This past weekend

This past weekend was such a blessing for me. I went to Ohio to meet up with a fellow covering sister in Christ and we stayed with a couple that I had met on my last trip there. Such a wonderful good time that we had while we were there!! My friend's husband even enjoyed having 3 women in his house lol!! While we were there, we went to church twice :) Such a wonderful blessing to have a whole roomful of respectfully dressed and covered women during worship. No distractions, except for the children who have yet to learn to sit quietly in church :)

We went to several attractions while we were there and they were enjoyable, but the true blessing was my one friend whom we stayed with. She truly has God's gift with words - something I have to work on. I absolutely love how God has developed that gift in her, her husband even seems to have that gift as well, but he is rather quiet and does not speak much...but when he does, it is really a blessing if you are able to listen :) Another highlight was to see how a couple who absolutely loves God lives for Him everyday! My parents are the kind of people who go to church maybe twice a month and that's about it. I don't mean to say that when they are not in church that they do awful things, but they definitely do not live for God the way this couple does! I truly wish to emulate them in my life so that I may live for God each and everyday, not just Sundays :)

Food for thought: How do you live for God each day of your life?

Blessings in Christ,

Spiritual Gifts

I recently joined a Yahoo! Group and was asked to take a Spiritual Gifts assessment. It was 130 questions long, super long! I am curious, have any of you been told your Spiritual Gifts? It was determined that my main gift is faith, with administration, helps, intercession, leadership, mercy, shepherding, and wisdom as more gifts that the Lord may or may not be developing in me. I was able to read the description of those gifts and I can see how I fit into each of those categories.

If you have not been told your Spiritual Gifts and would like to know, here is a website that you can use. The only down side of this one that I have found is there are not as many gifts listed as the one that I originally took. Other than that, it is pretty accurate.

Do you agree with your Spiritual Gifts? Are you able to see how God implements these through your daily life?

I think it is absolutely wonderful how the Lord gives each and everyone of us different gifts and different ways that we use the gifts He has given us.

Blessings in Christ,

Who Would You Die For?

This was a question asked of us at church on Sunday. Who would you die for? Your parents? Your children? Your friends? Your God? Anything else...?

This past Sunday at church was recognition of the local police officers. The service included thanking them for putting their life on the line for their community and for strangers, which is similar to what Jesus did when He died on the cross for us. One might say, well wait, He knows all of us; yes he does. But He died for those of us who hadn't come yet sot hat even now, 2010 years later, we can have eternal life. He knew who we were going to be and what we were going to do, but at that time, we were strangers to Him. Now we are part of His community though and He died for His community, for His followers; I am forever grateful for His actions and the unselfish love that God showed in giving His only son to die for us mortals who cannot control our sin.

John 15:13 (NKJV) "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends."

That is such a great description of Christ's love for us. As well as the kind of love we need to have for others.

Blessings in Christ,

The Persecution of Christians

"Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." - 2 Timothy 3:12 (NKJV)

This rings so true for me in my life right now. My mom and I had TWO converstaions this past weekend about my covering and dressing modestly. It appears that the more and more I am convicted that this is what the Lord wants for me to do, the more and more she is against it. It is not that I am wearing one more around the house, because I have done my best to be respectful of my parent's wishes and not wearing a covering in their house. I even told my mom that; that I am feeling torn between obeying their wishes for me not to wear a covering in the house and obeying the Lord. She turned right around saying "this is not about obeying the Lord, this is about YOU being different!" She believes that I am doing this because I am an "Amish wanna-be". I told her that I agreed with some of their beliefs, but I certainly do not believe with all of them and that if she wants to call me a wanna-be then so be it but my thoughts are my own, they are not "forced" upon me by anyone else.

