Do You Now Believe?

Today when I flipped over the date on my Oswald Chambers desk calendar (for those of you who are Oswald purest - this is "an updated edition in today's langauge" in other words, an Oswald for Dummies - much more my speed!) this is the message from the Truth waiting for me:


This makes us believe..."You believe at last!" Jesus answered. John 16:30-31

Our soul has gotten out of intimate contact with God by leaning on its own religious understanding. We should get in the habit of continually seeking His counsel on everything, instead of making our own commonsense decisions and then asking Him to bless them.



Wow! That really hit home with me. God, forgive me when I reduce You to my limited understanding of who You are. Please release me to fully know You, beyond human understanding, beyond the confines of my religion, beyond my own commonsense reasoning!

Make Me More Free...

The Beth Moore study is truly incredible. I feel like an edition of Extreme Home Makeover spiritually as God keeps making over my heart and expanding it into areas of Him that I couldn't have even imagined a few years ago. This quote from our study last week has lingered on my heart.
"Christ is making heavenly rooms for us while making earthly room in us."

Sunday morning we sang the song "Make Me More Free". It has been my theme song ever since. I drive home from school with the sun roof open(yes, even when it is cold - gloves are a wonderful thing!) and that song blasting from my speakers, through my heart and straight up to Him. It is the prayer of my heart this week...

Make Me More Free
Dennis Jernigan

Make me more free, free me, more free from my old life,
More free in my new. Make me more free, free me,
more free in loving You.

With wings like an eagle, my heart made to fly
over sin, over sorrow, to new realms of life.
From glory to glory, my gaze fixed so high
that I only see Jesus, the love of my life.

Make me more free, free me, with power over sinning,
more power to love. Make me more free, free me, fill
me with Your power and love.

With wings like an eagle, my heart made to fly
over sin, over sorrow, to new realms of life.
From glory to glory, my gaze fixed so high
that I only see Jesus, the love of my life.

Help me to see, free me to see You and know You,
to know I am known. Help me to see You see me
and know I am Yours alone.

With wings like an eagle, my heart made to fly
over sin, over sorrow, to new realms of life.
From glory to glory, my gaze fixed so high
that I only see Jesus, the love of my life.

Till I only see Jesus, the love of my life.

Being a Grandma is sooooooooooooooooo amazing! When I actually saw my child holding his child it was such an amazing feeling. It was just a little glimpse of what the Father must feel as He looks down on His children learning to give life through Him to others. Such a powerful image that it still takes my breath away!

Our sweet Ethne Jane arrived on Valentine's Day at 10:44 am. She weighed in at 6 lbs. 12 oz. and was 18" long. She is so precious, but of course that is a totally unbiased opinion!

Well, it's getting closer! I'll be a grandma soon and I can hardly wait! My arms already ache to hold our sweet Ethne and tell her how much her Nana loves her! Yes, I'm already hopelessly in love with this sweet baby and we haven't even met yet. I am constantly amazed at how constant God is. In the good times and in the bad, He's always there loving me constantly and consistently. I don't have to do anything to earn His love it's just there for me whether I choose to bask in it or not. "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

To Heather, Heidi, and Marcy, you were greatly missed last night. Our hearts weren't complete without you there! Hope to see you next week. Love ya!

Have you ever felt that far off feeling from Jesus your Lord?
Peter did, he understood what it felt like to have really
blown it big time. How could he ever prove his love for the
Lord again after denying Him not just once, but three times.
After insisting emphatically that he would never deny his
Lord even if everyone else did (Mk. 14:27-31), he did
exactly what he said he wouldn't do. Sound familiar?
We constantly mean to do the right thing, but sometimes
all we seem to do is the wrong thing. So now what do I
do? How do I find my way back to Jesus when I've
wandered so far away? I do exactly what Peter did. I
profess my love for Him. Peter did not try go back into
his past and fix things that he regretted, or wished he could
have done differently. He did not allow his past mistakes
to hold him hostage and keep him from moving on with his
role in the kingdom. He simply responded to Jesus right
then and there in spite of all that he wasn't, but because of
ALL JESUS IS. Peter said it this way, "Lord, you know
all things; you know that I love you." (Jn. 21:17). That is
how you find your way back to Him. You profess your love
for Him, you accept that He knows and sees your heart,
and in spite of the past you allow it to be the past and
you move on in step with Him. Don't forget His parting
words of comfort and encouragement, "... I am with you
always to the very end of the age." (Mt. 28:29).