Conversations of Hope

Heartstrings

2012-02-02T08:11:00.000-08:00

This morning as I was reading a familiar story but it was a gentle reminder from God that I needed to recheck my "heartstrings" and see if I/my heart was holding on to anything tighter than Him......where, what and who am I focusing on.

In Mark 10:17-22 is a story of the rich young ruler, read it from he Message:
17As he went out into the street, a man came running up, greeted him with great reverence, and asked, "Good Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?"
18-19Jesus said, "Why are you calling me good? No one is good, only God. You know the commandments: Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie, don't cheat, honor your father and mother."
20He said, "Teacher, I have—from my youth—kept them all!"
21Jesus looked him hard in the eye—and loved him! He said, "There's one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow me."
22The man's face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go.

Check this out - Jesus loved him!.....there's one thing left, go & sell whatever you own & give to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth, and come follow me. The young man's face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, & he walked away with a heavy heart. He was holding on to tight to many things, & not willing to let go.

What are my thoughts & how am I similar to this young man? How am I different?
This is waht I needed to be reminded of today & what I daily need to remind myself.

Luke 9:23- Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

If I want to choose life then I need to be willing to die daily of ME and let Christ LIVE IN ME.
Like this young man, I am a rule keeper.....I know how to keep score but I don't always let go. I hold on too tightly to things & relationships because I am afraid of losing them. Afraid of not being perfect. Afraid of peolpe not liking me. Caring more about relationships with people than about what & who God has blessed me with. Focusing on what I don't have instead of seeing all that I do have.....the Eve Syndrome.

How am I different? I am not willing to walk away sad, defeated & not willing to let go. Jesus loved him even though the young man walked away. Jesus loves us so much and he gives us the choice. Just like this man I get to choose......and I choose life. I am daily choosing to relinquish control & chase after God. I am choosing to focus on the good in my life & in my relationships.

Thank you, Jesus, that you looked me in the eye today and loved me enough to speak truth in my life.

only in Florida

2012-01-28T19:08:00.000-08:00

This morning we started out with a fire in our fireplace because it was a cool 39 degrees. We enjoyed coffee together and then by 10am it was warm enough to go outside and spend time as a family by our pool. I love living in Florida! The winters in Fl are incredible, I don't miss the snow in the north. I am loving life!

Matthew 22:37-40 - Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind & strength.....
Love your neighbor as yourself.....If we get the chance to have family time on Saturday's we are usually have a big breakfast/brunch and spend time outside by the pool. It is one of our favorite rooms in our house. It has been a tough journey here in the sunshine state but it has also been filled with incredible moments and treasured memories. I wouldn't trade who I am today, January 2012, or my family. My God has proven faithful, sovereign and trustworthy.

A new chapter in My Story

2011-10-17T22:15:00.000-07:00

I have been in church and around more people who know what I believe most of my life so it is easy to talk about my relationship with Christ. Turning 44 this year I wanted to do something that would be a "mile marker" or a "memorial stone" of my journey with Christ. Jesus has changed my life in the past few years, so much that my family would say I am not the same person that I was when we moved to Florida. I wanted to do something that would open
the door of sharing my faith with a converstion starter and then I also wanted something to remind me of what Christ means to me.
So on my birthday, the girls went with me to get a Tatoo.....yes you read that right a Tatoo! I have thought about it all year. I knew I wanted to get a word in Latin written on my wrist but I also knew it would be permanant so I prayed and asked God to show me what the word should be. I began making my list of words that would express my "story" naturally, I read scriptures and I kept it in my prayer journal. I kept comming back to the words I get to choose
Every day we make choices.....we choose how we are going to live our lives, what we will say with our words, who we will touch with our lives, if we will love, forgive, be kind....we get to choose how we respond to life. Because Christ chose to give his life for me I get to choose how I am going to live it for His glory. I wanted the second half of my life to make a greater difference for Him, to live intentionally.
Here I am getting a Tatoo at 44!The coolest thing was going with Emily and Katie and sharing this experience with them. To hear them say, they are proud of me as their mom for stepping out and taking a risk, to not worry about what people think but follow after.....chase after God.....to express my relationship with Him as the most important and do something that is "out of my comfort zone" for me!

God has changed me so much in the past few years. (and thankfully He continues to change me) My natural self would rather choose to have it my way, all about me & be the center of attention. There are times when I would rather harbor a grudge or nurse a hurt rather than let it go and forgive. I have thought that by choosing to hold on to the hurt or even the bad thoughts
I would be hurting them back but in reality I am only hurting myself. I end up blocking my communication with God. The only thing in this life I get to control is my attitude....my reponse and I get to choose! When I choose God's way, He blesses and honors that choice with more and more of His presence in my life. Jesus didn't tell the disciples to follow the crowd, follow their hearts, or follow what seems to be right according to the present circumstances. He simply said, "Follow me"....Matthew 4:19.

We only become different when we are following him!

Matthew 16:24-25 - If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself/herself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.

The Latin word, eligere, means "to choose". This is a permanant reminder that Christ chose to give His life for me and I get to choose every day to live my life for Him!

Choose your path and don't look back

2011-09-06T06:19:00.000-07:00

Hebrews 12:1-2, 5-7, 10-13 - Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author & perfector of our faith....Do not make light of the Lord's discipline & do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves.....Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as (sons) daughters....God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness & peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms & weak knees. Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

When you get ready for your run, you first have to choose your course...choose the direction you will run.....map it out. You may even use a tool to map out your run, like this one - http://www.mapmyrun.com/

You lay out all of your gear, water-bottles, gatoraide and then you choose to lace up your shoes, stretch and then run! As you are running you choose to keep running, not to quit; choosing to endure to finish your course.

You can choose to run alone, with a partner or in a group. All of these choices determine your success as a runner. Who you run with can encourage you to run your race or they can hinder your race.

So much of life is like a race/ a course we run and we are given choices every day. We daily choose the attitude we will have, the direction we take for this day, how we will respond to the twists and turns of this day. We choose how we will communicate to those we love, those who irritate us and people that God brings across our path....we daily choose!
Our lives do not always run smooth but regardless of what happens, God is still working in it. When I choose to look to him.....fix my eyes on the author & perfector of my faith, I will find strength for the hard things, patience in the daily things & joy in all things. To believe in the core of who I am that I am in good hands.....God is good and He can be trusted! It is my choice in how I respond and where I choose to focus.

All of us have a path, a race, a route mapped out for us. God wants us to run it, live in it, with perseverance and to trust Him every step of the way. Trust that there is a bigger picture in life, He has a plan, He is always working behind the scenes in your life and He sees the bigger picture, so trust Him.

Today, make a choice to make a level path for your feet as you run the race that He has marked out for you; clear the path, make it level, by focusing your eyes and attention on Jesus.

Choose to run....lace up your shoes, stretch it out, and then run. No looking back because you cannot run the race while looking behind you.

1 Thessalonians 5:16 - Be joyful always; pray continually.

My prayer for you & for me today.....Father, I am weak & yes, sometimes emotionally feeble. I need You every hour. Strengthen me according to your Word. Change me & renew me from the inside out. Give me the courage to fix my attention on the bigger picture, the greater good, & on YOU. Fill me with anticipation for what You want to do in & through my life. Make me spiritually savvy to walk around the traps set for me by the enemy. May I turn my back on fear and embrace faith instead. When I get knocked down, help me to get back up again, wipe off the dirt, clear my path & fix my eyes on You. May the destiny You've appointed for me be forever in my view. I want to be a woman who rises up out of the ashes and does something beautiful with her life. Jesus, I want to be conformed to your image. Give me the grace to endure whatever it is that is taking me there. Do your work in me, Lord.

Look straight ahead

2011-08-15T11:22:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 4:25-27 - Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; then stick to the path and stay safe. Don't get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.

This is so hard for me....to look straight ahead. It's hard for me to keep my eyes focused on my path when I am running and definately just moving along through life.

I get distracted easily, looking at the scenery....or who is that over there......awe look at that beautiful front porch:) I can also trip over my own two feet if I am not careful. I can also get distracted along my faith journey. Looking back into the past and its set of failures; looking at people, things and then even looking ahead with anxious thoughts of the future. God gently reminds me, Linda, look straight ahead and stick to the path. When I stick to the path there is safety. Like in Psalm 40:1-3 - He has set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walk along....He gives me a firm place to stand.

He also reminds me that if I am looking straight ahead it will be harder to get sidetracked and will keep me from making wrong choices in my thoughts or in actions.

So many times, sad to say....the right direction is just not in me. It even says this in
Jeremiah 10:23 - O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.

Romans 7:15 - I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do...

I am forever thankful that my God is so patient with me, His love is endless and His mercy and compassion fail not they are new every morning. As long as I keep looking straight ahead, and fix my eyes on what lies before me, He will give me a firm place to stand.

As I trust Him more each day the path that He has marked out for me becomes even more beautiful than I imagined it could be. The path is risky and narrow but incredible because He is with me every step of the way.

How's your focus?

2011-07-28T04:22:00.000-07:00

Hebrews 12:2 - Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

How do you keep your focus on a run? Do you listen to some good tunes? Do you just let your mind wander and listen to your surroundings? Running is more than just physical exercise it is mental exercise!

I get distracted easily so I have to do a few things to keep me focused on a run in order to achieve the endurance I desire for today. My little routine is: I have to chew gum:-), then I set my watch, set up my tunes on my iPod; stretch a little; washcloth in one hand and waterbottle in the other....I know this is crazy but it helps me to begin to clear my mind and focus on achieving my desired goal for today.

The same is true in my life......I have to daily fix my eyes on Jesus. Set my eyes/mind on Jesus.....and don't look away from Him. That may not be hard for you but it is hard for me. I never thought I had ADD(attention deficit disorder) but I am definately beginning to wonder.
In the Amplified version it literally says - "Looking away from all that will distract, to Jesus who is the Leader and the Source of our faith." I not only get distracted by what is in front of me but my past and every sideline distraction that the enemy tries to trip me with. (other people, anger, envy, jealousy, the comparison trap...ect.)
Are your eyes fixed on Jesus today?
Why do I need to daily fix my eyes on Jesus? The verses goes on to say - He is the author and perfector of our faith. He began my story & he will finish my story. My faith begins with Him....He originated it so he will perfect it....he will fill in the gaps, all the pot-holes along my journey with His grace and loving-kindness.
Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross.....He endured for me so that I can endure.
When I am coming to the end of my run it gets harder and I have to keep my focus, so I begin talking to my self. I push myself by saying.....you can't quit, the very life of your family depends on this, don't give up keep pressing on, you can do this! This is a matter of life and death....don't quit. Greater is he that is in you than He that is in the world! I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength! And when I cross my finish line it feels so good because I pushed beyond what I could do and kept my eyes on Jesus....the true finish line. This is true in life as well, the closer we draw to Jesus the enemy turns up the heat. The enemy knows our potential and he wants us to quit, to give up, to walk away but whatever you have to do to re-align your focus and turn your eyes on Jesus do it....don't let the enemy win!
What does a runner do to get to the finish line?
- she fixes her mind on the finish line
-she concentrates on the path before her
-she focuses on running the race
A few more verses to fix your mind on: Psalm 119: 34-37 and Phil. 1:6. Check them out in different versions and journal your key thoughts. Ask god to show you what you are focusing on? Are you focusing on unimportant or worthless things? Set your mind/focus on Jesus who is the author and perfector of your faith. You can be confident in this truth that He who began a good work in you will complete it! The God who loves you, who never changes, will complete His work in you and in me.
Our attitude for today should be For the joy set before Him, He endured. He endured for you and for me so that we could endure. He knows us & He knows what we are capable of becoming in Him so we can put all of our trust and focus in Him today!

Keep running....

2011-07-15T08:54:00.001-07:00

It's hard to keep running when you have a pebble in your shoe. Not only is it uncomfortable and often painful, itis very irritating. It would make sence to stop, take the pebble out of my shoe and then start running again.

So how do we do that in life? Hebrews 12:1...."let us throw off everything that hinders us...." I don't know about you but there are things in life that can rub against me/us and become uncomfortable, painful and irritating, just like trying to run with a pepple in my shoe. In Hebrews we are told to "throw off everything that hinders", remove, or get rid of "what" is hindering or slowing you down from running your race.

What is the pebble in my/your shoe that is hindering you and slowing you down? Is it pride, an attitude, jealousy, anger, gossip, a negative tongue, envy or bitterness? Whatever it is if it is not removed can lead to "the sin that so easily entagles us." There are days when I feel like life is good I am moving and growing and then something stops me in my tracks, like a pebble in my shoe. On this journey of faith there will be many twists & turns, bumps & bruises and even pebbles that make us stop in our tracks. If I do not remove the pebble from my shoe it can become so irritating that it becomes my focus and then can lead to sin in my life. We can stop and start over as many times as necessary. It doesn't matter how many times I stop and start over, what matters is that I keep getting up and running toward the finish line.

The hard part for me sometimes is stopping to remove the pebble. Not all the time but there are times when I live with the pebble in my shoe, I learn to work around it because I don't want to fail, or lose control and fall out of the race. There times when we learn to live with the irritations in life and we would rather talk about it being an irritating pebble in my life. It will require me to "throw off everything that hinders", remove, get rid of it, let it go and redirect my focus. At times in my life this is easier said than done.

So how do I keep running with a redirected focus and the pebble out of my shoe? Let;s talk more later, I am stopping to get the pebble out of my shoe.

Run your race....

2011-07-08T14:41:00.000-07:00

Hebrews 12:1-3 - "Therefore, we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders us & the sin that so easily entangles us & let us run with perseverence the race marked out for us." (NIV)

NLT - "....let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates & perfects our faith."

MSG - "...it means we'd better get on it. Strip down, start running- and never quit! ..."

CEV - "...so we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won't let go...."

Running has opened up a whole new world for me. I have run 5K's just for fun but this summer I started running as my afternoon workout. It has been a total body workout.....physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. As I stretch, set the timer on my watch and then set out for my run, every part of me has to be engaged. I chart out my course, set a goal for distance and endurance, play the tunes on my ipod and then run. My mind has to engage to push myself a little harder each time. I picture jumping in the pool at the end of the run.....pure satisfaction.

The verses in Hebrews compare life to running a race. A few key phrases catch my attention....
- throw off everything that hinders......throw off everything that slows us down.
What hinders me can be fear, insecurity, jealousy, envy, comparing, pride, anger, ect...
- the sin that so easily entangles us...the sin that trips us up....the sin that won't let go.
What sin trips me up every time and just won't seem to let me go? Addicted to self, pride, jealousy, envy, control, ect...
- let us run with perseverence...run with endurance.
Don't give up, keep running the race of faith. This is what I tell myself as I am running and wanting to quit because my body is screaming at me to quit. There are days when life can be so hard that you just want to give up....but don't give in to the struggle. It will be worth it.
- the race marked out for us.....the race God has set before us.
God has a race designed personally just for me. He knows what I am made of, He knows what I am capable of and He knows my potential. So as I run MY race I can know with confidence that if I keep my eyes on Jesus....the author, designer & perfector of my faith...He will not only lead me but he will be with me every step of the way until I cross the finish line. Instead of focusing on the twists & turns; the hurdles & detours I need to keep my eyes on Jesus who both began and finished the race I am in.

Runners wear non-binding clothing when they race. They don't wear anything that will hinder their performance or stop them from reaching their goal. They also run with patience because there are parts of the coarse that are challenging and less thrilling. Despite how they feel, they stay focused on the finish line.

I am running my race, I don't always like the coarse that I am on and I wish I could change directions but I am Trusting in the ONE who designed My race. He knows me best!

Are you running the race that God has set before you?

Do you think you could keep running if you had a pebble in your shoe?

Meet you on the coarse later....

My Baby is Graduating!

2011-06-08T05:15:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby, Katie, is graduating from high school. Wow.....time just goes too fast. Last night was our Baccalaureatte Program for the students. It was a great night. Katie was able to introduce her daddy, this year's speaker. I am so proud of her!

My two girls......I love them so much:)

Mark & I are overwhelmed that of all the mommies and daddies in the world God chose us to be Katie's. God is good!! Proud parents of KT!

Refresh....we are made to Crave!

2011-04-08T06:47:00.000-07:00

Crave (krav) v. craved, craving: to have an intense desire for; to beg earnestly for; to long for; to feel intense need of something or someone.... What do you crave? We all have cravings....I crave chocolate, coffee, beach days, friendships, relationships, shoes, ice-cream.....the list can go on and on. The reality is my cravings will always be there, they will never go away and they are never truly satisfied.....maybe for an hour or a day but they come back up later. It's like sitting at the table on Thanksgiving, we eat until we are "satisfied" and we think that we will never need to eat again but we find ourselves right back in the kitchen pulling out all of the leftovers to eat again 3 hours later. Did you ever think that maybe we were made to crave "more" to discover that the "more" we crave can only be filled to the brim, overflowing and completely satisfied in a relationship with God. Ladies, come to Refresh on Monday night from 7-8:30pm in the Worship Center at Church of Hope as we have fun with our cravings, and then dig in to the idea that maybe God created us to crave so that we would crave Him. Come with a craving ready to be satisfied! Bring a friend and a heart ready to be refreshed on this shared journey of faith! Psalm 107:9 - "For He satisfies the craving soul and the hungry soul he fills with good things." For more information email me at Linda@hopeinocala.com.I would love to hear from you.....send me your "cravings".

You Are For Me

2011-03-08T12:00:00.000-08:00

What a journey we have been on the past few weeks on discovering our worth in Christ. Last week we talked about transforming our minds from our old pattern of living and choosing to walk in freedom. Our past may explain our behavior but it cannot be an excuse. Our behavior will not change until our thoughts changs. We have to renew our minds daily....sometimes hourly.

