Woo Hoo!

I am so excited! This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!

I am on my way to our Sunday Celebration Service. I get to go worship the Lord this morning with my church family! I love it!

Just thought I tell you all to have a blessed and wonderful Sunday! Take advantage of our freedom to be able to worship Jesus freely and openly without fear of persecution!

Constructive or Destructive?

1 The wise woman builds her house,
But the foolish pulls it down with her hands. Proverbs 14:1

This is so true! When I was younger I worked hard to "build" my house but then I would "pull it down" with my mouth in a matter of moments. Everything that I would work for would be undone!

Words and actions are so important. How do you treat your husband? Do you respect him? I have friends that really do respect their husbands and you can tell by their actions and words. Then I have friends who say they do but then they go do things that say the very opposite. They will say mean things or degrading things about their husbands or talk down to their husbands. It is so sad to witness. I can't even imagine being the person at the opposite end.

I am so blessed to be married to a wonderful husband! Is he perfect? No, he is human but he treats me like a queen and I love treating him like a king! Has it always been that way? No, but over time we worked together to improve our marriage and to grow together in Jesus. The biggest change happened when I stopped concentrating on the wrong things that he did or looking at the things that he needed to fix and just looked at fixing me. I know...you might be thinking, well, you don't know my husband! You're right, I don't, but I do know that there is no way that you are perfect either and when you work at fixing you and step out of the way then God can work on his heart. Please understand that this no way is meant for cases of infedelity or abuse. If that is happening go get help! Jesus would never want you to take abuse!

May I suggest if you are in a hard place in your marriage...pray! Pray for your husband and pray for God to change what is needed in you. When you start having a hard time with your mouth...pray! And then pray again! It will make a difference. Look for a way to treat him the way you would like to be treated. After time it will pay off! If you love him and treat him with respect he will desire to treat you the same way. Think about how you sound...how you act...it will take some time to change things but with prayer and action things will change.

Before you speak, stop and think...is this going to help me build my house up or will it tear it down? Be wise and build your home up! Don't be foolish and undo everything you have worked on in a matter of moments with a few words out of frustration.

Offended? Don't Go There!

God's desire for us is for us to be healthy and flourishing and fruitful. In Matt. 12:20 it says, A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering which He will not snuff out, till He leads justice to victory. NIV The enemy loves for you to be offended so he can get you to isolate!

So what stunts our growth or separates from the vine?

I. The Offense
Like mold the offense starts to grow and spreads all over you. It's a trap! It's the trigger on the mouse trap. It robs you of your blessing while you are in the trap. However, the offense is an opportunity for growth and release. How to escape from the trap is forgiveness.

II. Admit The Offense To Yourself.
We have all been trapped and we have all trapped. In Luke 17 Jesus tells us that it is impossible not to be offended and it's impossible not to often people and He teaches that it is hard on both ends. You are not the only on that this has happened to.

III. Admit The Offense To The Other Person.
Let's state this very clearly...Admission is not accusation!!! You can never know what their motive was! Generally they were oblivious or careless or hurt. How often have you "plotted" to hurt someone? Most usually it is a misunderstanding and the enemy uses it for his advantage (to set that trap). Please make sure that your heart is right with the Lord before going to do this. LOVE needs to be your motivation. Don't go to "confront" the person...go in love.

IV. Forgive The Offense.
God forgave us for so much how can we not forgive for so little? Be mature, make the first move, right or wrong. We have to make the choice to will forgiveness. When we forgive, it releases the issue to God so He can take care of it. When we forgive that is letting the vine dresser to lift us up out of the mud. He then washes the mold off and stakes us to the vine so that we can produce fruit.

Unforgiveness cuts us off from the nutrients of the Word, Prayer, Worship and Fellowship.

V. Get Back Into The Game.
Once we get out of the mus we need to get back into the exercise of reading the Word, praying, worshipping and fellowshipping which equals ABIDING!

Pray for God to reveal any unforgiveness in your life. Unforgiveness is like poison and as it courses through your veins it kills you! Do not let the enemy plant a seed of bitterness in your life.

Condemnation or Conviction?

