He Is The Author

"Your story isn't a autobiography either. Your story is a biography of wisdom and grace written by another. Every turn he writes into your story is right. Every twist of the plot is for the best. Every new character or unexpected event is a tool of his grace. Each new chapter advances his purpose" 

Excerpt from "New Morning Mercies" by Paul David Tripp...July 21st

"Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them, for the ways of the Lord are right"
Hosea 14:9a

This an ongoing thing for me, I need this reminder everyday. Actually I need this reminder several times a day, specifically when events take a detour from what I expected.  I think I hold things loosely, but the Lord shows me, on a pretty regular basis that this isn't true. 

Help me remember Lord, your way is always better than mine.

Too Good Not To Share

Some things are just too good not to share. This excerpt came from Spurgeon's "Morning and Evening" from the reading of May 11th.

"It is well there is One who is ever the same, and who is ever with us. It is well there is one stable rock amidst the billows of the sea of life. O my soul, set not thine affections upon rusting, moth-eaten, decaying treasures, but set thine heart upon him who abides  forever faithful to thee. Build not thine house upon the moving quicksands of a deceitful world, but found thy hopes upon this rock, which amid descending rain and roaring floods, shall stand immovably secure. My soul, I charge thee, lay up thy treasure in the only secure cabinet; store thy jewels where thou canst never lose them. Put thine all in Christ; set all thine affections on his person, all thy hope in his merit, all thy trust in his efficacious blood, all thy joy in his presence, and so thou mayest laugh at loss, and defy destruction."

Life is like a roller coaster, or at least it has been for us in the last year. Circumstances have rooted out where we have really put our affections and revealed how much we cherish comfort and order. This little reading pointed me once again to the One who remains unchangeable, who is our hope and is faithful in all things. Will I ever really get this?!

Trials

"We need winds and tempests to exercise our faith, to tear off the rotten branches of self reliance, and to root us more firmly in Christ. The day of evil reveals to us the value of our glorious hope."

Excerpt from Devotional material taken from"Morning and Evening"written by C.H.Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistiar Begg

The Necessity of Being Still

I have difficulty with "quiet"...it's something I realized several years ago. In contrast,  I do "busy" well. (at least it seems like I do in the short term) I fill my days with things that need to be done, errands, appointments and an occasional lunch or coffee with a friend.

"Busy" can be challenging though. When I'm busy I don't always find time to eat, or I'm grabbing a quick bite on the run. That's okay every now and then, but if you do it for any length of time you begin to run down physically. It has the same spiritual application.

"Busy" has snuck up on me again, squeezing out "quiet".  I have felt it physically, but even more so spiritually and frankly it's hard to do battle when you've been  so busy that you don't feed yourself properly. Spiritually, I've been grabbing "quick bites" and relying on stored truths.

There are truths I have stored up over the years, that I have been able to use when I've been in the middle of one of "those" conversations that only I can hear, (you know the type I'm talking about)

The internal conversations that focus on mistakes, regrets, sin, failure and the what if''s. Those "conversations" can leave me a little discouraged, until I get to the place of stored truth. Like God is on the throne, he is ruling and reigning over all things, he is sovereign over all, he works all things for good.

I know I need a more substantial diet than the "quick bites" I've been getting. Coincidently our ladies ministry will be going through the book of Romans...what do you think, does it sound like a good place to get fed.

Reassessing The Plan

At the end of each year I start looking around for Bible reading plans I would like to do for the upcoming year. This year I thought I would try the M'Cheyne One Year Plan, I could access it online, with the option of having it read to me and I had a Bible that followed the same reading plan. Two methods of getting the same thing done, sounded great.  My goal was to be able to read the bible in a year.

I have encountered some problems with having a Bible reading plan like this, maybe you can identify. Sometimes I wanted  to stop and go more in depth in certain sections I was reading, I like to get a better understanding of historical events and culture surrounding the scripture, sometimes I wanted to go over what was taught on Sunday instead of doing the reading plan, sometimes I would be drawn to another book of the Bible that wasn't in the daily reading, sometimes life events or just plain laziness got in the way of me doing the required reading for the day. I have been on catch up mode for weeks now, putting more emphasis on getting the reading done, so that I can say that I did it.