Romans 12:2 - "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what the will of the Lord is."

Tonight we will see again from Psalm 139 and the woman at the well in John 4 that God loves us and He is for us.

If we truly believed that God loves us and He is for us.....there would be no question of our worth.

Jesus didn't ask the woman at the well in John 4 for a drink because He was thirsty. Thirst was the excuse Jesus used to have a conversation with her. He went out of His way and waited at the well for her.....not because He was thirsty but because He knew she needed the life-giving water that only He could give.

If you are in the Ocala, Florida area, and you are "thirsty".....come and see like the woman at the well a man who told me everything about me.......He knows me, every detail about me....and He has gone out of His way to quench my thirst!

Tuesday evenings from 6:30-8:30pm at Church of Hope

http://www.hopeinocala.com

3233 SE Maricamp Rd in the 14forty Student Room.

For more info: Linda@hopeinocala.com

Women of Worth

2011-03-02T06:27:00.000-08:00

We have had a great start to our Women of Worth Bible study.......highlighting the Truth that our worth is rooted, established and complete in Christ alone!

"You're beautiful from head to toe, my dear love, beautiful beyond compare,
absolutely flawless." Song of Solomon 4:6 -(MSG)

Thank you Julie for creating the atmosphere through worship and opening up our hearts to hear what God wants to teach us.

Thank you Debbie for partnering with me to help women discover their worth in Christ!

Week 1: What are you worth? I will share more later from last night.....Renewing our minds.

What are you worth?

2011-02-21T11:48:00.000-08:00

I have struggled with this questionfor so many years. How we define ourselves and how we view our worth can be a very vulnerable place because what defines us will drive us.

In John 4 is the story of the Woman at the Well.....a woman who was defined by her life circumstances....her choices. She isn't very different from me or from you. Searching for love, affirmation, and worth.

Our worth/value is often deteremined by our past, our present, our family envirnment, the world's opinion of what is worthy or valuable. Our worth/value can be shaped by what others say about us or even to us.

Satan has targeted women from the beginning....in the Garden with Eve. You see he knows our worth and he wants to plant seeds of doubt inside of us that cause us to doubt God, doubt His love, our worth and value to God....."He must be holding out on me, He isn't giving me His best."....Lies from our enemy.

John8:44 - "When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

John8:32 - "Then you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free."

What does God say about your worth/value? Read Psalm 139 every day....read it in different versions and ask God to tell you from His Word what you are worth!

If you are in the Ocala, Florida area "come and see" like the Woman at the Well a man who told me everything about me.....He knows me, every detail of my life and He still loves and thinks I am worthy.

Tuesday evenings from 6:30-8:30pm at Church of Hope http://www.hopeinocala.com/.

3233 SE Maricamp Rd, in the 14forty Room.

For more info: Linda@hopeinocala.com

Love Him...

2011-01-22T21:53:00.000-08:00

This year is well on its way and January is almost over. I haven't written since Thanksgiving, no excuse just busy. I used to look at the New Year not only as a new beginning, a fresh page but it always seems to fizzle out....yes I grow and change but my list is always too long and each year has its own set of challenges.

I came across a blog that has inspired and challenged me. She invites you to a One Word 2011 Challenge http://www.gritandglory.com/ for the New Year. At first I thought, you've got to be kidding me how do I pick just one word. I couldn't stop thinking about this challenge so I began my list to pray over and see what One Word I could focus on this year.......peace, trust, faith, strength, love, believe, hope, courage, patience.....and I kept coming back to the word "love". Love Him to be exact. This is what God has been stretching me personally with this past year....I say I love Him but if I am honest He has not been first place, my center, my focus, my everything....I have not truly loved Him more than anyone or anything. God loves me, Linda, just for being me and he wants me to love Him not for what He can do for me but just love Him.

Deuteronomy 6:4-5- Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One!You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

This passage is often called - The Shema. Shema means "to hear". The Shema was foundational to the Jewish faith & was to be recited morning and night.

vs. 5- Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
(AMP)....love Him with your entire being and with all your might.

(MSG)....love Him with all that's in you, love Him with all you've got.

Psalm 8:17 - I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.

To be honest I haven't always loved God first, and held him as the center.....my core foundation of who I am. I love him but many times I have put my family, friends, affirmation, acceptance, my service and so many other things even good things in front of Him.

Let go, leave behind, depart from, abandon, give up, turn your back on, forsake the past, and press on in 2011.

Eph. 3:20 - He can do exceedingly, abundantly above all you can ask or think. Stay connected to the power source.

We need to be empty enough and open enough to discover the holiness we were made for.

"You have to trust the place that is solid, the place where you can say yes to God's love even when you do not feel it." ~ Henri Nouwen

"We do not think ourselves into a new way of living. We live ourselves into new ways of thinking." ~ Pete Wilson

Lamentations 3;22-23 - The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each day.

Nothing on earth can compare to the strength God is willing to interject into the lives caught in the act of believing.

Matthew 22:37-38 - You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

Lord, I know that to put my life in proper order, I need to love You above all things and all people.

Genesis 17:7 - And I will always be Your God & the God of your descendants after you.

Isaiah 26:3 - You will keep her in perfect peace, for her mind is stayed on You, because she trusts in You.

Proverbs 4:23 - Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

Psalm 42:8 - Through each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life.

Romans 8:39 - Absolutely nothing can get between us & God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.

Psalm 144:2 - He is my loving ally and my fortress, my tower of safety, my deliverer. He stands before me as a shield, and I take refuge in Him.

1 Peter 4:19 - Trust yourself to God who made you, for he will never fail you.

Psalm 119:10 - I'm singleminded in pursuit of You; don't let me miss the roadsigns You've posted.

1 Corinthians 2:9 - No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.

What will your One Word be in 2011?

thankful for....

2010-11-26T08:44:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 2010 has come and gone. All of the leftovers are in the refrigerator ready to be enjoyed all weekend:) I do love the leftovers! This has been a different Thanksgiving for us because we are home but we aren't home. We have been blessed with the privilege of enjoying a friend's lake house. It has been incredible to wake up to the view of the lake, watch the girls have fun on the jet ski, wake-boarding, and sleeping out on the porch in their awesome bed-swings and of course watch the gorgeous sun-sets at night. The weather has been splendid. Mark has been sick this week but he has been great to let us still enjoy being here on the lake. I love him so much because it is definately not fun to be sick and then to not be in your own home.....I am thankful he is such an awesome husband and a great daddy, he is always thinking of his girls.

This week has been great to read outside listening to the water and feeling the breeze that comes off the lake. I love being close to the water, I always feel a deeper, uninterrupted conversation with God because I think Jesus liked to be close to water too. All throughout the gospels we read about conversations Jesus had near water.....He taught people on a hillside by the water, Jesus found His disciples by the water, He walked on the water, He calmed the storm on the water and he cooked fish for His disciples on the sea shore and one of my favorite conversations was with the woman at the well in John 4. I have so much to be thankful for!

Here are a few of the many things I am thankful for.....
1. My ever deepening relationship with Christ.....I am not the same woman that I was 1yr ago, a month ago or even last week. I am not completely there yet but I am a woman on a journey of learning who I am in Christ. We are finishing a 40 Day journey as a church- Life's Healing Choices, Freedom from your Hurts, Habits and Hang-ups and it has been life-changing for me. I feel like I am waking up into this new woman but it also saddens me because I think of all the years wasted in what I thought my life in Christ was supposed to be about. My life has been on auto-pilot for so long that I am finally discovering what it really means to renew my mind daily as it says in Romans 12:1-2-"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

I am admitting that I am not God and that so many times in my life I have tried to be in control. I cared more about my performance and outward appearance than I did about truly "being ready to give an answer for the hope that is within me." 1 Peter 3:15. God is not here to worship me, to mold Himself into somthing that will help me fulfill my level of comfort. Part of the problem is I want spirituality to be more close than real. I settled for the patterns of the world or even my view of spirituality. My life is a mess, I am spiritually poor and completely unmanageable without Him. The truths I have learned in this study will help me establish new habits of daily and annual evaluation time with God. To continue to maintain growth physically, emotionally, relatioanlly & spiritually.
2 Corinthians 13:5-9 (MSG) - "Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don't drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it. I hope the test won't show that we have failed. But if it comes to that, we'd rather the test showed our failure than yours. We're rooting for the truth to win out in you. We couldn't possibly do otherwise.
We don't just put up with our limitations; we celebrate them, and then go on to celebrate every strength, every triumph of the truth in you. We pray hard that it will all come together in your lives."

2. Mark....God definately knew what He was doing when He chose you to be my life partner. For the past 21 years you have loved me and believed in me and have inspired me to be a better person. To be the woman that God designed me to be. We have grown together and I wouldn't trade one day of our journey together. I love that you are my man and I love waking up every morning next to you, I love our traveling adventures, convertable rides, walks on the beach, ice-cream, chocolate and drinking hot black coffee together (just the way God created it:-) I love you and I am thankful to be your wife:)

3. Emily and Katie...I truly am thankful that of all the mommies in the world God chose me to be your mommy. Both of you are amazing young ladies with an incredible future ahead of you. I am so proud of both of you! You have added so much joy and love to my world. You girls are so far ahead of where I was at you age and I am honored that you invite me in to your lives and are willing to partner together for our growth as women. I love you Emily and I love you Katie:)

4. Our families.....I am thankful for my mom & dad and for all that they invested in my life over the years. They taught me about Jesus and His faithfulness and instilled a servants heart in me. I'm also thankful for my brothers and their families, even though we do not see each other very often I love you all. I am also thankful for Mark's mom & dad because with out them I wouldn't have Mark. Thank you. Also, I am thankful for Mark's brother and sister and their families and pray the Lord's richest blessings over their homes. I will try to stay better connected on facebook:)

5. Our Hope Family......wow, where do I even begin. I am so thankful to celebrate our 2yr anniversary this weekend with the birth of Church of Hope. So many of you have loved our family as part of your own. You have loved on our girls, prayed for us, baked delicious goodies for us, invited us into your homes, guided us in the right direction for some of our home repairs, shared Gator tickets with us, allowed us to enjoy the many blessings God has blessed you with. But even more than that I am so thankful to be apart of the story of Hope. Watching a group of people yield their lives to something greater than themselves and be apart a movement in Ocala that is truly partnering with people to discover Hope in Christ....they are not just talking about it or memorizing a cool logo.....Hope is making it real. Church of Hope is a special place, it is not a perfect place but it is a place filled with people who are discovering what it really means to follow after Christ free from religion.....our chains are gone we are singing of His amazing Grace......He is our Hope!

I am thankful that God is God and I am not. I am thankful that He loves me unconditionally and that I do not have to be pefect just humble. He is writing the story of my life.....I can't wait to see what this next year holds as I continue to sty connected to Him and trust Him each step of the way.

Refresh

2010-09-22T14:21:00.001-07:00

Monday night was Refresh! Thank you to all of the women at Hope who helped put this incredible evening together. I know I was Refreshed:) I loved our Refresh mugs that we enjoyed during the evening but also took home to remember that as long as we keep our eyes on Jesus not only will everything be ok but He will brew in us a "fresh-brewed" faith. Our theme was "Smell the Aroma of Fresh-brewed Faith" The atmosphere was beautiful and it smelled like we were entering a French Coffee Cafe. The chocolate fountains and the pastries were delicious.

We had fun connecting with each other.....and of course there were gifts given away.

Leesa shared with us the recent "grinding" of her faith that has produced a "fresh-brewed" story of a deeper faith & trust in God. The fragrance of her faith in Christ during her recent difficult season was so fresh that the doctor's office asked her if she would reach out to a young mom getting ready to walk the same path that Leesa is on. Wow! How many times in my own life when I am going through a "grinding" of my faith I can very naturally become so focused on me that I miss others that God may want to bring across my path to share the Hope that I have in Him. Thank you, Leesa, for being willing and available to share a very fresh personal experience with us. I love you my friend:)

I sure do love all the women of Hope! You ladies have enriched my life in so many ways. I can't wait till the next Refresh. For more information or questions please contact me, Linda@hopeinocala.com or check out our websight http://www.hopeinocala.com/

Tongue-tied

2010-09-09T08:33:00.000-07:00

This morning I was reading Psalm 139 as I have been reading every morning since May of this year and the verses that stood out to me were a gentl reminder about the words I speak.

Psalm 139:4- "Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD."

The Message - "You know everything I'm going to say before I start the first sentence."

Did you ever have one of those days where you were tongue-tied. Yesterday, was one of those days. I have been fighting off a cold and as mom's we do not have time to get sick and i am working on a few projects and I just was not connecting with others in my communication. I needed to take a breath and really just go to bed and rest to fight off my cold instead of getting frustrated in my conversations.

So I did go to bed and i have been laying low today and as i was having my quiet time and i began reading Psalm 139 it was like the Lord was gently reminding me to not beat myself up....he knows me, he already knew I would have this kind of a day and He still loves me....move on.

vs. 10 - "your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast."

vs. 16 - "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

Proverbs 15:1- "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."

Am I trying to prove or improve the situation? When I try to prove I am right, I use the circumstances of the conflict as an arsenal to attack the other person. I come armed with past hurts and offenses ready to state my case. I'm tempted to tear down the other person. I react from a place of hurt and anger and can often say things I later regret instead of responding in love.
On the other hand, when my desire is to improve the relationship, I seek to understand where the other person is coming from and I care enough about the relationship to fight for it rather than against it. Instead of reacting out of anger, I pause and let the Holy Spiri t interrupt my first impulses. I tackle the issues, not the person.

Soaking in the Truth

2010-08-07T18:00:00.000-07:00

Meditating on Psalm 139 everyday is like soaking in the truth....I am drinking in the reality of God's love for me. When we marinate, or soak, in God's Truth, something different takes place in us: we are changed from the inside out. Our attitudes, our hearts and our mindsets change.

Rick Warren said, " We have a lot to unlearn. Since most of our problems - and all of our bad habits - didn't develope overnight, it's unrealistic to expect them to go away immediately. It requires the hard work of removal & replenishment."

We need to make sure that the process of dealing with false beliefs is based solely on the truth of God's Word. John 8:32 - "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Truth sets us free. The Word of God is truth and it can produce freedom by opening our spiritual eyes that we might truly be healed.

It's not what we know, it's what we choose to believe and live out that changes things. We live based on what we really believe, and our choices are based on the core belief system that we live by. I know of truth in my head.....it isn't enough to know all of the right information if I am not living it out in my own life. We can know all the verses by memory, but if we haven't really accepted them as truth by letting them transform every aspect of our lives....we will remain stuck with a lot of head information with little life transformation. God loves me for me, not because of anything I do or say but simply because He loves me! He longs for me to know Him and His love for me.

Choosing to believe in the reality of God's love for me and living in His freedom is based on trust....I will never be able to truly embrace this new reality until I trust in Him. This is where I have found myself stuck in my journey with Christ. Because of my past & not believing I had value and worth, I also had trouble really believing and accepting how much God loves me. I cannot stay stuck in my past, my background, choices I have made in relationships, or any experiences I had growing up, I need to live today in God's love & plan for my life. I want to be transformed from the inside out, I don't want the adversary to steal away any part of me, I want to be free.

1 John 4:16 - "We have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us."

Thank you, Father, that You are the One who defines me as a woman. I don't have to get swallowed up in my past, in other people's expectaions, in my own choices or even in the sin of unbelief. Instead I choose to trust You with all of me. Father, show me the path You have designed for me.

Set Free by a New Reality

2010-08-03T19:43:00.000-07:00

I have been on a journey back to the basics of what it means to live in the reality of God's love. I have asked God like the psalmist to "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Ps. 139:23-24)

Getting back to the basics is returning to a foundational starting point. Going back....reflecting, remembering what you did at the beginning because we tend to drift away or lose our focus in life. Revelation 2:4 - " ...You have forsaken your first love." It is good to slow down and take a fresh look at the truth in God's word and learn what it means to read it and digest it. It is about sitting long enough with a nugget of truth that it begins to nourish you, change you, and build in you a new belief system.

I began reading Psalm 139 every day asking the Lord to nourish me, change me & build a new belief system in my life from the truth of His Word. I have realized that I have built my life on so many other foundations other than Jesus and looked to them as my source or satisfaction in life. They became my sence of worth and value instead of finding my worth & value in Christ.

I began to picture a cake in my mind. The foundation (the cake) was all about me and my life - Mark, my girls, our home, ministry, friends...all good things, but Jesus became just the sweet icing on top of the cake, when He was supposed to be the substance - the cake. Jesus wants to be my foundation, my source of satisfaction, my everything.....not just the sweet icing or fluff in my life. He is Everything!

As I continue to daily read Psalm 139, He is reminding me that - He Knows me....He gets me, understands me; He Protects Me; He Made Me; He Values Me. God is showing me at a deeper level the truth of His involvement in my life and His love for me as I never understood before.

It's not what we know, it's what we choose to believe and live out that changes things. We live based on what we really believe, and our choices are based on the core belief system that we live by.

John 8:32 - "And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (NLT)

John 14:6 - "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Lord, I want to Live in the Reality of Your love, change me from the inside-out.

Am I building Sandcastles or am I Set Free by a new Reality

2010-07-22T06:23:00.000-07:00

When we were at Sanibel in April as a family I noticed this sandcastle on the beach that someone worked so hard to build. It was incredible! Each morning when we would set up our chairs for the day I noticed that it was still standing and I would watch to see who built this sandcastle. After a few days I thought I better get a picture of it because I don't know if it will be here tomorrow.
I began to think of Jesus Words and His teaching about the kind of foundation we are building a house or our lives on in Matthew. Matthew 7:24-27 -
“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

After I took a few pictures I kept my eye on this sandcastle, wondering how long it would last. I noticed other people walking on the beach, taking pictures and admiring it. Then the tides began to change and the water began flowing closer to this sandcastle. I watched as the water began very gently to flow around the castle melting away the walls.

