His Love

What do we really want from God?

I was listening to my music in the car last night and a line from a (non-Christian) song sings, “you desire my attention but deny my affection”. I thought about this concept in relation to our relationships with God.

We desire His attention. We want Him to hear our prayers, protect our family, provide for us, bless us… We’ll gladly accept any of His attention. But do we deny his affections? Do we reject the way He loves us?

What about when he leads us somewhere that will protect our future…do we go willingly or hesitate, question, and resist? What about when He assures us that He created us just the way we are on purpose…do we accept ourselves for what we are or constantly berate ourselves over our weight or height or big nose or flabby arms or wrinkles or our personality. Do we believe that He loves us unconditionally and throughout our circumstances or do we question His love when things get tough? What about how he promises to provide for us…do we accept that offer of love or reject it and try to manage life ourselves?

God shows His love for us in so many different ways but so often we fail to accept it. Most of the time, it’s pride or a lack of faith that causes us to think we’re not good enough for God’s love or that we can handle our lives on our own.

Think about one of your most important relationships. How would you feel if that person consistently rejected your love for them? What type of consequences would that have for the relationship? Would it grow you closer or push you apart?

I can’t imagine how I would feel if my husband or sister or best friend only cared for my attention and then rejected all my acts of love towards them. It’s no way to be in a relationship and that exactly what this whole Christianity thing is all about-our personal relationship with God.

Find a new way to accept God’s love for you today. Accept that He will provide for you and bask in the peace that will bring to your life. Accept that when you go through trials, God is teaching you and molding you and loving you through it all. Accept that your self-esteem doesn’t matter because God esteems you as His child. Accept that He loves you and let it be enough.

in Him,

Jill

Imitate Christ

I had the tremendous joy of spending the day caring for my six-year-old granddaughter. She has recently been delighting in the fact that she can very accurately imitate the distinctive accent of her other grandmother and does so when an appreciative audience is within earshot. She also has coined a few of my common words and phrases and gets a sparkle in her eyes as she states them with my tone and inflection when she’s in my presence.

With a thankful heart I was relieved that my granddaughter had not observed or grabbed hold of those parts I would not have wanted her to see or replicate; those occasions when my words or attitudes might be a little off of the mark.

It is said that imitation is the highest form of flattery and that no disrespect is meant by any exaggerations of one’s mannerisms or speech, particularly when the copying is done in and out of love or respect for the one modeled after.

3 John 1:11
Dear child, do not imitate what is evil but what is good.

Modeling, creating and preserving the very best atmosphere for kids and grandkids can be such a powerfully motivating force. Their lives were meant to be fun and carefree, safe and nurtured, with good balances of learning and lots of opportunity to apply what they have learned. So we as caregivers draw lines that we don’t want them to cross, protective lines to keep them from harm.

We all have occasions to “miss the mark”, to step outside the ideal standards that have been set by our loving Father. We all have occasion to sin. But God ideally wants our very atmosphere to be one where temptation and sin are totally foreign to us. He drew lines for us that He did not want us to cross, because of His great love for us.

During our day together my granddaughter and I went to her neighborhood playground, a place she has frequented often since she was a baby. She has now mastered all the many pieces of equipment and was so pleased to show me. She also invited me to follow her – up and down various stairs and ladders and across wobbly bridges. When we came to one of the enclosed tubular slides I needed to “draw the line” in my capacity to follow her. I would not have safely made it down that slide. She immediately understood and so then she led me to activities we could enjoy doing together. What a sweetie! She has begun to learn the art of caring for others.

We are all called to be obedient “children” and to be role models for the “children” both old and young that might be looking to imitate us.

Matthew 18:6

But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

I so want to bring God the highest form of flattery and praise by doing what He has shown me to do. I want to be the example that He created me to be. My prayer today is that I want to be able to say to those I love, know or meet…
1 Corinthians 11:1

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

Prayerfully and Gratefully HIS,

Jan

Retreat Update

Good Morning Ladies!

This year's Living Beauty Full Retreat is getting closer, and we are getting excited!  Ok- I'm getting nervous.  Ok- I've been nervous since Ruthann first asked me to speak. :) 

We wanted to post the invitation again to you, and let you know that if you did not receive one in the mail, please let us know!  They were sent a few weeks ago, so if you haven't gotten it yet, it's probably lost somewhere in the mail, and we want to make sure you get one! 

