Part 4 ~ Chapter 28

And, then, I turn the page to find "the big word"... again...

OBEDIENCE

I tell ya, God is just not letting up! : )

I'm not sure if I've shared this already, but there are 3 words that keep coming up over and over for me. During the past 2 years, faith, trust, and obedience have been "buzz words" for me.

It's kind of hard to explain, but the gist here is that every time I turn around (it seems) one or all 3 of those words is staring back at me. Think God is trying to tell me something? ; )

James 1:22-25 is a beautiful reminder.

Little girls often dream of fairy-tales, and it's no surprise (or secret) that we're still expecting the stuff of which dreams are made, even as adults. Beth Moore says it like is on page 167:

"We want God to somehow wave a wand over us and magically remove every hindrance without requiring anything of us."

Was anybody else convicted there... or was it just me?

Beth goes on to point out that we would never learn anything if all our problems were solved for us with a wave of a magic wand.

After hearing those 3 buzz words over and over (faith, trust, obedience), I have often just pleaded with God to "fix me." I find myself saying things like, "You're God and you can fix me. Just do it, God, please!"

And, that's just it. If God fixes me without my cooperation and obedience, I'll never learn. I've got to have faith and trust that He knows best! The Father always does, right? ; )

Maybe I need to glean from Psalm 81. Maybe you do, too?

Stop, Drop and Pray

Part 4 ~ Chapter 27

"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."

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)

When I began reading Chapter 27, these are the two verses from Scripture that came to mind. I believe that we often limit God and therefore miss out on what these verses are talking about. If we don't allow God to work in our lives, gently and effectively, we may never know the true reality of these promises.

I think one of the main keys for experiencing Jeremiah 29:11 and Ephesians 3:20-21 is that we have to look past the circumstances we are in and still find it in our hearts to trust that God will do what He says He's gonna do.

We also have to obey Him. Then...

"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 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV)

Stop, Drop and Pray

Shelly Says ~ "The Votes are In!"

Based on the votes received via web poll and e-mail, I constructed a schedule for June that reflects a compromise of all the votes received.

I hope it works well for you as we wrap up our study this month and

BREAK FREE!!!

Here's the plan:

I will still post a message on the blog every day, but I will try to shorten the length of my writings this month for those of you who want to do all of your reading for the week and then check in and read the blog every once in a while. This way, you can read the parts of the blog that pertain to the reading you've done.

The blog posts, starting after this one, will be labeled with Part and Chapter numbers so you can decipher which posts you want/need to read.

By Friday, June 11, I will have postings up that cover the remaining Chapters of Part 4 (through Chapter 32).

Also, on June 11 I will begin posting one chapter per day through June 25 (the official end of our study). So, June 11th's post will be for Chapter 33 and June 25th's post will be for Chapter 47.

You can use the green, shaded box on the right-hand side of the blog to see all the posts and then you just click on the ones you want to read.

Please feel free to comment and/or ask questions at any time. I am enjoying our conversations, and I love to hear from you!