Day 3

Day 3
Tonight I am turning in early and here are just a few of my thoughts about today---some are a bit disjointed-please forgive me.

The key to staying focused is how I start my day. Started my morning off 1/2 hour earlier in order to have more time in His presence fueling up.

"We are called to be a part of it, by taking dominion for the kingdom of God wherever He has placed us. We are called to turn our homes into a piece of heaven. We are called to turn our jobs, schools, places where we shop, everywhere we go, into part of the domain of heaven. "

"It will come by a love so strong that hatred collapses before it. It will come by a joy so powerful that depression dissipates like fog before the sun. It will come through a peace so profound that fear flees from it. It will come with such patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control that all authority and influence based on anything man has tried to build on will not be able to stand before it."

"The time will soon be upon us when everything man has tried to build will be seen as the fragile idol it is, and it will come down. Our job is to simply grow in the kingdom of God..."

from a devotion from Morningstar Ministries

And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Daniel 2:44

This devotion reminds of a principal we learned at church. Each believer has dominion over the area to which she has been assigned. This is not a people-power dominion but a spiritual dominion. The right to claim this place under the authority of God.
I teach a preschool class at my church and Andy used to pray with me in the classroom each Sunday before I taught. He would claim my priesthood over the room and the authority as leader in that group.

Finding a central picture/thought for each day is a wonderful tool which acts as a power principal for guiding me in practicing love. I think that is why I am so encouraged by stories of persecuted Christians despite their circumstances even in the vilest, scariest places, the love of Christ still gives them spiritual dominion and they do not give up. I guess too if you are tiny enough compared to how giant you perceive a situation to be, then the more you have to rely on God if you have any hope of triumphing.

God gave me a vision a few years back. The scripture in Matthew 17 speaks of having faith to move a mountain but God showed me that if I fixate my eyes upon him then every mountain shrinks and is no longer an obstacle much like Peter's experience walking on water. I should never be overwhelmed by the mountains. Any time a mountain seems too big, then I need to refocus. The mountains don't need to be moved, I do.

The hymn says it so well. I just kept humming this today. It especially helped when my preschooler was throwing an all out screaming fit, this morning.


"But instantly He spoke to them, saying, Take courage! I AM! Stop being afraid!"
Matthew 14:27
I can here the I AM spoken with thunder and deafening power.



from Oswald Chambers
"But the miracle of the redemptive reality of God is that the worst and the vilest offender can never exhaust the depths of His love"
Boy, there is a line for anyone who works with people-moms. teachers, pastors, etc

I call on God to help me not give up just as he does not give up.


celebration - 1
discards-3
nonessential purchases - 0
(I was tempted as I went into our combo Hallmark/Post Office to pick up priority mail boxes. All of the Christmas stuff was marked 75% off. I stayed firm.)


Currently listening to:
hymns

Dinner:
breakfast
eggs / spinach omelet
bacon
toast
fruit
yogurt

Currently reading:
365 Thank Yous
Matthew
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

Today grateful for:
my boys
sunshine
a great dentist
the word
God's love

credits:
Morningstar ministries
Biblegateway.com (great site, can switch between translations and look up cross references with just a click)

The classroom of suffering

Below is an exert from the devotion I was reading this morning that I felt was worth repeating. The source is Voice of the Martyrs.

History, however, shows that people with the mere position of power are ineffective without the inner strength to carry out their duties. In contrast, God targets our inner strength through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Suffering is his classroom, where he teaches us what it is like to be strong. We are able to endure more than we imagined. We are bold beyond our means. You may feel as though your sufferings have made you weak. Ask God to show you how they can, in fact, make you stronger. Flex your muscles. You will see you are stronger than you think.

Suffering is something I struggle to face with inner strength. I do not always turn to God as quickly as I know I should. One of these days I will post some of the word studies from the Bible that I have done regarding suffering. Suffering is something all humans have experienced, however it really hit that raw home place for me when I became a widow. My "muscles" are "sore" but stronger in this classroom of suffering. What will I be doing in His name with this muscle strength? When this question came to mind, I immediately thought of my friend, Jill, who is going to Uganda in February to minister to other widows. To know what you have "trained" for gives you strength as well.