Yahweh Sisters

Weekends are for AGAPE love

2012-02-11T07:58:00.000-05:00

Agape is love which is of and from God, whose very nature is love itself.

AGAPE love.................... means self-sacrifice!

The Apostle John affirms this in 1 John 4:8: “God is love.” God does not merely love; He is love itself.

He loves the unlovable and the unlovely (us!)

In the same way, we are to love others sacrificially!

May this weekend be one of loving...............one not based on a feeling......but a determined act of the will, a joyful resolve to put the welfare of others above our own.

Blessings sweet friends,

all is well

Robbie

The Grace of the Cross

2012-02-08T10:21:00.000-05:00

Pondering these things in my heart in the wee hours of the morning.........before light breaks.
From the saints before us:

O My Savior,
I thank thee from the depths of my being
for thy wondrous grace and love
     in bearing my sin in thine own body on the tree.
May thy cross be to me
as the tree that sweetens my bitter Marahs,
as the rod that blossoms with life and beauty,
as the brazen serpent that calls forth the look of faith.
By thy cross CRUCIFY my every sin;
Use it to increase my intimacy with thyself;
Make it ground of all my comfort,
     the liveliness of all my duties,
     the sum of all thy gospel promises,
     the comfort of all my afflictions,
     the vigour of my love, thankfulness, graces,
     the very essence of my religion;
And by it give me that rest without rest,
the rest of ceaseless praise.

O MY LORD AND SAVIOR,
Thou hast also appointed a cross for me to take up and carry,
                                          a cross before thou givest me a crown.
Thou hast appointed it to be my portion,
but self-love hates it,
carnal reason is unreconciled to it;
without the grace of patience I cannot bear it,
                                                                   walk with it, profit by it.
O blessed cross, what mercies dost thou bring with thee!
Thou art only esteemed hateful by my rebel wills,
heavy because I shirk thy load.
Teach me, gracious Lord and Saviour,
that with my cross thou sendest promised grace
   so that I may bear it patiently,
that my cross is thy yoke which is easy,
        and thy burden which is light.

Why did you do it? Stay up there on that cross?
You our Creator...........took it all............ the sin of the world upon yourself for us your creation.
You put on skin to feel it..........to taste it..........to die......all for us!
The veil was torn from top to bottom..............but it is us your creation that continues trying to stitch that curtain back together to hang it between the Creator and us His creation!

You did it because you didn't want to be separated from us your creation............so the whole earth could be full of your Glory!
You washed away our sins with your blood that dripped that day on Calvary.
You removed the barrier and Satan has helped Religion put the curtain back up to keep us separated from you.
Religion has helped us think that you putting on flesh wasn't enough!
We "Christians," are the walking dead when in reality we are supposed to be ALIVE IN CHRIST!

When I truly think about what He did..........my breath catches in my throat and it's then that I want to fall to my knees and cry out.............."holy, holy, holy!"
I feel it in my whole body.........He loves us! He truly loves us!

Today is the day of remembering...........that He loves you............He loves me......and now is the moment that we can truly learn to LIVE! Live willing to allow ourselves to be poured out so He can pour in!

all of grace,
Robbie

Roses are red

2012-02-06T11:31:00.000-05:00

I count the petals falling...............it's on my way to cook dinner last night that I stop..... I count.
It's quiet falling. It's grace...............His grace that gently falls our way.
But am I focused? Focused on all the grace that so gently has landed on my path? Or am I focused on me...me....me.

Some days I fight to cling to my reality..............of the daily starting over and over again with the unmade beds the dishes piled high.......... the phone that never stops ringing.......... days that seem to be running together all the while I am murmuring.......... 24 hours is never enough!

The truth is what do I see when I look in the mirror?
Do I see another day of grace? Or more lines on my face..........Can beauty be purchased?
Isn't beauty supposed to be in the eye of the beholder?

We are His vessels waiting and needing to be filled with living waters..........the beauty is in the here and now. The beauty is the gift of growing older...........the grey hair and lines on my face....it is all a gift!
It is the gift of time.........time to grow into obedience.........to become living sacrifices.
I don't want to miss it...... the moment of being transformed..........into His likeness.
He is our beauty that was broken for you and for me! It isn't about the..........growing older but the chance to grow closer to the one who gave His all.

All the days to come I wish to be a womb for God.........for time is short...........I will pray to be a dwelling place for the most High King. Even when the world keeps me spinning I will whisper; "come dwell come dwell!"

