Faith ~ Being Obedient

Woke to a beautiful Fall morning here in the Ozarks Mountains.  Am enjoying the colors of the season.  It is like every day the trees are changing right before our eyes.  And I thank the Lord for his beautiful masterpieces.  Can't wait to go for a drive this weekend and enjoy more of God's handiwork.

I am so enjoying my Women of Faith Devotional Bible...God is so good and meets me every day right where I am.

This morning's scripture was from Joshua 6:1-20 ~~~ the story of Joshua and the city of Jericho.
And God commands Joshua and the Israelites to walk once each day for six days around the city of Jericho.  No talking, no singing, nothing but silence for six days and then on the 7th day to Shout when given the direction.  And then the city of Jericho fell!!

What this says to me is that no matter the circumstances we are in that we have no control over/can't conquer (our walls)  God tells us that we will be victorious in Him.  He just asks us to walk (TRUST) trusting Him w/the details EVEN when we don't understand or can't the see the point or would rather talk/do it on our own, argue/complain God asks us to have enough FAITH to keep walking, one foot in front of the other and God will be victorious.

Which leads me to Romans 8:28

^{NKJV Romans 8:28} And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

^{The MESSAAGE Romans 26-28} Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

And I am encouraged today to pray today for us to keep walking  one foot in front of the other, doing what we know we need to do and put today in the hand's of the Lord, keeping our eyes on Him and our trust in Him.

So I encourage you to keep moving, putting one foot in front of the other, seeking God and believing that God is working everything in our lives into something good.

Devotional Theme for October ~ Faith

I am enjoying my new PURPLE, Women of Faith Bible and it fits nicely in my new Bible cover ~ thanks Mike & Elaine!!!

One of the things I like about this Bible is the daily devotions and each month has a theme.  The theme for this month is FAITH.  And if you know me, my Faith has grown in leaps and bounds especially since 2007 to 2009 when I was immersed in counseling and prayer, getting some medications straightened out, more counseling and prayer, lots of love and support to work through the horrible abuse I had suffered from in my childhood and teen years.

Each day I learn to trust more and lean on the Lord more than the day before.  And this morning I was once again reminded about God's love and my need to remain steadfast in my belief and faith in the Lord.

The scripture for this morning was Exodus 14:13 - 14 ~

New International Version (©1984) Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.New Living Translation (©2007) But Moses told the people, "Don't be afraid. Just stand still and watch the LORD rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again.

I usually use either the NKJV or NIV translations but really like the NLT version for this verse and it reminds me once again to STAND FIRM in what I know is the truth and TRUST the LORD as he brings me through each day. 

And it brings me comfort as we prepare for another hearing with the Texas Workforce Center due to the 3rd appeal by the Alamo SKP Co-op, Marti O'Hare, BOD President and their statement that Ron was lazy and never worked while we were the Managers of the Lone Star Corral.  We know the truth ~ Ron is a very hard worker, goes beyond what is expected and does his job with a smile and positive attitude.

So once again, my prayer for today is "Lord, I come to you this morning and ask that you help me to NOT feel anxious, to stand in confidence and know that the TRUTH will set us free.  Amen"

Do you need an extra boost in dealing with an issue?  Stand firm, put your TRUST & FAITH in the LORD.  He will never leave you nor forsake you.

It's Amazing ~

Isn't it amazing how someone (me) with good intentions (trying to be intentional) can let a month of time slide by?  That's me this past month.  It seems like I am continually setting new goals, to get on the healthy track, to be intentional with my time and not just slide by each day and yet God meets me where I am.

I am trying to get caught up on The Wandering Workentins blog - currently up to August 15th which is where I share about our day to day lives.

