God's Invisible but He isn't Absent

I was reading recently that the book of Esther is the only book in the Bible where God is never mentioned. In fact, many people over the years questioned whether it should even be included as one of the books of the Bible for that reason.

Esther is the story of how God used one woman to change the fate of an entire nation. Although God's name is not mentioned in this book you can certainly recognize His fingerprints on every page! The book of Esther shows the choice we make between seeing His hand in our circumstances in life and seeing things as merely coincidence. God's plans are never moved by the actions of evil men and women in our society. The silent love language our Father often uses to communicate directly to our spirit is illustrated in this book.

Esther proved to mirror a Godly and teachable character that exhibited incredible strength and awesome obedience. Esther was unique and this caused her to be elevated into the position of Queen. She certainly demonstrates to us that remaining respectful and humble even in difficult if not humanly impossible circumstances often set us up to be the vessel of untold blessing for both ourselves and others. She is a positive role model that can influence us with her repeated Godly attitudes in difficult positions. You won't read of any complaints or bad behavior on her part in this book. She often won the favor of those around her. That favor is what ultimately saved her people. By utilizing Esther's example of maintaining a positive attitude, united with humility and the determination of leaning on God and seeking His will and favor in our circumstances, you and I can also be granted the same favor. Who knows that God put us in such a position, for just such a time as this?

I am thankful today for a God who loves me and cares so much about me.

I am thankful for His plan for my life.

I am thankful that He is patient with me when I become impatient with Him!

I am thankful that He has placed me where I am at this season of my life.

I am thankful for His forgiveness and mercy and grace.

I am thankful for the gifts and talents He has blessed me with.

I am thankful that God is always there and always, always comes through for me in every situation this life places before me.

God is absolutely amazing. If you are struggling today with difficult circumstances just seek Him. He has all the answers even when we think there are no answers............

Thanks to Iris today for hosting TT.

Blessings!

Awesomeness of Christ

We had an awesome day Sunday! Both services were incredible. The choir was anointed and the community breakfast was absolutely off the charts! I have to admit I was a bit exhausted by mid-afternoon after getting up at 4:00 a.m. but it was all worth it. The presence of God was so powerful and at the end of the second service there was a message in tongues that totally reaffirmed everything Pastor Bobby had preached. We also had one person come to the altar for salvation. It was an incredible Easter!

God is so awesome and many times I tend to take that for granted. He is walking with me in the valley's and is with me through the mountaintop experiences. He never leaves me or forsakes me. No mater what ..... God is there with you and I. I am so thankful for that today.

I was preparing my choir rehearsal music today and the words from Praise You in this Storm totally overwhelmed me. The song says, As the thunder rolls I barely hear You whisper through the rain. "I'm with you." And as Your mercy falls I'll raise my hands and praise the God who gives and takes away. And I'll praise You in this storm, and I will lift my hands, for You are who You are no matter where I am. And ev'ry tear I've cried, You hold in Your hand. You never left my side. And though my heart is torn, I will praise You in this storm. Those are powerful words.

No matter what storm life has brought to you today be encouraged. God is still on the throne. God is who He is no matter where you are.

Blessings and hugs!

Used For Ministry

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Phil. 1:6

My "Chocolate and Coffee" ladies Bible study was Thursday night. It was such a blessing! This month I asked one of my ladies who is currently in the Life Coaching mentorship group to facilitate our devotion. It was an awesome night! God's presence was felt in such a powerful way.

This verse is awesome and we can see God's promise that He is at work in our lives and will bring His plan to completion. As we grow and mature in Christ God continues to open doors for our ministry. Just a few years ago this particular lady I am speaking about didn't attend our Bible studies and had absolutely no desire to do so. But God had other plans and now she has stepped up to the plate to lead our new Outreach Ministry in our church.

God does have a plan for you. Maybe you are frustrated today because things just don't seem to be moving fast enough regarding your ministry. Take advantage of this time and allow God to use you where you are. Continue to grow in the things of God so when He opens the next door of your ministry you will be prepared to walk through it. Jesus is alive and continues to do a work in us!

Blessings to you!

Friendship Award

"As Iron sharpens Iron, so one man sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17

My dear friend Kim at Season's of My Heart passed this sweet award to me today. I feel so unworthy. Kim is such an inspiration to me. Thank you Kim for thinking of me.

I have been blessed with so many ladies in blogworld who are truly an encouragement to me. I would like to pass this award along to a few dear friends.

Iris at Sting My Heart is such an inspiration. She is a true blessing and I am thankful for her encouragement.

Janna at Bread Crumbs is an incredible professional lady that always has an awesome word. I appreciate her faith and boldness.Denise at Shorty Bears Place is a sweet and precious lady.

