Good Morning Girls Devotional Week 2 "Why Easter Matters"

This is the reading for Thurs, 4/10/14. It is from Colossians 1:21-23: This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies and hated him and were separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through the death on the cross of his own human body, and now as a result Christ has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are standing there before him with nothing left against you—nothing left that he could even chide you for; the only condition is that you fully believe the Truth, standing in it steadfast and firm, strong in the Lord, convinced of the Good News that Jesus died for you, and never shifting from trusting him to save you. This is the wonderful news that came to each of you and is now spreading all over the world. And I, Paul, have the joy of telling it to others.

S: Colossians 1:21-22
This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies and hated him and were separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through the death on the cross of his own human body, and now as a result Christ has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are standing there before him with nothing left against you—nothing left that he could even chide you for.

O: Once, when you weren't a believer in Christ, you walked in sin. But now that you are a believer, Christ has brought you into His fold as a friend. His death on the cross was His way of showing you how much He loves you and how your sins are wiped clean. You can come to the Lord with a clean slate, all your sins forgiven.

A: When I decided that I wanted Jesus as my savior I was given a "do over"! I got to start again! I could put my past behind me. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says "This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!"

When I feel like I will never measure up, when I feel like I am not good enough, I have to remember that Jesus died for me so that my sins could be forgiven. All that came before has been wiped clean. I am a new creation! I'm not given a free pass to sin, but I do not have to hang onto the guilt or the pain of it. 

P: Lord Jesus, You gave Your life for me so that I can be forgiven of my sins. I need to remember that. I am never not good enough or not worthy enough. I am loved by You. Forgive whatever sinful nature is still within me. Help me to follow You completely. In Your Holy Name I ask this. Amen.
  


 

Good Morning Girls Devotional Week 8: Our Health Thursday reading

Since our reading and scripture verse is just this one verse, I decided to add the graphic and go right on to the "O" part.

O: This reading is an interesting one. This is where mans downfall happened. We see Eve giving Adam the apple from the Tree of Knowledge, of which they were not supposed to eat. The serpent promised Eve that if she ate this, then she would be as wise as God. What a mistake! But, Eve, human as we, gave into the promises of more. 

How many times have we eaten something that we just knew that it wasn't good for us? But it just looked too good to pass up. Hence, Eve's dilemma. Oh, that apple looked good. The serpent promised her it would bring wisdom. Oh... just one bite. 

And so the fall of mankind happened. All because of an apple. That's all it takes. Just that one thing that is forbidden. And the more we are told we can't have it, the more we want it.

I've been learning a lot about addiction lately. It's just that one hit, that one toke, that one drink that starts it all. It's all downhill from there. The addict KNOWS it's not good, but they do it anyway. It's fueled by emotion and sensation. It's a way to not feel anything for a while or to forget for a while. They don't think of the long term consequences. They don't think of the people and the life they will lose. 

It's like that a lot in our earthly lives. The promise of better, younger, thinner, richer. It's all of what the flesh says we want. But it's not what God wants. We don't consider the consequences. We're willing to give in to that craving. It's Satan whispering in our ear. In that one moment we fall from grace.

We don't have to give in to that temptation. We can be stronger than Satan's whispers and promises. It's not worth that fall. It's not worth the guilt. When those promises of more start, pray. When Satan starts tugging, cast him out. Tell him to go. Ask Jesus to make him go! It won't be easy, but it will be worth it.

A: This is a good lesson to remember. Change doesn't come easy for me. It fuels my anxiety. It makes me feel uncomfortable. But it is in those times that I need to hold onto my faith, the promises that Jesus made for me. Those are the only ones I can believe. 

Everything in my life has been a struggle, a fight. But all of that has made me stronger. It made me rely on Jesus a whole lot. 

I will take things one day at a time. I won't believe the lies that I play out day-to-day in my head. I will believe in what Jesus has promised me! (And, if I'm lucky, as I repeat that over and over, maybe I'll even believe it! lol) And if I do fall, I know Jesus will be there to pick me up and make me start over. 

P: Lord Jesus, You never promised us that it would be easy. This life we are given is precious. You told us how we are to live it,  yet sometimes we fall into the trap of believing the lies we hear. When those negative thoughts start, when the promise of more and better are thrown at me, I pray for You to give me the strength to turn away from them. You are the rock on which I stand. It is through Your Holy Grace that I am still here. I have come too far to give up now. Jesus, give me the strength to stare temptation in the face and say no. I am Your daughter. Your creation. I want to live as You taught us to. I know with You I can do all things. And all the people said AMEN! 

Good Morning Girls Week 4: Titus 2:3-5

Titus 2:3-5: "Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good. These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God."

S: "Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good."



O: I'm having difficulty with this one tonight. Perhaps it is because I have no experience in this. It would be my understanding that perhaps the elderwomen of the time, the ones who had been married and maybe now are widowed would teach the younger women how to be a good wife and mother. 