I felt my heart twinge, thinking of the time and work that was put into this sandcastle. I began to think of the person, people, kids or family that maybe labored over this all day. I felt sad to watch it begin to get washed away.

We went on one of our long walks and when we came back it was gone....it looked as though it was never there. In The Message - "These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock. "But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards."

When I came across these pictures the other day I began thinking about my life. What have I built my life upon? I have discovered that I have built my life on many things.....Mark, my girls, ministry, service, friends, opinions of others, perceptions of people and pleasing people....often the performance without substance. Anything that I build my life upon other that Christ as my foundation and the very source of my existance is not only faulty but will crash and be washed away on the shores of this life.

Listen to this from Oswald Chambers....." Before we choose to follow God's will, a crisis must develop in our lives. This happens because we tend to be unresponsive to God's gentler nudges. He brings us to a place where He asks us to be our utmost for Him and we begin to debate. He then providentially provides a crisis where we have to decide - for or against. That moment becomes a great crossroads in our lives. If a crisis has come to you on any front, surrender your will to Jesus absolutely and irrevoably."

My man did a great job on Sunday with the story of Philemon, Onesimus, Paul and YOU (ME)
check it out at http://www.hopeinocala.com/ with the teaching title - TABLEreconciliation part 2 on 7/18/10. It was a powerful teaching from Philemon & Colossians 1:21-23.

More later......

Coffee....Fresh or Stale?

2010-06-29T14:16:00.000-07:00

I love a fresh cup of coffee.....I love the smell from the time I open up the package & then as it is brewing the aroma fills the room. Aha....I am savoring it before I even pour it into my favorite coffee mug. Yes!! I even have a favorite coffee mug....don't you?
The best coffee shops grind their beans daily, perhaps several times each day. And when that superheated water engages with the dark, rich, ground java - ah....the steaming fragrance reaches right around the corner to draw you in.

Imagine this, I go into my favorite coffee shop and buy my favorite latte one morning, stop home to leave my favorite cup of coffee on the kitchen counter, I let it sit there all day and then when I get home I microwave it to enjoy that evening. No, no, no. I would much rather enjoy it fresh & hot. It needs to be fresh not stale and re-heated.

I enjoy my time with God fresh, every morning....not stale. Jeremiah reminds me that "His compassions never fail. They are new every morning, great is His faithfulness." God gives us fresh strength for those who are weary, fresh courage when I am afraid, fresh endurance when I am struggling to take the next step, fresh wisdom when I don't know what to do, fresh mercy & forgiveness when I get tripped up and fail.

Stale doesn't work for me with my coffee, pastries, breads & it definately doesn't work in my relationship with God. I need to stay connected to Him every day and I want to recieve from His Word a fresh perspective for my day.

Send me your thoughts: Linda@hopeinocala.com

Love

2010-06-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

I Corinthians 13 - If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! But when full understanding comes, these partial things will become useless.
When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

This portion of scripture is known as the "Love Chapter", "The Way of Love" and "Love is the Greatest". It is included in Wedding Ceremonies, we hang it on our walls, place it in picture frames or it is written on book marks but do we really understand what this "Love Chapter" is telling us?

As I have been reading this chapter for a couple of months now I am challenged and broken because so many days I put the emphasis on what I can do, my gifts or abilities, my purpose and forget that although God has blessed me with abilities to be used for His Glory, and yes He has a plan & a purpose for me, He has placed a higher value on the condition of my heart....my "Love Level".

The honest, raw truth that I am realizing is....No matter what I do -If I do not have love it means nothing. Real, genuine love...not faking it, because My father knows me (Psalm 139) He knows when I am walking in love. Wow, that really hits home and makes you take a reality check.

Love should be my guiding force - the reason behind everything I do and say. Love should be so pressed in my heart that it can't help but overflow from my life.

(MSG) vs3 - If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

It is all a bunch of garbage, a pack of lies & a waste of time - If I am not loving. I won't be able to stand before my Heavenly Father one day and say, but look at all I have done, how I served you faithfully, I was even a Pastor's wife, see Jesus....look at me. I am so convicted because they will mean absolutely nothing if I do not have love for others. I find that the days when it is the hardest for me to love is when I am not trusting God, when I have taken my eyes off of Him.

John 13:34-35 - "Love each other just as much as I love you. Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that you are my disciples."

Deuteronomy 6:5 - "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."

Mark 12:30-31 & 33 - "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

Luke 6:27-35 - "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,...If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked."

John 14:15 - "If you love me, you will obey what I command."

John 14:21-24 - "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me."

John 15:13 & 17 - "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. This is my command: Love each other."

I Corinthians 8:1b -"love builds up."

I Corinthians 16:14- "Do everything in love."

Galatians 5:13-15 - "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature ; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself. If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other."

vs.22-23 - "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."

Ephesians 4:2-3 - "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."

Romans 12:9 - "Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it."

Galatians 2:20 - "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

We love like Jesus only when His poured-in love spills out and the ripple effect will not only satisfy me but will flow to others. "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Living water. Never thirst again. Hmm....

2010-05-29T06:27:00.000-07:00

John 4: 15-17 - "The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back." "I have no husband," she replied."

Living water. Never thirst again....hmm....He definately had her attention now. As she looked at her water jar and felt the ache in her muscles from the chore of lugging this empty jar to the well to be filled with water....daily. Back and forth, fill and refill however many times a day they needed water. To never thirst again? How? I don't know but I want it!

She says to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." In the Message - The woman said, "Sir, give me this water so I won't ever get thirsty, won't ever have to come back to this well again!" Can you feel her yearning desire and excitement, "she won't ever have to come back to this well again".

This daily chore of coming to the well for water was hard for her not just physically but emotionally and mentally. She came alone and at the time of day when no one else would be there because she was filled with shame. She didn't want to see or talk to anyone or feel the piercing glares, pointing fingers or hateful words spoken to her. This daily chore, although a daily need for water was a constant reminder of her life. This isn't what she dreamed for her life, she simply wanted to be loved & valued. To have a purpose more than this to live for.

Jesus lovingly and maybe even enthusiastically said to her, "Go, call your husband and come back." He probably affectionately smiled in her direction and then simply waited for her response to the truth. She cleverly and cautiously responds a partial truth - "I have no husband." She wasn't quite sure if she could risk it, to take off the mask of her life and reveal complete truth. After all this was a stranger, a man she just met. I understand and feel the inner turmoil of letting go of the "mask" that she was hiding behind because I am guilty of this so on many days. Do I risk it....open up my hands and surrender, and let go and trust that God knows me....my past, my present and my future. Psalm 139 tells me that He knows every detail about me. He "gets Me" He understands my weaknesses, my fears and insecurities, He knows my past hurts and my anxious thoughts. He knows the condition of my heart and He is familiar with me. This is a Truth that I am learningto embrace on a deeper level. I can find hope, comfort, peace of mind and confidence because God knows me better than I know myself and He loves me!

Jesus is not fooled by my clever intent or cunning manipulation of facts. I cannot hide truth in my life from God. I am discovering that sometimes He uses the very thing that I am trying so hard to keep "hidden" as the catalyst to bring me out of my own darkness and into His light.

Was she thirsty enough to come clean and admit that she was living a life she was not proud of. Am I thirsty enough to come clean before Christ and reveal the sin hidden in my heart?

"God call your husband". This is a plea from Jesus, our Heavenly Father, to come clean before Him, for us to admit what He already knows: That we are not perfect. He constantly gives us daily opportunities to come to Him, we cannot hide from Him (Psalm 139:7-9) and He tells us if we seek Him, we will find Him. (Jeremiah 29:13-14) In the Message - "When you come looking for me, you'll find me. "Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed."

Don't make the mistake and fall into the trap that I have fallen into so many times and assume that I can minimize God's perception and inspection into the hidden pieces of my heart, fasten tight the mask, cover my tracks and then paint myself in the best possible light. God sees what we try to hide from Him. God is offering us truth to bring us out of hiding and quench our thirst. God himself is asking me just like He asked this parched woman if she was thirsty enough for His living water. If she was thirsty enough to come clean before Him. Living water....never thirst again.....hmm. I want to be filled and overflowing from the springs of His living water.

Irrevocable good day - Mother's Day!

2010-05-10T04:46:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day......God has truly blessed me with two amazing girls. I love Emily and Katie. You both inspire me to be the mom, woman and wife that God designed me to be. You are becoming incredible young women with a love for Christ, that is your own, and a passion for life. God has an unbelievable plan for your lives and I am excited to watch Him unfold it in you. Keep your eyes on Jesus.....who is the author and perfector of our faith.....run with endurance the race that He has marked out for each one of you personally......you will not regret it and he will never fail you!

I am so thankful that of all the mommies in the world He chose me to be your mommy:) You have touched my life in so many ways and you have made me want to be a better mom. I wouldn't trade anything for what I have with you.

The best mother's day gift of all is being with you....and daddy of course:)!!!! He did help bring you girls into the world and he is a great daddy.

This is a tradition on birthdays.....to take the first bite and hope that it doesn't get all over you. It was a delicious Red Velvet Cake.....one of my favorites:) Mark did good he was kind....

I love my life.....I love my family.....Thank you, Lord, for blessing me beyond anything I could have dreamed. "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has concieved what God has prepared for those who love Him." 1 Cor. 2:9
Mother's Day.....and other days can make us have "feel good" days but when we are trusting God we can replace the occasional "feel good" days with irrevocable "good days" independent from your feelings or the happenings in our lives. I have a FANtastic enthusiasm for being saved....everything in me, in my life is because of God, His grace, love, forgiveness and mercy to me has changed me. I love the song - "It's all because of Jesus I'm alive", I owe everything to Him!! He is My Savior, My Deliverer, My Rock, My Fortress, My Salvation, My Confidence, My Shield, My Shepherd, My Protector and My Provider. I also have Gratitude to God for creating me for a purpose to live for.....He has a plan and a purpose for my life I just need to trust Him and follow wherever He leads. My Eternal Hope is rooted in following God's ways because He offers irrevocable joy! When I try to take control of my life and do things my way I only make a mess of things and then I tend to live from one "feel good day" to the next instead of letting Jesus take control, trust Him with my life....everything that concerns me.....He is the center and in turn Every Day is an Irrevocable (irreplaceable) Good Day!! Thanks honey for the reminder for all of us.....to hear the whole Mother's Day message go to http://www.hopeinocala.com/ .

Thirsty?

2010-05-08T04:36:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been thirsty? There have been times that I have felt so thirsty that it seems nothing can quench my thirst...my tongue and mouth still felt dry and parched. I have also felt that spiritually.......I have felt thirsty for God. My life felt dry and parched or even just stagnet. I was reminded of the woman at the well in John 4. She had gone through 5 husbands and was working on a sixth. She longed for her thirst to be quenched. I have felt that way and although I haven't gone through 5 husbands......I have a "well" that I have tried to fill with so many other things.....trying to quench my thirst and satisfy the longing of my heart. My "husbands" might look like relationships in which I try to get noticed, approved, and validated; maybe a career that we invest so much in so that we feel important; or even exercise we engage in excessively so that we are "valued" for our bodies; or our families that we pour everything into, working hard to feel as though we are worthy wives and mothers.

John 4:7-9 - "When a Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus said to her. "Will you give me a drink?".....The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

Did Jesus ask her for a drink because He was really thirsty? Was he incapable of getting a drink? As you read the whole story in John 4 you will see that He doesn't even take a drink. He didn't ask her for a drink because He was thirsty or even incapable of getting a drink himself. Thirst was the ice-breaker Jesus could use to initiate a conversation with her that wouldn't send her off running. The request was for her, not him. He wanted to quench her thirst by transforming her from the inside out with rivers of living water.

A thirsty woman needed the living water that only he could provide. And so Jesus took a road rarely traveled by Jews, entered Samaritan territory, and then waited at the well by himself for this thirsty woman. He went out of his way for her. vs.4-6 - "He had to go through Samaria. So He came to a town in Samaria called Sychar.....Jacob's well was there , and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well."

When I read this and as I type this my eyes are filled with tears because I know that Jesus does this for me....everytime I am thirsty. He is the only one who can quench our thirst and satisfy our soul. So many times, even after I have experienced His life giving water I get busy, tired, overwhelmed, and in my humanness I pick up the old water jar and try and fill it with "typical water" that leaves me thirsty. I then start running in my own strength but as I get thirsty enough I see Him out of the corner of my eye......sitting there at the well......waiting for me. He gently reminds me that He is the only true "thirst quencher" and if I will trust Him He will fill me and satisfy me.

God unexpectedly waited for the Woman at the Well. He interrupted her daily routine, invaded her depressing existence to which she had grown very comfortable. Just as Christ unsettled the woman at the well by asking her for water, he often makes me unsure and anxious with the things he asks of me and the way his plans play out in my life. He rarely makes me comfortable.....but His encouters are always good.

Thirst does not kill; absence of water does that. Thirst drives us to remember, to live, and to seek life-giving water. So now I am grateful for thirst, painful though it may be, because it was thirst that first drove me to Jesus.

vs.13-14 - "Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. but whoever drinks the water I give her will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give her will become in her a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

Which well will I draw water from to quench my daily thirst? What water source will I choose? I need to daily bring the water jar of my life to the well where Jesus sits waiting for me and allow Him to fill me from the source that will never run dry.....He is the only One who can quench my thirst. And He can do that for you!

The Next Refresh

2010-04-23T06:10:00.000-07:00

I have heard so many great comments about Refresh on Monday night. Our desire for Refresh is to create an atmosphere for women to come.....feel loved, affirmed, accepted and leave with a refreshed and renewed understanding of God's love and plan for their life. As women we are not an after-thought. God not only created us but He has a design for us as Women to influence those around us for His glory. Each Refresh will have a different theme but the purpose remains the same to love on women and Partner with them to discover that in Christ we have Hope! As we plan for our next Refresh send me your ideas. Our "shoe" theme - "Walking Worthy in Way Cute Shoes" was so much fun and it was great to see women at any age connecting over "shoes". Send me any pictures from Monday night and any ideas for the next Refresh to Linda@hopeinocala.com. I sure do love the Women of Hope....your love for Jesus refreshes me and inspires me to love Him more!

Refresh

2010-04-20T11:14:00.000-07:00

Refresh.....Real Women....Real Life.....Real Hope "Walking Worthy in Way Cute Shoes"

Last night the Women of Hope hosted our first Refresh! A night filled with laughter, chocolate, shoe confessions, and a gift from Jesus who is our Ultimate Prince Charming and He is the perfect fit to your life and will completely satisfy you.

Thank you Rebecca, Cindy, Brenda and Sarah for creating an atmosphere of Worship. You ladies Refreshed me and reminded me of God's love for me and that as women we are free to be exactly who He created us to be!

Julie shared with us that - There is something wonderfully loyal about shoes. Outfits can turn on you but shoes they never disappoint us - "You Gotta Love Shoes". Debbie and Julie helped me keep the conversation flowing with all of the "shoe" stories and then connecting it to our walk with Christ. Thanks to Robbie and Donna who helped us with the lights, sound and our fun video clips:) You ladies are awesome!

The chocolate was delicious.....I've heard it said that, "Good chocolate is like shoes, you can't have just one!" I do love chocolate and I love cute shoes:)

I love our Hope Life Group girfriends......you all are amazing women and you do have cute shoes:) I loved watching you have fun together and thank you for all of your help. You ladies are fabulous and I love "doing life with you"!!! To "walk worthy....live a life worthy of our calling as women!" For every woman in any kind of shoe, there are steps of faith - steps toward a deeper, richer, relationship with a holy God. At different seasons in our life we are called to Stand in His Presence, to Walk in His Confidence and even to Run With endurance the race that he has marked out for us. Let's continue on this shared journey of faith...we are better together! (Hebrews 12:1-3; Ephesians 4:1-3)

Thank you to all of the Women of Hope that stepped up and helped with the decorating, the coffee/chocolate/refreshments, the greeting, and the clean-up. You are amazing women and I love partnering with you as we share the Hope we Have in Christ with the women in Ocala. I love you all!!!!

Next Refresh.......Monday, September 20, 2010.

PS.....If anyone has any other pictures from Refresh, please send them to me Linda@hopeinocala.com

Building up or tearing down...

2010-04-14T17:53:00.000-07:00

This morning as I was having my devotions I read a familiar verse but it spoke to me fresh and new for today. That is the amazing thing about God's Word....it is alive and active......it doesn't matter how many times I may read a verse it can suddenly come alive on the day I need to hear it and be reminded of its truth. Thank you Lord for being alive and active in my life!

I hope it encourages you as it did me. I like to read it in several versions.....

Proverbs 14:1 - "The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down." (NIV)

(CEV) - "A woman's family is held together by her wisdom, but it can be destroyed by her foolishness."

(NLT) - "A wise woman builds her home, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands."

(MSG) - "Lady Wisdom builds a lovely home; Sir Fool comes along and tears it down brick by brick."

(NKJV) - "The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish pulls it down with her hands."

As the woman /mom in the house I can spend my time and resources building up or tearing down my home. By nature I am a "nester" I love the part of painting and decorating, creating an atmosphere that is a haven for my family as well as anyone who visits our home. Creating our own little retreat! I can also think in the literal, physical terms of tearing down my home by not caring for it and letting things go. But what struck me was from -
The Message - "Lady Wisdom builds a lovely home; Sir Fool comes along and tears it down brick by brick.
It does take time to build a lovely home but it can be torn down in an instant with the words we say to one another....even joking.....or the attitude that permeates the atmosphere. It literally says - tears it down brick by brick. It is a slow tearing away until all you have left is a pile of bricks. Nothing left of the beautiful home you started out to build.

