First

This morning at 5:00 am (yes am) I was going to go back to sleep, but thought I would talk with God for a while first. The subject was on first. I told God you know its funny how in my old age (OK let just say right here I am not old I will be forever young, just ask Lily I just turned 21 this week), that I am having some first times. Like this morning at 4:30 am I had first I got a text message, not my first message but my first at 4:30. It just blessed my heart it said "I pray you have a great day with the Lord by your side" now tell me how could I not have a great day the Lord by my side and my best friend praying for me.

OK this past week I have been blessed with having first times happen to me. Don't worry I want share them with you.So I told God I don't really understand why now in my life I was having first, but of course he reminded me that it is timing that matters, not might. And then he remembered me that people in the Bible were not always young when they had first.Sara was 90 when she had Isaac, (that we not have to worry), Isaac was in his 40's when he met Rebekah, Moses was in his 40's when he led the children out of Egypt. Joseph and David were both called at a young ago to service God, but it was later in their lives when God really used them.So I guess we are never too old for first times, all things are possible with God. And we are never too old for God to use us for his glory. So as long as God keeps giving me first times I want them. Cause it's fun having first, makes ya feel special.

"I will love thee, O LORD, my strength."

Psalms 18:1

What to do now....

OK, summer is fast coming upon us. My organized Bible studies have end. So what now?

I have for the past 7 years attended Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) on Tuesday nights this week it ended. In fact as far as I am concerned it has end. You see it is a 7 year study of all the books of the Bible except Revelations and this year was my last year. I have so enjoyed doing it and the things that I have learn still at times amaze me. Someone will ask a question about something in the Bible and I will know the answer and that in part was because of BSF. Sometimes when my friend BB and I go places together with a group we play BSF. We ask questions about the Bible and when one of us answer we say I learned that at BSF. Actually BB is the one who got me started in BSF. We when on a mission trip together she was going and invited me, but she when to day classes and I had to go to night classes. I don't know if I have ever thanked her for I will need to do that.

I also did a Bible study at my church on Monday nights. We did mostly Beth Moore studies this past spring we did a Jennifer Rothschild study, that study ended this week also. And we are not doing another one until the fall and that we will be on Daniel by Beth Moore. I do also do my own personal quiet time.

So now that I don't have a BS to go to what will I do? I will continue doing my own personal quiet time and I do have BS that I can do, but think I will wait a while on doing them. The first time I am going to do which I have started is take books in the Bible and do my own study of each book. I kind of did this for a journal I gave my best friend a couple of years ago. I read through the Bible and wrote down verses that had special meaning to me or maybe just things that I had learn in my other BS's. But this time I am going to just read the book and let God lead me in what to write I am doing a journal with this study. I am starting with Habakkuk if you have read my other post Shake well before using you will know why. I also want to do some reading this summer I love to read, but with doing 2 full time BS's and my own quite time didn't have time to read. The first book I plan on reading is "Your Captivating Heart" that my heart friend gave me.

So I guess that is what is what I am doing next.

"That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of god."

Colossians 1:10

Shake Well Before Using

OK this title comes from the sermon my preacher, preached yesterday morning. I loved the sermon I know that it was just for me. So I wanted to share it and add my thoughts to it also.

The first thing Preacher D said was "Sometimes God has to shake us to be able to use us." He preached from the book of Habakkuk using 1:1-5, 2:1-4, 20, 3:17-19, the God thing in all of this is that all week last week God kept trying to get me to read the book of Habakkuk. Different things I would read would talk about verses in that book and I just didn't listen to God. I kept putting off reading it, oh I would glance over things in the book but not study them. Well this week I will spent time in the book of Habakkuk seeking what God wants to show me.

Well shaking me is what he has been doing lately and the shaking has not been funny. Like he told us God is always working in our lives and he knows what he is doing, even when we don't understand. Preacher D told us if we just look at the storm it will cause confusion. That is were I have been the last week or so, just looking at my storm and I have been very confused about a lot of things. You know I have learn to be content in a the situations that are in my life, but this last week I have been confused about feeling I have had concerning some of them. Preacher D told us that looking through the storm helps us build our faith and that we should look the eyes of God not our own eyes. Well, that is something else that has been told to me several times this week and I have not listen too. I always tell people that they need to look through the eyes of God, but its hard sometimes for me to look myself.

The last thing that Preacher D told us is that we need to look beyond the storm and that we could do that through the strength of GOD. I must always remember it's not what I can do, but what God can do and what God wants to do through me. I just have to trust God and wait on him to show me what he wants to do in my life through the storm. That in the storm we need to rejoice and find joy in the Lord. That is hard but when I prayed and realized that if I thanked God for the storm and let him have it I could rejoice because he was then carrying me, yes he was on my side just waiting on me to give it to him.

Thank you Lord that you take my storms and show me just what a great God you are. No the storms are not gone, but God is there and he is greater than the storm.

Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, ....

Habakkuk 3:18-19

Scripture Memory Verse # 10

I have been doing the learn 2 Bible verses a month for 12 months with Beth Moore LPM.

We learn a new verse on the 1st day of the month and the other one on the 15th day of the month. So at the end of the year we will have learn 24 verse. Then in January Beth will be hosting a get together at her home church in Houston, Tx for all who have posted their verses at LPM web site. My friends, D and L and my self are planning on attending (right girls). What a joy that will be to their with Beth and all of the other Siesta sisters.

Here are the scriptures that I have and am learning starting with # 10 and going back.

"I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside: it shall not cleave to me."

Psalms 101:3

"But by the grace of God I am what I am; and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I laboured more abundantly then they all; not I, but the grace of God which was with me."

I Corinthians 15:10

"Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the LordGiving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name if our Lord Jesus Christ.:

Ephesians 5:19-20

"And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou LORD hast not forsaken them that seek thee."

Psalms 9:10

"Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God , and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."

II Corinthians 10:5

(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but might through God, to the pulling down of strong holds)"

II Corinthians 10:4

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

II Timothy 1:7

"For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, That we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope."

Romans 15:4

"Who shall ascend unto the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?

He that hath clean hands and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity nor sworn deceitfully."

Psalms 24:3-4

"The LORD is my strength, and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped, therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth: and with my song will I praise him."

Psalms 28:7

Some of the verses are ones I have needed for things I am going through some have just been ones that God echoed to me.

My Heart Friend D

I am still out of sorts with myself. It's been a hard week emotionally for me, just so much going on. Last weekend was hard for me. I told my friend D, today that somethings do not get easier with age, and sometimes it is easier to handle them than other times. Bless D's heart she has been worried about me all week texting me and calling me. She texted me the sweets words Monday night, then text me Tuesday morning to see how I was, I told her I am out of bed today, at work and life goes on. She called me this morning and we talked. The funny thing to this friendship is neither one of us would have picked the other as a friend. We are totally different in many ways, but yet we are alike in many ways. This is a friendship that God put together about 10 years ago. We go to the same church and we when on a mission trip together, to Washington, DC. Well after that trip lets just say I really didn't think we would be friends, other than a brief hello to each other at church we didn't speak to one another. Then a couple of years later we when on another mission trip to Nashville, TN this time and that was the turning point in our friendship. God worked in a great and might way on that trip, not just there but on the way back lets just say he is the one that drove our van down the mountain. We became a little closer after that but still not the best of friends. E (her husband) and D became the youth leaders at our church, and then E ask me to be on the ministry team. Of course I did because there was no doubt in my mind that God wanted me there. After that D and I became a lot closer, she is my dearest friend. Now i don't know what I would do without her. We don't have to be around each other long to know something is wrong with the other one. D is a great Christian and teacher. Her hearts desire is to serve GOD and her family, to raise her girls to love the Lord. She thinks that times she doesn't do a good job at any of them, but she does. She gets so excited when she is studying God's work, that she excites everyone around her. She will call and say I just read this in the Bible, did you know that, then we will talk on and on about GOD'S word, I love that about her.Today when she called she was so concerned that someone how hurt my feeling and I wasn't telling her. I am not so sure I would tell her if they did, who know what she would do.(another story) No one had done anything to me, just that sometimes all the craziness going on in my life over whelms me. I just thank God for D and that he made her a heart friend too me.

A friend loveth at all times.....

Proverbs 17:17

Prayer

Prayer what is prayer Webster's says Prayer is an expression, esp. of devout petition, addressed to God or a deity. A formal set of words used in praying. A religious service esp. for saying of prayers An earnest entreaty. A minimal chance or hope.

We know that prayer is the way we talk with God. All though out the Bible we are told to pray. To pray about everything, to pray with out ceasing. Jesus thought that praying was very important he gave us model prayers to use. many times Jesus when away by himself to pray, sometimes he took some of his closes friends with him.

Prayer is a very important part of my life. Sometimes the only person I talk to all day is GOD. I think we so often take prayer as some formal time we spend with GOD. I down always just bow somewhere and pray, but I just talk with God all though out the day. I will look out my window at work and just talk with him sometimes about the beauty in the clouds or things that are heavy on my heart.

I need as many people as possible praying for me and I love that they do. I have some close friends that I just love to hear them pray, when they pray I just sit and listen. (God if that is wrong I am sorry). Me I am not a great prayer when it comes to praying in public. But when it's just me and God or sometimes with a close friend I will just pour out my heart to God.

You know that Jesus took a few close friends with him to pray and I love that. Sometimes I just like to pray with close friends. That is not something you have to do always in person. I have friends that when I e-mail them with things that I am going through will e-mail me back a prayer and I do the same to them. Sometimes I think we all need that personal one on one prayer time with each other, we do this in Sunday School sometimes, I love it. Sometimes when I am going through a hard time just to know that I have someone in my life who will just say, hey lets just pray together mays the problem not so bad.

Without prayer I don't know what I would do, because then I wouldn't have a connection to GOD and how could I live.