Bible in our house, Bible in our heart.

Happy Summer Folks!

I can't believe that summer is JUST now beginning considering how hot it has been for some time.

As usual, I've been busy...won't go into details but life is just plain busy! I have to literally force myself to take a time out and enjoy the journey.

 Lately, I have been reading novels instead of just Bible studies. :-) (They are still Christian novels though ;-))

I've been making an effort to meet my friends at least one night a week for a catch up, and taking the time to connect with friends and family more often even if it's just a quick text or email.

One thing that I feel happens when I'm too busy is that my prayer life and my walk suffers...

Just like a relationship with your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, friends or children....you must take the time nurture those relationships by spending quality time alone with them...same goes for our walk with Jesus and our relationship with Him.

Today I received this by Rick Warren and what a great reminder of how we can keep our walk fresh and strong. I love the part about a Bible in the house is not going to bless your life, you have to have the Bible in your heart.

I have index cards in my purse and there are some scriptures that are vital for my life, that encourage me, reminds me of His love and mercy, His grace and His promises. I cannot make it each day without these reminders!

Thought that Rick Warren summed it up perfectly! Hope you find it as useful as I did.

.....til next time.....Shawna <><

The Bible says in Colossians 3:16, “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly” (NIV). Paul is telling us to let the Bible take up residence in our lives in a rich, profound, and life-giving way.

So how do we feed ourselves on the Word of God and allow that to happen?

• Receive the Word with your ears. Commit yourself to go to church and listen to God’s Word being preached. 
• Read the Word with your eyes. As I said, having a Bible in your house is not going to bless your life. You have to have the Bible in your heart. 
• Research the Word with your hands and mouth. When studying the Word of God, keep a pencil in your hand. Write down what God teaches. Talk about what you’re discovering with other believers in a small-group environment.
• Reflect on the Word with your mind. Think about and chew on God’s Word.
• Remember the Word with your heart. You’ll rarely have a Bible with you when you need it. Commit God’s Word to memory.

Love never fails...

Hi Folks! Yes I am still here. :-)

May has been busy! My middle child turned 18! He also graduated from high school! Not only graduated but made the Honor Roll! My daughter turned 23! She made the Dean's list in college! My youngest child didn't have it so easy being that he's battling Mito Disease..however, I am going to say that we are VERY thankful that he was able to attend a good bit of school this year...more than last year! He was homebound all of last year but this year he made it the beginning and middle but had to stay home for the last 3 months of school. I am still so proud of how far he's come this year and we are praying and believing for a great next year. He has some online summer school that we are about to jump in to. Phew...never ending work!

So today I'm sharing a message from Max Lucado...about LOVE!  I LOVE love! Maybe it's because I associate love with ewwwy gewwwy feelings and Valentine's hearts...a hopeless romantic maybe..lol But love hasn't always gone the way I had hoped. So what is love after all? I know that is going deep, huh? lol
Hope you enjoy this message.....I know that God's love NEVER fails! How comforting!

LOVE THAT NEVER FAILS- Max Lucado

A love that never fails!  Hard to imagine, isn't it?  Has human love ever failed you?  I’m guessing your answer may be, “Yes it has—more times than I like to admit!” I Corinthians 13:8 promises that “love never fails!” Not God’s kind of love anyway.

I sense you may be so thirsty for this type of love. Those who should have loved you, did not.  Those who could have loved you, didn't  You were left at the hospital.  Left at the altar. Left with an empty bed.  Left with a broken heart.  Left with your question, “Does anybody love me?”

Listen to heaven’s answer:  God loves you—with a love that never fails.  Personally.  Powerfully.  Passionately.  God loves you with unfailing love!

And His love, if you’ll let it, can fill you!  Come thirsty, my friend, and drink deeply!

Royal Husband delights in your beauty.....

I wanted to share this great message by Sheri Rose Shepherd.

Things have been a bit difficult lately. My son is still just struggling so much with Mitochondrial Disease. It's heartbreaking and heart wrenching. Please lift my son Devin up in prayer as well as our entire family (mama included please). I know that God has the big picture and knows the outcome, it's just hard to remember that sometimes when everything starts crumbling around you. On a good note....we have some exciting things happening in May! My oldest son turns 18! YAY! My daughter turns 23! YAY! My son graduates High School! YAY! I have a Mothers Day! YAY! God will be with us every step in every way! YAY!  I just wanted to pass this message on from Sheri...it encouraged me today and I hope that it encourages you too. 

God bless <><

I Think You're Beautiful

 

My Beautiful Bride,

You are so beautiful to Me. I wish for one moment that you could see what I see when I look at you. When I gaze at you I see a treasure ready to be discovered, a princess ready to shine, and a bride ready to be loved. When I look at you... I love what I see!

If you could grasp how beautiful you are in My eyes, then you would never feel insecure again. The beauty I created you to be is a reflection of Me, My love. I created you in My image, so never doubt again that your eternal beauty is a breath of heaven!

Love,

Your adoring Prince   

~

"For your royal husband delights in your beauty; Honor him, for he is your lord."
~Psalm 45:11  (NLT)~

True Beauty......

If only we saw ourselves the way Jesus sees us and the way others see us.......

This is something that I've always struggled with, like most people. I think this is an amazing way to show the world that we do NOT see ourselves the way others do.

