Saturday, February 27, 2010

Fear....

January 12, 2010~Haiti hit by an earthquake

February 10, 2010~Chicago has mild earthquake
February 27, 2010~Chile hit by an earthquake
February 27, 2010~Hawaii hit by tsunami caused by Chile earthquake

Do I have reason to be afraid? Well, I am.

I have seen some videos on Youtube about people saying, “oh, it’s not the End Times, you don’t know what you are talking about.” Or, “You Christians are crazy saying that God is saying something to you people.”

I think I have reason to be afraid. To me, things just seem to be getting worse and worse in the world. I know earthquakes happen on a regular basis in some countries. But I haven’t seen this magnitude of them being publicized.

I think that God is speaking and people are taking their time to wake up. I think God has been speaking to us for centuries and we have been ignoring his light tap on the shoulder saying, “Hey, buddy, come and smell the coffee. It’s time to open your eyes.” So now, instead of being subtle, he’s placing His hands on our shoulders and shaking us violently to force us to open our eyes.

We don’t know how long the End Times are supposed to be. I mentioned them to someone at work the other day, and they rolled their eyes and was like, “Really? This stuff has always been going on. We’ve always been in the ‘end times’”. I’m sure we have. But things seem to be getting more and more violent. And more and more frequent.

It makes me question my faith. Not so much to the point that if I believe in God or not, but to the point of how strong is it, knowing that if something like this would happen to me, would I be able to still praise Him in the storm.

And I am afraid. I am afraid of what’s to come. I’m afraid of having a complete tragedy knock on my door. I am afraid of dying slowly.

I think it’s only human to be afraid. But that makes me get closer to God in prayer. Why does it take a tragedy to do so? Because it’s opening my eyes. Life is short. VERY SHORT. And I don’t want to take any minute that God is giving me for granted.

I know where I’m going when I die. I know that I will be at Jesus’ feet, safe. But in this fragile human form, I have nothing to cling to but the faith and hope that God will protect me in a time of disaster. I may not be one of the fortunate one day and will need to remember that even in the time of trial, I will rise. And God will be there holding my hand and leading through that dark, dark valley to the brightest of sunrises.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

A Father's Love Letter

I stumbled upon this while looking for something to add to my Bible Study. Wow. The Truth.

http://www.habeeb.com/fathers.love.letter/fathers.love.letter.english.html

Father's Love Letter
My Child ~
You may not know me, but I know everything about you ~ Psalm 139:1
I know when you sit down and when you rise up ~ Psalm 139:2
I am familiar with all your ways ~ Psalm 139:3
Even the very hairs on your head are numbered ~ Matthew 10:29-31
For you were made in my image ~ Genesis 1:27
In me you live and move and have your being ~ Acts 17:28
For you are my offspring ~ Acts 17:28
I knew you even before you were conceived ~ Jeremiah 1:4-5
I chose you when I planned creation ~ Ephesians 1:11-12
You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book ~ Psalm 139:15-16
I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live ~ Acts 17:26
You are fearfully and wonderfully made ~ Psalm 139:14
I knit you together in your mother's womb ~ Psalm 139:13
And brought you forth on the day you were born ~ Psalm 71:6
I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me ~ John 8:41-44
I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love ~ 1 John 4:16
And it is my desire to lavish my love on you ~ 1 John 3:1
Simply because you are my child and I am your father ~ 1 John 3:1
I offer you more than your earthly father ever could ~ Matthew 7:11
For I am the perfect father ~ Matthew 5:48
Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand ~ James 1:17
For I am your provider and I meet all your needs ~ Matthew 6:31-33
My plan for your future has always been filled with hope ~ Jeremiah 29:11
Because I love you with an everlasting love ~ Jeremiah 31:3
My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore ~ Psalm 139:17-18
And I rejoice over you with singing ~ Zephaniah 3:17
I will never stop doing good to you ~ Jeremiah 32:40
For you are my treasured possession ~ Exodus 19:5
I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul ~ Jeremiah 32:41
And I want to show you great and marvelous things ~ Jeremiah 33:3
If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me ~ Deuteronomy 4:29
Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart ~ Psalm 37:4
For it is I who gave you those desires ~ Philippians 2:13
I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine ~ Ephesians 3:20
For I am your greatest encourager ~ 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles ~ 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you ~ Psalm 34:18
As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart ~ Isaiah 40:11
One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes ~ Revelation 21:3-4
And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth ~ Revelation 21:3-4
I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus ~ John 17:23
For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed ~ John 17:26
He is the exact representation of my being ~ Hebrews 1:3
He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you ~ Romans 8:31
And to tell you that I am not counting your sins ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you ~ 1 John 4:10
I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love ~ Romans 8:31-32
If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me ~ 1 John 2:23
And nothing will ever separate you from my love again ~ Romans 8:38-39
Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen ~ Luke 15:7
I have always been Father, and will always be Father ~ Ephesians 3:14-15
My question is ~ Will you be my child? ~ John 1:12-13
I am waiting for you ~ Luke 15:11-32
                                                                                                   Love, Your Dad, Almighty God