This morning in my scripture reading Wait...a couple of weeks ago I grabbed my Bible out of the window (where we keep them for easy access) and found out with all the moisture that had been in the air my Bible was now wet, not damp but soaked about 1/3rd of the way up :(  I laid it out to dry but even after a week the pages were still a little moist and reeked of moldy misty smells...time to get a new Bible...I like devotional Bibles and so the search began.  First I was blessed by Mike & Elaine Loscher,

who were visiting us from Texas who bought me a beautiful Bible case for whatever new Bible I found.  And so the search continued online, in a couple of stores and then finally at Books a Million I found a PURPLE Bible~ New Kings James Version ~ Women of Faith Devotional Bible.  I was looking for a New International Version as that is what I have used for years but couldn't find a devotional Bible so I went to the NKJV and found this Bible.  It meets my criteria: a devotional (this one has 365 devotions broke down into 12 categories - the first one being Grace, leather bound and being PURPLE was just a gift because God knows I love PURPLE!!

Last Sunday night (9/23/12) after cheering Erv & Anita Bach over the finish line at the Branson 70.3 Triathlon (Ron's cousin and his wife) and being so proud of Anita as she has battled 3 surgeries and Breast Cancer since January of this year that she FINISHED the race.  I thought to myself I have no excuse to not be INTENTIONAL in what I do each day so I had another one of those FAMOUS self-talks about being intentional with my day, my eating, my exercising, my spiritual & emotional life, my relationship with God, family & friends and went to sleep praying for the Lord to help me get up in the morning and be Intentional about what I do.

So yesterday I met my goal: time with the Lord first thing in the morning, a 15 minute walk around the campground, good eating choices OK, I could have done better and enjoyed being with the people who came into my life throughout the day.

Today is Day 2...got up at 6:30 a.m.  (my goal is 5:00 a.m.) but that is better than 7:45 and flying out the door at 8:30 to get to work.

This morning in my scripture reading and prayer time I read my devotional for the day: Theme is Grace.  Scripture was 2 Cor. 8:1-7 and was immediately challenged by the Lord.

To:
~ Love my enemies
~ Bless them that curse me
~ Do good to those who hate me
~ Pray for those who despise or persecute me

And just what I needed this morning as we once again have a hearing with the Texas Workforce Center regarding Ron's Unemployment Claim from April 4 to May 6th and the Alamo Area SKP Co-OP (LSC) and the fact that they are once again appealing the TWC decision in granting Ron his benefits.  We have many questions: Ron filed for unemployment after we were fired from LSC and was granted benefits.  Marti O'Hare, BOD President appealed.  We filed a report, had a hearing and was once again granted favor and Ron was approved for benefits.  And then lo and behold, Marti et al appealed once again.  The claim then went in front of the TWC Commission.  And last week we were notified we have another hearing on October 11th... (How many times can she/they appeal the decision is one of our questions?)

And yes, ANGRY feelings surfaced, PANIC raised its ugly head and I found myself once again crying out to God "how long is this going to go on?"  What else can we say or do?

And then this morning God led me to the verses above along with Jeremiah 32:27 where God asks "is there anything to hard for Me?"  And I am once again reminded He is in control and loves me more than anything and He will provide for me/us.

And so as I went on my 15 minute walk around the campfire, up and down those darn hills, I prayed for everyone involved: the TWC commissioners, for Marti - don't know what we did to turn her against us and that is not for me to figure out...praying for a good day for her and for her to get things right between herself and the Lord, for the Lord to heal any hurts she is dealing with and for me to extend the same GRACE that God gives to me each day to her.

And continuing to pray for the Lord to find favor on us regarding this claim...Ron is and has always been a hard worker and deserves his unemployment and we just pray that the Lord will show that to the TWC commissioners and we can hopefully move forward and get past this situation.

And I ask that you pray along with us that God's will will be done, that we will rest in Him and continue to trust Him with our lives and every aspect of our lives and to continue to live life the way we believe the Lord wants us to...extending grace to others just as HE extends to me!

Now off to work, drinking lots of water and making healthy food choices and being intentional in my interactions with those who come into contact with me today!!!