set up markers as reminders of the fulfilled promises of God.  The one true God.  The God of heaven and earth. 

Sometimes I think I need memorial stones.  Tangible objects which act as representatives of God's faithfulness.  Markers of answered prayers.  

I want so desperately to be intentional about remembering the faithfulness of God in my life - Don't you?  And I want to impress these things upon the next generation ...

What are some of your memorial stones?  

How has God demonstrated His faithfulness in your life?

What prayers has He answered that have been monumental to you?

Are you telling others about them?

Our God, our God has done great things 

Our God, is greater than all

Every.Living.Thing.

So ... not every day goes as planned.

Look who showed up for Bible study this morning!

"So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing 

with which the water teems and that moves about in it, 

according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. 

And God saw that it was good."

(Genesis 1:21) 

I told you I have Creation on the brain ...

Polar Opposites

"Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light.

And God saw that the light was good;

And God separated the light from the darkness."

Genesis 1:3-4

I am doing Bible Study Fellowship this year and we are studying the book of Genesis.

When you feel small, inadequate or insignificant - Can I suggest reading the first 2 chapters of Genesis?  It is a definite perspective changer!  The God of Creation - the God who ordained time, space, seasons, and every creature that exists - He saved his most prized possession for the very last of his creations: mankind.  The world was incomplete without us.  He longs for us more than we know.  More than we can comprehend ...

And certainly more than we believe.

In studying Genesis, I have been particularly drawn to learn more about the vast difference between light and darkness.  

My husband and I are very different.  For example, he is very good at reason.  I tend to think with emotion first, reason later.  He is very good at math [like he understands fractions and percentages and weird stuff, like formulas].  I left my x's and y's way back in my freshman year of college and am still confused about what in the world the point of all that was.  He loves sports.  I had to have the definition of 'punt' explained to me after the last football game.  He is good with detail.  I am a big-picture person.  He tends to have an idea and run with it.  I go back and forth [and back and forth] debating whether it's a good idea before I take the leap.  He thinks in his head.  I think out loud.    

Despite our many differences, there are also many things we have in common.  And there are also things that I can make an effort to have in common with him.  Like sports, for example.  I really could learn more, sit through more games, and maybe eventually even love sports on the level he does.

But light and darkness ... That is a different story.  

They are completely different.  Polar opposites.

"And God separated the light from the darkness.

And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night."

(Gen 1:4-5)

God produced a separation between light and darkness at the creation of the world.  He did this by creating the light.  On day 1, God distinguished the difference between day and night. 

"Then God said, 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens

to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs,

and for seasons, and for days and years;

And let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens 

to give light on the earth'; and it was so.

And God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day,

and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also."

(Genesis 1:14-16)

God made certain that even in darkness, light would be present.  On day 4, He created the stars, moon and sun to illuminate the darkness.  

I have been able to glean great application from the above Scripture passages.  I am all the more convinced that you and I, as believers in Jesus, are meant to look vastly different than the world around us.  The parallel between the introduction of light into a dark world at the beginning of Creation and the calling we have as believers today to go and be the light of the world (Matthew 5:14), is no coincidence.

We have to stand out; however, standing out cannot be our goal.  Our motivation for all that we do must be to bring glory and attention to our Savior.  Out of the outpouring of our love for Him and the conviction of the Holy Spirit, there should be things about our lives that are in turn distinguishably different.  Agreed?     

                     We are a CHOSEN RACE ... 

a royal priesthood ...

A HOLY NATION ...

a people for God's own possession ...

THAT YOU MAY PROCLAIM THE EXCELLENCIES OF HIM

WHO HAS CALLED YOU ...

out of darkness into

HIS MARVELOUS LIGHT! 1 Peter 2:9

So what about you? Are you blending in??  Or are you shining brightly?  In what ways do you look different?  And in what areas do you not look different? For real: name them.  This is a good practice for us.  And this is not about being self-righteous.  It is about living within our calling.  It is about making sure we are following through in obedience and that pleasing Him - not the world - is our goal, our pleasure, the desire of our hearts.

Are we fully aware that our Creator God had vastly different in mind for us?

"So that you may become blameless and pure, 

'children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.'

Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you 

hold firmly to the word of life."

(Philippians 2:14-16a)

We were meant to resemble the stars, y'all!  What a beautiful and thrilling a picture that is!  

We have been ordained, called, chosen, 

to be completely opposite than an unbelieving world.

Polar opposites.