In my own foolish attitudes, pride, selfishness, fear or insecurity I can tear down my home brick by brick. I want to choose wisdom & build my home centered on Christ - He is the solid foundation. He is the Only Foundation on which to build upon!

Here are a few wise building materials that I thought of: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 -

(NLT)- "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!"
(MSG) 3-7"If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love. Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, Doesn't have a swelled head, Doesn't force itself on others, Isn't always "me first," Doesn't fly off the handle, Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, Doesn't revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end. (8-10) Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled."

(NIV) - "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away."

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. Thank you for speaking to me today...help me to focus on You and Your Word, remove the pride & selfishness from my heart and help me to build my home that will radiate with Your Love.....the Love that never fails!

Empty me, Father....

2010-03-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

Empty me Father and fill me of YOU! Reveal to me what consumes my mind and heart and is distracting me from chasing after You. Clear everything away so that I can clearly hear your voice and fully comprehend Your love for me. You love me so much that You would rather die than ever live without me. "I am convinced that nothing can ever seperate me from Your love." ~ Romans 8:38

Breathe Your Word into my life and give me the courage to expose my fears, anxieties, insecurities, pride, anger, frustration and the need to control and then lay them at the foot of the cross so that I can live in Your freedom. Help me resist the temptation to pick them back up again.....help me to leave them in Your hands and Trust You with all of me.

Hebrews 12:1-3 - "...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

NLT - "let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. "

"We are most useful to God when poured free of self and full of Christ."

2 Cor. 10:5 - "We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ."

Phi 2:1-11 - "Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

I have loved the teaching series, Breathe, that Mark has led us through at Hope, www.hopeinocala.com look under Media. It has strengthened, challanged & breathed life into me personally.

Fresh....breathe it in.

2010-03-15T13:16:00.000-07:00

Today, I needed to clean my house. I have put it off longer than I thought. It felt stale, cluttered & it definately needed not only a clean sweep but a fresh smell and a fresh feeling. So I began at one end of the house and made my way to the other end. I dusted, vacuumed, washed, wiped down and then when I was done I opened a few windows, lit a few candles and sat down with a cup of coffee to enjoy a clean, fresh home.......at least for awhile:)

As I savored my cup of coffee and some quiet time, I opened up my Bible & journal and I began to think of how my mind and heart need a fresh clean sweep daily . I don't know about you but I can lose my focus and get distracted so easily and before I know it my mind and my heart are a cluttered mess. When I lose my focus it effects every area of my life.......to the point that feel the ground beneath my feet become shaky, I lose my confidence and my fears and insecurities begin to take root.

Romans 12:2 - "...renew your mind..."

Phil. 4:8 - "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

Proverbs 30:5 - "Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection."

Thank you Lord for Your Word......as I breathe it in it is like a cool breath of fresh air surrounding me. As I cleaned I prayed and asked God to help me to keep my eyes on Him, to trust Him, to release control of the circumstances in my life. I praise You for the victories of yesterday but I need you Today.....fresh and new.....breathe it in.

Lamen. 3:22-24 - "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. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."

When Mark came home he noticed....wow, it smells so good in here.....it smells fresh! It made me feel good that he noticed and liked it:) I thought about my life, am I reflecting what God is doing in and through me. When people come into the rooms of my life to they smell the freshness of my Savior.

Psalm 34:5 - "Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame."

rewallpaper the mind with TRUTH

2010-03-01T06:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's message at Church of Hope, Amnesia: What Battle? was incredible. We forget, spiritual amnesia - that "We are not fighting against humans. We are fighting against forces and authorities and against rulers of darkness and powers in the spiritual world." Eph. 6:12 CEV

John 13:2 & 27 - our enemy is real and the battle is on.....it begins in the mind.

John 8:44 - "...the devil,....there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." (NIV)

Battle Lies - who we are, other people and life.

God says:
Romans 12:2 - "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." (NLT)

We need to replace the lie with the truth of God's Word......rewallpaper our minds with God's Word.
2 Cor. 10:5 - "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
(NLT) - "We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ."
(ESV) - "We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,"
(ASV) -"casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ;"

Phillippians 4:8- "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

Phillippians 2:5 - "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,"

The ENEMY surrenders when you obey God's Word!

Wow....this is it....yes I change my thinking by rewallpapering my mind with the truth of God's Word but I also need to obey it. "Bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."

In Matthew 4, the devil surrendered his attack because Jesus intended to OBEY God at His Word.

Check out the whole teaching: AMNESIA: What Battle at http://www.hopeinocala.com/

Who fills your cup?

2010-02-24T12:29:00.000-08:00

I love my morning cup of coffee.....and I usually refill my cup several times.
As I was having my quiet time with the Lord and reading over this verse I began to think of filling up the cup of my life. I can seek to fill my cup through approval, affirmation, control, success, or immediate gratification......and the truth is I am miserable until something is in it. Until my cup is full.

Psalm 143:8 - "Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul."

I love and appreciate this word from the Lord.......what a heavy yoke is shattered when I awaken in the morning, bringing my heart, mind, and soul to my Heavenly Father, offer Him my empty cup and ask Him to fill it with Himself!

No one is more pleasurable to be around than a person who has had her cup filled by the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only One who is never overwhelmed by the depth and length of my need.

Romans 8:38-39 - "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

My prayer for you and my prayer for me......offer to Him your empty cup and imagine with me how different our days would be if we had our cups filled by Christ first thing in the morning. We would no longer need to walk around looking for someone or something to fill our cups. We do not need to live like a pauper / a beggar waiting for someone to drop spare change in our cups. We are daughters of the King! We are His Princess! Once we are filled by Him the lover of our soul than any love and affirmation we recieve from those around us is like the icing on the cake......it is the extra......we are already filled to the brim and flowing over into their lives.

Katie's Story

2010-02-22T17:22:00.000-08:00

Katie was able to share her personal story for a school project. In her AP Language class she needed to create a Public Service Annoucement to promote an issue that she strongly believes in. She chose to promote Pro-Life in her PSA. I am so proud of her because instead of just creating a standard commercial supporting Pro-Life, she decided to share her story about Life with everyone (:

KT Pro Life PSA from Church of Hope on Vimeo.

Not yet....

2010-02-16T08:37:00.000-08:00

Have you heard this lately.....Not yet. This isn't easy to swallow. I have said this to my girls.....Not yet, you have to wait, maybe later, or not until you are older.....but I definately don't like to hear the words - Not yet. I can grow very impatient and even restless with the waiting. This lesson of Not yet continues to shape the character of my heart. I really have to trust God to wait. To believe in His divine love for me. I have to lean into His arms of love and grace and stop fidgeting with my own agenda.....I need to surrender my plans and my pride to Him, the only One I can truly trust. The One who would rather die than to ever live without me....this kind of love is rare & supernatural. Waiting requires so much trust and maturity that I understand why we just walk away and give up - I have to resist the temptation of walking away, stepping out of my place in line and abandoning what I have been made for because the wait seemed too long.

Almost every area of our lives requires a wait that is beyond our own ability. Jesus beckons us to keep our eyes focused on Him, to continue to believe Him more than anything......stay in line.....stay on the path.

Proverbs 27:8- "Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who strays from his home."

Proverbs 4:11-13 - "I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life."

Proverbs 4: 26-27 - "Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil."

(NLT) - "Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path.
Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil."

Listen to the Holy Spirit whisper in your ear, Stay in line. Do not rush ahead of God. Stand with your head up. Stand with honor. Soon, it will be your turn.

Proverbs 3:5-6 - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take."

A day at the Beach in January

2010-02-08T06:28:00.000-08:00

I love the beach.......to take long walks, feel the warmth of the sun, to sit and read, to hear the sounds of the ocean and to feel the sand between my toes:) Every time I get the chance to spend the day at the beach I leave refreshed and kissed by the SON (sun)! A friend sent this to me this week because she knows how much I love the beach and to dig into God's Word. Let this encourage you to dig deeper into God's Word and let Him speak His truths into your life today:)

(Anne Graham Lotz)
Several summers ago while vacationing at the beach, I got up early to meet the Lord for a few moments of quiet before the family awakened. As I sat on the porch, watching the sun come up over the ocean and listening to the gentle crash of the waves on the shore, I seemed to hear the Lord softly whisper to my heart, Anne, what do you see? As I looked more closely at the scene before me, I quietly answered Him in my spirit...Lord, I see little sandpipers running along the edge of the water, making sure they keep out of reach of the waves and don't even get their feet wet. I see the skimmers flying down the beach, just above the surf, skimming the surface of the water with their long beaks. I see seagulls standing in the tide up to their knees. And I see pelicans circling, then diving headfirst into the waves, coming up with fish they seemed to swallow whole.Then the Lord seemed to say to me, Anne, the Bible is like the ocean. And the people who read My Word are very much like those birds. Some will dance around the Scriptures, not really wanting to step in and get their feet wet in Bible study, but are satisfied to just listen to their preacher or Bible teacher tell them what the Bible says. Others will read their Bibles, just skimming the surface for facts and information. Some will get in "knee-deep," reading the Bible each day with a devotional or commentary close by for reference. And then there are some like the pelicans, who dive in over their heads, going deep in Bible study, applying and living out what they learn. Which bird are you most like? And I answered with wholehearted passion, Lord, I'm not sure which one I am from Your perspective. But I know which one I want to be. I want to be like the pelican who dives in deep. Please! Take me deeper into Your Word! And He has.

Taken from the Winter 2010 Newsletter from Anne Graham Lotz - newsletter@angelministries.org

Encouragement for today...

2010-01-25T05:11:00.000-08:00

This morning as I was having some quiet time to begin my day and my week, I came across this passage in the Psalms that was familiar to me.....I have read this before.....and as I sat quietly and prayed and thought about where I am in my life, I thanked the Lord for this familiar reminder that "if God hadn't been for us / me....where would I be. God's strong name is our help, the same God who made heaven and earth."

Psalm 124
"If God hadn't been for us —all together now, Israel, sing out!— If God hadn't been for us when everyone went against us, We would have been swallowed alive by their violent anger, Swept away by the flood of rage, drowned in the torrent; We would have lost our lives in the wild, raging water. Oh, blessed be God! He didn't go off and leave us. He didn't abandon us defenseless, helpless as a rabbit in a pack of snarling dogs. We've flown free from their fangs, free of their traps, free as a bird. Their grip is broken; we're free as a bird in flight. God's strong name is our help, the same God who made heaven and earth."

There are so many challenges that we face on any given day........relationship conflicts; overwhelmed with the hectic schedule of life; financial struggles of trying to make ends meet; raising children to chase after God; waiting for answers on a new job or a new home; waiting on answered prayer.....the list goes on and on.

As I reflected on my own journey of the ups and downs of life I was reminded to Thank and Praise God because if it had not been for the Lord....my faith in Him....I would be swallowed up in the circumstances of life. This is the one thing that can never be taken away from us but we do need to protect it so that we do not lose hope. My prayer for myself and for you is that you keep your eyes focused on Jesus, stay close to His Word and weave prayer into the very fabric of your life so that we are strengthened to stay faithful to Him...finish the race.

Proverbs 3:5-6- "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

Keep Trusting God......because it is in Him that we have hope!

Thank you, Ladies:)

2010-01-16T08:29:00.000-08:00

I had a "sweet" time with so many of you at our Chocolate-Covered Conversations! Thank you Debbie for not only opeining up your home to us but creating such a warm atmosphere.

Debbie displayed a beautiful "coffee & tea bar" with special creams, chocolate & mint shavings and whip cream! It not only looked beautiful but it was delicious.

It may have been cold outside but it was warm inside being surrounded with the sweet Women of Hope. I love being with all of you ladies.

I am looking forward to see all that God has planned for the Women of Hope in 2010!

For more information go to www.hopeinocala.com or email me at Linda@hopeinocala.com

Chocolate-Covered Conversations

2010-01-09T05:54:00.000-08:00

It's time for another "Chocolate-Covered Conversation" for the "Women of Hope".

Ladies, I know we are busy and it is cold outside but this is a great way to connect with other women and enjoy chocolate sweets, snacks in a relaxing atmosphere giving us time to get to know one another. We are blessed at Church of Hope with some amazing women who have incredible stories to share..........it just takes a connection. My prayer is that you will not only deepen the friendships you have but uncover some new friendships waiting to bloom in your life.

Join us Today, Saturday, January 9th from 4PM - 6 PM
at Debbie Stebbins Home
1016 S.E. 12th Street
Ocala, FL 34471

We will have a chocolate fountain, a coffee bar & tea. Bring something to dip in the chocolate fountain or some other sweet treat to share & invite a friend! Even if it is cold outside it will be warm inside surrounded by friends and chocolate:)

For more information check it out at http://www.hopeinocala.com/ or email me at Linda@hopeinocala.con

Happy New Year!

2010-01-06T04:58:00.000-08:00

What......2010......a new year! Actually 5 days in to this new year. I have been busy taking down Christmas and packing it away, cleaning and trying to remember where everything goes or just redecorating. I have also been making soups and drinking tea because it is cold here in Florida and my family is fighting off the winter cold like so many other people.

During this first week of the "New Year" I like to reflect on this past year and then look ahead to the new year. I get out my new calendar and begin to fill in birthdays, anniversaries and special days....hopefully another family vacation or a mission trip.....it is a fresh new page....a clean slate. What will this year bring? I am ambivilent.....it is exciting but yet there is also the unknown.

My prayer is not to get so caught up in "the path or the plan or even the calendar event" but to keep my eyes focused on Christ. It is in Christ we have hope, peace, and life. As in every year there will be high points and low points, special moments, unforgetable memories made, new places to discover, dreams fulfilled and even some painful days. No matter what life brings if I can hold on to the one truth remains the same.....It is Jesus He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He never changes, He is my constant, the anchor that sustains any wind damage and holds secure in every storm. He is faithful! He is who not what I can hold on to with great confidence because He has always been and he will always be. He not only knows the plan for my life - He wrote the plan for my life and for yours!

Lord, help me to keep my eyes focused on YOU, help me to trust you in every situation, love people and invest my life for your glory. Help me to help others discover that in You we have hope!

1 Peter 3:15 - "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,"

Proverbs 3:5-6 - "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

Lamentations 3:22-26 - "The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord."

Proverbs 30:5 - "Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection."

Psalm 119:74 - "May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word."

Psalm 119:81 - "My soul faints with longing for your salvation, but I have put my hope in your word."

Psalm 119: 89-90 - "Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures."

Psalm 119:103-105 - "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."

Psalm 119:114 - "You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word."

Psalm 119:130 - "The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple."

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T02:42:00.000-08:00

I want to wish you a Merry Christmas from our house to yours......what a year this has been. The Lord has been so faithful and gracious to us.

Emily is recovering from her surgery nicely and is excited to have mashed potatoes and home-made noodles for dinner:) She didn't sleep by the Christmas tree last night....the first time since she was 6yrs old but Katie kept the tradition alive and slept out in the living room by the tree. I can still see them at 214 Crestmont Dr. sleeping in their Christmas pj's and hugging their buddy pillows right under the tree.
It was so much fun to see their eyes when they would wake up and see all of the presents under the tree. Life goes by way too fast. I will treasure these memories forever. Thank you Lord for my family!

Living in Florida has brought new Christmas memories and traditions.....it was fun on Christmas Eve to be sitting with our girls around our pool and then go to our Christmas Eve Service outside under the stars. This was our 2nd year to be outside for Christmas and it is an incredible experience. The first Christmas began not under a steeple but outside in a stable in an open field under the canapy of heaven. You can see our pictures on Mark's blog - www.incourageu.com.

Enjoy your day with your family and treasure every memory you make! Take time to remember the greatest gift of all, Jesus, who is our hope and our salvation. We love you, Church of Hope and we can't wait to see what the Lord has for us in the New Year.....2010.`

Thank you!

2009-12-18T11:31:00.000-08:00

Thank you for praying for Emily......she is slowly recovering from her surgery. We truly appreciate all of you love and prayers and kindness.

We are home and resting. She gets better everyday! She is drinking smoothies, milkshakes, eating pudding, jello......working up to hopefully mashed potatoes on Christmas Day. The Lord is good and faithful. He meets us right where we are.

We wish you a Merry christmas and a Happy New Year! We love you and are so thankful for your friendship. We can't wait to see you all on Sunday and we are looking forward to our Christmas Eve Service - www.hopeinocala.com.

Christmas is in the air

2009-12-01T15:23:00.000-08:00

It is that special time of year......time to shop till we drop to buy the perfect gift, decorate our homes with our favorite decorations and lights, and then of course bake all of the family favorits. I love this time of year so much but I know for me if am not careful I can keep myself so busy that somewhere in the mix, it's easy to feel empty and lose sight of Jesus. How can we push aside the busyness of the season and get a true glimpse of Christ at Christmas.

Here are a few ideas that help me keep my focus on the Jesus....the true Reason for the season:

1. Read the Christmas story in the New Testament with fresh eyes and ask the Lord to show you

something new this Christmas that maybe you hadn't noticed before.

2. Bless a family in need or even have a Christmas Open House for your neighbors to share the

joy of Christmas.

3. Another great book to read is "Can Martha Have a Mary Christmas?"......Untangling

Expectations and Truly Experiencing Jesus. This book is a great little book that is a daily

reminder of what Christmas really means. It offers tender insights, practical suggestions, and

touching stories that show you how to calm down and slow down the Christmas season.

