Restored, Renewed and Revived

“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;  And that ye be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”  Ephesians 4:21-24

Re·viv·al [noun]– the act of restoring life

I mentioned in the previous post that Revival season is upon us in our church association.   I love Spring Revival because it’s so easy to look around us and see things being brought back to life, especially this year as it have been unseasonably warm in our area.  We can already see daffodils,  Bradford pears, and even some Dogwoods starting to bloom.  Life is coming back all around us!

It reminds me of our spiritual lives.  Ideally, we’d all love to be constantly fruitful – blooming with God’s love, peace, and joy all the time. But unfortunately we’re human and just like nature, we go through seasons in our spiritual life. 

When we are first saved, God takes out our stony heart and gives us a new one. (Eze.36:26) Our sins along with the person we used to be our buried and we become a new person.  Unfortunately, being this new person doesn’t just come naturally (or at least it doesn’t for me) from that point on.   

2 Corinthians 4:16 says “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”

Each day I must die out to sin and be renewed by Christ. 

If you look around at the trees during the winter-they’re dead and not much to look at. However, then comes spring, those warmer days when they’re getting the light and the sources of food they need. Then they start to bloom again. Even in our deadest days when we are far from our Light- God is still there.  Even though on the outside we may look and even feel dead and useless- God still has hope for us!  He still has a purpose for our lives! As long as we turn back to Him and get what we need spiritually then He’ll revive us. 

As I study these scriptures this week and prepare for Revival my desire is to truly be restored, renewed and revived:

Restored

“Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.”  Psalm 51:12

Sometimes I need to go back to where it all started.   Remember when you were first saved?   I do!  I remember the joy that came from being made new.  I remember rising from the altar and feeling total peace and contentment.  I remember feeling free from sin.   That joy didn’t just end the next day.  It’s still with me, even though at times I must ask God to restore it.  

Renewed

 

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”  Psalm 51:10. 

Sometimes we have to ask God to clean us up!  We must again lay aside the “old man” and His sinful ways.  ANYTHING that is coming between us and God must be cast to the side!  Things have been revealed to me even this week as I’ve studied and prayed for God to show me anything in my life that is a hindrance.  When we put aside these things and clean up our heart, then the right spirit will be renewed!  He can give us an even clearer purpose and desire to do His work!    

Revived  

“For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”  Isaiah 57:15

 I love that the first part of this verse tells how big and powerful God dwelling in high and holy places.  Yet the end says that when we become humble and sincerely remorseful then He’s right there with us too!  And why is He there?   Because He’s ready and willing to revive us!  When we truly become humble and willing then He is ready give us back life.

 That’s my desire to be on “fire” for Him and about his business!  I want once again to be renewed in the spirit and put on the “new man:!

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March Resolutions

Hello March!  I'm a few days behind on this since we were out of town the end of last week but here goes...







I only had two February resolutions and they were:

1. Helping my Mom and Sister Host a Tea Party for the Ladies at Church:  Check!  We had a great time both planning it and then attending the tea party.  I actually wrote a blog on it at the beginning of the month. "Miss Priss" and I also had a tea party on Valentine's Day which was also a lot of fun!
2. Set up Nursery (and deciding on a name would be a plus too!):  Not exactly a check but I have made progress!  There is furniture in the nursery and the bedding is being made.  I was hopign to be able to post a nice picture for everyone to see but maybe soon.  As far as a name, we have narrowed it down too but still not sure enough to announce it yet :)

So here are my Goals/Resolutions for March:

1. Finish Nursery
2. Finish 31 Days to Clean which will also mean my Spring Cleaning will be done!
3. Be Revived!  Revivals have officially started in the Association in which my church is a part of and I'm hoping to be able to attend not only ours but several others.  I also hope to be able to get out and visit and really get a burden and desire to see others accept Christ as their Savior! 
4. Sharecrop - I was hoping to have a small garden of my own this year but since I'm expecting a new baby in just a month it seems a bit to tackle on my own even on a small scale.  So instead my brother-in-law has been kind enough to lend me part of his garden (where the soil is already ready) to plant a few things such as lettuce, peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes.  I hope by the end of May to enjoy a fresh salad!  "Miss Priss" loves salad so I'm hoping this is something we can work on and enjoy even after her new baby sister comes. 

So there are my March resolutions.  I'll let you know how it all goes!

My Secret to Getting it “All” Done

There’s one thing I learned from 31 Days that I still do nearly every day and that’s make a “Six List”.  The Six List has been a lifesaver for me in managing the house (and in everything I do)!   There have been those moments when I felt SO overwhelmed and behind that I thought I’d never get it done!   However, one six list a day and before I knew it I was caught up!  Here are a few reasons I LOVE the Six List:

1.        It’s Simple: It only takes me about 2 minutes every night to make the list. I used to write my list on paper but then I found this dry erase board at the Dollar Tree and I’ve been using it every since (and yes it came with the marker and even a string to hang it-for $1!!) Every night I simply erase my list and create the one for the next day.  (I also keep my prayer list at the bottom of the board just as a daily reminder J)

2.       It’s Short:  Since it is only six things I almost always finish it. This makes even those big tasks manageable and gives me a sense of accomplishment!