Obviously gossiping about others is a big no-no. How easy is it to fall into that trap, though. I'm just as guilty as the next person of that. It's probably just easier to steer clear of gossiping people. And live by the rule "If you don't have anything nice to say about someone, then be quiet". Something I need to learn as well.

Heavy drinkers. Hmmm.... Alcohol can be evil. I know, you're probably wondering how.  There's nothing wrong with having a glass of wine with dinner or in a social setting. BUT... start knocking back a few tequilas, Long Island Iced Teas, etc. and look out. We all turn into someone else. Me, I get giggly. But I've also been known to cry hysterically. That's because alcohol can be a depressant. And when you're already depressed, it's not a good mix.

My husband, on the other hand, ohhh..his mouth starts running. And it's not pretty. The sarcasm. The derogatory jokes usually aimed at me. I can't tell you the number of knock-down drag-out fights that had resulted from that. He's not a chronic drunk and it wouldn't be often. But when it he did drink, I really didn't want to be around him.

I believe that's why God tells us it's not a good idea to be heavy drinkers. No good ever came from getting drunk or even just having a "few too many". Look at the number of DWI's that occur as well. How can we expect to be godly people if we are stumbling around filled with alcohol? 

My husband has since quit drinking. And you can't imagine what a relief it is to me to not have to worry about what I'm going to come home to on a Friday after I've been working all day. I would go to work with dread in my heart knowing what I would be coming home to. Was he going to get all mouthy and get in another fight with me? I know each day is a struggle for him when it comes to drinking. Life has not been easy. And for someone who is a recovering alcoholic it would be so easy to drown yourself in a ton of booze to forget about life's problems. Lord knows there were days I wished I could've had a few too many glasses of wine to forget about things. 

But I digress here. The whole point of this passage is that we should do what would be pleasing to God. We should learn from our elders about love and marriage. Look at couples who have been married 50,60 years or more. What could we learn from them? How did they make it work for so long? It's because they learned from THEIR parents and families. Something we don't really have these days. BUT we have our bible and our faith. If we don't have role models, we can find the BEST role model in the bible--Jesus Christ. Or browse through the Old Testament. There are plenty of good role models there. 

If you are fortunate enough to still have your parents or grandparents around and they are still married, talk to them. Find out how they made it work. Learn from them. And spend time in the Word. If you follow that then you're already ahead of the game.

A: I don't have role models for me to follow. My mom has been remarried three times. My grandparents are both deceased. Besides, my grandmothers' advice to me on marriage was that all men cheat. Get a hobby and look the other way. Yup. That was her advice. smh

I have a second chance at getting marriage right. I have to learn from the mistakes that I made in my first marriage. I need to learn from the bible what a good marriage is and how to keep it alive. I read blogs. I pray... A LOT. I know Jesus will help me along the way. I have friends in church. Our pastor and his wife have been married for over 20 years. Obviously they've been doing something right.  I just need to take things a step at a time and learn from my mistakes, learn from Jesus and rely on Him to get us through the tough times. 

P: Father, You have given us the most wonderful examples of how to be good wives and husbands. Your son, our Savior taught us about pure love. How fortunate we are to have those resources at our fingertips. We have to remember that we are an example for our children. It's so easy to just throw in the towel when things get too hard. But it during those times that we need You most. Rather than turning to alcohol or to divorce or any other evil thing that will break down a marriage, we need to run to You. We need to read through Your words to learn, to be guided in the right direction. We trust in You and know You will show us the right thing to do. Amen.

 

Good Morning Girls, Intentionally Focused Week 3

From Tuesday, 2/4/14: Romans 12:1-2

S:  I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

O:  I did a little reading up on this particular verse. I went to Bible.org for a good, solid explanation. Turns out, this one little paragraph has a lot to say! "This verse is one of the most important in the entire Bible and contains more key theological terms and truths for its size than perhaps any other verse of Scripture." Wow! Who knew.

So, let's see... Paul is telling the Romans that they are to present their bodies to God as an offering. This is where "the body is a temple" must come from. We are offering our entire selves to God. It is telling us what we should do. Time to put into action the things we have learned. 

Paul is also telling us not to conform to the ways of this world, but to the ways of God's kingdom. To really think about our actions. If we bend to God's way, then that is truly the right way. 

A: How to apply this to my life? First off, to take better care of myself both physically and mentally. To show God that I know how to take care of what He gave me. Secondly, to realize that I am important and to stop putting myself down all the time. God doesn't make mistakes, so why should I look at myself that way? Third, to always try to do the will of God. To do things as if I were doing them for Him.

P: Jesus, help me to be the person You designed me to be. Help me to look at myself the way You see me. Help me to see past all my faults and imperfections. I pray that I become the person You hoped and dreamed for me to be. Amen.