Can Martha Have a Mary Christmas? Untangling Expectations and Truly Experiencing Jesus

By: Brenda Poinsett

This year you can truly experience Jesus and have a Mary Christmas.

Also check out the new series we are going through at church - Christmas a Tangled Mess, Untangling the Family http://www.hopeinocala.com/

Love Like Jesus

2009-11-20T06:36:00.000-08:00

Wow......I can't believe that we are on the last day of our 40 Day Journey of Love. Learning from the relationship principles of Jesus.

Jesus places a high priority on relationships:

Mark 12:29-31 - Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

John 13:34-35 - A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

The Message - Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.

Matthew 12:34 - For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.

(NLT) - For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.

I have realized that I still have alot to learn about loving like Jesus. I am forever changed because of His amazing love for me and it sounds so simple to love others the way Jesus loves me but it is so much easier to read it, say it, know it and even believe it than it is to actually live this way. I am so thankful that I can't but through Christ I can.

What would life look like if you and I began to live out in all of our relationships this kind of love Jesus taught?

Look at the closing prayer from our journey.....Jesus, in my own power I can't love this way! Show me how - and then give me the strength. I need more than your example; I need your power. I humbly ask for your power. Lord, I want to love the way you loved. As crazy as a dream as that is, as high a goal as that sets, I commit myself to spend the rest of my life pursuing it. I want to be like you, Jesus. I want to love like you, Jesus. Thank you from the depths of my soul for loving me. In your name. Amen.

Trust in God

2009-11-13T07:07:00.000-08:00

Today's reading, Day 33, on our 40 Days of love Journey was a reminder to me to not become dependant on myself but stay totally dependant on God.....to Trust Him....no matter what I may go through on any given day. I don't know about you but because "life comes at you fast" and is filled with many twists and turns I can lose my balance and tend to rely on myself and then slip away from completely Trusting God.

I am so thankful that the Lord loves me so much that He gently reminds me to keep my eyes on Him and the Trust Him.

Here are a few of my favorite verses to get me back on track:

Psalm 103:11-14 - "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust."

Proverbs 3:5-6 - "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

Lamentations 3:22-33 - "God's loyal love couldn't have run out, his merciful love couldn't have dried up. They're created new every morning. How great your faithfulness! I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over). He's all I've got left. God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks. It's a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God. It's a good thing when you're young to stick it out through the hard times. When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions: Wait for hope to appear. Don't run from trouble. Take it full-face. The "worst" is never the worst. Why? Because the Master won't ever walk out and fail to return. If he works severely, he also works tenderly. His stockpiles of loyal love are immense. He takes no pleasure in making life hard, in throwing roadblocks in the way:"

He gives us a clean slate everyday.....to Trust Him.....great is His faithfulness!

Embracing a Different Perspective

2009-11-07T14:01:00.000-08:00

As a woman I find myself many times drifting towards perceptions even when I know truth. You may have heard it said, "People's perception is their reality". Well, "What is my perception about who I am as a woman of God....daughter of the King"? Is my perception based on the truth of God's Word or based on lies of the enemy. The adversary doesn't want me to embrace the truths in God's Word and embrace freedom in Him. Jesus gladly peels off the scarlet letters that have been pinned all over us. Nothing's too hard for Him. There is no past He can't restore, no lie He can't erase, and no offense He can't make right. He takes the stones that have injured us and turns them into jewels fit for a crown.

Psalm 27:1 -"The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?"

I can drift toward the perception of who I am or even what I think others think of me when that becomes my focus instead of the truth. I then take things personally & react defensively.

Think of it this way - We as women, at one time or another , have all done "shadowboxing". In other words, we percieve what we think someone else may be thinking, and in anger we react to that perception. In our minds we get mad, react, and then defend ourselves. And then, based on little or no factual information, we soon find ourselves swinging at the air because of a percieved conflict with an opponent who is totally unaware of their offense or our feelings.

2 Corinthians 10:5 - "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

NLT - "We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ."

Our reaction to this perception can be based on our past, our pride, the need to be right & even the desire to be percieved perfect. I am realizing that I can spend thousands of dollars trying to improve myself, and way too much energy trying to prove myself, when what I really need is to be purified.

1 John 3 -"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!..........Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure."

Matthew 5:8 -"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."

Thank you, Father, that you have forgiven me, You have redeemed me, and retored me! I refuse to buy into the world's perception of who I am. I will treasure and value what is true and lovely and worthy of praise. I release to you my own perceptions and help me to be quick to hear and slow to speak. Help me to relenquish the need to be right or wrong and to live and move and breath by your Holy presence. Help me to daily renew my mind in Your Word.

Love is Forgiving

2009-11-02T14:39:00.000-08:00

John 13:34-35 - "A new command I give you; Love one another. As I have loved you so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

We are on Day 22. We are halfway through our 40 Day journey of loving like Jesus! It is truly life-changing. We have looked at 3 powerful principles modeled and taught by Jesus:
1. Place the highest value on relationships
2. Love as Jesus loves you
3. Communicate from the heart

Last night we looked at Love is Forgiving.

1 Corinthians 13:5 - Love...doesn't keep a record of wrongs that others do."

I am praying for the Lord to transform my memory and help me to release to Him the wrongs of others and not keep a list. I know I wouldn't want someone to keep a list of all of my wrong choices so I need to do the same for others. Love is forgiving!

Luke 6:27-28 - "Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."

3 Reasons to forgive others:
- God has forgiven me
- Bitterness makes you miserable
- You are going to need more forgiveness in the future.

Lord, help me to forgive others because You have forgiven me. Help me to realize that I can forgive others through You. Help me to love like Jesus.

Love Like Jesus

2009-10-27T06:45:00.000-07:00

John 13:34-35 - "A new command I give you; Love one another. As I have loved you so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Wow, this journey that we are on as a church....40 Days of Love....is convicting! I thought I was doing ok - loving one another, but the familiar truths we are learning are challenging me to really look at the way I love others. Sunday's message from John 8 and the example Jesus gives us in how He truly loves people can be life changing.

As much as Jesus loves me I am to love others the same way.....through Him! Jesus treats me much better than I deserve......His love is unfailing, unconditional, eternal, perfect tender, with "no strings attached", holding nothing back. Thank you, Jesus!

Romans 15:7 - "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God."

Thank you for Your Word, it speaks truth to me. I need to filter everything through Your Word.....Do I accept others like You accept me? Do I value others like You value me? Do I forgive others like you forgive me? Do I believe in others like You believe in me?

Thank You, Father, for loving me, accepting me, placing value on my life, forgiving me and believing in me. You breathed life into me!

Decorating for Fall

2009-10-16T06:30:00.000-07:00

I love the colors of the leaves, the smell of warm apple pie and pumpkins! I love this time of year. I am decorating our home with the colors of fall because when you live in Florida you don't get to see the leaves change in color. I definately do not miss raking the leaves but they sure are beautiful. It is pretty cool to have a "fall" atmosphere in your home, maybe even a fire in the fireplace (not yet it is too warm unless the air is on), homemade soup cooking and warm bread baking.....and then sitting by the pool.....all in the same day! Last Friday Katie and I made a trip to Pennsylvania to see friends and our Zion family:) Western Pa.....Zion is a special place to us. We love you all!
We went to all of our favorite places on Main St. First stop.....Michele's Cafe for coffee with Pam and Kris. I have loved and treasured their friendship!

Then Pam and I had to get subs from the best sub shop....Bob's Sub!!!!

We stopped at Zion and then made our way to the Ladies Retreat at the Castle in Franklin. What a beautiful place for a Ladies Retreat.......thank you for letting me be apart of it. I had so much fun catching up with everyone and hearing how all of our kids are growing up. I love each one of you ladies!!!

Barb and Catherine you did a great job leading us in worship with Cara and Kelly.
God used you in an incredible way....it was great to see you :)!!!

Pam, you are doing a great job with the ladies of Zion. They are blessed to have
you as their Pastor's wife......I love you, my friend!!! The Clarion River......memories of Canoe trips, kayaks and tubing:)

Katie saying goodbye to Breanna and Chara....we love you girls, thanks for hanging out with Katie and having a sleepover with Kara and Ashley.

Our First Gator Game!

2009-09-13T16:09:00.000-07:00

What an awesome day we had in the"swamp" for our first Gator Game!

Here we are before the game.....Kerry, me, Robbie and Kristi...dressed in our Gator colors:)

Even the Gators at the stadium are dressed up in their Gator colors! Thank you John & Olga for an incredible memory filled with friends, great food and a great game.
Katie and Breanna had so much fun too and we shared some chocolate and popcorn with them:)
The verse for the day from the Message was Proverbs 12:3 - "You can't find firm footing in a swamp, but life rooted in God stands firm."

Go Gators....this week we play Tennessee.

Fresh Brewed Life

2009-09-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

Fresh Brewed Life - A Stirring Invitation to Wake Up Your Soul - By: Nicole Johnson

As much as I love coffee I was drawn to this book by the cover but the wit and wisdom of Nicole left me savoring each chapter.

Matthew 11:28-30 - "Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

The fragrance that comes from surrender is like a cup of fresh brewed coffee. Surrendering to God unlocks the door to the life you've always wanted. When we give ourselves to God - mind, body, soul & spirit - He changes us. Smell the aroma of a surrendered life!

An authentic life and self is one in which the layers on the outside are merely expressions of the core on the inside. The core on the inside is what we surrender to God.

Matthew 22:37 - "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind."

I read this book back in June of 2000 but I still come back to it like refreshing a good cup of coffee. She leads you on a journey of awakenings - first to God as you respond to His tender, passionate love for you; second, to yourself as you embrace your identity as a woman, your gifts, and your dreams; finally, to others as you learn to love and communicate in ways that bring joy and closeness. It is filled with not only truths from God's Word to apply to your life but she has also included movies to watch, coffee recipes & stories to inspire you or just make you smile.

Fresh Brewed Life will help you to shake of the doldrums and shout a resounding "Yes!" to everything God has for you.

I am going to fill up my coffee cup and say "Yes!" to all that God has for me today.....and then I will brew a fresh pot tomorrow:)

Confidence

2009-09-02T07:19:00.000-07:00

"Confidence is yours even if you weren't voted
Most Likely to Suceed".

Confidence has nothing to do with our background, our personality, our physical appearance, our financial status, it is not the result of accomplishments, it isn't related to the friends we have or even where we have traveled. True confidence comes from within and it comes from our relationship with Christ.

Jesus is our confidence.....

Psalm 71:5 - "For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth."

Psalm 118:8 -"It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in man."

Proverbs 3:26 -"for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared."

Jeremiah 17:7 -"But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence."

God wants you and I to have confidence as we journey through life. God wants us to be confident in our faith, in our gifts/abilities but especially in Him. He gets the glory when our trust in Him gives us the confidence to tackle whatever challenge He puts before us.

A New School Year

2009-08-24T11:06:00.001-07:00

Before the new school year begins we had to go to the beach one more time........Katie needed to ride a few waves and Emily & I needed to enjoy our beach chairs with a good book and then take a nice walk on the beach as we begin to prepare for a new school year. The beach is one of our favorite places to clear our minds and get refreshed. Katie caught a few curls.....you go girl!

waiting on the next wave.....

My surfer girl will be a Junior in High School. I am so proud of her!

Hugs from her daddy before she leaves for school.

Emily is in college and Katie is a Junior. They will miss not being at school together but at least they are not far apart. I am so thankful that they have become best friends......I pray they will always be close.

There she goes, my little Katie, driving herself to school!

I pray for the Lord's protection and provision over my girls in this new school year as well as all students, teachers & families.

A New Journey

2009-08-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

Today is the beginning of a brand new journey for our daughter Emily. Today she is a "college student". I am so excited for her and the bright future ahead of her. Since she was a little girl I have prayed over her, loved her & breathed God's Word into her life. I continue to pray for God's protection, provision, discernment, wisdom & guidance over her life.

Emily, keep your eyes on Jesus, your heart & mind in His Word follow His leading for you.

You are an amazing your lady & God has an increible future in mind for you:)

Remember these truths:
Jeremiah 29:11-13 - "This is God's Word on the subject: "As soon as Babylon's seventy years are up and not a day before, I'll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. "When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen. "When you come looking for me, you'll find me. "Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed." God's Decree. "I'll turn things around for you. I'll bring you back from all the countries into which I drove you"—God's Decree—"bring you home to the place from which I sent you off into exile. You can count on it." (MSG)

Proverbs 30:5 - "Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection."

Psalm 139:14 - "I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well."

Philippians 1:6 - "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Psalm 33:4 - "For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does."

Hebrews 10:23 - "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."

Jeremiah 33:3 - 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'

1 Corinthians 2:9 - "However, as it is written:"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him."

1 John 3 - "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" (NIV)

(NLT) -"See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!"

Jesus loves you so much, Emily, and I am so thankful to Him that of all the mommies in the world He chose me to be your mommy. You are truly a gift from Him!

Hope Girlz

2009-08-03T19:10:00.000-07:00

We had a great night with our Hope Girlz - mother & daughter small group. Tonight's focus was on True Beauty. We had fun special Spa Treatments.....facials, painting nails, soaking our feet and then painting our toe nails.......it's a Girl thing!
Guess who is behind this facial mask....Robbi couldn't stop smiling:)

Did they eat the cucumbers? Painting nails....looking pretty, Rhonda!

Donna & her daughter Casey relaxing together.....

Donna & Casey doing facials

Robbi & Grace Wanda & Taylor Look at these beautiful hands & feet:)

Sandy & Sophie

See you next week as we discover God-Confidence.

Hope Girlz

2009-07-27T18:57:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had our second Hope Girlz small group Bible study for mother's & daughters (6-8th grade).

We had so much fun making brownie sundaes with all of the toppings. The girls met with Emily and I had an opportunity to share with the moms. Our conversation topic - "Me & My Relationships".

Thanks, Katie, for making our brownies.....you make the best! All of us enjoyed the brownies in a waffle bowl with lots of gooey, delicious toppings:) We girls love our chocolate!

The girls then went with Emily & Katie to sit around the pool so that they could share with one another.

As moms stayed inside to share & learn from each other. We want to invest in the lives of our

daughters & help them trust God and His plan for their life.

Can't wait till next Monday when we look at "True Beauty" and enjoy a pampering Spa Treatment.....with chocolate:) If you have any questions email me at linda@hopeinocala.com

Hope Girlz

2009-07-20T18:14:00.000-07:00

Tonight was an awesome night! We had our first Hope Girlz......a 30 Day Connection for mother's & daughter's (6-8 grades). This is a 4-week small group where we can connect with our daughters as well as other mothers & daughters.

We will connect through conversations, pool parties, spa treatments, delicious treats & an interactive daily devotional. Tonight we began our journey with delicious snacks & a fun game to see how well we know each other (as mother's & daughter's). Wendy & Maddie got 8 out of 10 questions right:) The rest of us claimed the "female syndrome" - we are constantly changing our minds....."if we liked 'vanilla' yesterday it may be 'chocolate' today or we may want both!

After we had fun together we divided with the girls and let them spend time with Emily & Katie while all of the moms were inside.

The girls enjoyed their time poolside:) I can't wait till next Monday (27th).......as we talk about My Relationships with Others.

Our last 2 conversations will include: True Beauty (3rd) and God-Confidence (10th) We will send home a new devotional guide each week so feel free to come even if you can't make it to all 4 conversations. Email me if you have any questions: linda@hopeinocala.com

Building a home

2009-07-14T06:06:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 14:1 -"The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down." (NIV)

(NLT) -"A wise woman builds her home, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands."

(NKJV) -"The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish pulls it down with her hands."

This verse touched my heart several years ago and every time I read it I am reminded of the truth it reveals. We may not have built our homes from the ground up but we do conscientiously build our homes.....desiring to create an atmosphere of love & warmth where our families can flourish and friends are always welcome. We spend time decorating, cleaning....redecorating & cleaning....moving the furniture to give it a new look.

We also build our homes by making wise choices in our relationships with our husbands and our children. We work on our communication with each other knowing that it does not happen naturally, it must be developed.

All building takes time....picturing brick set on brick until a sturdy safe home is built.

"But the foolish tears it down with her own hands." It takes so much time and energy to build our homes yet we can tear them down in an instant with our words, attitudes and actions. Our homes are so much more than curtains, paint, & pretty decorations - they are relationships that
are gifts from the Lord that are worth our time & energy. Life is too short, don't waste your day with pride, stubbornness or unforgiveness......choose to love & build your home!

Seeking God in Transition

2009-06-25T15:48:00.000-07:00

This week I have been seeking God for His plan during this new transition as a mom. I will still be involved in my girls lives but it will be different. As women we go through many different seasons (transitions) in life. We may be a daughter, a wife, a new mother, a mom of toddlers, tweens or teenagers. We may have kids in college, married children, we may be in a carreer or changing and walking into a new carreer. We may be caring for our parents as well as our bodies can change in so many ways with each season.

For me, my new season is early 40's, a stay at home mom facing a transition physically (harder to exercise), emotionally (hormones a little crazy), mentally (having to write everything down & then remember where I put my list) & spiritually (craving my daily quiet time). I found myself this week struggling with my own sense of value. I chose to stay home with my girls, homeschool them for 10 years, help them transition from homeschool to private school to now public school and this fall college but now I/we as mothers can feel that sense of purpose slipping through our fingers or fading from our lives. I have no regrets for the investment that I have made in my daughter's lives and I wouldn't trade the time spent together, the memories made or the relationship we have. But I found myself pouring over God's Word for affirmation, confirmation, love, acceptance & a new direction that He would have for me as one of His daughters.