And when I see my reflection again in the mirror it's not me that I see.............it's His grace He has allowed for another day!

Matthew 5:5;

You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.

all is well,
Robbie

the gifts in the now:

husband sitting close at church
warmer weather
coffee in the morning
microwave that is broke
the dishwasher handle falling to the floor
the youngest teen saying God laid something on her heart
the teens learning the power of His name when they are scared; JESUS
riding with the windows down in the old truck with the dog
growing older
more lines on my face
grey hair
realizing that this world is not my home
letting go of fear
embracing joy
counting blessings

Weekends are for praising Him

2012-02-03T07:59:00.000-05:00

May your weekend be one of praising the King,

Psalm 105

¹ Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done. ² Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.
³ Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
⁴ Look to the LORD and his strength;
seek his face always.

Praise is like a flower blooming..............it's in the moments of now. Breathing in grace and exhaling praises.

all of grace,
The Sisters

Humility

2012-02-01T10:45:00.000-05:00

God's grace is all around us............Am I quiet enough to hear it? See it? Feel it?
When I first heard the word "haughtiness," I had no idea what this word meant? I had been praying the long............seeking the face of God and I asked the Holy Spirit to reveal to me anything in my heart that I needed to ask for forgiveness for.............it was then I heard the word for the first time...."haughtiness." I had to google it to look up the meaning............and it said:

disdainfully proud; snobbish; scornfully arrogant; but at the end.........there it was in bold letters........."PRINCESS PRIDE."

Wow I thought me with my wretched self now I can add "princess pride."

Humility is what I seek...................maybe this is the start to seeing myself as I truly am............but with the door of humility beginning to swing wide open!

Is this the moment I have been praying for?................The one where I can release my grip and surrender my all?

But it is me with my fists clinched tight. Scared to release to the prayers murmured in the quiet.
Scared of the breaking.............the dying of self.

It's the dawn and it's me who fumbles through prayer. Feeling stiff neck and lost. Die to self I say it over and over again. But "the flesh is the strong," I scream............there is a war that is waging for my very own soul.

If I put on the Armor of God and wear humility then would I not be afraid to die?
Jesus was the meaning to humility when He allowed himself to be nailed to a cross.

Philippians 2:8

⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

Isaiah 66:2
² Has not my hand made all these things,
and so they came into being?”
declares the LORD.
“These are the ones I look on with favor:
those who are humble and contrite in spirit,
and who tremble at my word.

He made Himself the very least of these.........coming into a mess for the stentch of my sin and yours.
Could I humble myself just a little more............to die to self is to break yourself from pride.....or should I say........"princess pride."
He who washed the feet of His disciples...........showing the true meaning of humility..........and servant- hood. And in a striking demonstration of LOVE for His enemies when He washed the feet of Judas.

Because of the Cross we humans can understand HUMILITY......which must serve as a model for us all.

We must continue to bend............into the places that are messy where people are not the pretty and serve..........because we serve a Savior who came to be a servant!

Join me this week in learning to bend the lower...........because lower is where we just might see His face!

all is well,
Robbie

Jerusalem

2012-01-31T10:26:00.000-05:00

On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south....(Zechariah 14:4)

When God chose Abraham.............He made a covenant with him....God WILL NEVER break His covenant with Israel!

The tide is turning......................toward Israel!
We must PRAY daily for the peace of Jerusalem. This is the only city that we are to pray for that is MANDATED in the bible!

Psalm 122:6;
Pray for peace in Jerusalem. May all who love this city prosper.

Romans 10:1;

¹ Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.

By God's GRACE and MERCY........we have been grafted in.

Matthew 24:9;

⁹ “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.

No matter what Israel does she is condemned.........it is a double standard. They are constantly told:

"RESTRAIN!" While numerous bombs are being dropped daily on their schools, homes with innocent people being killed.

Genesis 12:3;
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

Haggai 2:4-9;

⁴ But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the LORD. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the LORD, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the LORD Almighty. ⁵ ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’

⁶ “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. ⁷ I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD Almighty. ⁸ ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the LORD Almighty. ⁹ ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the LORD Almighty.”