Monday, February 22, 2010

Revolve for the Future

Revolve 2010 Edition
Thomas Nelson Publishing

It's hard for a teen girl to fit in and be liked. It's even harder for a teen Christian girl to fit in and be liked. It's not like she can just break out her Bible in the middle of lunch period or study hall and have time with God. I mean, I know she could, be since religion is not allowed in most schools anymore, it makes things a little harder.

Revolove,The Biblezine, as it’s called, has a wonderful blend of quizzes, beauty tips and stories of kids doing good mixed in with the New Testamnet while looking just like a regular teen girl magazine. The format is easy to understand and it helps bring problems in today's society to be more understandable and relatable to the problems faced back in Jesus' day.

I think one of the new elements that I really enjoyed was the “goodbook” bios on the characters of the bible. The column is set up much like a facebook page with all the statistics of the character. There are also interviews with musical artists that the girls would be following. Free downloads are included as well.

I think one of the only downfalls is that since it’s set up like a magazine, it’s not as sturdy as a BIble should be. It will tear, bend, peel easily like a regular magazine.

Any teenage girl would love reading this. I know there is another version for guys as well. As a 28 year old I really enjoyed reading Revolve.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Come Together Now





Come Together Now (Music City Unites For Haiti) from Music City Unites For Haiti on Vimeo.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Love Poured Out

"That which is good, profitable or beneficial is not always fun, easy, or pleasant. Remember love, joy, peace, and kindness PRECEDE goodness." ~Beth Moore, Living Beyond Yourself: Living in the Fruit of the Spirit Workbook

I have not always been a pleasant person. I have not always done things to please God. I have been selfish, uncouth, demanding, unforgiving, unpleasant, non-peaceful, unloving, non-joyous. All the things that the Spirit is not. How am I to go about living in the Spirit if I am full of these things?

Can someone please help me out here?

God wants me to see the things that I am not so he can break me and use me for the things that are good. I cannot live on good works. What would they truly mean if I am only doing them to please someone else? How am I  to learn if I am not broken and humbled in His presence?

In order for me to truly do good works, I must first learn to: LOVE. Have a joyful heart. Be kind to others. Then good works will follow.

I need to pray to learn to love. Love as Jesus loved. Love to the point I would lay down my life even for my enemy.

Crazy you say?

Jesus did it.  He humiliated himself on a cross. NAKED. SCARRED. BEATEN. RIDICULED.

How's that for love? He didn't have to do it. But he chose to do it because he love us more than anything.

Shouldn't we return the favor?

Monday, February 15, 2010

God's Loving Kindess

For some reason or another, I have never actually been able to wrap my fingers around the concept of God being my Father; my Daddy. Or Jesus as my brother.

I have always known God as a powerful omni-present being, the one that hears my prayers. And Jesus to be my Savior, but I never actually considered them to be part of my immediate family like I do my brother or my dad.

I have tried in the past to pray about it and take my cares to God like my father, but there was always a barrier that blocked me from feeling the things that I truly needed to feel to help me understand that God is my Father and I can go to him for anything that I need. I may not get it in an answer that I want like my Dad does to me, but He will answer me somehow. This I know. But I never could just close my eyes, reach out my arms and run to God like a little child does when they scrape their knee and he holds them tight and comforts them saying, "I'm here. You are okay. Daddy's here."

