Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Isaiah 43
In Chapter 43 we have no doubt Who God is and what He will do! I made note of some things He said: I have created you, I have formed you, I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, I will be with you, I am the Lord your God, I gave Egypt as your ransom, I love you, I give men in return for you, I am with you, I will bring back your offspring, I will gather you, I created you for My glory, I am He, I am the Lord, I declared, saved and proclaimed, I am God, I work, I am the Holy One, I am doing a new thing, I will make a way, I blot out your transgressions, I will not remember your sins. He say's besides Me, there is no other savior. What other "god" is like our GOD. It reminds me of the old song, there is none like you, no one else can touch my heart like You do. And because of all this, I know that what He says in verses 1 & 2 are true. He will be with me, I will not be overwhelmed, burned or consumed. Thank you Jesus!!
Friday, March 25, 2011
Studies in Isaiah Chapter 40
Wow, this is an amazing chapter!
We shall all see the glory of the Lord. I have always loved the story of Moses in Exodus 33, when he asks to see Gods glory. God covers his eyes, but then allows Moses to see His back as He passes by. Man, what I would do to see just Gods back, what an amazing sight that must have been! I am so excited for that day when I will be able to see God in all of his glory in heaven. But until that day, I am satisfied to see Him be glorified here on earth.
The word for Glory in verse 5 and also in Ex 33:18 is: Kabowd, which means honor, abundance, riches, splendor and reputation. May I always give God the Glory He is due.
In verses 7 and 8 we are put in our place. We are like grass that withers away with one blow and a flower that fades. That is so true, with one trial I can forget all that the Lord has shown me!
But then we see the Lord high and lifted up!
His word stands forever. He is a Victorious Warrior, a Shepard, He measures the waters, sky, soil and mountains. Who can teach God anything? The nations can offer Him nothing. Who is like our God? No one and nothing can compare to Him. But we are like grasshoppers. He can bring our leaders to nothing. He created the stars and knows each one of them by name. And because of His absolute power and strength not one of them is forgotten.
Wow, now that is a big and mighty God and we are nothing but little specks, a drop in a bucket.
In verse 28 he says, "Have you not known? Have you not heard?" He is the creator of the earth, he does not get tired or weary. He gives us His power, He increases our strength.
The message bible says it like this:
"Why would you ever complain, O Jacob, or, whine, Israel, saying, "God has lost track of me. He doesn't care what happens to me"?
Don't you know anything? Haven't you been listening? God doesn't come and go. God lasts. He's Creator of all you can see or imagine.
He doesn't get tired out, doesn't pause to catch his breath. And he knows everything, inside and out. He energizes those who get tired,
gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon God get fresh strength."
I think some times I am tempted to say to the Lord, "where are You?" I tend to put my own human weaknesses on Him. Pastor Greg has said this many times, if you have a small God, you have big problems. But if you have a big God, you've got small problems. We serve a big God, nothing is to hard for Him. Even life's biggest problems in view of God seem minute.
May I always wait on the Lord for renewed strength, may I never lose sight of how big my God is. He will always be there for me because He is an eternal God with an endless supply of wisdom, power and strength.
We shall all see the glory of the Lord. I have always loved the story of Moses in Exodus 33, when he asks to see Gods glory. God covers his eyes, but then allows Moses to see His back as He passes by. Man, what I would do to see just Gods back, what an amazing sight that must have been! I am so excited for that day when I will be able to see God in all of his glory in heaven. But until that day, I am satisfied to see Him be glorified here on earth.
The word for Glory in verse 5 and also in Ex 33:18 is: Kabowd, which means honor, abundance, riches, splendor and reputation. May I always give God the Glory He is due.
In verses 7 and 8 we are put in our place. We are like grass that withers away with one blow and a flower that fades. That is so true, with one trial I can forget all that the Lord has shown me!
But then we see the Lord high and lifted up!
His word stands forever. He is a Victorious Warrior, a Shepard, He measures the waters, sky, soil and mountains. Who can teach God anything? The nations can offer Him nothing. Who is like our God? No one and nothing can compare to Him. But we are like grasshoppers. He can bring our leaders to nothing. He created the stars and knows each one of them by name. And because of His absolute power and strength not one of them is forgotten.
Wow, now that is a big and mighty God and we are nothing but little specks, a drop in a bucket.
In verse 28 he says, "Have you not known? Have you not heard?" He is the creator of the earth, he does not get tired or weary. He gives us His power, He increases our strength.