Pray to see through biblical eyes...........stop listening to the news and man look to the Word of God...........it is because of the Jews that God has blessed us with so much! Peace will come one-day to Israel and all of Israel will be saved! That is a fact!
There are some churches and pastors that preach the Church has taken the place of Israel.....THIS IS NOT TRUE......-that is called REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY!!! If you hear this in your church RUN!!!! The Church and Israel are SEPARATE...... The Church is us the Gentiles who were grafted in and we are the "Bride of Christ." Israel is from the seed of Abraham.........Israel is the WIFE OF GOD!!!!

We the church have to be in the world but not of it.

Join me will you in daily praying for this incredible place that God himself chose!

all is well,
Robbie

Please take the time to read this article; excellent explanation of what Replacement Theology truly is:

Replacement Theology
by Anonymous, 1989

There is a lot of confusion going around these days about God's
promises, even among our own ranks here at (unnamed organization).
I'd like to take this opportunity to dispel a little of the confusion.
There is a powerful movement afoot called Replacement Theology
which states that the church is Israel and the promises given to
Israel were primarily for the church. This movement is
incurring the wrath of God, as it increasingly condemns the
nation of Israel as illegitimate, which is natural for folks who
believe the church has replaced Israel. Even among those who
still hold to Israel to one degree or another, there seems to be
a propensity for yanking Old Testament promises out of the Bible
-- and, I might add, out of context -- and indiscriminately
applying them to modern church situations. The tendency is to
select those promises which fit church theology (like healing,
prosperity, victory) and ignore those which do not (like
punishment for rebellion, keeping of feasts, sacrifices). To
set the record straight: the church did not yet exist when
those promises were given, and they were not given to Israel as
a "type" of the church until the church should inherit them.
The Old Testament promises were given to Israel, and they apply
to Israel. Many of them ALSO apply to the church in a general
way, and many of them apply to all nations in a general way, and
many of them apply only to Israel. We have got to quit assuming
that just because some teacher of the Word says the Bible says
something is ours, that it is. We must understand the situation
and context in which the promises were given -- promises of
blessing and/or cursing, of redemption, et-cetera -- before we
can understand the promises themselves.
Let's take as an example 2 Chronicles 7:14. Most people today
are familiar with that verse, but unfortunately the vast
majority of the church in America seems to have gotten the idea
somewhere -- not from God -- that the promise is to America. It
most assuredly is not. Let us read the passage in its context
(2 Chronicles 7:11-20):
Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the
king's palace, and successfully completed all that
he had planned on doing in the house of the Lord and
in his palace. Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at
night and said to him, "I have heard your prayer,
and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of
sacrifice. If I shut up the heavens so that there
is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the
land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and
My people who are called by My Name [over whom My
Name is called] humble themselves and pray, and seek
My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will
hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and
will heal their land. Now My eyes shall be open and
My ears attentive the prayer of this place. For now
I have chosen and consecrated this house that My
Name may be there forever, and My eyes and My heart
will be there perpetually."
The context here is the completion and dedication of the temple
in Israel. Note God's promise concerning "this house".
Speaking to Israel, the Lord promised to forgive the nation and
heal the land if the nation would repent. The entire nation is
called "My people". Israel is called by God's Name. This
promise was NOT given to Japan, Albania, or the United States,
none of which is a nation "called by My Name". Unfortunately,
we in western society have twisted the meaning for our own
supposed benefit to allegedly say, "If My people which are
called by My Name (the Christians within the country) ..." But
it does not say that. Now the promise CAN apply to a nation
other than Israel in a general way: certainly if any nation
(America included) will repent, God will restore the nation and
forgive the sin and heal the land. The key is the distinction
between who is Israel and who is not. If the church is Israel,
then one can truly say, "If the believers will repent and pray,
I'll restore their land." But believers have already repented,
or else they wouldn't be believers! The confusion comes from
erroneously assuming the church is modern "spiritual Israel",
having replaced national Israel. It does not say "If the
Christians will pray and intercede and repent". Repent of what?
The believers are already the righteousness of God in Jesus, and
it's not for the righteousness of the believing 1% that America
will be judged, but for the sin of the wicked 99% who refuse to
repent. The promise concerns a NATION repenting, not God's
people WITHIN A NATION repenting and praying. We are the temple
of the Holy Spirit, it is true, but our repentance does not
nullify the justice and righteousness of God. He cannot leave
America unjudged and remain a righteous judge!
Elsewhere in the Bible we find the answer to how God deals with
a wicked nation where a few people are righteous. This is one
of those passages the modern Word of Faith and Kingdom Now
people like to avoid, because it pretty well debunks their
misinterpretation of 2 Chronicles 7:14. This is found in
Ezekiel 14:13-20, and it is one of those places which speaks of
all nations in general (starting with verse 21 -- not quoted
here -- the Lord starts to apply it directly to Israel):
"Son of man, if a country sins against Me by
committing unfaithfulness, and I stretch out My hand
against it, destroy its supply of bread, send famine
against it, and cut off from it both man and beast,
even though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job
were in its midst, by their own righteousness they
could only deliver themselves," declares the Lord
God. "If I were to cause wild beasts to pass
through the land, and they bereave of children, and
it became desolate so that no one would pass through
it because of the beasts, though these three men
were in its midst, as I live," declares the Lord
God, "they could not deliver either their sons or
their daughters. They alone would be delivered, but
the country would be desolate. Or if I should bring
a sword on that country and say, 'Let the sword pass
through the country and cut off man and beast from
it,' even though these three men were in its midst,
as I live," declares the Lord God, "they could not
deliver either their sons or their daughters, but
they alone would be delivered. Or if I should send
a plague against that country and pour out My wrath
in blood on it, to cut off man and beast from it,
even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in its midst,
as I live," declares the Lord God, "they could not
deliver either their son or their daughter. They
would deliver only themselves by their
righteousness."
Can our righteousness deliver America? What does God say about
it? The only people who will be delivered are the righteous,
and we've got to quit praying out of God's will and asking Him
to deliver the wicked, because He is a righteous and just God
and He will judge sin. The smart thing is to get your sin
judged on the cross so you're free of it and you don't get
judged yourself. We need to pray for people to get saved, and
for wisdom for our leaders, and whatever else the Word tells us
to do. But know this: God is about to judge this nation. It
is His will to do so, indeed, He MUST do so. It is NOT His will
that any perish, but that all be saved. Nevertheless, Scripture
is clear that God hates sin, and He will destroy the nation that
continues to sin. He will also leave a righteous remnant.
The next time you hear someone quoting 2 Chronicles 7:14 over
America and admonishing you to pray for restoration of America,
just remember God isn't going to restore America. God is
restoring Israel now, and human government is coming to an end,
because the Messiah is about to return as King of kings and Lord
of lords; and soon the Word will be fulfilled which says, "The
kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and
He shall reign forever and ever." Why should God put off
Messiah's return so Americans could enjoy a few more years of
materialism and debauchery? We need to get in on what God is
doing, not try to make Him conform to American Christianity and
an American Jesus.