So, if you need an invitation- email me at bwalker919@gmail.com, and we'll make sure you get one, probably via email to make sure it gets to you in time for you to return the registration info to us by next Friday.

If you have an invitation, and haven't sent it in yet, please do so!  We've heard from a lot of people that they are coming, and bringing a friend or 2, but we haven't gotten many registrations.

We can't wait to see you all again! 

Sick and Tired?

Is it just me or have you also noticed how many people are sick and tired these days?

People are exhausted, run down and just plain weary. Others have been diagnosed with illness and many more live each day with the stress of unknown, mystery illnesses.

Illness and fatigue are debilitating us and redirecting us from Kingdom building purposes. It is causing us to turn our attentions inward  preventing us from being the servants HE has called us to be.

The bible states that "by his wounds you have been healed". 1 Peter2:24b
Jesus' death on the cross, HIS spilled blood cleansed  us from our sins and healed us. Notice the tense of the verb. we have been healed. Now that is something to rejoice over.

God's will is for HIS believers to be healed. The enemy wants to paralyze us in our illness. Jesus wants us healed.  Honestly, I am sick and tired of the enemy getting his way.

Colossians 4:2  says Devote yourselves to prayer,being watchful and thankful.

Starting October 1st I will be devoting myself to 21 days of fasting and prayer for healing and health, complete and miraculous healing!

Are you tired of being sick?

Are you sick of being tired?

Are you sick and tired?

If you answered yes to any or all of those questions then it would be my privilege to pray for you!!

Please e-mail me your prayer request to boxbreaker@gmail.com and I will devote myself to praying for you. Your requests will remain confidential and will be lifted before the throne of endless Grace.

Believe with me in faith for miracles and start praising our Lord Jesus, the Great Physician!
ruthann

My Unbelief

This Sunday at church we sang the song "Rescue" preformed by Newsong.

The bridge sings:

this world has nothing for me
this world has nothing for me
this world has nothing for me
I will follow you

I sang through the song with my arms held high believing every word. And then it got to the bridge above and my heart was so convicted. Do I actually believe that this world has nothing for me? And if so, what am I doing here? Am I still living part of my life not recklessly abandoned to God's will?

So instead of singing alone with words I'm not quite sure I fully own, I prayed like the father in Mark 9:14-29. A father brings his son to Jesus saying, "...if you can heal him do so." Jesus said in reply, "If you can? Everything is possible for one who believes." The father responds by saying, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

I believe in my head that "this world has nothing for me." But I need God's help to overcome unbelief in my heart before I can sing those words unconvicted.


Have a wonderful start to your week!
Jill

Wisdom and Sound Judgment

As you may or may not know, I’m currently pursuing my Masters in Counseling. Yesterday we discussed assessing a client’s reliability, judgment, and insight. We discussed that many problems arise for people when they have insight and lack judgment. This would be when someone knows exactly what their problem is and how to fix it but continually makes poor decisions.

I immediately thought of the many times in my own life and in the life of my Christian sisters where we know what the Bible says and what God wants for us, yet we continue to choose sin. We ignore wisdom as if God hasn’t revealed any direction whatsoever in His word.

How many of us know that we probably shouldn’t repeat that story we overheard at church because we know gossip is wrong, but we get caught up in the drama while talking with the other ladies and spill it all anyways. How many of us know we should hold our tongue but choose to lash out anyways. How many of us know that we shouldn’t continue a relationship that isn’t glorifying to God but we seek the approval of the world instead and carry on.

How many of us know that we should tithe our 10% but choose fear over trust in God’s provision. How many of us know that God will watch over our families and loved ones but we choose worry and anxiousness instead. How many of us know that our children need discipline as the Bible calls for but we fear the judgment of the world instead. How many of us know that we’re called to pray in every situation but choose worldly solutions instead.  

So often we know the wisdom that God has provided for us in His word but we lack the discernment and judgment to make the right decisions. We have got to stop. How offended our God must be when we knowingly choose to ignore the wisdom He has provided us with....

Proverbs 3:21-23-My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety and your foot will not stumble

God’s word makes it very clear that when we choose discernment and sound judgment, we will not stumble. Why do we continue to choose stumbling? God has more for us. We were created for more than that.

Proverbs 17:24- A discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.

I want wisdom and discernment to always be in my view. I will choose to rebuke the fool in me who would choose this earth over what God has in store for my life.