Denise at Shorty Bears Place is an encouragement. She is appreciated more than she knows.

So many ladies have encouraged me and this is just a short representation of that list. Please know that each of you are very special to me.

Blessings!

The God of All Comfort

Our church has a reputation in the community of meeting financial needs for those who are seeking assistance. Our policy requires individuals to attend a service and meet with the board and pastor to discuss their request following that service.

In the middle of our Sunday evening service a woman came into the sanctuary. It was obvious that she felt very uncomfortable but remained in the service to the end. Following the service she made her way to the front of the church. I was on the platform gathering my music from praise and worship and watched as she approached my husband. My heart broke into zillions of pieces as I stood there listening to her. The pain in her eyes was so obvious. Questions raced through my mind. What decisions in life brought her to this place? What has happened in her life to cause her so much pain and guilt? What does her future hold if she chooses to continue on this same path? All these things just continued to race through my mind as God opened the door for my husband and I to minister too her.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God (NIV). 2 Corinthians 1:3-4.

This scripture text is so awesome. How many times have we gone before the Lord troubled, stressed and heartbroken to find God was our comfort? How many times have we felt alone and discouraged but God was our comfort? He provides all that we need when we need it. We realize that because we are Christians but what about those who do not know the Lord? What about those who are struggling through life day after day not knowing where their source of comfort can be found?

We prayed for the young woman and encouraged her in the things of Christ. We invited her to church on Easter giving her all the details of the day and satisfied her financial need. I hugged her and told her that we would be praying for her and were available if she needed to talk further. She has been on my heart continually since I left church Sunday evening.

Just like this lonely and desperate woman, there are so many lost people wondering aimlessly in our world today. These people are facing desperate times because of bad choices they have made over the years. We may be the only comfort these folks ever see. We have such an incredible responsibility to show others Christ through us.

Easter Sunday is quickly approaching and for many folks this is one of the Sunday's this year they will attend church. I am praying for an incredible day in Jesus at altars all over this country as the Word of God is preached from the pulpits.

Blessings to you today!

Thankful Thursday - Not About Me

The world is challenging us to be all we can be. It doesn't mention anything about being all we can be for Christ. It is all about ME. Do everything with selfish ambition and think only about ourselves and what we want out of this life. This is certainly not God's plan.

All of you must keep awake and watch and pray, that you may not come into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Matthew 26:41

This life isn't about ME. My life is all about Christ and His plan. My focus, goals and ambitions must all be about what He wants for my life. So many things today are competing for our attention in this world. Obviously these things are most likely not God things. Many of these things are destructive and will certainly destroy our lives if we weaken to the temptation of the flesh.

I am thankful today that my God is bigger than all the temptation in this world.

I am thankful today that He offers so much more than this world has to offer.

I am thankful that God sees the big picture and knows what is best for each of us.

I am thankful for His love and forgiveness.

I am thankful for the dreams He has placed in my heart.

I am thankful for the vision He has given me so I can pursue those dreams.

I am thankful for His strength and encouragement when discouragement comes knocking at my door.

I am thankful for His guidance and provision.

Iris at Sting My Heart is hosting TT today. Scoot on over there and check out the other posts today.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Lord help me to remain focused on what you want for my life and not what I want. God may I be ever mindful of who you are and the awesome plan you have for my life. Help me to always be an encouragement to those around me Lord. And when those dreams seem millions of miles away nudge me and help me to see that waiting is a good thing. I am a work in progress for the Kingdom.

Amen.

Blessings friends!

Thankful Thursday

The past two weeks have been so incredibly busy. I am so thankful today that even in all of our business God is still there when we call upon His name. Life tends to throw a curve ball every now and then but our God is constant. Never changing. The same yesterday, today and forever.

I am thankful today for good health. I see so many people around me struggle with pain and suffering.

I am thankful for friends and family. Where would we be without the encouragement of friends and the loving hugs of those who truly believe in us? They encourage us to get one step closer to our dreams.

I am thankful for the opportunity to serve God at the place I am in life today. We often become anxious to try to force God's hand regarding His plans for our lives. I am thankful that He loves us and cares enough about us to take care of us in all situations. I totally trust Him with my life and future. His will is not my will. Even when we become impatient and sometimes act like spoiled children God knows what is best for us.

I am thankful for two wonderful children that God has given to me. We tried for seven years to have children. There were times when I thought it was never going to happen. Our daughter is a wonderful Christian woman and a great mom. Our son is an evangelist and is such an inspiration to me. He is mature way beyond his years in Christ. My hubby and I are truly blessed.