Besides that, she also is firm in her belief that women were created to walk beside man because that's what "her" Bible says. Her Bible is NIV. She resents the fact that I have resorted to using my NKJV Bible after being raised with the NIV. I had to get my NKJV for a college course I took in the summer of 2006 and I didn't use it for a while, but then last January I started using it more and then switched to it completely by last May. I believe that we were created as a companion for man, but that God created man first for a reason. He is to be the "president" of the house and the wife is to be the "vice president". I like that analogy because it does not make it seem that the household is a dictatorship like some think of when thinking of submission, but rather it shows that it is a co-run house. Not many young women understand the concept of submission which does not surprise me at al. We have been raised in a feminist generation; raised to think that we are independent of all man and can do anything we want - ANYTHING.

How else are Christians persecuted in today's world? How are YOU persecuted?

Blessings in Christ,

Our Citizenship Belongs in Heaven

"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Saivor, the Lord Jesus Christ" - Philippians 3:20 (NKJV)

"If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God" - Colossians 3:1-3 (NKJV)

These two scripture references I have much difficulty with. There's other scripture that I don't quite understand also, but for now I am focusing on these. I understand that our citizenship is in heaven, with our Father; but, what does that mean for us here on earth? I don't think that any country would allow anyone to withdraw their citizenship to remain citizenship-less... So how do we obey this? Some will argue that it means not getting involved with anything besides church activities here on earth. Others will say that there is no way to avoid being a citizen of some place on earth so why not get involved with as much as you can. Again, I go to the question of how far do you take a concept? I do not know, I struggle with this part.

The second scripture makes a little more sense to me because I can grasp the idea of not holding onto items here on earth. They certainly won't help me in heaven. But what all does this mean that I should avoid? Or does this simply mean that I should not told tight to those things on earth and truly reach for the wonderful things that await me in heaven? I have no answers for myself on this.

How do you separate yourself from the world? How do you establish your citizenship in heaven and not here on earth? How do you seek things from heaven while still here on earth?

So much to meditate on.

Blessings in Christ,

He Strengthens Me!!

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." - Philippinas 4:13 (NKJV)

This is such an awesome reminder to me about how I need to give everything to the Lord. If I do not give everything to the Lord, how can He strengthen me?

How does the Lord strengthen me? Well He certainly gives me courage to stand up for my beliefs when they are challenged, He gives me the strength to do my daily tasks, He gives me the emotional strength to be there for friends who need me, He gives me the wisdom to know what to say and when to say it, He gives me the knowledge to know what is right and wrong, amongst many other things. Everything I do, I do because He gave me the strength!

It still amazes me that God really does have enough love to love each and every person on this earth as His own! I know that may sound odd since I have been a Christian since a young age, but I still cannot grasp the amount of love that the Lord Jesus has!

Blessings in Christ,

Living According to the Laws or Faith?

The May 2010 Issue of Challenging Femininity is now available! Check it out, there are some really interesting stories!

Yesterday was the 3rd week that I have attended the IFB church and my boyfriend joined me again yesterday. The one thing I have definitely noticed, is that the pastors push tithing as an "extremely important" thing. Now, I understand tithing and it's importance, but does it require 5 minutes of the service to urge your members to give more than they were going to? I don't think so. But I am curious, how does your church approach this topic?

I have picked up my Bible reading again. The past two nights I have spent reading through Galatians. Such a wonderful blessing that whole book is! Especially for my thoughts that I had to follow the OT laws!!

So many quotes from Galatians that support that!
Galatians 3:13-14 (NKJV) "13 Christ has redeemed us fromt he curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree'), 14 that the blessings of Abraham might come upon the Gnetiles in Christ Jesus, that we might recive the promise of the Spirit trhough faith."

Galatians 3:24-26 (NKJV) "24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus."

Galatians 4:30-31 (NKJV) "30 Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? 'Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.' 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free." (The bondwoman is symbolic for those born into the law.)

Galatians 5:14 (NKJV) "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this 'You shall love your nieghbor as yourself.'"

I absolutely LOVE this last verse! How wonderful! My spirit is at peace now that I have read and understood this important book of the Bible!

Blessings in Christ,