My prayer for all of us today is the same prayer that Paul prayed over the Philippeans in

Philippeans 1:9- “...that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ.”

More often than not, we know exactly which decision to make in any given situation. But we ignore God’s wisdom and throw discernment right out the window. Let’s choose discernment. Let’s choose sound judgment.

In Christ,

Jill

Humbled by a Backslider

Ever feel like you are just totally out of practice for doing things that used to come so natural? Enthusiasm and then action has waned. Or worse than that, that what you have been practicing has at times become so “old hat” that it seems to be a meaningless “by rote” activity without substance? Like occasions of scripted encouraging words and prayers that sound hollow, as if spoken over a bad phone connection? Harboring an acute case of “the blahs” that borders on becoming chronic? Am I the only one? (Any anonymous responses to validate that I am not alone will be appreciated.)

I had occasion to briefly speak with and pray for a dear soul recently as she was recovering from a serious health episode. Here I was thinking I was the encourager, but her subsequent words proved of more worth than any I could have said or prayed.

She began to speak with such a candor about her seemingly “backslidden” state. She reported she’d not been to church or active in her faith for quite a while. She chose trustingly to disclose that perhaps in the midst of her crisis God was calling her back. 

She recollected with great gratitude the times God had been gracious to her, and divulged how God had used her former waywardness, His extreme mercy, and her outspoken ways to be a beacon for many poor souls who nobody else reached out to. She talked of her former pastor with direct and sincere honor. She blazed with an honest rendition of her appreciation for her God, the One who loved and accepted her despite her crude honesty and actions with Him and others. She described new perceptions to me of how God views and uses everyone. She exuded a zeal for Him that I had not felt for a while. She caused me to rethink who was really helping who.

I watched as she talked herself back into the arms and grace of the Lord. And I left humbled by this precious so-called backslider, and grateful that while God may have sent me into her hospital room, it was so that I could leave her room a bit more healthy.

Gratefully HIS,

Jan

Corn Mazes and Worship

Pumpkins and apples, gourds and corn mazes mark the Fall season. It is my favorite time of the year.  I enjoy going to my local orchard for apple cider and fresh hot, crispy old fashioned donuts and picking out just the right pumpkin but I don't like corn mazes.

I have only been in one corn maze in my lifetime and that's because I got miserably lost. It was a very small maze, not one of those mammoth mazes that are advertised but I still could not find my way out. No matter which path I chose it did not lead to my desired destination, the exit.

It was extremely frustratin to be so close to where I wanted to go but not be able to get there. Each path I chose seemed like it was going to be the one but it wasn't. To add to my frustration there were people that were passing me that had made it to the end and were going through a second and third time.

Finally, I had enough and I decided to follow someone that knew the way out. What a relief it was to get to where I had wanted to go all along.

Worship can be just as frustrating as getting lost in a corn maze.

"We can take whatever path in worship we choose, but not all paths will end at the feet of Jesus." A.W.Tozer

The most important destination in my life is getting to the feet of Jesus and for all too long I chose the wrong path.  I chose my own way and I was frustrated that I couldn't get to HIM.

Finally I had enough and I decided to study how others that had made it to the feet of Jesus got there. I studied the life of King David, Mary of Bethany and others who had intimate experiences of worship with God.

I danced before HIM, bowed down, stretched my hands and my heart up to meet HIM and sat down at HIS feet and worshiped.

There is no other place quite like the feet of Jesus. So don't give up until you get there.

Humbly,
ruthann

People make the Memories

This weekend I'm visiting my newly engaged brother-in-law and sister-in-law-to-be in Virginia. I'm back visiting places and friends that were a big part of my life for the 3 years I lived here for school.

I spent the morning this morning visiting with the 2 kids I used to babysit for and talking with their beautiful mother who was so wonderful to me while I was living here. Now 5 and 2, the kids have grown and changed so much. As I sit here reflecting as they nap upstairs, I realize how truly honoring t is for a family to let you be a part of their lives. I have been truly blessed having them be a part of my story.

I'm also reflecting on all the memories of people not here anymore; my best friends from college, my old roommates, my old co-workers, my old professors...As we've all moved up and onward with our lives, it's so strange to be in the same town, at the same store, driving down the same streets-yet it's all so different now. It's so different because what made most of those memories great is gone-the people.

The people God puts in our life are undoubtedly there for a reason. Relationships are worth it and if you're struggling through an important one right now-hold tight and prayerfully work through it. It's people that matter. The places of our lives mean nothing without the people that make the memories.