I have had a hard time over the past couple months trying to get into my Bible trying to learn what God wants me to. My mind was always distracted and I couldn't tell you how many times I would read the same sentence over and over and over again. I am grateful for the new friends that I have found at my new church. I started going to a new reunion group along with my regular one that I attend from the people of Walk to Emmaus. The new reunion group I chat with are women from my new congregation that have attended Via de Cristo which is similar to the Walk to Emmaus.

Ruth, one of the ladies from the group said to me, "Mindy, don't go to church-go to worship. And don't read the Bible- STUDY it."

I really needed to hear that because I was getting caught up in my schedule and I couldn't keep up with the daily readings and I wasn't retaining anything.

I did my study this morning and I had a new found, newly freshened look on the Bible. It was on God's kindness and how we really need to come to him as a child comes to a Father. He is our Daddy and we need to trust him like a child does. They mimic things that the parent does.

This makes me think of my 2 year old nephew. He does everything that my brother does. He is definitley a Daddy's boy. He follows Marshall around the house/yard with his Handy Manny tools and helps Daddy fix things. He runs to Daddy when it's time to sleep or he just needs a hug.

That's how I want to be with God. I want to look up to him and follow everything that He teaches me. I want to mirror him.

And I need to learn that Jesus is not only my Savior, but also my big brother. As I was reading my Bible study, I got this image of Jesus and I chatting over Starbucks, goofing off in the park, playing card games, crying into His shoulder, soaking it wet. That's the relationship I want with Jesus. I need to start making it personal again. I want to look at Him not only as my Savior and Brother, but also my lover. I want to be focused on nothing but him. I his love for me to fill me completely and make me whole. Sometimes that void just takes over and and I can't find anything to fill it, even when I try seeking it in the Word.

I am slowly learning to have an intimate relationship with my Daddy and Big Brother. I want it so much.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

The Sparrow at Starbucks

A friend of mine sent me this lovely little story about how God can use ANYONE to further His kingdom. I hope this story gives you a sense of hope to know that you do belong in this world and you are cradle gently in the palm of His hands. Enjoy!

The song that silenced the cappuccino machine


It was chilly in Manhattan but warm inside the Starbucks shop on 51st Street and Broadway, just a skip up from Times Square . Early November weather in New York City holds only the slightest hint of the bitter chill of late December and January, but it's enough to send the masses crowding indoors to vie for available space and warmth.

For a musician, it's the most lucrative Starbucks location in the world, I'm told, and consequently, the tips can be substantial if you play your tunes right. Apparently, we were striking all the right chords that night, because our basket was almost overflowing.

It was a fun, low-pressure gig - I was playing keyboard and singing backup for my friend who also added rhythm with an arsenal of percussion instruments. We mostly did pop songs from the '40s to the '90s with a few original tunes thrown in. During our emotional rendition of the classic, "If You Don't Know Me by Now," I noticed a lady sitting in one of the lounge chairs across from me. She was swaying to the beat and singing along.

After the tune was over, she approached me. "I apologize for singing along on that song. Did it bother you?" she asked.

"No," I replied. "We love it when the audience joins in. Would you like to sing up front on the next selection?"

To my delight, she accepted my invitation. "You choose," I said. "What are you in the mood to sing?"

"Well. ... do you know any hymns?"

Hymns? This woman didn't know who she was dealing with. I cut my teeth on hymns. Before I was even born, I was going to church. I gave our guest singer a knowing look. "Name one."

"Oh, I don't know. There are so many good ones. You pick one."

"Okay," I replied. "How about 'His Eye is on the Sparrow'?"

My new friend was silent, her eyes averted. Then she fixed her eyes on mine again and said, "Yeah. Let's do that one."

She slowly nodded her head, put down her purse, straightened her jacket and faced the center of the shop. With my two-bar setup, she began to sing.

Why should I be discouraged?
Why should the shadows come?