The message bible says it like this:
"Why would you ever complain, O Jacob, or, whine, Israel, saying, "God has lost track of me. He doesn't care what happens to me"?
Don't you know anything? Haven't you been listening? God doesn't come and go. God lasts. He's Creator of all you can see or imagine.
He doesn't get tired out, doesn't pause to catch his breath. And he knows everything, inside and out. He energizes those who get tired,
gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon God get fresh strength."
I think some times I am tempted to say to the Lord, "where are You?" I tend to put my own human weaknesses on Him. Pastor Greg has said this many times, if you have a small God, you have big problems. But if you have a big God, you've got small problems. We serve a big God, nothing is to hard for Him. Even life's biggest problems in view of God seem minute.
May I always wait on the Lord for renewed strength, may I never lose sight of how big my God is. He will always be there for me because He is an eternal God with an endless supply of wisdom, power and strength.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Disneyland as Therapy
It's amazing what a little trip to Disneyland can do! The last 3 weeks my mom and I have gone to Disneyland on my day off. The night before we always debate about whether or not we should go. We say, "maybe we should rest tomorrow or go somewhere else." But we always end up going to Disneyland, even though we know it will be a long day and we will be tired! It's always worth it. We have so much fun and it gives us a chance to forget about all of our troubles (if only for a moment). It also gives us a chance to talk about things and encourage each other. When your going through hard times it's good every so often to get away and have some fun. Just like there is time to read the word and pray. If we didn't have something to take our minds off of our troubles we would go crazy. So Disneyland it is!
It feels as if you are in a different land, a different place in time. Even though I have been there many times, it never gets old. Every time we go we have a different experience. We eat at different places and we talk to different people. Yesterday, we did not go on one ride. We got there at 11 and left at about 9. We had fun just walking around all of the stores and sitting at all the different places. It was crowded so I didn't mind not having to wait in line. I am so thankful that the Lord has provided this little escape for us. Now in the weeks to come when my mom is not feeling well or feeling a little down, we can look back and remember all the fun we have had. Also she can look forward to the future and all the fun we will have. It gives her something to hold on to, something to look forward to.
We will never stop having fun, no matter what. Even when she is sick or her spirits are low, we will make our own fun. It's so important to get your mind off of your situation and on to the Lord. When your just sitting at home, thinking about how bad things are it can depress you.
Proverbs 17:22, "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."
Proverbs 12:25, "Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad."
These scriptures are so true. When my mom is feeling down, I remind her of a funny story or a fun memory that we have. Then we laugh and her countenance is raised. I keep reminding her of the promises the Lord had given us and how He has taken care of us in the past, this brings down the anxiety level in her heart. I also tell her every time some one says they are praying for her and when some one prays with me for her. When you keep doing these things a person can't help but be joyful. The scariness is still there, but it seem a little bit easier to bear and the Lord provides His peace.
So this week starts the harder things, but the Lord is there to carry us through it all and He has been from the very beginning. Thanks mom for being so strong and willing to learn and grow through this whole experience. Even though you do struggle, you always come out on top of things and your emotions. I am very proud of you!
It feels as if you are in a different land, a different place in time. Even though I have been there many times, it never gets old. Every time we go we have a different experience. We eat at different places and we talk to different people. Yesterday, we did not go on one ride. We got there at 11 and left at about 9. We had fun just walking around all of the stores and sitting at all the different places. It was crowded so I didn't mind not having to wait in line. I am so thankful that the Lord has provided this little escape for us. Now in the weeks to come when my mom is not feeling well or feeling a little down, we can look back and remember all the fun we have had. Also she can look forward to the future and all the fun we will have. It gives her something to hold on to, something to look forward to.
We will never stop having fun, no matter what. Even when she is sick or her spirits are low, we will make our own fun. It's so important to get your mind off of your situation and on to the Lord. When your just sitting at home, thinking about how bad things are it can depress you.
Proverbs 17:22, "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."
Proverbs 12:25, "Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad."
These scriptures are so true. When my mom is feeling down, I remind her of a funny story or a fun memory that we have. Then we laugh and her countenance is raised. I keep reminding her of the promises the Lord had given us and how He has taken care of us in the past, this brings down the anxiety level in her heart. I also tell her every time some one says they are praying for her and when some one prays with me for her. When you keep doing these things a person can't help but be joyful. The scariness is still there, but it seem a little bit easier to bear and the Lord provides His peace.