God truly does so ordain our steps and journey. I did not enjoy every second of being away at school. I questioned whether it was the right move, I questioned whether it would be worth it. I questioned that part of my journey a lot.

I would be a very different person if God hadn't kept me here in good ole' Lynchburg, VA. Some of the people I care so deeply for and who have so impacted my life wouldn't have been a part of it. If your questioning where you are right now, have faith-you're there for a reason.

Have a blessed weekend,
Jill

Qualified and Equipped

I was at a job interview recently and one of the questions I was asked was “What would your colleagues say about your qualifications for this position?” I won’t go into detail about how I answered that question. I will tell you that on paper before me was a job description that was precise about both the qualifications and the duties of the specific role they were seeking to fill. I have the qualifying degree and license. Once I received those, they were mine. I also felt pretty comfortable about my ability to fulfill most of the duties. There were some though that would be a challenge for a time. I was hopeful that I would be able to ask and learn and practice the ones as yet unfamiliar to me.

However later I got thinking about how lacking in confidence I would have been if the expectations were totally out of my league, say for example the license and duties of a plumber. (I have replaced faucets and the flex tubes in my bathroom sink, which is probably why I do not qualify or apply for plumbing jobs!)

Then I thought what the response might be to a similar question like “What would your brothers and sisters in Christ say about your qualifications for the kingdom?”

Gratefully, the answer to the base question would be “We only qualify by the grace and mercy of God, the atoning sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf, and the free offer that was made to each of us to believe and receive those truths personally. Once we receive it, it is ours – Thank you God.

But what about the observations of others that show we are qualified? Are there “quantifying” measures that others see? And are we doing what we were qualified and equipped by God to do for His Kingdom?

Jeremiah 29:11 states, “I know the plans I have for you. They are plans to prosper you and not to harm you. They are plans to give you a hope and a future.”

This verse has been a comfort and encouragement to many of you, I’m sure. Today it reassured me in a different way. It spoke to me of God’s personal commitment to each of us to use us in His Kingdom in a way that He has qualified and prepared us. It also speaks of His desire to bless us and keep us from harm in the process. I believe He has a precise job description for each of us, where He takes what we are comfortable and confident in, and then adds some things that are out of our comfort zone or league, so we will absolutely need to depend on Him. And His plans are to give us hope and a future

Gratefully, hopefully, expectantly HIS,

Jan

The next A Beauty-Full Life Retreat

Hello Ladies,

You should be getting one of these in your mailbox any day now.  Can't see the details in this picture, but we wanted to give a heads up that we are well into planning the next A Beauty Full Life Retreat, and we want you to come! 

The basics:

Oct 20th
9:30am- 4:00pm
In Wrentham (same as last year)
a light breakfast and lunch is included in the $20 cost
Jan and I will be speaking, and Troy will be leading worship again.

Registrations are due in early October, so start thinking now about who you'd like to bring!

That's it for now- I'm off to the post office! Hope to see you all in October!

Brooke

Remembering His Love

Eleven years ago today was one of the hardest days of my life and I remember it like it was yesterday.

I spent the day with two little boys distracting them (as best I could) from the trauma of the day. It didn't work very well.

They had tough questions that couldn't be answered.

 We waited and prayed with family and friends for the call that never came.

Their father, a friend and fellow servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, died that day at the World Trade Center in New York City.

That Tuesday, September 11th  is frozen in time in my memory.

Although the months that followed that terrifying day have become a bit of a blur there is one thing that is crystal clear, Love.

In the midst of the heartbreak, confusion, and fear the lives of these two boys and their mother were permeated with love. Love from God expressed through family, friends, members of their church AND total strangers.

God walked with them through the long and arduous valley of death, and even though they couldn't always feel or see HIM through their pain, HE was there. HIS fingerprints of Love are all over their lives.

I along with so any others, miss my friend. I miss his constant challenging to go deeper into God's Word .I miss his mischievous smile and his love and sold out devotion to Jesus. The world lost a wonderful man and the boys lost a wonderful dad.

The boys are both in college now and I pray that they will one day come to fully "grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ (Ephesians 3:18b).

For the love of God is AMAZING and FAITHFUL and ETERNAL and it transcends all evil.

Humbly,
ruthann

What Are you Thinking?

It's Monday morning and the beginning of a brand new week so let's start it off right!!

...friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble,reputable,authentic,compelling,gracious-the best,not the worst;the beautiful,not the ugly;things to be praise,not things to curse. Philippians 4:8 The Message  

God tells us to think on things that are beautiful !!!!! I challenge you to take God at HIS Word this week. If it isn't one of the types of things listed in the Scripture above then don't give it a second thought,

Think Beautiful Thoughts!!!

ruthann

What's a Friday without some car damage...

Today, I was very excited to get my mileage check. It was a big check, much bigger than usual because of a transport I was doing for the month. I had all sorts of ideas about what my husband and I would be able to pay with this particular mileage check. 

...And then on the way home I hit a guard rail when someone cut me off and scratched/crushed the length of my car. 

Irony at its grandest. Provision at its grandest. Protection at its grandest.

Am I sad that I jacked up my car? Yes. Am I a little bit mad that someone cut me off? Yes. But I'm also very thankful that the car didn't hit me. And that no one got hurt. And that there was a guard rail instead of a telephone pole on the side of the road...or a house...or a person walking...

And I'm thankful for the fact that my life is so orchestrated by God that I have a job that pays high mileage- that happened to require me to drive a lot this month-and that gave me my check today. Some may say coincidence. BUT, some agencies only pay half as much mileage that mine does, my mileage check is NEVER this much, and I don't always get it this Friday...

This is not the first time that I've gotten a not-so-normal check and then something goes wrong (almost always with my car).

I'm not generally an optimistic person. Not that I'm not hopeful in Christ, but I'm very much a realist. It's been a challenge for me to learn to see the bright side of things. Or to appreciate the lesson in a circumstance. A year ago, I wouldn't have been able to say the things that I'm thankful for about the situation. I wouldn't acknowledge the blessing of having just gotten my mileage check to spend on the repairs-I would have just been angry that I didn't get to keep it to do with it what I wanted. I wouldn't have been able to say, "at least it wasn't a telephone pole.."

Be encouraged that we are not in fact unteachable, and that God will change and mold a willing heart.

Have a wonderful weekend

Jill

On a separate note, if anyone has a spare 2009 Kia Spectra fender hanging around, let me know :)

 

Letting Go

One of my granddaughters started her first day of school this week, excited and happy. Her parents on the other hand had the appropriate mixture of emotions that were not quite as fearless or tearless. I was led back to reminiscent feelings myself of a similar day 30 years ago.

So for all you Beauty-Full Moms, Foster Moms, Spiritual Moms, and Grandmoms who might be in a place of yet one more “letting go” stage with one of your precious children, let the following words be a comfort. And let’s pray one for another and for the God-ordained destinies of the ones that are in our care.
 

Letting Go

Let the tears flow, then mop them up
‘Cause God’s going to put them in His Daddy cup
He keeps them safe where they age like wine
Transforming them into joy divine
He understands the “letting go”
Much more than you could ever know
Your child, like His¸ is on their way
To the destiny for which you pray
Without the wrenching “letting go”
There would not be the space to grow
And so dear one, as you release
He holds you both within His peace

Gratefully HIS,

Jan

Sonflowers

Labor Day weekend has just passed. The air is crisper and cooler in the evenings now.  And although I hate to say good bye to the long hot days of summer I am eager for my favorite season, Autumn.

The New England countryside is getting ready to be ablaze in color and one of the first signs is the brilliant face of the sunflower.

The sunflower's enormous face is radiant with beauty as it stands taller than all the other flowers.

 The amazing sunflower in it's bud stage keeps it's face steadfast on the sun. It turns and follows the sun throughout the day. When the sun moves it moves. It follows the sun!

 I love this annual reminder to Follow the Son.

Jesus called HIS disciples by saying "Come, follow me" Matthew 4:19a NIV

As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I am called to follow Jesus, the Son.

I can use the sunflower as an earthly example of a spiritual truth to "set my face like flint" (Isaiah 50:7c NIV) on Jesus. 

I can make a daily choice to fix my eyes upon Jesus (Hebrews 12:2a), locking  my gaze so intently on HIM that when HE moves I move with HIM.

This Autumn, as I see sunflowers scattered around the countryside or in a work of art I will choose to use it as a reminder to follow the Son.

How about you?

Take a photo and send it to us. Let's encourage one another to be Sonflowers, standing taller than everything else, faces set to the Son, radiating HIS marvelous beauty.

Be Encouraged,
ruthann