Bible Challenge (Isaiah 7:15)

"Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good." 

- Isaiah 7:15

Am I faithful to fill my mind ONLY with the "good food" of God's Word so that I can refuse the evil?

Bible Challenge (2 Chronicles 25:2)

"And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart." - 2 Chronicles 25:2

If I obey and serve God with my body, yet am not faithful to pursue Him with my heart, I will not experience the fullness, blessings, and peace of the Lord. Is my heart doing right in God's eyes?

Bible Challenge (1 Timothy 4:15)

"Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholy to them; that thy profiting may appear to all." 

- 1 Timothy 4:15

Do I truly give myself wholly to the things of God and His Word? Am I faithful to meditate on what He teaches me?

Put Away the Strange Gods!

            I prayed before I opened my Bible that the Lord would teach me something from His Word today. I wasn’t really looking for anything in particular, I just wanted to get back into reading, enjoying, and learning from God’s Word again.

            I read a couple chapters in 2 Timothy and received some general encouragement and instruction, then turned to where I was reading through the Old Testament. I was reading in 1 Samuel and had just gotten to the part where the Philistines had taken the Ark of the Covenant. They put it in their temple next to the god, Dagon. When they went in the next morning, Dagon was fallen with his face to the ground before the ark. The Philistines set him back up again, but when they went in the following morning, he was down again. This time, his head and hands were broken off.

            The thought struck me, how mighty and amazing God is! He can not tolerate an idol in His presence, but will bring whatever it is that competes for His place crashing down. I then thought about how we often have idols in our own hearts, and how we will allow other things to take captive our time and thoughts.

            After a moment’s reflection, I realized that there were two things that took up a lot of my time, and the majority of my thought life – reading books and earning money. There were also some other things I saw that, if I wasn’t careful, could also become idols in my life: school, exercise, crafts. It’s hard to think I would allow myself to devote more time and thought to these than to God Himself and His Word. I quickly gave these things back to the Lord and committed myself anew to Him, asking Him to take first place in my heart.

            When we don’t stop and give our “idols” to the Lord, He will often mercifully have them “fall”, and take away what we have chosen to serve other than Himself. I know from experience that these are painful times of fear, resourcefulness, and bitter repentance. But God will be first place, the Supreme Ruler. If He’s not first place now, then He will be on that approaching judgment day when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

            How thankful we should be for “second chances.” God’s mercy and Christ’s blood that hides our multitudes of sins.

            I pray that each of us would stop just for a moment and ask the Lord if there is anything that is competing for first place in our hearts.

            God bless each of you as you strive for a closer walk with Him.

“Put away the strange gods,… and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you…” -1 Samuel 7:3

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Posts from the Past

Every Wednesday (Now Tuesday!) I post something that I have written in the past. It may have been written a long time ago, or a very, very long time ago! :-D So please forgive any mistakes!

Changing Seasons

For some of you, I have emailed or called and have been keeping you updated on what’s going on in my life. The rest of you have been pretty much in the dark about all of it. I’m sorry!

I guess I should start at the beginning.

Last year, my parents (and several of us older children) felt the Lord leading in a different direction. Our family ministry had been growing, and we were getting invited to many more places to sing and preach (Daddy preaching, of course). Most of our singing opportunities were in Mississippi, and spreading out from that area. We began to feel God starting pushing us in the direction of full-time ministry.

Of course there were several things that had to be sorted out. First was our church, and God worked that out in an amazing way. He started moving the different families in our church in different directions as well, so the official last Sunday was actually a blessing to pretty much everyone.

Secondly, we were not only going into full-time ministry, but God wanted us to move to that central location, in Mississippi! Last month, our house sold, and the signing of the purchase agreement is set for July 3^rd. Everything has gone super smoothly with all the papers, transportation, and everything. God had already allowed us to purchase a place in Mississippi, so all of us are going to squeeze into a tiny single-wide trailer until we get our house built.

God has been providing us with more and more ministry opportunities, and we have already been on the road more in the past year than we have ever been!

In the midst of all of this, God was starting to work His own plan in my life. To begin with, I naturally assumed I would be going with my family, doing what they do, etc. There is NOTHING I enjoy more than getting to sing and minister with my family.