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Romans 8:31-34 NKJV

The difference between condemnation and conviction.
con·dem·na·tion 1 : censure, blame
con·vic·tion 2 a: the act of convincing a person of error or of compelling the admission of a truth b: the state of being convinced of error or compelled to admit the truth

If we feel condemned it isn't from the Lord, it is from the enemy. You can recognise his voice when you hear things like, "You are so stupid, you did it again!" or "Now you've done it! You blew it so bad you will never recover or be forgiven!" Satan tears you down. He will do anything to kick you or keep you down.

Conviction bring about correction! The Holy Spirit convicts us. Not condencending but truthful. The Lord loves us and wants to bring about correction and restoration! It can sound something like this: "Don't do that! My Word says....come back to me. I love you." "It's not too late! Take care of this now before it gets bigger."

Whenever you you feel condemned don't go with it! Say, "Satan, leave me alone...I am a child of God and I am forgiven." If he reminds you of your past remind him of his future! Quote scripture! "If God is for us who can be against us?" Go and search out some verses to help you next time and when you hear the lies of the enemy use it on him!

If you are feeling convicted run to Jesus. Repent and ask for help. He is waiting with open arms. He isn't waiting to hit you...He loves you. He is waiting to forgive you and pick you up in His loving arms.! Don't wait...the sooner the better!

Running to Him,

Shanin

Celebration Time!

Hello! I am so excited! Remember yesterday when I wrote about God talking to me lately...well last night I was reminded of all of the babies that I have got to have part in their lives because of answered prayer. I was thinking that I really should record each birth because I don't want to forget any of them and I am sure I have forgotten some.

Well today I went to get my haircut. My hairdresser was cutting my hair and it was kind of quiet for a few moments. She said, "Well,.....(a very long pause)I just took a pregnancy test and I am pregnant!" I squealed, "Oh thank You Jesus!" She went on to say that she thought it was funny because it was in March when she last cut my hair and I prayed for her and then it was today that she took the pregnancy test and it happened to be the day that she was to cut my hair!

God is sooooooo good! I went back and looked where I blogged on the day that God created the opportunity for me to pray for her to conceive...March 18th. I am so grateful that I serve a God who still answers prayers today and opens wombs. I am so excited that He has blessed me so much that He would allow me to participate in praying for these women.

I just had to share with you of God's faithfulness and goodness. I will give you updates as they come....

Can You Hear Me Now?

Sometimes I bet God says that to us..."Can you hear Me now?"

How often do we stop to hear His voice? Lately a few "things" have happened to me...like one day I was going into McDonalds and an old coworker just came to my mind. I thought to myself, "Hmmm I haven't seen him in a long time, I wonder what made me think of him"....I continued my way into the fastfood joint and as I was getting ready to order I see this very same young man walk past me! I said, "Hey!" We exchanged a few words and he left. Right after that I was talking to the Lord about seeing my friend. I told God that I realised that He had been trying to speak to me and tell me about things so I could be prepared for those, (what I call...), God appointments. I told the Lord sorry for not being tuned into His voice and thank You for not giving up on speaking to me and arranging ministry opportunities.

I love talking to the Lord and I love hearing His voice...I just need to make sure that I don't get "so busy" that I get out of the "network"....my "Network" goes everywhere with me...I have even better coverage than Verizon gives...I just need to "keep my ringer on" and not turn my "phone to silent."

"Can you hear me now?" (smile)

Shanin

Redemption

Just a quick praise...I have had the priviledge of sharing Jesus with a few friends lately. God is good...He is moving and healing and saving today. It is exciting to see a hunger for the Lord. Refreshing to witness redemption and then a gratefullness for redemption. The bible says in Luke that to who is forgiven much loves much. I have had so much forgiven in my life and I love Jesus. I only want my friends to experience the same redemption that I have received. It is exciting to see it first hand. Thank You Lord for that gift.

Fruity Pebbles

For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. Luke 6:44

Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious,you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. I Peter 2:4-5

I have decided that fruity pebbles isn't such a bad name! We as Christians are living stones and we are to bear fruit. We aren't the big cornerstone because that is Jesus. We are to be like Christ and we are being built up together!