3.       It Helps Me Stay On-Task:  It’s easy to get distracted when you’re at home all day! And some distractions are alright but some aren’t!  So having the six list in front of me all day helps me remember what I need to get done that day and stay-on-task. 

4.       It’s Efficient:   If for some reason I don’t finish a task then I move it to the next day and since I get tired of writing the same thing over and over I’m less likely to procrastinate! Instead I get it done so I can check it off!

So I challenge you to give it a shot! See if it doesn’t make your life simpler! 

How’s the challenge going for everyone else?  I must confess we were out of town Thursday and Friday so I’m a little behind myself and have some catching up to do!

For the complete history on the Six List click here.

One in Christ

This week our GMG group has started the fourth chapter of Ephesians and we are all over one of, if not the, main message Paul is trying to convey to the church. 

 

“There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”  Ephesians 4:4-6.

One body

One Spirit

One hope

One Lord

One Faith

One Baptism

One God and Father

See a pattern?  Paul is telling them to lay aside their differences. Because of Christ they are now ALL one!    We can have peace and unity through Christ.  His blood made us ALL one! 

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28

“Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.”  Colossians 3:11

Christ himself even prayed for unity in the church:

 

"That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us:  that the world may believe that thou has sent me.”  John 17:21

So Christ died for it, Paul was thrown in prison for it but we still struggle to live in it.   We may blame it on others and the words they say or things they do.  But is it really them or is it us?  Paul gives us some guidelines and characteristics we should live by to help us live in unity:

 

“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with long suffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”  Ephesians 4:1-3

First of all he tells us to walk worthy of being a Christian. In other words walk like Christ.   Then he gives us some specific characteristics:  lowliness, meekness, longsuffering, and forbearance.  Here’s a little on what Matthew Henry says on each of these in his commentary:

Lowliness – The opposite of pride, humbleness.  “By pride comes contention, by humbleness comes love.”

Meekness – not provoking others, not easily provoked or offended; showing patience and humility, submissive

Long Suffering – patient bearing of injuries, without seeking revenge

Forbearing One Another  - Loving them despite their faults as Christ has loved and forgiven us

That’s a lot to live up to and look at our own lives before we start blaming someone else!  If we truly walked like Christ, had these characteristics and focused on what unites us not divides us then we’d find ourselves dwelling together in unity.  

If you’re attending a church regularly then I’m afraid to say that I can just about guarantee there will come a time when someone is going to say something that’s going to hurt your pride or offend you.  I know they have me before.   The difference comes with what we are going to do about it.  Our first instinct is to lash back, hold a grudge, or just pack up our bags and head to the house!  When really what Paul is telling us here is that it’s often our own selfish pride that causes the confusion and discord.  Chances are the person who said or did something did not mean to intentionally offend us but because of our own selfish pride we were easily provoked and took it that way. 

I hope the next time this happens to me I can evaluate my own life and respond as Christ would.  Focus on the things that unites us not divides us!  If necessary, give the other person grace, forgiveness, love and prayer just as Christ would.  We can accomplish SO much more when we are working together for Christ as one!  After all,

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”  Psalm 133:1

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31 Days to Clean: Day 2

There are a lot of things I've shared on this blog that I thought I never would!  And today this is one of those-my messy refrigerator!  Our cleaning task for Day 2 is to clean the refrigerator.  Lucky for me at least it's the end of the month and I only buy groceries at the beginning of the month so at least there wasn't QUITE as much in there but it was still a mess!!!

Here's a few before and after pics:

Before

Dirty shelves :(




Clean Shelves :)



 

After

I love accomplishing something like this early in the morning!  I feel like I can tackle anything today now.  So how are your first two days going?  Take some before and after pics and share!

31 Days to Clean: My Mission

"It's not so much how busy you are, buy why you are busy.  The bee is praised.   The mosquito is swatted."  Mary O'Connor (taken from 31 Days to Clean)

Are you ready to be challenged spiritually and physically?  Do you long for a housecleaning routine that you felt didn't take up ALL of your time?  Does your home need a good "spring cleaning"?  Then I have a challenge for you.  Today I'm starting the 31 Days to Clean Having a Martha House the Mary Way.  Call it an early start to spring cleaning or nesting, but since it's been almost a year since I've done it the first time I've decided to tackle it again. 


My goal is to blog about this challenge at least once a week. I'm hoping that blogging along with a few friends joining me, like Abby from Trusting in Him, will help hold me accountable!  I also hope that we can share hosekeeping tips and tricks along the way to make all our jobs easier!  Then by Easter my house will be in order and I can enjoy a couple weeks before the new baby gets here!

 So today's just our first today and we'd love for you to join us too!  Each day Sarah Mae gives you a spiritual (Mary) and houscleaning (Martha) challenge.  We'll be doing this Monday through Friday and taking the weekends off.  Simply purchase and dowload the e-book here and let's get started! 