I felt like a young girl searching through her daddy's Word, His very love letter to me, to find a hidden treasure that I could hold close to my heart and breathe in His love felling confident & secure. I was so richly blessed when His Word came alive and ministerd to me, personally, this week........I want to share it with you to hopefully breathe hope into someones life as His Word did for me.

I began on the 23rd with my daily reading of a Psalm & a Proverb:

Proverbs 23:12 -"Commit yourself to instruction; listen carefully to words of knowledge."
(NIV) "Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge."

Proverbs 23:18-19 - "There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be
cut off. Listen, my son/daughter, and be wise, and keep your heart
on the right path."
(NLT) vs.19- "My child, listen and be wise: Keep your heart on the right course."
(NKJV) "For surely there is a hereafter, And your hope will not be cut off. Hear,
my son, and be wise; And guide your heart in the way."

As I read I prayed, Lord help me to apply my heart to instruction, open my ears to your words of knowledge. Thank you, Father, that your Word tells me that "there is surely a future hope for me & that my hope will not be cut off." Help me to keep my heart on the right path.

Then I continued reading in Psalm 34....the whole Psalm is amazing but here are a few verses to check out.
(NLT) vs.1-10 - "I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises. I will boast only in the Lord; let all who are helpless take heart. Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness; let us exalt his name together. I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; he saved me from all my troubles. For the angel of the Lord is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! Fear the Lord, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need. Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing."

These verses were life for me...."I sought the Lord and He heard me, He answered me and delivered me from all my fears." In The Message it says - "God met me more than half-way, He freed me from my anxious fears."

I loved vs. 5 - "Those who look to Him are radiant...their faces are never covered in shame." And in The Message it says - "never hide your feelings from Him."

I wrote this in my journal - Thank you, Lord, for Your Word - I have nothing to be ashamed of in choosing to invest in my daughter's lives. Thank you for the time with them, help me to continue to invest my life into theirs & other women that you bring across my path. Shape me & mold me so that my face is radient & never covered in shame.

Vs. 8 -"Taste & see that the Lord is good, blessed is the woman who takes refuge in Him."

Vs. 10 - "Those who seek the Lord will lack no good thing." and in The Message - "God-seekers are full of God." I want to be full of You and not full of myself, to find complete satisfaction & value in You and You alone.

And then in Hebrews 3:1-6 from The Message - "So, my dear Christian friends, companions in following this call to the heights, take a good hard look at Jesus. He's the centerpiece of everything we believe, faithful in everything God gave him to do. Moses was also faithful, but Jesus gets far more honor. A builder is more valuable than a building any day. Every house has a builder, but the Builder behind them all is God. Moses did a good job in God's house, but it was all servant work, getting things ready for what was to come. Christ as Son is in charge of the house."

That's it, my reminder that Jesus is the Centerpiece of everything I believe.....He is the reason I live & move & breathe. He is the builder of my home, my life, my family and He is the builder of every transition I go through in this life - I just need to keep my eyes focused on Him. He has always been there for me through every season of womanhood and He gently reminded me this week that He, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." - Hebrews 13:8. He will be here in this new transition/season of my life as well and he will give me a new direction & focus.

Psalm 127:1 - "Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain."

Days of Transition as a Mom

2009-06-20T15:14:00.000-07:00

In the last 2 weeks I have watched one of my little girls (18yrs) graduate from high school, celebrated 20 years of marriage and now I am teaching my other little girl (16yrs) how to drive:) I have also spent the last 2 weeks driving alot between Emily's 2 jobs and Katie's swim practice.

This will change again because we ound a car for Emily and she can drive:)

I love being a mom especially to Emily & Katie. I have truly loved every stage of their life....every birthday, vacation, christmas, year in school and activity. The Lord has blessed me so much! They are amazing young ladies. I am finding myself moving into a new season of my life.....I have a daughter in college, a car, job & responsibilities and my other daughter finishing high school, driving and planning for her future. They are transitioning days for me as a mom filled with excitement, anticipation, dreams, laughter, tears and even more changes for me as a mom.

I will always be here for my girls with whatever they need but our relationship will change because they are beginning to soar with the dreams that God has placed in them. I am filled with awe and praise to God when I think of the possibilities before them. They are so much further down the road than I was at their age and that fills me with incredible satisfaction and joy. God's word is so amazing...Psalm 145:3 says, "Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom."

I want them to step out to become more than they can ever imagine, to allow the Lord to stretch and grow them. For them to always remember that their horizon will not expand until they start walking towards it. To realize that He who began a good work in them will be faithful to carry it through to completion. (Phil. 1:6)

I want them to have the courage of Esther, the wisdom of Elizabeth, the humble-servants heart of Mary, the faith of Rahab, the determination and kindness of Ruth, the leadership of Deborah, the resoursefulness of the Proverbs 31 Woman and so many other great women who were willing to be used for God to do great things for His glory!

Proverbs 3:5-6-"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

Jeremiah 29:11-13- "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

The Message - "I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen. When you come looking for me, you'll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed."

Happy Anniversary!

2009-06-03T03:52:00.000-07:00

Today is our anniversary.

We are celebrating 20 years together......

What an incredible journey this has been.

I thank the Lord for you, Mark, for loving me, accepting me, and helping me to become the woman that God has called me to be. We have been blessed to travel to some incredible places and have not only made memories along the way but God has shaped our lives...."He prepares you for what he has prepared for you." We have grown over these 20 years together. We have experienced first hand the faithfulness, protection, provision & love of the Lord. As we keep our eyes on Him He continues to lead and guide. Thank you, Mark, for being a man that follows after Christ with all of your heart, soul & mind.....I have enjoyed the benefits because I know that you love me. I love the times we have shared at Sanibel, our convertable rides and long walks on the beach:)

I can't imagine going through life with anyone but you! God perfectly matched us together......you are my better half:)

I can't wait to see what the Lord does in the next 20 years on this dusty trail called life......let's continue the journey. I love you, sweetheart!!

My Baby is Graduating....

2009-05-29T06:22:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah 29:11-13 - "I know what I am doing. I have it all planned out - plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on Me, when you come and pray to Me, I'll listen. When you come looking for me, you'll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding Me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed." (MSG)

This is Emily's first day of Pre-K. Time has gone by too fast. She is so cute:)

I remember this day like it was yesterday. She looked so little as she went off to school and I think I cried most of the day. *(This was only Pre-K for 3 days a week) We then chose to Home-school the girls and I had the privilege of homeschooling Emily from Kindergarten to 8th grade. She finished out her 8th grade year and the 9th grade in a private school and then she went to public school from 10th grade until now....her Senior year. Each choice in her education journey has shaped her into the young lady she is today. The Lord has ordered her steps and our steps as her parents in each decision that was made. He has an incerdible plan for her life and I thank Him everyday for allowing us to be her parents.

This was the first day of school for Emily's Senior year and Katie's Sophomore year. Everyone told me that this school year would fly by.....they were right. It has flown by! I am amazed that here we are getting ready to graduate our first daughter. I do not feel old enough to have a graduate:) This has been a great year. As I look back over all of the photos of the memories that have been made we have been so blessed. The Lord has been so good to our family. Thank you, Emily, for letting us be apart of this exciting part of your journey.

Here we are Emily's last day of High School. She will graduate on June 6th. I am so proud of her!

Women of Hope

2009-05-23T18:20:00.000-07:00

Even with the all of the rain we had this week the Women of Hope still came together for Chocolate-Covered Conversations. Thank you to Colleen for opening up her home so that we could enjoy a sweet time of sweets and friendship.

I love the Chocolate Fountain!!!

I wanted to drink the chocolate:) but it was fun to dip the assortment of strawberries, pineapples, pretzels, bananas, marshmallows......basically anything you wanted to dip in the chocolate tasted delicious!:)

It was a great evening to connect with friends and also make some new friends. I love the Women of Hope......you have truly enriched my life. I can't wait till the next Chocolate-Covered Conversations!

Chocolate-Covered Conversations

2009-05-13T09:44:00.000-07:00

It's time for another "Chocolate-Covered Conversation" for the "Women of Hope". This is a great way to connect with other women at different sweet locations where we can cultivate friendships with one another. We will meet at a different woman's home where we will enjoy chocolate sweets, snacks and share a relaxing time of getting to know each other. We are blessed at Church of Hope with some amazing women who have incredible stories to share.....it just takes a connection. My prayer is that you will not only deepen the friendships you have but uncover some new friendshipswaiting to bloom in your life.

Join us on Wednesday, May 20th, 6 - 8 PM. For more information email linda@HopeinOcala.com.

We will have a chocolate fountain, coffee & tea. Bring something to dip or some other sweet treat to share & invite a friend!

I am so excited to be apart of Church of Hope! God has an incredible plan for us individually, as families & as a new church in Ocala.

Check it out at http://www.incourageu.com/ and http://www.hopeinocala.com/.

Self-control

2009-05-09T16:20:00.000-07:00

Galatians 5:22-23 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

God in His wisdom saved the best for last.....for me it can be the toughest. Self-control is being healthy-minded. Self-control takes total surrender and cooperation with the Holy Spirit.

Proverbs 25:28 -"Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man/woman who lacks self-control."

In the Message it says - "A person without self-control is like a house with its doors and windows knocked out."

In The NKJV it says - "Whoever has no rule over his own spirit Is like a city broken down, without walls."

I struggle in this area especially when I feel under pressure or when I get frustrated. It makes me think of those juice boxes for kids.....when you squeeze it too fast or hard all of the juice sprays all over. If I wasn't careful whenever I would hand this delicious juice to one of the girls, if they would squeeze it too hard it would make a mess. Then someone (probably a mom) invented these nifty containers to hold the juice called "Juice Box Buddies".

This is so much like my own life and trying

to keep my spirit under the control of the Holy Spirit. Just like this "Juice Box Buddy" self-control hems us about, protecting us from losing ground to impatience, bitterness, anger, greed, anxiety, rudeness, unkindness or anything else that can cause us to lose contol and make a sticky mess. Self-control is a healthy-mindedness that watches for any holes in the walls of our lives and keeps them patched. Sometimes I see the holes in the wall of my life and I try other things to patch them.....eating, shopping, ignoring the hole....and just like a row of dominoes giving way, a hole appears in the wall around our lives and if ignored can grow larger with each temptation until it gives way to a hole large enough to burst through with ugliness. Too weary to fight we think my life is just a mess and out of control, how can I ever grow the fruit of self-control in my life.

It's never too late to repair the wall. To live a life surrendered to Christ.....because it is only in Christ that we have Hope! The fruit of self-control like all spiritual fruit is grwn by God in our lives. Today is a brand new day....that is what is so great about God - He doesn't give up on us, so we don't have to give up on ourselves.

Lamentations 3:22-24 - "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. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."

Romans 12:1-2 - "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

A life that matters is a life that stays connected to God. If I am not connected I am not growing in the fruit of the spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Think healthy-minded to all areas of your life. Start small.....pick one hole to patch at a time. Don't try to tackle everything at once, one day at a time!

Take a walk around the wall of your life and ask the Lord to show you if you have any holes that need to be patched with the power of His Word. What areas are you lacking in self-control?

Gentleness

2009-05-05T17:20:00.000-07:00

Galatians 5:22-23 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

When I think of the word "gentleness" I can often think it is wimpiness. Our culture champions those who wrestle their way to the top....success is spelled T-O-U-G-H. The world says "eat or be eaten alive"....."it is a dog eat dog world." If you want to get anywhere in this life you have to fight for it. But in all truth Gentleness is harnessed power, an inner strength that only comes from Lord working in and through me. Being yielded to God's desires means letting go of mine. God knows what is best for me and who I can become better that I do.

Jesus is our greatest example of yielding to the Father when He gave His life for my sin and for yours. He chose to die on the cross in obedience to the father's plan and His love for the world.

Jesus Prayer in the Garden in Matthew 26:38- "Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

My prayer is that as I move forward on this dusty trail called life that I seek my heavenly father's plan for my life and just like the yellow triangular "yield" sign....I obey and yield to His leading. Gentleness pauses, looks both ways and waits for directions before proceeding....with my kids, with work, with friendships, with my husband, ect.

James 1:19 - "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry."

Gentleness is a tricky fruit to grow because it requires such surrender, and surrender makes us vulnerable. Many times I want to fight to be right or to get my way or even to prove my point but in the end I don't feel any better or empowered I actually feel miserable. I am reminded of different times I have had to apologize to my husband or my girls because I was stubborn and I didn't want to let go....fighting to be right. Does it really matter - I choose to yield and cooperate with the Holy Spirit in growing the fruit of gentleness in my life.

Gentleness is harnessed power, an inner strength that only comes from the Lord working in and through me.

Faithfulness

2009-04-20T17:51:00.000-07:00

Galatians 5:22-23 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

Faithfulness - (n) Loyal, Worthy of trust, Accurate and Truthful. The fruit of faithfulness is definitely one of God's character traits. It His very nature of faithfulness.

Exodus 34:6 - "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,"

Psalm 36:5 - "Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies."

Psalm 86:15 - "But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness."

Psalm 89:1-2 - "I will sing of the Lord's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself."

Proverbs 3:3 - "Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart."

Lamentation 3:22-23 - "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his com passions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

The spiritual fruit of faithfulness is an active response to God's faithfulness. As He keeps His promises to us, we mirror His faithfulness by keeping ours to Him. Faithfulness is being true to God and to others.

This is a hard fruit to let God grow in our lives because if you are like me you have experienced broken promises and pain from relationships. I have also experienced the faithfulness of God in my life and in my family. No matter what we go through in our everyday lives we can count on the faithfulness of God.....it will always be there....He is our constant. Thank you, Jesus!

True to God.......spending time with Him in His word, prayer and investing our lives.

True to others.......be like Jesus in our relationship with others. Be dependable, committed, and true to others in word and actions. This is where we demonstrate (live out) the faithfulness of God as it flows out of our daily walk with Him. The fruits of the Spirit are those God-like qualities that make us look like Him. They are His nature exhibited in our personalities.

3 John 1:3 - "It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth."

The fruit of goodness

2009-04-11T12:50:00.000-07:00

Galatians 5:22-23 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

What is the fruit of goodness? I find myself usuing the word "good" often......that was a good movie, a good meal, you have been a good girl today....and so on refering to anything I can measure. But what does it mean spiritually and how do I grow this fruit in my life?

Relating to the fruit of the Spirit, the word good means what is excellent in character. It is morally sound. Goodness is perfection. Ok, growing the fruit of the Spirit in my life just stepped up a notch. How am I ever going to grow the fruit of goodness in my life? I know I do not have what it takes.....where do I begin? It does not come naturally to me. I try to be good but goonness is totally natural to God....it is His very nature.

First, I need to look at the goodness of God. Here are just a few verses.

1 Chronicles 16:34 - "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."

Psalm 25:7 - "Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD."

Psalm 27:13- "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living."

Psalm 31:19 - "How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you."

Psalm 34:8 -10 - "Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing."

Psalm 69:16 - "Answer me, O LORD, out of the goodness of your love; in your great mercy turn to me."

Psalm 119:68 - "You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees."

Romans 8:28 - "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

God is good and everything He does is good. Even if it doesn't feel good at the moment....Trust Him! He has a plan and a purpose for all that goes on in our lives. In my humanness I can tend to get tripped up falling flat on my face with doubt, fear and anxiety. I can go through my day, singing His praises "God is good all the time and all the time God is good" but then something happens that isn't good.....oh no, how did God allow this to happen (because He is good and everything He does is good). How did this one slip by Him.....wasn't He watching over me? We believe God is good but our doubt causes us to question whether He is good to me.

When my life is going good and full.....everything is going my way, I am enjoying His goodness. I think, yep, life doesn't get any better than this:) At other times when life gets challenging and there are road-blocks and potholes along my journey that is when I lose my focus, take my eyes off Jesus and then doubt that he is still good to me.

So, what do I do, how do I re-focus and enjoy the goodness of God on the sunny days and the rainy days of life. Letting His presence be the peace in the midst of the storms of life.

I need to review the verses above and know that God doesn't change. He is good and everything He does is good.....all the time. God wants to grow the fruit of goodness in my life. He cares about me being good the way He is good. You see goodness, like all of the fruits, grows from the inside out. Remember when Jesus said in Matthew 23:26 - "Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean." I think of goodness as something I can measure, only what can be seen but it really begins on the inside where no-one sees but me and God. One thing is for sure that the evidence of this fruit in my life will be visible on the outside as I pour out the goodness of God into the lives of everyone I touch throughout my day. Through the good times and the bad, the fruit of goodness grows us to be like God, inside and out.

Psalm 119:68 -"You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees."

This is harder than I thought....

2009-03-30T05:01:00.000-07:00

.....getting honest about the fruit of the spirit. This has been a harder pill to swallow. I thought I had this fruit of the spirit thing under control......that I had it handled......that I was moving in the right direction; but as I have taken an honest look at the pure, raw truths of what it means to live by the fruit of the spirit - it is being like Jesus. It is a daily turning my life over to Him. My thoughts, my attitudes, my actions, my heart, my tongue. I have found that I like the sound, the smell, touch & of course the benefits of living by the fruit of the spirit but it definately takes time, practice & attention.

Just like our yard work or a garden takes time and attention (daily) so that weeds do not take over my beautiful landscape and so that it is pleasant to enjoy I need to daily spend time and attention with the Master Gardener for Him to prune my branches & dig out the weeds in my heart so that I am not overtaken by them but can reflect His beauty.

Galatians 5:22-23 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

As I have worked through the list lets review a little....