Noise

2012-01-30T05:00:00.122-05:00

Indeed, obedience must be given with genuine good will, because God loves a cheerful giver.

If obedience is given with a bad will and with murmuring not only in words but even in bitterness of heart, then even though the command may be externally fulfilled it will not be accepted by God, for he can see the resistance in the heart of a murmurer. One who behaves in such a way not only fails to receive the reward of grace but actually incurs the punishment deserved by murmurers. Only repentance and reparation can save such a one from this punishment."

Benedict of Nursia

It's funny that silence is what I crave.........but even on my walks I hear bees humming......... dogs barking...... birds chirping even the plants are swaying to the rhythm of this world

Is it possible to hear with our world so full of noise everywhere?

Last night as I tried to sit in silence I hear the water running from the teens starting the shower...........it's 10pm and I feel so tired. Baseball is blarring on the television. I hear a radio from another teens room. Then another teen slams the refrigerator door for the 100th time. If silence is truly a miracle itself..........why is it so hard to have?

It's true I guess that the days of noise can be deafening and cause you to lose your way

The visions of my past of being silenced now by the redeeming blood of the "great I AM!"

As I lay on my bed at night it is me who closes my eyes and wishes I could climb into the lap of the Saviour............and sleep away with the wings of grace covering my ugly.

There are the days when I feel so small............because He is God that is everywhere. And who am I the women with unclean lips..........craving Silence which is wiser than Speaking.

There are days when the tongue whips words out the harsh and you wonder how you could have really said that.

It is then I think about the WORD himself............the one who is true, and pure who bent the lowest of them all........who kept himself the silent to take it all for us. Who is this God I have to ask myself?

The world is so full of noise but it is Him so full of truth. Yet He is indescribable.........with His outstretched hands........open and willing to take the pain of being nailed to a cross.......a cross He even carried on His back.......the one with no beginning and no end. With words being taunted at Him for hours but His lips never SPOKE stop because He was consumed with, " AGAPE" love for us that is incomprehensible.............it requires no WORDS for He is the WORD Himself!