With all that to say, I have decided it's time to ditch the plan, well not totally, just some of it. For the most part I am going to continue with the ESV One Year Bible, at least as a guide, but at a pace that is probably going to take me two-three years to finish the Bible, instead of one. I have also decided I won't necessarily do the plan everyday, sermons at church or other studies may lead me to different parts of scripture.

Reading in the morning was beginning to feel like a box I had to check off as done, I knew I had to make a change. Hopefully this adjustment will help, I'll let you know. What is important is that you spend time with the Lord each day and in His Word no matter what it looks like for you.

Devotional

Looking for a way to prepare your heart during the Christmas season? I was looking for for an Advent devotional and stumbled across this little gem, Solid Joys This is a daily devotional from the Ministries of  John Piper. The devotional can be viewed via computer, but there is also a free App that can be downloaded to your IPhone and IPad. How cool is that, and even I was able to figure out how to download it without help.

The readings and scripture for December have been focused on the Advent Season, which is what I was looking for. There are some things about this season that I don't like but I am not ready to throw out the baby with the bath water yet. (Christmas that is)

Christmas continues to change for us. We continue to simplify each year, keeping the traditions we enjoy like making cookies and looking at lights with less focus on the gifts. Last year we made many of the gifts we gave.  Want to keep your focus on Christ this season? This devotional is a great way to be reminded of the reason we, as Christians, celebrate the season...give it a look, won't you?

On Hearing And Responding

I was walking along a footpath, when I heard the snap of a twig in the brush. I stopped for a moment and looked to see if anything was there, but all I saw was brush. I heard another snap, so I decided to get my camera ready, just in case something was there...within a minute she popped out.

Had it not been quiet I would never had heard that twig snap, had I not taken my camera out I would have missed the shot. Made me think a little...is the "noise" in my life making it hard for me to hear (perhaps some decluttering needed) and when I do hear am I responding? Just something I had to ask myself this morning and all because God put a deer in my path today.

Watcha Reading?

I am looking for a new bible reading plan for this year and our pastor recommended this site.   http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2011/12/27/bible-reading-plans-for-2012/

it has several reading plans to chose from.

I have to admit I have not totally decided on a plan yet. (I like having some direction versus just reading at random) I have used an audio bible reading for the last couple of years but they change translations every week and I feel like I want to do something different this year. I know the year has already started and I should have thought about this sooner but life always seems to get ahead of me.

I am also trying to put together a list of books I would like to read this year, I have a couple on my list but I would love some feedback on any other recommendations.

My List

1. As Silver Refined by Kay Arthur
2. Jesus Plus Nothing Equals Everything by Tullian Tchividjian (the sermon series was excellent)

As you can see it's not much of a list that's why I am asking for input. I hope to be able to get a little more reading done this year, at least that's the goal. 

What are you reading, what are some of your favorites? Not looking for fiction,  interested in books that could be considered food for the soul, any recommendations?

Making God's Word a Priority

This new season I am in has required a little bit of adjustment, creativity when it comes to making time for devotions. If there is any time that you need to be drinking deeply of God's Word it's when you are in the midst of crisis and/or change. Ironically that happens to be the time when it's the hardest to find the time to sit down and get into God's Word, at least that has been my experience.

I had a schedule, a routine, I work part time, starting hours are pretty flexible, didn't have to be to work till 8:30,so could sit down in the morning meet with God before I started my day, and I was able listen to my IPod at work...easy to get fed.

I now start my days off running and what was getting left behind my time in the Word. Just like your body needs fuel to run smoothly, so does your your spirit...it's food, is the Word of God.

Tried getting up earlier, that didn't work, tried staying upstairs in my bedroom for quiet time before I started my day, also did not work. Then I remembered that when I was sick, my friend would read scripture to me. That was my jumping off point, remembered we have technology available to us...my husband recently purchased an IPad...it can talk to you.

We have a bible application on our IPad..."sweet lady" and I now get our coffee, turn the IPad on, and  listen to the Word of God, I can also read along. Then if we want more, I have multiple pod casts with great preachers on my computer. Is it perfect no...but it's a start, and it is helping me to get refreshed again.

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path"  Psalm 119:105

"But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers"  Psalm 1:2-3