So what kind of fruit do you bear? Good fruit or bad fruit? Everyone bears fruit. What kind of stone are you? Are you a stepping stone? Do you have rough edges that need smoothing or polishing? Are you a "chip off the ol' block?" I certainly hope to be. I want to look like Jesus and I want to be very fruitful bearing good fruit for Him. I desire to be used by Jesus. I want to lead others to Him....even if they think of me as "fruity pebbles"

Blessing Time

Hello! Tonight I am going to start your week with a blessing!

May Jesus bless you and keep you throughout the week. I pray for favor and grace to shine on you everyday. I bless you with insight as you work with others, that you would be able to speak encouragement and life into their lives. I bless you with joy and peace...joy to be your strength and peace to calm you when you start to get anxious. I bless you with a sharpness of mind to capture every memory that you will be making. And I pray for you to sow seed every where you go and may it fall on fertile soil and take root. Finally I bless your eyes with the ability to see with His vision and that you would be so sensitive to the Holy Spirit that you wouldn't miss one divine appointment. May you see the fruit of your faithfulness this very week....amen

It's a Beautiful Day!

Today I am so thankful for sunny weather! We did yard work under the blue skies. I am so thankful that we got so much accomplished today!

I am thankful for friends who dropped in to see us! I am thankful for a young man who dropped in to see us! He used to play football with my son and for my husband. We love this young man like one of our own. I am thankful for our associate pastors who dropped by. I am just thankful for good friends and church family.

I am thankful for good kids! They help us, love us and we just have a good time together! I am so very proud of each and every one of them and their families.

I have so much to be thankful for! I could never list it all. I just want to take a moment and thank God for everything that He has given and provided for me.

Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD. Psalm 150:1-6

Seriously Folks, BE JOYFUL!

16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. I Thes. 5:16-17

Always be joyful....hmmm....I am glad that joy is not happiness. We can draw joy from knowing our Lord and not from our circumstances. Joy is something that I have been blessed with. Thank You Lord for Your joy.

When you are having a hard time priming the old "joy pump" go to verse 17. Be thankful in all circumstances. Start looking for those things to be thankful for...got a high electric bill? Thank You Jesus that I have electricity! Without electricity you wouldn't even have that bill...I, personally, love having electricity! Today I am even thankful for a few extra pounds (choke)that I have put on because that means that I have had an abundance of food...and in a few days I will be thankful for those sore muscles I will have from walking to lose those extra pounds because I have good legs to walk on! (remind me of that one later, smile)

It is God's will for me to be thankful and joyful. The circumstances in which I have I can grow and learn from and most importantly learn to lean on Jesus more! When you are in the midst of something hard it doesn't say that it will be easy but we serve such a big God that no matter our circumstance we can be thankful and have joy! And for that I am grateful!

Shanin

The Revealer of Secrets

Daniel answered and said: "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him. Daniel 2:20-22 NKJ

One day I was reading this portion of scripture for my devotions and I thought to myself and prayed to the Lord, "God, I have seen you do many things. I have seen provision in miraculous ways and I have seen Your hand heal people but I want You to reveal secrets to me." I didn't think anymore about it until later that morning my daughter called me. She told me that my granddaughter had been having absolutely terrible breath. Immediately a thought flashed through my mind, "She has something stuck up her nose!" I told my daughter that I thought that the Lord told me that she had something stuck up her nose. My daughter started laughing...I said, "I'm serious!"

She laughed and said, "Oh, I know you are serious and I believe you but that is funny!" She immediately called the doctor and made an appointment. When she got there she told the doctor that her daughter had horrible breath and they had brushed her teeth and everything but it was still horrible and she believed that she had something stuck up her nose!

Sure enough he was able to pull something gross out of her nose. He then said, "I want to know how you knew that. I have to pull something out of some kid's nose every week but you are the first person who ever knew what was wrong! Most people just bring in their kids because they think that they are sick or they can't stand their breath any longer."

She told him that her mother told her...LOL. Not how I knew...

I was so excited because God answered my prayer. He revealed a secret to me! I certainly would have never thought of that on my own! Like Daniel, I serve a God who is the revealer of secrets!

Prospecting for Gold!

Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed [this] to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:17-18 NKJ

I love this because Jesus was and is a gold prospector. He looks past the person's appearance and into the heart. He sees things that we often overlook. He saw that this Simon had gold nuggets lying below the surface! He renamed Simon, Peter or Cephas...the rock! He saw things that others didn't see...He saw the potential, the gold.

We need to look beyond the surface in people. We need to look deeper and see what potential lies waiting to be developed or discovered. We need to pray and ask God to show us! We need to prospect for gold!

How many "Peters" are there out there waiting to be discovered and used for the ministry? I am so glad that God looked beyond my surface and saw something of value inside of me.

Lord Jesus, help me to look beyond the outside or the appearance of people. Help me to see what You see. Help me to help others find You. Refine us.

Happy Mother's Day!

Yay! Tomorrow is Mother's Day!

Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband [also], and he praises her: Proverbs 31:28 NKJ

I am so blessed that I have reached this point in my life. My kids all serve Jesus and that was one of our ultimate goals when parenting. It is such a blessing to look out into our congregation on Sundays and see them worshipping the Lord.

Tomorrow three of my four kids, and spouses and grandkids will come over for a bbq! My James is in California bringing home Kaylin! YAY! Anyhow my loving husband bought me a new blackberry for Mother's Day.

We will give out roses to all of the mom's (spiritual and physical) in church tomorrow. Another blessed year of being a mom. It truly is my greatest accomplishment in life. God has blessed me so much. I would say that parenting is the hardest thing I have ever done but the best thing at the same time. The rewards far out weigh any and all sacrifice. I am so thankful that even though that I didn't do everything right and that I made mistakes that I serve a God who buys those mistakes back! I am grateful to my husband who I would have never made it without him! And to my kids who forgave me when I did make mistakes and still love me!

A Pizza Blessing

Funny title I know...let me explain it a little further.

A few years ago God had been speaking to my heart about heart's desires. He told me to make a list no matter how big or small. I wrote down several things and everyday I would go back over them in prayer and talk to the Lord about my list. I was amazed at how fast some of them were answered and the ways that they were answered. I think that some of the smaller ones excited me even more than the bigger ones! Why? Because I knew that only God knew what was on my list and it was just confirmation to me!

One day on the bottom of my list I listed "a slice of pepperonit pizza." I was hungry for pepperoni pizza and I was broke. Now I didn't give it anymore thought because I thought it was frivilous to a certain degree...it certainly wasn't a need! That very day my boss called me to his office and said, "Shanin, I feel like buying pepperoni pizza for everybody for lunch today! Will you please go order it and have it delivered?" I got so excited because I knew where this "feeling/idea" originated! God had pepperoni pizza, ordered, paid for and delivered just for me!

Now every now and then God blesses me with pepperoni pizza. Laugh at me if you wish but I know that it is something that God does just for me...it happened again just today. I spent my lunch in Math lab studying for my algebra test. On the way to work I thought that I would pick up a personal pan pizza to take back to work. Then I remembered that I had a coupon for a pizza that would make it cheap but bigger and I thought that I could share it with a couple of my co-workers. Well, when I got to Pizza Hut the lady told me that when they were making my order they made a mistake and would I be willing to take the mistake at no cost to me? Yes! Well, guess what? It was a pepperoni pizza with jalepenos which happens to be one of my most favorite pizzas of lately! Thank You Jesus! I took it back to work and shared it with my co-workers who were all very excited to have pizza! And I was tickled because I knew Who it was really from and Who ordered it just for me...Thanks God!

Your Tongue Can Bear Fruit!

20 And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?”
21 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. 22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” Matthew 21:20-22 NKJ

I have a funny story to tell you. Many years ago when my daughter was in fifth grade I had this big rubber tree plant that I loved. It was in a big pot and I made sure that the kids didn't rough house around it and I would dust the leaves and water it regularly. The plant would spit at you if you walked by it and my daughter hated it. She hated it because it would spit and she hated it because "I gave it too much attention!" LOL Well, she told me I am going to kill that plant...I told her she couldn't touch it...and she didn't but every time she would walk past it she would say, "I curse you in the Name of Jesus and you will die!" I would laugh to myself never believing for one moment that, that plant would die! Guess what? It died! I tried everything to keep it alive...I still laugh to myself because I know why it died! So does she! She is a grown mom now and she smiled and told me the other day, "Would you like for me to kill your plant for you?" That little turkey! We both laughed remembering my rubber tree plant!

