Deconstruction

Have you ever gone to a retreat, camp or simply a good morning at church and you loved how you felt inside? Only to have the circumstances around you fall apart and you wished you were back in that place where you felt refreshed? It's normal and if God is doing a really good thing in your life then the enemy doesn't want it to continue. Maybe you are like me and He doesn't want the retreat to end. God wants to keep teaching me, sanding me. You know, the rough edges that hurt other people and get in the way of becoming more like Jesus. I dug up this picture up to show how yucky it looks when there is deconstructing going on. It's the "before" picture of my kitchen wall. I'm one of God's projects. Are you? Praying for you!

Be bold! Leave a comment about your own deconstruction!

More about this subject soon! Read aholyexperience.com today. Really good!

Good Stuff

At retreat I mentioned Sheila Walsh and we listened to two of her songs. Two days ago, Ann Voscamp posted a devotional from Sheila Walsh that's so good. Take time to read "When It's A Bummer, It Might Be Perfect".

Also if you are interested in talks by Timothy Keller, go to Youtube and look for Timothy Keller sermons. "Getting Out" is the one with the Red Sea story, and Counterfeit Gods is his fantastic talk about idols.

Lastly, yesterday I glanced at the T.V. in our main dining room at work and the View was on. The young Christian woman on the panel was holding up a "Jesus Story Book Bible" showing all the viewers my favorite children's book! I also saw it in the hands of a Haitian orphan child's hands, living in a Compassion orphanage! Amazing! You can't stop God's Word!

Ann Voscamp's blog

Hi friends! Take some time to read Ann Voscamp's blog this week. We talked about worry on Saturday and you might like her piece called When you are tired of worrying from February 28th. I also love Kings and Queens by Audio Adrenaline. She's got lot's of good stuff lately! Check her out.
Blessings-Janice

Zip Codes

We are frequently asked for our zip code, as we go about doing our errands. And often, when I repeat those 5 numbers, I think about the places around my neighborhood- the two rose gardens where my grandkids and I have smelled countless roses, the architecture of a beautiful old bungalow, and the local library. Because I have been dwelling in Romans 8, I have been thinking about my real address- my real life! Romans 8: 9-11 reminds me that I live in God’s realm- the realm where the Holy Spirit tells me that I am alive because of Christ’s righteousness. Then it reassures me that I will have an eternal life in Heavenly realms. Wow! I like that zip code! “…you’re real life is hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:3 

Divide and Conquer- Romans 8:1-17

Friends, This is a hard to passage to take in. I found I needed to divide it up, to allow it to sink deep into my heart! Here are a few of my thoughts on the phrase "There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." The world tells us we can be prettier, skinnier, smarter, more educated, higher up the ladder. There is a subtle message with that what we are is not enough. Because I am in Christ, I have enough. He is enough! At the end of the passage we are reminded that if are in Christ, we are His children, and we are His heirs - the best ever!

Keep soaking in the Word! Even if it's hard! Janice

A Revelation!

This month I have waited for a revelation from Revelation 3:15-22. I loved our last passage (Isaiah 42) so much and reviewed it so often, it was kept popping up in my mind. That's actually a good thing but I wanted something to hang onto in our new passage. God's Word never let's us down when we continue on! The beautiful thing I found was a connection- a connection between the two passages! Isaiah 42:17 says "those who trust in idols...will be turned away in shame". There is a sadness when you are turned away. Shame in itself brings sadness. But Revelations 3:18 tells us that we can go to God for counsel! He "will buy us white garments so we will not be shamed...". It's a beautiful metaphor of Christ taking our shame- washing us clean covering us with His purity!

Keep on dwelling in the Word!
Janice

Happy New Year!

Last thoughts on Isaiah 42 1-17. "I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make rough places smooth. These are the things I will do, I will not forsake them."

In this small piece of God's Word there is reassurance that God is with us. And yet I am reminded that there are times when I am blind and that I do not know the way. I do not know what 2013 holds for me, my family, or God's family. My kids in Portland shared about a young married couple who just had their first baby and the young mother had a stroke and is now in rehabilitation. We do not know what the future holds. The path will be unfamiliar at times, dark, and rough. But God has the power to give us great spiritual blessings in spite of our circumstances. I take great courage from the words "I will not forsake them."
Blessings to you in the new year!