The audience of coffee drinkers was transfixed. Even the gurgling noises of the cappuccino machine ceased as the employees stopped what they were doing to listen. The song rose to its conclusion.

I sing because I'm happy;
I sing because I'm free.
For His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me.

When the last note was sung, the applause crescendoed to a deafening roar that would have rivaled a sold-out crowd at Carnegie Hall. Embarrassed, the woman tried to shout over the din, "Oh, y'all go back to your coffee! I didn't come in here to do a concert! I just came in here to get somethin' to drink, just like you!" But the ovation continued.. I embraced my new friend. "You, my dear, have made my whole year! That was beautiful!"

"Well, it's funny that you picked that particular hymn," she said.
"Why is that?"
"Well . .." she hesitated again, "that was my daughter's favorite song."
"Really!" I exclaimed.
"Yes," she said, and then grabbed my hands. By this time, the applause had subsided and it was business as usual.. "She was 16. She died of a brain tumor last week."
I said the first thing that found its way through my stunned silence. "Are you going to be okay?"
She smiled through tear-filled eyes and squeezed my hands. "I'm gonna be okay. I've just got to keep trusting the Lord and singing his songs, and everything's gonna be just fine." She picked up her bag, gave me her card, and then she was gone.

Was it just a coincidence that we happened to be singing in that particular coffee shop on that particular November night? Coincidence that this wonderful lady just happened to walk into that particular shop? Coincidence that of all the hymns to choose from, I just happened to pick the very hymn that was the favorite of her daughter, who had died just the week before? I refuse to believe it.

God has been arranging encounters in human history since the beginning of time, and it's no stretch for me to imagine that he could reach into a coffee shop in midtown Manhattan and turn an ordinary gig into a revival. It was a great reminder that if we keep trusting him and singing his songs, everything's gonna be okay.

The next time you feel like GOD can't use YOU, just remember...

* Noah was a drunk
* Abraham was too old
* Isaac was a daydreamer
* Jacob was a liar
* Leah was ugly
* Joseph was abused
* Moses had a stuttering problem
* Gideon was afraid
* Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer
* Rahab was a prostitute
* Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
* David had an affair and was a murderer
* Elijah was suicidal
* Isaiah preached naked
* Jonah ran from God
* Naomi was a widow
* Job went bankrupt
* John the Baptist ate bugs
* Peter denied Christ
* The Disciples fell asleep while praying
* Martha worried about everything
* The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once
* Zaccheus was too small
* Paul was too religious
* Timothy had an ulcer...AND
* Lazarus was dead!

No more excuses now!!

God can use you to your full potential. Besides you aren't the message, you are just the messenger. God bless.

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

The Voice of the Psalms

The Voice of the Psalms
Published by Thomas Nelson Publishing


I have always loved the Psalms. I always found them comforting and a great worship and prayer.

The Voice of the Psalms is a wonderful book to add to your collection. Published by Thomas Nelson Publishing Company and written by the people from the Friends of Ecclesia Bible Society, this version of the Psalms is, I think, one of my favorite.

The Voice of the Psalms is the newest edition to the family of The Voice. They have published versions of readings from the final week of Jesus’ life on earth, the Gospels, Acts, Romans, and more.

The first few pages give a great layout of the book. You get a great overview of what the Psalms is supposed to be, understand the vision of The Voice Project and receive a welcoming from the President of the Friends of Ecclesia Bible Society

I love that the Voice of the Psalms also provides devotionals for Lent, Advent, Worship, and Seeking.

The reading is easy to follow and understand. Sometimes I have found myself wandering while reading the especially longer Psalms. Spread out among the psalms are mini devotionals that help you feel more connected to the writers of the Psalms. You can bring what they wrote thousands of years ago to life in your own walk.

I enjoy this book very much. I highly recommend anyone to pick it up and deepen your love and relationship with God.

For more information on The Voice, please visit www.hearthevoice.com. There is a lot of great information on the project including free downloads. Right now they have the Voice Revealed: The Gospel of John

Ahoy! Thanks for stopping by. Sometimes life should be an open book and here you will find that true. My mind is always on full speed and I will be heading over many waves. I hope this journey is as much of an adventure for you as it is for me~ ~Mindy