A Little Place

A Little Place.

Where should I work today, dear Lord, 
and my love flowed warm and free.
He answered and said, “See that little place? 
Tend that place for me.”
I answered and I said, 
“Oh no, not there! No one would ever see,
No matter how well my work was done. Not that place for me.”
His voice, when He spoke, was soft and kind. 
He answered me tenderly,
“Little one, search thy heart of thine. 
Are you working for them or me?
Nazareth was a little place and so was Galilee.”



"Aren’t we glad that the King of the universe, the Creator of the world, left Heaven and said, 'I’ll step into that little place. I’ll serve. I’ll lay down My life, so they can have life.'

When you serve in your home, you’re following in the steps of the Savior, and there’s no bigger, grander place you could be!"  ( Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss is an outreach of Life Action Ministries.)

Proverb 31 is

"the description of a virtuous woman, an excellent woman, a woman of moral strength and godly character. The kind of woman that, if you are a [female] child of God, you are going to be someday.

God is committed to making you and me as women into this kind of woman. So how much better to cooperate with Him in the process than to fight and resist and kick and scream or ignore His standard altogether and then one day find that we really did miss the mark. This is God’s commitment to us—to make us into these kinds of women.

So what does this kind of heart look like in everyday life? What does a woman with this kind of heart act like? How does it affect her schedule, her priorities, her activities, her day? How does a woman who is loyal to her husband, as we read about in the last session, how does she spend her time? How does she live out that commitment?"  (Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Proverb 31, A Godly Woman's Work, Feb. 20, 2007).

God is Working!

God moves in a mysterious way  
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea  
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines  
Of never failing skill;  
He treasures up His bright designs  
And works His sovereign will. 

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;  
The clouds ye so much dread  
Are big with mercy and shall break  
In blessings on your head. 

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,  
But trust Him for His grace;  
Behind a frowning providence  
He hides a smiling face. 

His purposes will ripen fast,  
Unfolding every hour;  
The bud may have a bitter taste, 
 But sweet will be the flower. 

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain. 

(William Cowper, "God Moves in a Mysterious Way")

18th-century English poet and hymn writer,

friend to John Newton

"God is always at work in every era, in every circumstance, in every season, in every situation of life. God is doing a work in our day.  God is always at work. Even when it appears that He is silent, that He is passive, that He is absent. Even when we cannot see what He is doing. Even when we do not know what He is doing, God is at work.  Whether you can see it or not, God is at work.  Take heart. Have faith. Be encouraged. God is at work."  Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Habakkuk 1:5  "Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded.  For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told." (ESV)

John 5:17  “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”  (ESV)

Isaiah 50:10 "Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of His servant?  Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the Name of the LORD and rely on his God."  (ESV)

"God is saying to His servants—Habakkuk and His other people—“Broaden your perspective. Look among the nations and see.” God is saying, “Your vision is not big enough. You’ve been too centered in on your own specific circumstances and situation. You need to look among the nations. Your view is too narrow.”

You see, so often we can only see our little piece of the whole picture. We see our health, our issues, our family, our church, our country, our circumstances; and we get totally engrossed in what is happening to us. You know why? Because we live as if it’s all about me. That’s our perspective. We have this self-centered, myopic perspective on life. It’s all about what’s happening to me. It’s all about how it affects me.

But God is saying, “Lift your eyes up and see the bigger picture. Don’t be so consumed with your own personal situation.”  (Nancy Leigh DeMoss)

To read more of Nancy's wisdom on this matter, go to her teaching on Habakkuk at www.reviveourhearts.com.  The information above comes specifically from her October 7th teaching.

Recording my Songs

I am happy to report that I have a digital recording device that I borrowed from some friends.  Until I buy one of my own, it is something to practice on.  I hope to be able to record some of the songs I've written.  If it goes well, I hope to post them on here.  We'll see what the Lord works out.  But for now, I am simply happy with the possibilities.

I have written around 20 songs over the past 8 years, primarily the past 5.  They are all near and dear to my heart because they express my feelings about and toward the Lord and His work in my life.  They usually come to me when I am spending time learning about or praying to or praising Him. 

I am under no illusion that they are all Dove Award material (though my husband maintains that some of them should win it (Do you know rose-colored glasses get thicker through the years?)).  However, it is a great blessing to me to have 'new' songs to offer to my Lord, King, Savior, Friend.  I appreciate them and thank Him for the gift of them.  And I try to share them with whomever I feel they may bless.