I am thankful for the ladies in my 3 mentoring groups. They are an awesome group of women.

I am thankful for God's protection over my son and daughter-in-law yesterday as they drove back to MO from VA.

Visit Iris for more TT.

Blessings ladies!

Vision

"The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision."

~ Helen Keller ~

This is such an awesome quote. Many people struggle today in all avenues of life because they have no vision. Churches and ministries struggle today because somewhere along the journey they lost the vision. Vision is eternal goals and dreams rather than temporary benchmarks.

Many things can destroy vision. Lack of resources, lack of planning, and lack of effort can all sidetrack and hijack vision. It is so easy to become focused on simply doing what has always been done because it is familiar and easy. It is easy to get focused on the problems instead of exploring ways around the obstacles.

We live and move and make decisions by what we can physically see. Obstacles in our lives blocks our visions and our dreams. How many times have you wished that you would have done something that you knew in your heart God called you to do? But you hesitated. You reluctantly made every excuse imaginable as to why you could not be successful in that particular venue. Too many obstacles in your path. Isn't God capable of overcoming those obstacles? They are only obstacles if we allow them to block our vision and hinder God's will in our lives. Obstacles often keep us in our comfort zone and absolutely wipe out any vision we might have for ourselves. Obstacles such as fear is huge. Whenever we are treading on uncharted waters it is much easier for us to stay in the boat where we feel safe. Getting out of the boat means going places we have never been before. Vision is going places we have never been before. Vision is stepping out of the comfort zone. Walking into areas that we have never experienced. Vision is trusting God and exercising faith that we often give lip service too. Vision is demonstrating the hand of God upon our lives.

Our God is an overcomer and He provides all that we need to chase the vision He has placed in each of our hearts. Dream big dreams. Chase after those dreams with passion and perseverance. If God has given you a vision for your ministry, He will also equip and provide what is needed in order for you to accomplish the challenge before you.

Where there is no vision, the people perish........... Proverbs 29:18. To accomplish anything in this life we must have vision. If we are attempting to navigate through each day purely by sight we are in serious trouble. Vision instills hope within us and challenges each of us to pursue God's will for our lives no matter where that may take us in this life.

Visit Heather at Mommy Monk for more insight on this topic.

Blessings to you friends!

Being Real

I have been out of the loop this past week regarding my blog due to an intense schedule at work and in my personal life. We began Sectional Councils in our District last week. The Women's Ministries Department are hosting luncheons at each Council for Pastor's Wives and Women in Ministry. I am serving as the new Women in Ministry Consultant for our District and am responsible for coordinating these luncheons. We had a wonderful time together and the women were so appreciative of our efforts. I also had two mentorship groups last week in the evenings. Thank the Lord I was off on Friday!


We have been studying Romans in our Sunday night services. There are powerful scriptures in this book. Many churches today are preaching greasy grace and candy coated messages. I don't understand how you can sit under this type of teaching if you are reading and studying God's Word daily and not feel the convicting power of the Holy Spirit.


Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness Romans 8:8-10 (NIV).


These scriptures clearly tell me that as a Christian sin should not be a part of my life. If I choose to live in sin I do not have Christ in me. How difficult is that to understand?


Our society is filled with churches who do not preach the truth from the pulpit. The truth makes people feel uncomfortable and many people don't want their toes trampled at church. If we step on toes people may get upset and leave the church. That results in lower attendance and less income. So, churches compromise and preach half truths. People are being deceived. Their lives are full of sin and no one is stepping up to the plate to tell them any different.


There is no room for compromise in the Kingdom of God. If we elect to compromise in some areas of our lives we will eventually compromise in all areas. What makes us any different from the unsaved?


Being real is a difficult task in our society. Obeying God's Word and pursuing holiness is a tall order today. People may look at you weird but the prize that awaits those who are faithful is priceless.


I love cookies, candy, cakes , pie, etc. Placing me in a room full of desserts is like placing an addict in the midst of their addiction. I struggle daily with limiting the amount of sweets in my diet so they scales will not sky rocket when this body steps on them! I eat alot of fat free or low fat sweets to help with the calorie intake. Does fat free or low fat taste like the real thing? Of course not but the prize is worth the journey when you can slip into a smaller size jeans! My point is there are sacrifices that must be made for anything worthwhile in this life. We are being hard pressed from all avenues to do things that are not uplifting to the Kingdom of God. If I give in to a piece of chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting it is very difficult to reject the next piece. Why? Because I compromised. If we give into the temptations around us once we will be even more tempted to give into the next, and the next, etc.


Being real is a tough journey in our walk with Christ but the reward is incredible!


Blessings to you today!