So this week starts the harder things, but the Lord is there to carry us through it all and He has been from the very beginning. Thanks mom for being so strong and willing to learn and grow through this whole experience. Even though you do struggle, you always come out on top of things and your emotions. I am very proud of you!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Life can be so hard!
Some times life can be so hard! Just when you think things are going to get better, something hits you in the face. You always try to be ready for the next big trial or the next big hardship. But you are never really prepared. Yes, the Bible says there will be trials and tribulations. But can we just get a break every once in a while. Now I'm not complaining, I'm just stating the truth. No one wants to be in the midst of hardship. I know there are good things that can come out of trials, growing closer to the Lord, deepening my roots in the Word and I know that suffering produces endurance, character and hope (Romans 5). But every once in a while it would be nice to have a break from suffering!!
There are so many more families who are going through even deeper and darker trials than my family. Lord please help us, we are suffering.
This is a very comforting passage in Philippians:
4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice! 4:5 Let everyone see your gentleness. The Lord is near! 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. 4:7 And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
I guess we will never fully be out of suffering until we are in Heaven and what a glorious day that will be!
Revelation 21:4, "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more – or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.”
There are so many more families who are going through even deeper and darker trials than my family. Lord please help us, we are suffering.
This is a very comforting passage in Philippians:
4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice! 4:5 Let everyone see your gentleness. The Lord is near! 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. 4:7 And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
I guess we will never fully be out of suffering until we are in Heaven and what a glorious day that will be!
Revelation 21:4, "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more – or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.”
Monday, December 6, 2010
Eating Healthy
I never really new how hard it was to eat healthy until now. Everything is full of sugar or turns into sugar in your body. Now that my mom has been diagnosed with breast cancer, she is staying away from sugar and white flower and things like that. We have a gluten free mix that we use, it's by Pamela's. But even still it's full of sugar. So today I found some recipes using Almond flour or Almond meal and using alternative sweeteners. You can make your own flour by putting Almonds in the food processor and pulsing it. But make sure not to go to far or else you will have almond paste. There are a lot of benefits to eating almonds, they are heart healthy, they aid in weight loss, high source of protein, anti-inflammatory and I'm sure many more things!! Also you can use flax seed oil instead of regular oil, the benefits to that are endless!
So now lets talk about white flour. I took this from Answerbag.com:
"White flour is actually in a lot of high processed foods, it's in bagels, muffins, donuts. Donuts, bagels, muffins they're all the same thing. They all turn to paste in the body and what it does, it actually inhibits your villi. You have villi in the small intestines and what those do; they actually absorb nutrients and toxins into the body. So anything that goes into your bloodstream that goes into the body will go through your villi. So if you add water to flour, which is what all those are, bagels, donuts, English muffins, blueberry muffins you're in a hurry and you want to grab something like that. It would actually go in and it makes into a paste. Now those villi don't really have much to work with because they can't move so if they can't move they can't get nutrients into the body. Which is very, very important so white flour is actually not a very good thing."
Here is one from helium.com:
"White flour is created by removing the bran and germ from the wheat, which contains 76% of the products vitamins and minerals. In removing these parts, 97% of fiber is also lost. At this point, the product only holds less nutritional value, but it doesn't stop there. Once this has taken place, there are many things that are added such as chlorine dioxide, potassium bromated, emulsifiers, ammonium carbonate, alum, chalk, alloxen and sorbitan mono-saturate."
Eeek, that makes me not want to eat anything with flour again. Just to be balanced I looked up the good effects of white flour on the body and not one good thing came up.
It's to bad that eating healthy has to cost so much, most of the organic foods in the stores are twice as much as regular food.
I love baking and I have been wanting to make Christmas cookies!! So I am going to try the Almond flour with blue agave sweetener. I will post my recipe, but only if it turns out OK!!
So now lets talk about white flour. I took this from Answerbag.com:
"White flour is actually in a lot of high processed foods, it's in bagels, muffins, donuts. Donuts, bagels, muffins they're all the same thing. They all turn to paste in the body and what it does, it actually inhibits your villi. You have villi in the small intestines and what those do; they actually absorb nutrients and toxins into the body. So anything that goes into your bloodstream that goes into the body will go through your villi. So if you add water to flour, which is what all those are, bagels, donuts, English muffins, blueberry muffins you're in a hurry and you want to grab something like that. It would actually go in and it makes into a paste. Now those villi don't really have much to work with because they can't move so if they can't move they can't get nutrients into the body. Which is very, very important so white flour is actually not a very good thing."