Who is this God I have asked..............The one who carried it all for sinners........even when the sin was heavy, messy, and ugly. He never said a word..............but continued to carry the cross for us all.

God the light of the World..........who came only to save. The one who is the Word that surrendered His all for the ones whose mouths can't stop............ complaining........... gossiping................screaming "it's all about me."

Silence can offer up our embrace.

When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.(Proverbs 10:19)

He who bleed............for us all................who took darkness upon himself........only to give....... us the true meaning of LOVE.

Our God is love and love is God.

Want you join me in getting to know the WORD himself this year?

all is well,
Robbie

To Follow or not to follow?

2012-01-27T10:32:00.000-05:00

The day begins again.................I inhale and exhale hard..............wondering which way do I go in a world that has me spinning out of control lately?

I wake early in the wee hours of the morning to feed..............on the one true food that matters....."the word." But apparently I am continuing to miss it.................I fumble and stumble my way through ........hearing only what I want to hear.

Not wanting the fire to burn.................... through the layers of me.

Yet His grace..........circles me again and again. I grieve.........because it's me that continues to live........thirsty!

I see the well.............it's right in front of me...........but I clinch my lips the tight............WHY? I scream..............why want I drink the water of everlasting?

Maybe to drink is to follow....................on a path of the unknown. Maybe I am scared.........tired and weary.

¹⁷ As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17)

²¹ Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” ²² But at these words ^[a]he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property. (Mark 10:21-22)

What does it truly mean to follow Him?

Surrender I hear him whisper..................a life of surrender!

The surrender of our wants...............the surrender of the temporary things of this world. A heart transformation is needed.............before we can surrender our will for His will. Where the eternal things become our number one priority!

Sometimes life can be messy......and........dirty........... and God says it's OK because I came for the messy!

We need to feel the weight of the cross on our backs. Sometimes in this life we will have to taste suffering.............. rejection...........and things that are unpleasant.

Real followers taste it! Or should I say drink it and..............they are never thirsty again.

A true FOLLOWER surrenders his all...............and says not my will but yours Father.

Want you join me in this 21st century................letting it be all about FOLLOWING THE KING?

This world is not our home...............We are only passing through............we are merely sojourners. Abraham continued to live in temporary housing as He picked up his cross to FOLLOW Jesus..............He lived in a tent because he knew that the world he was living in was only temporary he was only passing through.

To FOLLOW Jesus is going to require us to look at this world as temporary............it's a daily sacrifice of dying to ourselves!

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Matthew 16:24)

We live in an upside down world................where up is really down...........and the lower we bend the closer we are to seeing His face! Make that cross heavy Father, we want to see your face!

A pledge by a late bible teacher..........RUSSELL KELLER:

He suggested that it would be a good idea to write out a brief document on a piece of paper, sign your name at the bottom, and make it a habit of recommitting yourself to it on a regular basis.

Having been born into the kingdom of God. I do hereby acknowledge that God's purchase of my life included all the rights and control of that life for all eternity.

I do further acknowledge that He has NOT guarunteed me to be free from pain or to have success or prosperity. He has not guaranteed me perfect health. He has not guaranteed me perfect parents. He has not guaranteed me perfect children. He has not guaranteed me the absence of pressures, trails, misunderstandings, or persecution.

What He has promised me is ETERNAL LIFE! What He has promised me is ABUNDANT LIFE. What He has promised me is LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, GENTLENESS, MEEKNESS, and SELF-CONTROL. He has given me all of Himself in exchange for the rights to my life.

Therefore I acknowledge this day the relinquishment of all my rights and expectations, and humbly ask Him by HIS GRACE to replace these with a GREATUL SPIRIT.......for whatever in His WISDOM He DEEMS to allow for my life.

What a difference our lives would be if we started from the very beginning of each day SURRENDERING full rights to our lives to Him!

We must pour out first to be filled!

But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy.

Philippians 2:17; NIV

all is well,

Robbie

Eye Protection

2012-01-25T10:26:00.000-05:00

Be careful little eyes what you see,

be careful little eyes what you see,

for the father up above is looking down in love,

oh be careful little eyes what you see.

Singing this song when I was young, taught me that I was responsible for what I did with my body.