I’m not exactly sure how it happened, but I started to feel like I was somehow going to be left behind to watch my family move forward. I’ll admit, I wasn’t exactly happy about it! I told a friend at the beginning of this year, “Something big is going to happen, I’m not sure what, but it would have to be either marriage or college!” I was half in jest, half serious. Little did I know…

For a short time, my sister was considering doing an on-line college, so my mom applied for PELL grants for the both of us. The only problem with me doing it was that there was no degree available that I felt led to do. I didn’t exactly want to do college just to do it!

Then at three different points in time, my daddy mentioned the community college that is not even ten minutes from our place in Mississippi. I started looking into it, and then at Mississippi State. NEVER would I have imagined I would be GOING to college, much less a secular college! But God started opening first one door, then the other. Then, before I knew it, there was nothing but green lights. The degree that God literally placed in my lap was Agricultural Informative Science with concentrations in Agricultural Leadership.  I would also be minoring in Music (Big surprise, huh?). I will be starting out at the community college, and then if God continues to keep the doors open, will transfer to Mississippi State to finish up my degree.

I was kind of excited, kind of nervous. I used to want to go to college years ago, for the wrong reasons, so I was so nervous about pushing ahead of God and not following His leading. So God has actually had to push me at times!

A couple weeks ago I was lying in my bed thinking about everything that God had worked out, then I began to think about the purpose of the degree I was getting. Sure, I always had loved plants and animals, and I loved working with them, and teaching others about them. The problem wasn’t with the degree, but I honestly couldn’t see how this degree could be used as a means of ministry or teaching others about God and encouraging them in their walk with Him. I mean, in the past I had taught a couple classes to homeschoolers about the garden, and tied in an object lesson from God’s Word, but I wasn’t quite sure about the BIG picture. I was awake until one o’clock thinking about it. God brought me to a point that night where I had to just place it in His hands and decide to keep walking forward as long as He opened doors, even if I couldn’t see His plans.

The very next day I was looking up some gardening info for someone, and I stumbled across a site, redeemingthedirt.com. Intrigued, I read some posts, then some more, then some more. He had a book he had written, and I ordered it. When it came in Friday, I read the entire thing that evening. It was like nothing I had ever read before. (Interesting note here: For the past week, I had been looking up references in the Bible about gardens, vineyards, plowing, etc. anything related to gardening, so I was already familiar with several of the passages he was using.) It talked about gardening from a whole different perspective, God’s Word. True, I may not have agreed with every little detail, but it was enough to give me the push I needed.

I have also recently watched some videos that proclaim the glory of God’s creation through different animals. Since my focus is both plants and animals, God really used it to speak to my heart in a special way. God has a way that He will use whatever I learn for His glory and Kingdom work. I just have to be faithful in studying and searching His Word for it, and waiting for the opportunities He brings my way.

So, I’m going to college, Lord willing. I’m still waiting for God to bring something else up and change the plans :-D, but so far He hasn’t. I would be fine either way, but I am now starting to get excited about learning, and am looking forward to what God will teach me in this new chapter of my life.

I think the most difficult thing for me during this transition hasn’t been about the move, leaving my friends, or even about going to college, but about not being able to participate in the family ministry. In the past nine months God has brought me to a place where I dove into our ministry whole-heartedly, holding nothing back, and I LOVED it! There is nothing that brings me more joy than when I am standing with my best friends (my siblings) at my side, singing praise and glory to our precious Lord.

Sure, I’ll still be able to go and sing with them at times, but I will not have the flexibility or freedom to go everywhere with them. God had to bring me to a place where I surrendered being a part of the family ministry to Him. God had brought me to a point where I loved ministering with my family more than anything, and now He wanted me to give it back to Him. With many tears and much pain, I did. I still have a little pang when I think about it, but am now looking forward to the plans God has for me, be it college or something else. Never did I think I would be going in a different direction than my family, but I want to be faithful in following God’s will for my own life.

I would greatly appreciate your prayers for myself and for my family as we go through this time together, and follow the Lord’s leading to be all that He wants us to be. May we be pure reflections of His holiness as we go about in His strength!

Bible Challenge (1 Timothy 4:6)

"If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine whereunto thou hast attained." - 1 Timothy 4:6

Am I diligent to immerse myself in God's Word so that he may nourish and instruct me in the faith and doctrine I am to experience in my daily walk and share with others?

Bible Challenge (2 Thessalonians 3:5)

"And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ."        2 Thessalonians 3:5

Am I willing to trust God to grow me as He sees fit?