Have a great day! Reflect and embrace your beauty inside and out.

Be blessed,

Shawna

Love Languages.....

I remember when I first came to know the Lord- I kept hearing about love languages. What the heck is a love language? I know English and Pig Latin and that is IT!

So, I picked up the book The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. Wow! I learned so much about me! I thought that I knew my wants, needs, desires, etc...and I did to some degree but I didn't really understand how people are so different. That just because I crave affirmations doesn't mean that everyone does. Or that just because physical touch wasn't as important to me that others may need it more than affirmations.

1. Physical Touch - this person feels love when others touch them lovingly.
   
2. Acts of Service - this person feels love when others help them out or serve them.
   
3. Words of Affirmation - this person feels love when others verbally approve or affirm them.
   
4. Quality Time - this person feels love when others spend time with them.
   
5. Gifts - this person feels love when others give them thoughtful things.

The book goes into great detail on each but this is a brief explanation. My languages have changed over the years. I do believe that at the tops on my list are definitely Words of Affirmation, Quality Time and Acts of Service,  I've always wanted to hear that I'm good enough, smart enough, pretty enough etc and I remember even as a child that if I received a gift then I must've been important or good enough. Unfortunately that is how I based my importance in life so when I wasn't having those needs met, I felt that I was worthless and not good enough. Jesus is the ONLY one that could fill those holes and needs...no person could.

So do I not need those because Jesus is filling me with His affirmations? Ummmm NO! I still need it from my friends and family but I am not dependent on them for happiness. Make sense? 

There are so many different love language books...5 Love languages for couples, singles, moms, teenagers, etc.

When we share our lives with people (husbands, wives, kids, friends) They also have love languages and they feel that they need certain things more than others...take the time to learn their language so that we can meet the important needs of others.

Ok so I'll wrap this up with this....I love affirmations! (Anytime you want to tell me something nice about me, I still love it :-)) I still crave Acts of Service.(Makes me feel so good when someone helps with my yard, garden, having dinner made for me and my family unexpectedly) then Quality Time (to spend time with me intentionally and my kids, it is such a sweet treat) and Gifts! Seriously who doesn't like a gift?? haha and then Physical Touch- it is on the last of my list but after years of counseling and lots of love around me, it really should be right up there at the top. 

If you'd like to come over and tell me all kinds of sweet things, help me clean the house, spend time hanging out, and bring me a gift......I'll give you a great big hug! HAHA!

Be blessed and be a blessing! Take the time to get to know the needs of others. 

Shawna

The Library Books of the Bible Broken Down

I used to lead a single mom’s small group at church back in 2007 and found this helpful for not only me but all of my ladies in the group. I just found it in my documents at work and thought I’d share. It makes a huge confusing Bible more understandable. 

The Bible is a library of books.  It contains 66 different books, which all together tell the story of God’s wonderful love for people.  It also teaches us how to live our life.

The Old Testament-

This testament is about how God created the world.  There are 39 books in the Old Testament.

The first 5 books of the Old Testament are

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.

These are the Books of Law because they contain laws God gave to the Jewish people to keep them pure and holy.

The next 12 are

Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings,1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.

These are the Books of History.

The next 5 are

Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs.

These are Books of Poetry.

The last 17 are

Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.

These are about God’s prophets. The first 5 are “major” prophets and the last 12 are “minor” prophets.

Major is not considered more important..the books are just longer!

The New Testament begins with the birth of Jesus.  It tells about Jesus’ life and teachings and how he was killed, buried, and how he rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven. Also, that He’ll be back someday.  There are 27 books in the New Testament.

The first 4 are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. They are called Gospels. These are the greatest stories ever told. They are all the same story but told in a slightly different way. That are all about Jesus, His life and what He did.

The 5^th Book is the Acts of the Apostles.  It’s the historical account of the tremendous spread and growth of the early church. The church that began in those pages is still alive and growing today. (History of the Church)

The next 21 books are Letters… Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1-2 Peter, 1-2-3 John, and Jude.  The apostle Paul wrote 13 of these letters. They were written because people were confused about Jesus.

The last book of the Bible is Revelation.  This is the book of Prophecy. It was written to Christians who were facing great danger. The apostle John has a wonderful message. He told us Christians that we should expect hard times and trouble but we’d be winners in the end. He tells us not to lose hope because we will share in the final victory at the end of times because He’ll return for us! 

Don't let the size of the Bible overwhelm you...God's Word is powerful, Life changing, and Truth. God bless you all ~ Shawna

Nails didn't hold God to a cross....Love did!

Today is such an awesome day! Good Friday!  This is something that I wanted to share from Max Lucado. It says it all!

Six hours, one Friday.  Mundane to the casual observer.   A shepherd with his sheep, a housewife with her thoughts, a doctor with his patients.  But to a handful of awestruck witnesses, the most maddening of miracles is occurring. God is on a cross.  The creator of the universe is being executed.

It is no normal six hours.  It is no normal Friday.  Far worse than the breaking of his body is the shredding of his heart.  And now his own father is beginning to turn his back on him, leaving him alone. What do you do with that day in history?  What do you do with its claims?  They were the most critical hours in history.

Nails didn't hold God to a cross.  Love did. The sinless One took on the face of a sinner so that we sinners could take on the face of a saint!

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

from Six Hours One Friday