Love...being there in Everything. Love is the fruit that gets us past the "being nice" to the offering of love in everything even when it's hard to love people each & every day.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8, it says, " Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

Joy is connected to Hope, to Love, and to a perspective that sees beyond the immediate to the eternal.....the big picture of life. The fruit of joy is confidence in God. Joy is confidence in God's grace, despite circumstances - despite what happens. Joy is the ability to hold on because we know we are being held up by the One who gives us Joy and Hope and Confidence.

Peace is the result of resting in God. Peace comes from resting in a relationship that holds us in the midst of life's storms and in the momentary calm of their aftermath. Peace is not the absence of problems/storms in life but it is the very Presence of God in our lives.

Then there is Patience...Patience is hanging in there with hard-to-love people. This fruit is hard to peel, much less practice, in the raw day-to-day of life! I don't know about you but patience seems to be one of the tough-to-grow fruits. I know for me I would much rather see love and peace growing in my life than patience.....especially when it comes to the hard-to-love people in my life:) I feel the sandpaper rubbing out the roughness in me so that I can truly love everyone....even the hard-to-love people that God brings into my life.

Ephesians 4:2 - "Be patient, bearing with one another in love."(NIV) -"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."(NLT) - "Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love."

Then Kindness.....and at the root, to be kind means to be "useful". Kindness is meeting needs. indness is action with compassion. Kindness cares, and because it cares, it acts. Kindness gets involved. As I was studying the fruit of kindness I have discovered that it is one thing to muster up kindness to meet the needs of a clothing drive for the homeless, or provide school supplies foe an inner city school or even your own child's classroom, or take a meal to a family in need; but you know where kindness is the most costly? At home. It can be hard to continue to express kindness to those we know well because behind the closed doors our charitable smiles can fade as well as our willingness to help out. We can tend to do a better job of extending kindness outside our homes than inside. As I look around my home the needs are never ending......the laundry, dishes, clean bathrooms, meals to cook, lunches to pack, carpool and picking up after everyone. As I grow weary of this never ending cycle I can also lose the kindness in my attitude and my communication.

I was remembering what Jesus said in Mark 12:31 - "Love your neighbor as yourself." He is teaching us that kindness to others begins with kindness to myself and to my family. We can be kind to others only when we continue to replenish our tank of kindness by being kind to ourselves.

Let's bring the fruit home....literally by letting kindness, patience, peace, joy and love start in us and then spill over to our families and then to everyone that the Lord brings across our paths:)

Determine to wake up with kindness. Let's turn the myth around that kindness is best expressed outside the home and instead , start your kindness at home.

Proverbs 31:26 - " She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness."

Ephesians 4:32 - "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

The Fruit of Patience

2009-03-24T17:22:00.000-07:00

Galatians 5:22-23 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

Patience.......hanging in there with hard-to-love people.

Usually we think of patience as perseverence through the most trying circumstances. But this isn't the kind of patience addressed in the Bibles's fruit list. The word in this list actually means patience with people. It is easy to have patience with those we love but it is hard to display the fruit of patience in our lives with those hard-to-love people that come across our lives.

This fruit is hard to peel, much less practice, in the raw day-to-day of life! Patience doesn't mean we put on a "nice" face & ignore the reality of how we feel. Patience is hanging in there with hard-to-love people.....sometimes to the point of forgiveness but always to the point of love. In order to have it, we must ask for it & cooperate with God in its growth in our relationships. We have to want Him to grow the Fruit of the Spirit in us. But patience seems to be one of the tough-to-grow fruits. I know for me I would much rather see love and peace growing in my life than patience.....especially when it comes to the hard-to-love people in my life:)

What does it loo like to cooperate with God in the growth of patience in my life?

It might look like prayer for the person irritating me......other times when patience will direct us to lovingly confront the one who has offended. (Matthew 18:15-20; Ephes. 4:15)
It may show love to someone and forgiveness and then there are also the occasions when patience looks like creating space between us because space may be necessary for healing to occur.

Patience is hanging in there and staying with people who are hard to love at times. Friends. Husbands. Children. Parents. Co-workers. Bosses. Neighbors. Patience is a supernatural fruit that grows from the soil of our humanity. God can grow His fruit in our hearts and empower us to respond with patience to people around us.....even to respond with patience with the hard-to-love people in our lives.

Ephesians 4:2 - "Be patient, bearing with one another in love."
(NIV) -"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."
(NLT) - "Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love."

Colossians 3:12 -"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."
(NLT) "Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience."

1 Timothy 1:16 -"But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life."
(NLT) "But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life."

The Fruit of Peace

2009-03-12T06:03:00.000-07:00

Galatians 5:22-23 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

Peace.....resting in God

Typically we think of peace as the absence of irritation. It is less about real life lining up according to our desires and more about our desires lining up to real life.

Picture the scene described in Mark 4:35-41.....the disciples were on the Sea of Galilee, with Jesus in the boat asleep, when a wild storm came up. As the waves broke over the boat, threatening to sin it, they cried in terror to their sleeping Teacher, "Don't you care if we drown?" At this, Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and the waves, and questioned the disciples as to their lack of faith.

Stress & pressure that come from the storms of life have the abitlity to keep us awake at night and sometimes even make us unable to function during the day. How can we rest and be at peace while our "vessel" is being battered by the winds of life? Yet Jesus could sleep under such
circumstances! (Mark 4:38) Jesus knew what it was to rest in the middle of the storm. He knew He was safe in His Father's arms! His confidence.....rest....and yes peace was in the hands of the Father.

Peace is the result of resting in God. Peace comes from resting in a relationship that holds us in the midst of life's storms and in the momentarty calm of their aftermath.

Peace is not the absence of problems/storms in life but it is the very Presence of God in our lives.

True peace peels away the "nice" expectation that we'll feel calm in the absence of irritation and instead embraces the calm that comes from resting in the midst of it.

John 14:27- "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (NIV)

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid." (NLT)

Here are a few other verses to encourage you to rest in your relationship with Christ and find peace....

Romans 5:13 - "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Romans 15:33 - "The God of peace be with you all."

Philippians 4:7 - "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:9 - "Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

P.S. - Eat some blueberries today.....I hear that they are a great source of anti-oxidants that prevent cancer and other diseases as well as possessing antiaging and anti-infection properties. Blueberries reduce the results of stress in our lives......they taste good too:)!

A great week in Tallahassee

2009-03-12T05:43:00.000-07:00

This has been a great week for Emily in Talahassee. I am so proud of her! She has had a great opportunity this week working as an intern for Florida's Speaker of the House, Larry Cretul.
She has learned so much about leadership, communication skills, time management & hard work from his great staff. I have enjoyed listeneing to her talk about her day with excitement, dream about her future goals and watch her fall fast asleep from exhaustion.....entering into dreamland about another day at the Capital.

Check out her blog to see how her week has inspired her to continue to dream & follow the plans the Lord has for her - emilybcummins.blogspot.com

Jeremiah 29:11-13 - "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

Here it is from The Message - "I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. "When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen. "When you come looking for me, you'll find me. "Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed."

I have had so much fun with Emily but I have also missed the other half of Team Cummins....I miss you & I love you, Katie & daddy! See you tonight:)!!!

The Fruit of Joy

2009-03-10T04:05:00.000-07:00

Galatians 5:22-23 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

Joy and Happiness what is the difference?

Happiness comes from our circumstances.....what is happening around us. What we are feeling or experiencing - Is life going my way". Happiness is a good feeling based on good circumstances....happiness is something to enjoy & celebrate - No doubt. But there are so many moments when life doesn't happen according to our desires. Then what?

This is where Joy comes in. An opportunity for Joy because Joy is so much more than happiness. Joy is described as a quality of life as well as an emotion. Songs of worship illustrate this kind of joy. Joy is something deep within us that celebrates God's character despite the circumstances.

Joy is connected to Hope, to Love, and to a perspective that sees beyond the immediate to the eternal.....the big picture of life.

The fruit of joy is confidence in God. Joy is confidence in God's grace, despite circumstances - despite what happens. Joy is the ability to hold on because we know we are being held up by the One who gives us Joy and Hope and Confidence.

Joy is the conviction that God is in control of every detail of our lives even when those details appear to be out of control.

True Joy is vulnerable. It is about God and His character - what we really believe about Him. The fruit of joy in our lives reveals to us what we believe about God to others who are watching to see how we respond to what happens in our lives.

James 1:2 -" Consider it pure joy, my brothers/sisters, whenever you face trials of many
kinds."
Nehemiah 8:10 - "....for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

Psalm 28:7 - "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am
helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song."

Psalm 95:1 - "Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation."

Psalm 126:3 - "The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy."

Isaiah 58:14 - "then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the
heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob." The mouth of the LORD has spoken."

Jeremiah 15:16 - "Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the
joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts."

Habakkuk 3:18 - "Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation"

1 Thessalonians 2:19 -"For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even
you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?"

What the world needs to see are Christ followers walking in the Fruit of Joy in their lives that is rooted in a confidence in God!

Choose Joy!

Getting honest about fruit.....

2009-02-28T17:04:00.000-08:00

Galatians 5:22-23 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

First on the list....love. Easy, right? Among all the qualities of God's character produced in us by His Spirit, love seems the most natural, second nature, and easiest to both offer and recieve. Love. Indeed, seemingly the easiest of all qualities to model in so very many moments. Love is there.....in all things. Except when love is hard. And it can be hard, can't it?

It can be hard to love people. Love means handing over the remote control when you would rather keep it, getting up just when you've settled in a nice & comfy spot, speaking in a balanced tone of voice when you would rather scream, opening up your heart to listen to another when we'd rather allow our own feelings to tumble out.

People can be hard to love....when they are picky, critical, unkind, or demanding of us. It is not a big deal to love people when it's easy, but when it's hard, then what? Should we smile submissively and pretend to love.....is this what love looks like? Love is not about being nice for the sake of niceness; it's about being like Jesus.

In the "everything" moments love is a choice. God chose to love us. He didn't have to. He wanted to love us, so He chose to love us even when we don't deserve it. We choose to love others.

One of my favorite verses to help me in the area of choosing to love is 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, it says, " Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

Love is the fruit that gets us past the "being nice" to the offering of love in everything even when it's hard to love people each & every day.

Lord, help me to grow in this area because there are times when I don't feel like being nice let alone being loving to people. Help me to be like Jesus and choose to love as Jesus does.

How Do We Grow The Fruit of the Spirit.....

2009-02-14T15:17:00.001-08:00

I started a personal study on the Fruit of the Spirit a couple of weeks ago & it is stretching me. I thought we could pick up where I left off on January 24th.

Galatians 5:22-23 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

I was looking at some questions like....What is spiritual fruit? Will I like it.....do I need it......how do I grow this in my life and what is the purpose of spiritual fruit?

The fruit of the Spirit are those God-like qualities that make us look like Him. They are His nature flowing through our personalities. The truth is that being fruit-filled is about being like Jesus. Letting His Love, His Kindness, His Peace invade my life so that it overflows into the lives of my family and those I meet every day.

It is about living a life connected to God. You see our genetics determine the results of our physical bodies. We can influence the outcome with our efforts, but in the end what we look like - height, shoe size, eye color - is up to how we're designed. Similarly, while we have a role in the growing process, our spiritual growth is up to God. That is why it is so important to stay connected to Him & remain in the Word. Our best efforts wont grow godliness, because the fruit of the Spirit comes forth only from godly seeds. We can't make ourselves look like God. Only God can do that. Only God can reproduce His nature in us.

Think of it this way - just as we can't grow spiritual fruit without God. God can't grow spiritual fruit in us without us. Our job in spiritual growth is to cooperate with the Gardener.

Cooperation means:
1. We are receptive
- a seed can grow in hard, clay-packed soil
- we need to stay soft so that we can recieve the seeds God wants to plant in our lives

2. We endure pruning
- this is part of the growing process, the cutting off of what is diseased or no longer necessary
or even what is taking nutrients that are needed elsewhere
- pruning can be painful!
- we don't want to part with some things that may actually need to go from our lives
(you think...sarcasm can be fun, gossip tastes so sweet, complaining & nagging can keep people at a distance, grudges keep me in control and can feel so self-vindicating but these are not God-like qualities)

Someone once said "You're not in a growth zone if you're in a comfort zone, and you're not in a
comfort zone if your're in agrowth zone."

3. We stay connected
- we can't grow if we detatch from the source of our growth....JESUS
- a leaf doesn't continue to grow once it is pulled from the branch
- we have to stay in the Word with our quiet time, stay connected to friends that help us
grow & stay connected to the church to celebrate collectively what God is doing in our lives.

Are you ready to get growing? It's up to God to grow His fruit in our lives but it's up to us to cooperate with Him.

Luke 8:5-8 says, "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown." When he said this, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

Lord, thank you that growing spiritual fruit in our lives is a two-way mutual process. You don't ask that I lay down who I am and become robotic in my responses. You invite me to join You as You work in me and through me as I choose to cooperate with You.

A few highlights from my week.....

2009-02-06T19:09:00.000-08:00

This has been a busy week but a great week. It started out with Emily going to the doctor & finding out she has "walking pneumonia" and she has been in bed all week. I am glad she is beginning to feel better today! We also had dinner in the home of some friends. It was delicious, and we enjoyed being with their sweet family.

The "Women of Hope" began our Bible study, Believing God on Wednesday & Thursday of this week. It is Wednesday from 6-8pm at Camper Village & on Thursday from 10-12noon at Stacey Brookins home. We are offering the same study just at two different times during the week. On Wednesday evening we had about 50 women and on Thursday morning we had about 20 women. Each time brought a great mix of women desiring to grow in their relationship with Christ. To wrestle with questions like......Do I Believe God or merely Believe in Him? How is my life bearing "much fruit" for my Father's glory showing that we are His disciples? (John15:8) Is my belief system working or are we just getting by?

John 10:10 - "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." I love this verse because it tells me that there is Jesus came not just to give us life but to give it fullness & blessing not just to exist & hold on till heaven.

I love this quote that was shared with me - "Our life is a display of what we believe about God." I am so excited about this 11 week journey that we will go on as women discovering what it means to truly Believe God not just believe in Him.

Another exciting part of my week is today.....Katie & I are in Orlando for a swim meet with YMCA swim team. She was competing on Friday night & then all day on Saturday. We decided to leave a little early so we could spend a little mommy-Katie time. We are having so much fun.

We found the Florida Mall......so cool:) We loved the Roxy store & the giant M&M store where Katie picked out lime green, turquoise & pink peanut m&m's. They are so good:)!

This is Katie with Brianne & Susanne from the swim team. Katie broke a personal record in the 500 freestyle tonight!

We miss Daddy & Emily but we know they are also getting to spend time together. See you when we get home...love you & we found our favorite south Florida soda - Guarna!!

Chocolate Covered Conversations

2009-01-31T18:25:00.000-08:00

I was overwhelmed by the number of women that came on Wednesday Night and enjoyed our first Chocolate Covered Conversation......a sweet time of fellowship with other women.

We had special chocolate covered strawberries with the Hope logo, a chocolate fountain to dip pretzels, marshmallows, fruit or cake in and so many other delicious desserts. We were able to relax and build relationships with one another as we savor the extrevagant love of God.

Here are a few of the beautiful Women of Hope.......

Thanks to Leesa Rigby for opening up your beautiful home to us and created a warm and inviting atmosphere.

I look forward to the next Chocolate Covered Conversations

for the Women of Hope. Watch for details and invite a friend!

This week we will also begin our Women's Bible study, Believeing God, with two opportunities to join us. Come either on Wednesday evening from 6-8pm at Camper Village and then again on Thursday mornings from 10-12 noon at Stacey Brookins home.

You can email me for more information at Linda@hopeinocala.com

Fruit of the Spirit Cont.....

2009-01-24T06:31:00.000-08:00

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." ~Galatians 5:22-23

What is spiritual fruit? Does it taste good.....will I like it and is it good for me:) I remember once when my girls were little (3 & 5) we were visiting in the home of one of our families at church for dinner. The lady of the house said to our girls (when I wasn't next to them) "If there is anything you do not like you do not have to eat it....you just spit it back on your plate."
So while we were eating dinner, Emily (5) spit some food out on her plate. I was mortified and looked at Emily and said, as mothers do, "Emily we don't spit food out on our plates." Emily looked at me & then at the lady & then back at me, not sure of what to do next......when finally the lady started laughing and said that it was OK, I told her to do that if there was anything she didn't like. I wanted the girls to feel comfortable in our home. I thanked her for loving my children & letting them be kids in her home but we would be in other homes that they would not be so understanding and I was teaching my daughters not only to try new things but how to politely not eat something they didn't particularly like and that there are some things that we may not like to eat but they are good for us.

Look at the list of spiritual fruit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness,
Gentleness & Self-control.

Fruit......a variety of shapes, sizes, textures, smells and colors. In the produce section they are all on display for us to choose what we need, want & desire for our families nutrition. I usually always buy the apples, bananas and grapes because I know my family enjoys these fruits for breakfast & lunch. I love the juicy oranges or peaches and the sweet strawberries. We all enjoy when the weather is right to make delicious fruit salads with melons, canelopes, kiwi, pineapple, watermelon, blueberries, strawberries and anything else I want to add to it:) Fruit is the result of growth!

Spiritual fruit is what results in our lives when we are rooted & grounded in God's Word and in our relationship with Him. John 15 tells us that He is the vine & we are the branches. As we stay connected to Him, abide in Him, He grows His nature in us and that results in the fruit of the spirit. He guides our life in a healthy direction, bearing fruit for the enjoyment of others. We benefit from living a fruit-filled life and those around us also enjoy this fruit displayed in our lives.