Here is one from helium.com:
"White flour is created by removing the bran and germ from the wheat, which contains 76% of the products vitamins and minerals. In removing these parts, 97% of fiber is also lost. At this point, the product only holds less nutritional value, but it doesn't stop there. Once this has taken place, there are many things that are added such as chlorine dioxide, potassium bromated, emulsifiers, ammonium carbonate, alum, chalk, alloxen and sorbitan mono-saturate."
Eeek, that makes me not want to eat anything with flour again. Just to be balanced I looked up the good effects of white flour on the body and not one good thing came up.
It's to bad that eating healthy has to cost so much, most of the organic foods in the stores are twice as much as regular food.
I love baking and I have been wanting to make Christmas cookies!! So I am going to try the Almond flour with blue agave sweetener. I will post my recipe, but only if it turns out OK!!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Ahhh, Christmas time!!
I love this time of year, it's so festive and colorful! I love looking at all the lights and the decorations and feeling the chill in the air (even though I like the warmer weather). So now that I am living in my apartment I am so excited to decorate it. I put up lights around our patio and some green garland and felt flower garland around our fire place. Next on the list is our Christmas tree. I have been slowly collecting decorations and I can't wait to see them all again. I'm sure that I have forgotten about some! But one of my favorite things that I have is a glass Christmas Tree shaped candy dish. My grandma Betty gave it to me years and years ago. She always had one at her house filled with M & M's. So I can't wait to go to the store and buy some red and green M & M's to fill it up with.
This is my first Christmas being married, it will be so different not waking up at home. But it will also be exciting to be with my husband.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
One Month Mark
Well, we have already hit the one month mark. When we first got engaged on January 29, 2009 it felt like our wedding was so far away. During the summer we decided that we would have to put the wedding on hold. That was the hardest time of my life. I knew who I would be spending the rest of my life with, but I didn't know when that would start. Looking back now I can see how the Lord was teaching me a lot of things. Like how to trust in Him, fully and completely, without having the answers I wanted. He showed me that His timing is best (I already knew that or so I thought). The Lord is never late and never early. If the Lord would have given me what I wanted, when I wanted it, I don't think I would be as blessed as I am right now. Some times it feels as though the Lord has forgotten our request or doesn't care. But I know that is not true. He does know and He does care. We do not see things the way that He does. We think in temporal, He thinks in Eternal. He is not bound to our time, nor does He see things the way we do. His ways are higher than our ways (thank goodness). I am so glad that He did not give me my own way the thousands of times I asked. Maybe some day I will learn that lesson. But for now I will just do the best that I can do and try not to repeat my past mistakes. Thankfully the Lords mercies are new every morning and I am forgiven. He does not hold those things against me.
A couple of years ago the Lord gave me a verse, Psalms 34:10 "the young lions lack and suffer hunger, but those who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing". So I know that those things which are good for me the Lord will not with hold. If He is not giving me what I ask for, maybe it's because He has a different plan or it's not the right timing. I must remember that He knows best!!! As long as I am seeking Him, He will give me the things that I am desiring. Maybe not right away or maybe He will change my mind about what I am asking for. But the Lord will always get the glory. When I go through a trial or a hardship regarding something major in my life, in the end the Lord gets more glory. Am I willing to go through some suffering in order for the Lord to get even more glory? I hope the answer is yes. It might be very hard during the trial, but after it gives you a sense of accomplishment.
My prayer is that the Lord would be glorified through my life and that I will be a good example of one who is submitted to His will whatever that may be. To God be the glory.
A couple of years ago the Lord gave me a verse, Psalms 34:10 "the young lions lack and suffer hunger, but those who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing". So I know that those things which are good for me the Lord will not with hold. If He is not giving me what I ask for, maybe it's because He has a different plan or it's not the right timing. I must remember that He knows best!!! As long as I am seeking Him, He will give me the things that I am desiring. Maybe not right away or maybe He will change my mind about what I am asking for. But the Lord will always get the glory. When I go through a trial or a hardship regarding something major in my life, in the end the Lord gets more glory. Am I willing to go through some suffering in order for the Lord to get even more glory? I hope the answer is yes. It might be very hard during the trial, but after it gives you a sense of accomplishment.
My prayer is that the Lord would be glorified through my life and that I will be a good example of one who is submitted to His will whatever that may be. To God be the glory.
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