Not only are we to guard our hearts, but our minds, our eyes, our ears. I feel like I would be better off living in a bubble.

Proverbs 4:23-27

" Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity, keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left, keep your foot from evil.

I rarely eat lunch in the break room at work. It is usually too busy to actually sit down and enjoy your lunch, watch a little TV, etc. But today was different, It was actually a pretty good day, one that included lunch in the break room.

I went to the cafeteria with a couple other nurses. We grabbed our lunch, and rushed back upstairs. Especially cause we could be called back into the unit at any time.

The TV was already on, half the time you cant find the remote and you just watch whatever is on.

Well of course it was a talk show- with every thing a Christian women should stay away from. I sat there- actually kinda entertained from the mess of their lives. There were prostitutes, pimps, their families, their friends. etc.

I have to admit that I did feel a little conviction, but who knew where the remote was and I wasn't the only one in the room.

So I sat there and laughed at these people air their dirty laundry all over day time TV.

I should be ashamed!!!

Some of the comments my coworkers expressed- should have made me blush, but it didn't. I sat right there and ate my lunch and participated in sin.

Then a 22 year old, Christian man- coworker- walked in. saw what was on the TV- actually heard the evil- heated up his lunch and walked out. He must have taken his lunch into the unit to eat.

Probably to get away from the sin.

I felt terrible- convicted. How can I be so weak. We are suppose to be an example to others, but why is it so hard.

I didn't say anything to him at first, I waited a week- then I apologised for staying and participating in that mess.

He actually thanked me- full understanding- and stated that he felt guilty for even staying to heat up his food. He was glad that I expressed by conviction. How lonely it is to walk with Jesus. We need to stick together and be the light to this dark and miserable world.

How could God use a 22 year old to witness to me- It should be the other way around. I am usually so quick to point out another who sins, when I should be on my knees worrying about myself

I know that we are human and are suppose to learn from our mistakes, but why is it so hard.

I did ask our father, Yahweh, for forgiveness. That I was sorry for being so weak. And prayed for strength.

I pray to be a witness - to show a Godly example- to show the love of Christ. I pray for another chance to be strong and be a witness to others.

In his service.

Amy

Teshuqah- hebrew for DESIRE

2012-01-23T11:07:00.000-05:00

(asking for grace for last weeks quietness............lots of head colds and teens with final exams that also consisted of shorter school days . Life has had me spinning a bit disoriented lately.)

In the winter, seeing a tree striped of its leaves, and considering that within a little time the leaves would be RENEWED, and after that the flowers and fruit appear, I received a high view of the PROVIDENCE and POWER of God.....................(The Practice of the Presence of God).....Brother Lawrence.

I thought my story.........was already written.......but it turns out there is always second chances!
Hiking 5 or 6 miles straight up a mountain wasn't my idea of fun!
Winter can be uncomfortable for some due to the ground being cursed.....bringing forth thorns and thistles.

When I hiked up that mountain in October at the Cove..............pouring my heart out like dirty water............wanting so badly to shed my dirty little secrets............I Him whisper to my heart......."rock!"

But I doubted...... did I really just hear that? "ROCK."
Me of so little faith!

Separation I scream.................from the old rock where I have been embedded so long!

Hosea 10:12

¹² Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the LORD,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.

God is Love...............Love is God!

( Agape)

means "love" (unconditional love)

John 13:34-35

³⁴ “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

My view laying on my back in front of the barren forest looking up!

I live the bare and barren................as a winter tree with wounds.............unprofitable........fit to be torn down and burnt!

I have no green shoots in me.......no fruit here I scream...............just old thorns and thistles!

It goes back to the days of Adam and Eve...................where they abandon their God-given role.
Where the Lord says to Cain before the first murder committed............"SINS DESIRE IS FOR YOU!" "You must RULE over it!"
He fails and so do we. Has our discontent with our lives permitted our own DESIRES to eat of the forbidden fruit?

(Yes we have all eaten the fruit of lies...................because of our trust in SELF.)

The trees start to sway to their own rhythm............of this world. Maybe they are exposing me for who I really am? What is buried deep I cry? It's me who is scared of my old wounds starting to bleed.

I lay for a while and listen..................to the wood-pecker that is knocking hard on a tree.

Is God knocking?............Knocking on the door of my heart and yours asking.........."Will you welcome me with Joy and Thanksgiving?"

Recreate in me a new heart...............harbouring nothing that would keep thy presence from me!