Who knows, maybe one will bless YOU!  :0)  

Christian Artist - Phil Wickham - Divine Romance

I was introduced to this singer/song-writer by a young lady from our church who used some of his songs in a wonderful concert she gave. I think his lyrics are AMAZING!

ENJOY!!!

2 Chronicles 20

I LOVE THIS CHAPTER!

It's one of my very favorite in all the Bible!  Soooo many good verses for encouragement in the bad spots of life.  

Jehoshaphat and Judah were about to be attacked by a multitude.  And, of course, it was SCARY!  But Jehoshaphat responded in the right way:

v3  "Then Jehoshaphat feared, and SET himself [determinedly, as his vital need] to seek the Lord; he proclaimed a fast in all Judah."

Instead of worrying and fretting for days, he did the best, most effective thing he could---he ran straight to the Father for help and exhorted everyone else in the situation to do the same.

Then he set right to work declaring the truth (2 Cor. 4:13) in the presence of the assembly:

v6  "O Lord, God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven?  And do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations?  In Your Hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand You."

He goes on reminding God of His Promises and who he and this people are to Him on through to verse 12 where he says:

"O our God, will You not exercise judgment upon them?  For we have no might to stand against this great company that is coming against us.  We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You."

Jehoshaphat KNEW that he and the rest of Judah had no power to save themselves from their circumstances.  And he KNEW Who did!

So then...he and Judah just stood there waiting in the Presence of the Lord for their answer.  And God sent it through the Levite prophet Jahaziel (a descendant of Asaph):

v15,17  "Hearken, all Judah, you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you King Jehoshaphat, The Lord says this to you: 'Be not afraid or dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.'...You shall not need to fight in this battle; take your positions, stand still, and see the deliverance of the Lord [Who is] with you, O Judah and Jerusalem.  Fear not nor be dismayed.  Tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you."

And what was their response?

v18  "And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping Him."

Again, the best response possible!  Followed up by a great response as well:  PRAISE!!!

v19  "And some of the Levites of the Kohathites and Korahites stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice."

Then again after Jehoshaphat exhorts everyone to believe in v20:

v21  "When he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers to sing to the Lord and praise Him in their holy [priestly] garments as they went out before the army, saying, 'Give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!'"

PRAISE = STRENGTH

And what was the Father's response?

v22  "And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir..."

He came through for them.  He delivered them.  All they had to do was take up their positions of obedience and praise.  He took care of the rest!  (Not only did the Judahites not get slaughtered and not have to fight, but God gave them many riches as well.  So many riches that they named the field they expected to die on The Valley of Beracah {blessing}.)

And then they went marching home still praising:

vv27,28  "Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat leading them, to Jerusalem with JOY for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies.  They came to Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets to the house of the Lord."

And not only did the Father WOW their socks off, He AMAZED the surrounding nations as well:

v29  "And the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel."

And how did they hear?  Hopefully they heard from God's people giving Him the glory.

Now, what should MY response be?

Hopefully, I will remember this passage

and do like King Jehoshaphat did

and run straight to my Father.

And then, hopefully, I will quiet my heart

before Him in trust that He IS my help,

and I will wait expectantly for His Word

on the situation and for what He will do 

on my behalf, since He also promises:

"For from of old no one has heard

nor perceived by the ear,

nor has the eye see a God

besides You,

Who works and shows Himself active

on behalf of him who [earnestly]

waits for Him."

Isaiah 64:4

The Joy of Creating

It's amazing to me how God designs even the littlest critters to fit their environment and to eat the food and do all the tasks they were made for.  The sheer variety of kinds is amazing.  And, with Insects in particular, He even created at least 3 different ways for them to grow into an adult.  God is INCREDIBLE! 

I couldn't even think up all the things to create that one creature, or even part of one creature would need in order to exist and He did it more times and in mores ways than we will ever discover.  He made things that He KNEW no one but Himself would ever know about just for the joy of creating.

Just for the Joy of Creating, hmmm...

That resonates with me.  I love to craft useful or beautiful items, whether it be with yarn or material or words.  It is a joy to make something with your hands and especially if it was your own original thought.  (Though I happen to think all great ideas come from the BRILLIANT mind of my Creator and that He just loans them to me and lets me benefit personally from His genius.  I think of Him as my collaborator on my projects, making them all better than they would be if He didn't lend His skill and own special touch to them on my behalf.)

I'm SO thankful that He shares His creative abilities with me.  It makes life so much RICHER!!!