Jesus cursed the fig tree because it didn't bear fruit. You know it is so important to be fruitful. Sometimes in order to be fruitful we have to be pruned and that never feels good and it doesn't even look pretty when you look at my trees or bushes but you know the result is amazing! After you come out of the pruning the new life is so beautiful. Stick close to the vine and draw your strength from Jesus!

The second thing this scripture talks about is faith. My daughter had the faith that my rubber tree was going to die! Funny as that is...it really did die. Our tongues can edify us and help build our faith or the tongue can tear down your faith! We need to be careful what flows out of our mouth! It needs to be fruitful and life giving. Our tongues need to encourage others and help build other's faith. Speak the Word! It never comes back void. It is the truth! It is alive and breathing.

One of the things I do when I get ready to pray for someone is to tell them of the times that God has answered prayers just like the one we are getting ready to pray for! It not only builds their faith but it stirs something inside of me too!

Faith is amazing...it only takes a little bit to grow...like the Word says that faith like a mustard seed! Have you seen the size of a mustard seed and how big the plant gets? God is amazing and I am so glad that I serve Him!

Prayer Book

This last Wednesday night I was teaching "my" kids in church. I team teach once a month with other gals. There are three of us that take turns and all three of us get one night off a month.

I taught on prayer. Now all of "my" kids know how to pray! If you need a prayer answered ask them to pray because they never forget to continue to pray and I am convinced that when they pray God listens! They have faith that God will answer their prayers.

We talked about a lot of instances in the bible when there was something impossible and when they prayed God moved in their behalf! Prayer works! Prayer changes things!
Then it was time for the craft!

I had made up some blank books (like scrapbooks) and I let them decorate the cover with the paper from the wallpaper books. Then in the inside cover and front page they had two different scriptures about prayer to paste in. Then they were to write who they wanted to pray for inside the book on the pages or if they couldn't write then they could draw a picture that would remind them of who to pray for! They worked hard on these books, boys and girls alike. I finally had to make them quit because it was time to clean up and leave but I told them that they could work on them at home.

Yesterday was the ladies day out at lunch. Amber came and told me that Hannah (my granddaughter) had worked on her prayer book everyday. She took time to draw lines and then to write all of the names of everyone who she wanted to pray for. This included all of her cousins, both big Grandpa and little Grandpa and both Grandmas. And last but not least she listed Molly. Molly is her Grandma Sharon's dog. My daughter told me that everynight she takes her prayer book to bed and prays through the whole thing! How cool is that? Hannah is in kindergarten and she is a prayer warrior!

From generation to generation...we are raising the future generation! Hannah is just one of "my" kids and it is only a bonus that she is actually my granddaughter. I am so honored and priviledged that I get to teach "our" kids about the Lord. It is the best thing in the world when you see them grasp it and do it on their own! YAY God!

Who can you influence or teach about the Lord? Do you teach Sunday School? Youth Group? It is hard work but you have something to offer. If you feel that you don't know a lot then start studying! It is a great way to learn the bible....start young...teach the three year olds! All of the ages are awesome. We have a need today in our country. We need to teach our future generation about Jesus and how to be leaders. We all have an important role. And let me tell you there is nothing better than to teach the kids so go and sign up!

Yikes! Pray for me!

Well, I got my algebra test score from Tuesday back...not good...a 60% I need to pass my test this tuesday very badly! So please pray for me to understand and retain what I need to know!

On the bright side I have a praise! My sweet husband brought me home tulips! He then made dinner for us too. I LOVE FLOWERS! I love tulips too! I am so excited! It was so sweet of him to buy them for me and I didn't have to fix dinner either!

So I guess that is about it for tonight. God is so good. I am thankful that I serve a big and gracious God. With Him anything is possible. Even algebra ;0]

So peace out and type ya tomorrow.

Shanin