Today our first Martha challenge is to think about why we want a clean house and create a mission statement.  Each year I taught I always had my students to create a mission statement at the beginning of the year.  Why it's never cross my mind to do one myself until I read this I don't know??!  However, it's great to sit down and really think about why cleaning is important to you.  You're a lot more motivated to do it if you have a good reason and understand why it's important to you! 


For me I want my home to be organized and clean so that we can enjoy it as a family!  It's hard for it to be a "happy place" to come home to if it's a mess and disorganized!  I want myself, my husband, children, and everyone to enjoy walking in my home not feel stressed or uncomfortable!


I took my mission statement from where I did this last time.  Here it is:

 

My mission is to create and foster an environment that puts God first.  I want to strive to make our home our "happy place!"  Not only to us but so that others will find it welcoming.  I want to "look" for ways to encourage and make a better life for my husband, my daughters and all those around me.

Unfortunately, last time I never got around to actually displaying it so this time I doctored it up just a bit by adding some scriptures (Joshua 24:15 and Proverbs 31:27) and words to describe how I wanted my home to feel.  I typed it in Microsoft Word using some Word Art and placed it in a frame.  I wished I had a prettier frame but I'm all about using what I already have and I had this simple black one so here's my finished product:

I'm going to place it in my kitchen window so that I can constantly be reminded of my mission!  So will you be joining us? Do you have your mission statement yet?  How do you plan on displaying/remembering it?  Please share!!

Comprehending God's Love

"For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole fmaily in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God."  Ephesians 3:14-19

As we continue in Ephesians, I am more amazed with every verse at Paul’s love and concern for the church.  I love what he is praying here.  He’s asking God to let his fellow brothers and sisters truly comprehend God’s love.   A love that has no limits – it is unconditional, boundless, powerful, pure, sacrificial, and inseparable-just to describe it in a few words.  A love that Francis Chan describes as “crazy” and I’m quite sure that if we truly loved like Jesus in today’s world that’s exactly what we’d be called-crazy!  I wonder how many of us truly “get” it or even try to understand it?  I’ve wondered if I truly understand it. 

I think Paul did, as much as this mortal body can anyway. Here he was imprisoned yet saying “Don’t worry about me.  Don’t become discouraged because of what’s happened to me.”  Instead of praying for himself or drowning in self pity he was praying for the “inner man” of his fellow brothers and sisters.    It’s too much for this selfish outer man to understand.  In verse 19 Paul says “it passeth knowledge.”  It doesn’t make sense to this outer flesh.  That’s where the Holy Spirit comes in. 

So why would Paul even be praying for them to comprehend God’s love?  I think he wanted his brothers and sisters in Christ to understand God’s love so that they could show His love.   If we’re a Christian, that pure, unconditional love is in us because God is in us.  We’re filled with it but do we allow it work in us and to show forth in our lives?  Loving each other isn’t simply a request from God it’s a commandment. 

“This I my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.”  John 15:12 (emphasis added).

  That’s some serious love and when we begin to even slightly comprehend that love then we can understand the love we should show to one another.   Still not convinced he literally means love like Jesus? 

“Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”  1 John 3:16

Love involves sacrifice.  Love involves action.  One of my personal favorite verses on love is:

“My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”  1 John 3:18.  

  In some ways I think God slowly reveals it to us – as much as we can handle at one time.   For example, has someone ever tried to teach you something just by telling you and you think you get it.  However, once you really start practicing and doing it on your own then you start to fully comprehend it.  I’ve always learned more by doing than hearing.  I think that’s how God’s love is.  We can read our Bibles all day and even memorize it; however, the more we experience and exercise his love and trust in Him then the more he fills us with a greater understanding of His love.

It’s not always easy to love others, just to be honest, some try to make it difficult.  But have you ever stopped to think that’s the ones that may just need God’s love the most?  How about those times you neglected to put God first until something came up then you hit your knees?  Did God say “Sorry you’ve not put me first even after I’ve told you time and time again-even after I’ve already helped you out of this same circumstance?”  No, he didn’t.  Instead, God was still there right where you left him and once you were back in his grace you felt even more loved and closer to Him.   Maybe that’s why Paul understood God’s love better than others.  God’s love had reached him when he was about as low as someone could get.   When you don’t feel others are being “fair” to you or treating you like you want to be treated then that’s when God’s love can shine the brightest.  Do you we get that?

What if you loved like Jesus in your relationships?  What if …

Ø  We loved our spouses like Christ loved us? 

Ø  We loved our brothers and sisters in Christ like He loves us? 

Ø  We loved our children like God loves us?

Ø  We didn’t wear our feelings on our sleeves or “puff up” when things didn’t go our way but instead expected and willingly gave more than we received from our relationships. 

Ø  We didn’t judge or criticize but prayed more for the “inner being”.  

Ø  Instead of giving up on each other, we gave more of ourselves.   

What if we really started to comprehend God’s love and to do what the Bible says-show it!! 

 Novel idea huh?

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