How do I grow this in my life and what is the purpose? When you are hungry you go to the refrigerator or to the pantry to get something to eat. This morning I was trying to decide between my morning yogurt or the leftovers. I ate the leftover Hawaiian pizza that we had for dinner last night......the little pineapple tidbits give you a little drink with each bite:) Sorry girls I ate the last 2 pieces. Our choices begin with hunger......you are starved for something more in this life. For your life to matter; to be filled beyond today. You hunger for a deeper walk with Christ to be satisfied with a growing, intimate relationship with Him. This choice will last longer than just satisfying my natural hunger pains. This will spill over into the life of my family and anyone else I meet.

The fruit of the Spirit are those God-like qualities that make us look like Him. They are His nature flowing through our personalities. When I plant myself in His Word day in and day out, the result of this relationship is the fruit of His characteristics in me. The fruit of the Spirit is what we look like when we're like Jesus. Ephes. 5:1-2 says, "Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma." and in The Message it says, "Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that."
This will look different in each one of us because we all have different personalities, God created each one of us special & unique, so we will display the Fruit of the Spirit different. It will be like -
- "God's fruit in my own skin". God doesn't want me to be anyone else but who He created me to be and the same is true for you. Just like He doesn't want an apple to function as an orange or a peach. He designed each fruit to have a different taste and purpose.

The purpose of fruit is because fruit is something we know. Because we come in contact
with fruit in our everyday lives we can relate to it. God is so awesome to bring this truth to us in such a tangibel way in our language. Fruit, words that we connect with for physical nutrition and spiritual nutrition. Spiritual Fruit displayed in our lives is an external result of an internal relationship with Christ. Fruit displayed in a life beckons others to know the God we represent.
1 Peter 3:15 - "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that you have." and from The Message -"Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you're living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy."

Fruit looks good, smells good & tastes good! When we get to know fruit-filled people, we want to be around them because we discover that spiritual fruit tastes good too:)! I desire to be a woman, wife & mother that has the fruit of the spirit on display in my life so that a starving world around me will discover that in Christ we have Hope.......here is food, here is life. Come and meet God, who is my Savior and the fruit-producer in my life.

My prayer today is Lord, I desire to grow a fruit-filled life that matters in myself, in my family & is evident to those around me. Help me to cultivate an appetite for your Word & a hunger to be in Your Presence guiding me to display You to a hurting world. Shape my "eating habits" to be healthy, fresh & new every day, not settling for the "leftovers" (no matter how good they may taste), or even how convenient they may be......I don't want to skip the process of developing good habits of growing fruit in my life that will draw others to the hope and help that can have in a relationship with You.

The fruit of the spirit is about being like Jesus.

The Fruit of the Spirit

2009-01-19T06:16:00.000-08:00

"But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." ~ Galatians 5:22-23.

As this year began I started reading through the Bible with a yearly reading plan but I also felt drawn to study this portion of scripture about the fruit of the spirit.

Growing a fruit-filled life seems beyond our grasp....does this mean I have to be "nice" all the time.....24/7, 365? What does a woman look like who displays the fruit of the spirit in her life? I could never manage to juggle all of these qualities and my daily responsiblities.
I think over the years as I have read these verses I was afraid to dig deeper to see what the Lord wanted to teach me about them because I thought I could never grow every single fruit in my life....I felt over-whelmed. As I focus on the words, Love, yes, please Lord I want to be a loving person. Patience, yes, I want to be patient with those around me......kindness, goodness, and the list continues. Attractive qualities that I desire & I definately want to produce them in my girls lives.

Thr truth is that being fruit-filled is about being like Jesus. Letting His Love, His Kindness, His Peace invade my life so that it overflows into the lives of my family and those I meet every day. The fruit of the spirit grows as I let Him live these qualities in me & through me as I grow in my relationship with Him. The fruit of the spirit is diplayed in my life through my personality, how the Lord has shaped me. Love, kindness, patience or any of these qualities will look different in each one of us because it will be displayed in our lives as we individually yield ourselves to Him.

It is about living a life connected to God. In Galatians 5:19-21 describes the fruit of a life lived that is disconnected to God and then we read vs. 22-23 that describe the fruit of a life connected to God. Spiritual fruit is what results in our lives when we are rooted & established in Christ.

So what is spiritual fruit? How do I grow this in my life and what is the purpose? How can I evaluate my fruit? and How do I offer this fruit to others? These are a few questions that I will share with you this week. The fruit of the spirit is about being like Jesus.

The sweet taste of friendship

2009-01-16T05:50:00.000-08:00

This week has been filled with friends! I have had so much fun. My house was cleaned because I cleaned as I packed Christmas away, the meals for the week were planned out so now I could get out of the house and visit with some friends. I was able to meet some for breakfast, lunch, walk to starbucks (on the coldest morning this week) pray & plan for our Women's Ministry at Hope, visit one in the hospital and begin new friendships over coffee.

Friends add sweetness to our lives and they are gifts from the Lord. Having other women in our lives to laugh with, cry with, pray with and "grow" through life with. You may be thinking...."It's hard enough to carve out personal space, and family time let alone cultivate friendship." I know, I have a busy schedule too but if we ask God to help us manage our time wisely we may find some extra time here or there to spend some time cultivating our friendships. We know that it is important for our children to have good friends.......but it is also true for us as women. The Lord has blessed me with wonderful friends over the years. Some I have stayed connected with and some through occasional cards & always through prayer.

I am excited about some of the ways the Lord is opening up for us to deepen our faith in Christ through Bible study (the foundation) but He is also opening up opportunities for us to cultivate relationships with other women that we can share our lives and experiences with.

"Chocolate Covered Conversations"

This will be a time of sweet fellowship at different sweet locations where we can cultivate friendships with other women.

We will meet at a different woman's home where we will enjoy chocolate sweets, snacks and a relaxing time of getting to know each other. We are blessed at Church of Hope with some amazing women who have incredible stories to share.....it just takes a connection. My prayer is that you will not only deepen the friendships you have but uncover some new friendships
waiting to bloom in your life.

I am looking forward to connecting with you at our next "Chocolate Covered Conversation". You can email me any time I would love to get to know you - linda@hopeinocala.com

A Detailed Covering in Prayer

2009-01-10T06:21:00.000-08:00

I love the books on Prayer by Stormie Omartian. Over the years I have added them to my daily devotion time. A few of my favorites are: The Power of a Praying Wife, The Power of a Praying Parent & The Power of a Praying Woman. Each book has 30 chapters covering all of the main issues we face in our marriages, with our children & as women. I used to take 1 chapter a week as my "Prayer Focus" for Mark. Emily, Katie and myself. These books have become great tools to stregthen my prayer life. It has taught me to pray specifically over each one in my family but it has also taught me to pray scriptures over them and then to sit quietly before the Lord while He shows me key areas that are detailed & unique for each one - I call this a "Detail Covering". We need to cover every detail of their lives in prayer.

I begin each entry by saying....."a detail covering over her/him emotionally, physically, mentally & spiritually. I desire to partner with You & partake of Your wisdom, discernment, guidance, revelation, & supernatural love. I also need your strength, patience, & a generous portion of your love flowing through me. I need your help to be the right kind of mother for Emily & Katie and the right kind of wife for Mark. Without God I am destined to repeat the mistakes of my past or just move through life with my family without any direction or focus & "pray" that everything will turn out ok in the end. I desire our lives to matter and for us to make a difference in this world. Prayer is acknowledging and experiencing the presence of God and inviting His presence into our lives and circumstances. It's seeking the presence of God and releasing the power of God which gives us the means to overcome any problem. God knows our thoughts and our needs but He responds to our prayers. When we pray for our children & our husbands, we are asking God to make His presence a part of their lives and work powerfully on their behalf.

As I look back in my Prayer Notebook I see how the girls have developed a deep faith & confidence in Christ.....I like to call it "God-Confidence". I see how the Lord has protected my entire family with His faithfulness. We are still on the journey..... stretching & growing totally dependant and trusting God every step of the way. Inviting His presence & power to work in and through us on a daily basis.

As my girls are growing older my Prayer Notebook has changed. I now take 1-2 chapters as my focus for the month and then fill it with more "detailed" specifics for where they are at 15 & 17. They can also now share we me areas they may be struggling in or concerns they have. As our faith journey changes as a family my prayers change.......it is keeping the lines of communication open with our family and with God - who is our power souce!

Psalm 62:5 - "My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him."

Mom, "Yisten to me"

2009-01-06T12:59:00.000-08:00

Our children often remind us of spiritual truths and keep us on track. This is a picture of Katie when she was about 4yrs old. When she was little she couldn't pronounce her L's right. She replaced her L's with a Y sound. It was so cute because she would say kiss me on the yips, or I want to sit on your yap, or yook at me:) Anyway she would also say very infatically "Mom, yisten to me....Mom, yisten to me" over and over until she had my undivided attention and then she could ask me something or say what she needed to say. She wanted me to (y)look at her....to focus on her so that I could hear what she was saying. She didn't want to talk to me while I was busy doing something else because even at 4yrs old she knew I wasn't paying attention and I may not even be listening.

It feels good when those I am talking to to "hear me", when they give me there attention because it shows that they care about me, love me & value me. As I was reading my devotions this morning I read in Psalm 116:1-2 -"I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath! (NLT) And in The Message it says - "I love God because he listened to me, listened as I begged for mercy. He listened so intently as I laid out my case before him." God's Word continues to breathe life into my life everyday. If we feel like no one is listening to us we can know that Jesus always hears our voice and He listens to us.

Packing away Christmas for another year

2009-01-05T16:53:00.000-08:00

As I begin to take down the Christmas decorations I am filled with so many emotions. I love the Christmas Season filled with lights, decorations, cards from family & friends, our favorite recipes & traditions, parties, gifts and extra time spent as a family. I don't want it to end.....it goes too fast no matter how much I slow it down & savore every minute of it.

It is hard to pack it away in the attic for another year. Carefully wrapping each decoration, ornament, the candles, and the Christmas dishes I pray & thank the Lord for another wonderful Christmas with my family. The girls reminded me that last year I didn't make cookies or even decorate because we were in the process of moving here to Ocala and taking time to travel to be with our family & friends in Ohio and Pennsylvania. (The girls were excited to at least get to be at grandmas house because they knew she would decorate and make all of their favorite recipes:)!) I wanted this year to be special because it would be the first one in our new home. The Lord has blessed our family beyond measure with His love & faithfulness.

I can praise the Lord even when I have to pack away Christmas for another year because I have so much to be praise HIm for. I have two incredible girls that are growing into amazing young ladies who love the Lord & desire to serve Him inspite of the many challenges we have faced as a family. I also have a husband that loves the Lord with all of his heart, soul, mind & strength and has chosen to live his life sold out for Christ. I love being on this dusty trail called life with my family - Team Cummins!

Here are a few Praise Verses to encourage you......

Psalm 113:1-6 - "Praise the LORD. Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the
LORD. Let the name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore. From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised. The LORD is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens. Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?"

Psalm 111:1 - "Praise the LORD! I will praise the LORD with my whole heart,..."

Psalm 106: 1 -"Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."

Psalm 103:1-5 -"Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!"

Choices for the New Year

2009-01-03T16:10:00.000-08:00

I love Proverbs 3:5-6 - a familiar passage, it says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him & He will direct your paths." For as long as I can remember I have read a Psalm & a Proverb every day with my devotions......this was instilled in me from my mom & dad. I continue to find something new to refresh, stregthen, & challenge me to keep growing in my faith no matter how many tmes I have read through them.

Even though these are familiar verses they are not always easy to obey......"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding...." it isn't easy to trust God in every situation we face and it definately isn't always easy for me to lean not on my own understanding.......I want to know what will happen next and figure things out....know the why's. Verse 5 from The Message says, "Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own." I am gently reminded to trust God completely, from the very depths of who I am.....and don't try to figure everything out.

I tend to be structured by nature....follow a plan and my day-planner. But in order to trust God at this level I need to release control......control of having to have all the answers, have all my ducks in a row so to speak, before I trust Him. I have to actively choose to trust in the Lord with all my heart each and every day.

Then it goes on to say, "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." Verse 6 from The Message says, "Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He's the one who will keep you on track." Not only do I need to choose to trust in the Lord with all my heart but I must also choose to stay in constant communication with Him to be able to listen to His voice in everything I do and everywhere I go. With this daily choice I can be confident that He will make my paths straight and He will keep me on track.......the path He leads me down today or tomorrow may not be filled with any answers but if I am trusting God with all my heart I can obey Him and follow where He leads me.

I pray these verse over you as well.......Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, don't try to figure everything out......choose to trust completely in the One who not only has everything figured out but has a perfect plan for your life (Jer. 29:11). Choose to listen for God's voice in everything you do and everywhere you go because He will keep you on track........trust Him.

I choose to trust God not only for salvation but in every situation, love people & to invest my life for His glory.

Happy New Year 2009

2009-01-01T13:36:00.000-08:00

Our New Years Day is usually filled with football, food and relaxing. We have always made greasy cheesesteak sandwiches, home-made french fries and onion rings and then top the day off with milkshakes. We like to start the New Year healthy:)

Starting a brand new year brings a fresh perspective, a clean page, a fresh start to make a change. Over the years I have made a list of New Years resolutions or goals that I want to accomplish this year......changes that I desire to make in my life whether they are physical, emotional, mental or spiritual. It reminds me of Lamentations 3:22-24 - "The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. They are new every morning great is Your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I hope in Him!" The Lord's faithfulness is New for us every morning, I do not have to store it up for later but I get a fresh stat with the Lord each & evry day - Great is His faithfulness!

Well today I decided to get out all of my old journals and look back on New Year's Day Past to see what new years resolutions or goals I made. Did I keep any of the resolutions? Did I make any changes? and How have I changed over the years? All of the lists that we make so many times are forgotten about leaving us frustrated. I saw in my own journey not only lists or goals to achieve but I also saw changes in me.

Reflecting back to my Past New Years Resolutions......

1994-1999

to deepen my walk with the Lord
give the attitudes of my heart over to God
to be more "spirit-controlled"
to creatively & passionately love Mark & the girls
to be a more patient mother to Emily & Katie
to spend more time making memories with my family
exercise & be healthy
build more relationships with others
enjoy the life God has given me & practice the joy of the Lord
time management

As I kept reading through my journals I discovered that as I deepened my walk with the Lord and allowed His love to flow through me I didn't put as much emphasis on the "list" that may get lost or forgotten about and focused more on my daily time with God in His word & my journal.

My New Year's journal entry from 2000 to this new year 2009 has been something like this......Happy New Year! Thank you Lord for a brand new year. What will be of this new year, who will we meet, what will we do, what will challange & shape us. Lord, only You know what this year will bring so we trust You. Help us Father to trust You completely, to love others & to invest our lives for Your glory.

In reflecting on Lamentations 3:22-24 I can have a New Years Day perspective every day this year.....as I turn the pages in my journal and write the date at the top it is a new day....a fresh start and a clean slate - "....they are new every morning great is Your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I hope in Him."

Have a blessed New Year......because In Christ we Have Hope!

another New Year's Eve

2008-12-31T09:52:00.000-08:00

......we were in Daytona Beach last year to end 2007 & looking forward to 2008. We were relaxing as a family with great anticipation of a new journey for 2008.

We spent Christmas with family and friends in Ohio and Pennsylvania and then stopped off in Daytona Beach to spend time as a family before we came home. This would be a big year for us, we were moving to Ocala. We would experience not only a New Year but a new home, church, community and school as a family.

After a day in the sun and long walks on the beach we went out to eat to

the famous Longdoggers.

A restaurant famous for serious hot dogs with a surfing theme. A fun place filled with surfboards

& tiki huts. It was delicious!! What a wonderful way to end one chapter and then step off into a new journey.

As I reflect back on that day.....exactly one year ago today, I didn't know what this year would hold for us but I am more confident today than one year ago that God's Word is true & that He is faithful. I am reminded that He not only has a plan for us and He is constantly at work in our lives. He is preparing you for what He has prepared for you. In Proverbs 30:5 it says - "Every word of God is true and He is a sheild to those who trust in Him." We are to trust in Him with all our hearts, lean not in our own understanding, acknowledge Him in all you do and He will direct your paths. (Prov. 3:5-6) With each twist & turn, obstacle, or change in directions that we have faced this year I wouldn't trade where the Lord has us on this journey. We love living in Ocala, we love our neighborhood, the girls love their school and we especially love what God is doing in the birth of Hope, a brand new church in Ocala. God continues to bless our new Church of Hope and we look forward to 2009 as we partner with people to discover that......

In Christ we have Hope.....check it out at http://www.hopeinocala.com/

Conversations of Hope....

2008-12-30T19:17:00.000-08:00

...as women we can have many conversations in a given day. I have conversations with my husband, my 2 girls, my friends, extended family, neighbors, strangers and even myself. My day can be filled with words but so many times I am left feeling empty, overwhelmed, frustrated & even lonely. I have found that the most satisfying conversation in my day is with the Lord. Psalm 63:1 says, "...early will I seek you, my soul thirsts for you...". Jeremiah 33:3 says, "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." and Jeremiah 29:11-13 tells me that the Lord has a plan for my life to give me a future and a hope. In vs.12-13 says, "then you will call upon me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I love vs 14 from The Message - "When you coming looking for me, you'll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed."

When I spend time with the Lord.....preferably in the morning because it sets the tone of my day....I am filled to love on my family and anyone I have a conversation with throughout my day. I am no longer looking for those conversations with others to give me hope, or satisfy me because I am already satisfied. When I am already complete and satisfied in Christ He makes every other conversations extra blessings - they become the icing on the cake, or the chocolate chips in the cookie.....it is extra. He is the only one who can truly satisfy us. 2 Peter 1:3-4 tells us that "his divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness."

I encourage you to have a Conversation of Hope with Christ - Ephesians 1:18 says, "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints."