365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 116

Do things ever go as you plan? No, of course not. We are in the final prep stages for my daughter's 10th glow-in-the-dark slumber party. I have had to make the room as dark as possible covering the windows and other small light sources. We have 2 black lights set-up. The girls are going to paint glow-in-the-dark paint on black t-shirts, make glow-in-the-dark lava lamps, paint glow-in-the-dark jar lanterns, make glow-in-the-dark slime, paint their toes with yep, you guessed it, glow-in-the-dark nail polish. Not to mention paint their faces and finish the wall decor all of which will glow as well. There has been a lot of prep work and than I had to go and decide to make a homemade ice cream cake. Well, it is looking good and just needs the last minute decor put on it. I am old enough and wise enough to know that all our plans are not under our control. How everything happens will be determined by God? So we've made our plans and said our prayers that all will come out well now it's up to God. Say a prayer for us it all goes well!
Micah 4:12 But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord; they do not understand his plan.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 115

This is getting out late because of the time crunch this morning had with needing to leave by 6:30 for work today so I could leave early to be at the parent-teacher conference. Low and behold a crash on the highway prevented me from being able to be there at our appointed time. I had planned on getting in my bible and writing on my blog this morning but my daughter came down from her bedroom with a strange look on her face. She came up to me and we hugged like we always do. She was shaking with fear! What happened? Was it a scary dream? She was unable to speak. I led her upstairs to her room and with lots of hugs, caresses and soothing talk, I got her to finally calm down enough that she could tell me what was going on. Apparently, she had read a scary book at school about a wax museum and the wax man becomes headless. Yeah, that is a little bit too close to real for comfort for a child’s mind that is not capable yet of abstract thinking. We talked and shared ways we can combat this problem. 1. No reading scary books! 2. Use a white erase board in your dream and wipe away the scary stuff. 3. Pray to the Lord for conquering our fears. 4. Talk about your fears with Mom, Dad or brother. Our fears are part of who we are, of who God created. We were created this way so that we would look to God. When we fully trust in him, those fears will be conquered.

Psalm 91:4-5 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of the night.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 114

Through my Bible concordance and the leading of the Holy Spirit, I came to read this scripture David wrote. He wrote this after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan for his sin of adultery with Bathsheba. Rather than excuse his sin or try to cover it up, he bared his soul and asked God for his help and mercy. Though are sins are cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ, we too must confess them to God and ask him to help us overcome and renew our spirits. The word in this scripture steadfast had me going, “huh?” I found steadfast to mean firmly fixed, unchanging, steady, resolute, established and unwavering. In our world, we are surrounded by sin and evil that can distract us and turn us away from God even if it is just a moment. Steadfastness is something we need to be praying for everyday. David’s Psalm gives the perfect words for this prayer. This is one to put to memory.

Psalm 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 113

At work yesterday, I found myself contemplating the actions of some of my co-workers. Again, they talked negatively about another co-worker in the other part of our office. I had to admit that I have been guilty of this in the past but hearing it come from others on a regular basis has made me realize that this is a sin that I am to work on but also that I have to shine the light of the truth on this to those at my work who are doing it. I thought of something my mom had always said which probably many moms out there have said, If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” The sinful part of us will put down others. I remember as a teenager doing some people watching with friends at the mall and just giggling with our judgmental negative comments about the people we saw. Who are we do judge anything? I would like to say it is a young thing and people grow out of it but it is not going to go away because you age. It will only be conquered when you have shined the light of the truth of God upon it and keep shinning that light upon it. So, I need to let go of fear of what others will think if I say something and stand up for not talking bad about people. Fear of rejection is a weakness within my temperament that I have to overcome. All things are possible with God.

Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 112

We all have weaknesses that are just part of who God created us to be. One of my weaknesses is that I internalize my anger and make it out to be “hurt feelings”. I struggled with this quite a bit in the early part of my marriage but after being truly saved by Jesus, with the help of the Holy Spirit I have learned to be better at expressing myself. I am far from perfect but the Holy Spirit is guiding my steps and leading me to being more like Jesus. What do you know of yourself that needs the help of our awesome God?

Romans 8:26-27 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 111

We were watching part 2 of The Bible mini series last night. One of the main sections was about Samson. It threw me and my daughter off with how it started and some of the details. We were just going by the children’s story version we were used to reading. So, this morning I read the chapters about Samson and found out the whole truth. The mini series is taking some liberties due to the time constraints I am sure but it was interesting to read the whole truth with the parts the mini series left out. It really just goes to show that anything you read or watch about the Bible has to be sifted through the real truth in the Bible to ascertain how true to the story they managed to stay. I know that the intent of this mini series is to give non-believers a taste of the truth enough that they will want to get into the Bible themselves and discover the truth and be led to salvation. I pray that this mini series will indeed do that even if just one more is saved, it would be worth it.

Judges 16:30  Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!”  Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 111

My mind is reeling from the test results of my APS report on my temperament that I received this morning. It is so accurate.  I can’t even express the value of having something like this. People struggle their whole lives with learning who they are and what God created them to be. This tool is a gift from God and I am so honored to be called to helping people discover who God created them to be. I feel compelled to re-read it and fully absorb who God created me to be and praise him for everything.

Romans 10:15 As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”