What's buried the deep can corrupt the heart and keep us from producing fruit!

Occupying our time with trivial things that change daily.

"Give ourselves up to God, with regard both to the things temporal and eternal, and seek SATISFACTION ONLY in the fulfilling of His will, whether He lead us by suffering or by consolation, for all would be equal to a soul truly resigned.......(SURRENDERED).-Brother Lawrence.

If I truly DESIRE to know God.........................then I have to be willing to surrender to God so He can break up the hard, barren ground in my spiritual life!

In Hosea......God caused them to DESIRE................ that LOVE (AGAPE); relationship with HIM.
He enabled them to see. Do we truly want to see?

His desire for all of us is to get back to our 1st love.........................."CHRIST."

Through grace my dear friends................we can surrender all.........and drink from the very water where we will never thirst again................drinking of the joy's........found only in HIS presence.

Join me will you?

all is well,

Robbie

so thankful;

for the fog on a cold Jan. morning

rain drops that keep on falling

giggling teens up-stairs

warmth by a fire place

candles burning bright

a new year that is bringing changes

a God who draws you near

the sound of water rushing strong in a creek bed

rocking chairs

clean bathrooms

a break from work

cleaning out closets

quiet mornings with the King

darkness

mirrors of reflections

desires that can change

simplicity

the word

Opportunities

2012-01-17T14:00:00.000-05:00

Before Jesus departed to his heavenly throne to take his position at the right hand of our Father, he spent time with his final eleven disciples- commanding them to " go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Matthew 28:19-20

If these were the last words spoken to his disciples, you know they were very important.

Acts 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Christ commanded us to tell others about him and promised us that he would give us the power to do so.

Also, No one can tell your story- telling others what Jesus has done for you is what he commanded us to do.

As an ICU nurse I have opportunities every day to tell others about Jesus- NO.... it is my obligation as a christain to tell others about Jesus. Do I want to save his Mercy and Grace and Love just for myself and my family?

I could tell you numerous stories about how christain nurses and doctors pray for and with their patients. It would take all day to tell every story.

I am reading a book now- Gray Matter. A book about a neuro-surgeon who prays with every patient before and after surgery. Regardless of how the surgery goes- he gives God the glory.

I held her hand as she held onto life. " Im so weak- I almost left this earth". After hearing that- I usually know that their time on this earth is short. There were a lot of people in her room, she was 90 years old, but still wanted everything done for her at this time. As I held her hand and looked up and down her arm for a vein- to start an IV in. I asked her- " Do you know Jesus". I pray for boldness at work, I wanted to scream it, but instead I whispered it. " Oh yes" she said. After that brief moment, the only thing she could say- was Jesus, Jesus. That is the sweetest name I know.

What a precious time. I want to yell out his name.

Use what time we have on earth- use the opportunities to tell others about Jesus. Talk about his goodness to others- to your friends. Tell them what he has done for you. And in everything give him the praise and glory, that he deserves.

In his service.

Amy

Weekends are for reaching and quietness

2012-01-13T09:10:00.000-05:00

All is quiet here this week...........except for the rain! The trees blowing with the rhythm of this world.
I am resolving to sit a spell in quietness.............reaching for God............remembering that to reach for God is to reach God!

May your weekend be one of reaching for Him even if it requires sitting in the uncomfortable stillness, committing to attempt placing yourself in the quietness of Him!

May all your weekend warm friends be one of reaching!

all is well,
robbie

Desire

2012-01-10T08:54:00.000-05:00

As the sun rises to meet the day I rummage through photo's from my trip to Israel!

As I look out the window this morning............the sun glistens through the trees and I watch the tree tops sway to their own rhythm. But it is me who feels a void.............my heart I left in Israel!

But I know these feelings I have for that Country is not of my own will........there is very little that I have chosen for myself. Because their is a God in heaven who is moving...........speaking and who still performs miracles today! He is the one who appoints my lot and determines my path. He himself has placed HIS desires in my heart; for the apple of his eye........."Israel."

Today was a; "Revelation," for me in my quiet time this morning.............God has been circling me with the same question for months: "Robbie, what do you truly desire?" For months I have been coming up with numerous answers: " to know Him more,.........to be more Christ-like,........to be His friend,...........to be a better Christian!!!

rev·e·la·tion

noun

the act of revealing or disclosing; disclosure.

something revealed or disclosed, especially a striking disclosure, as of something not before realized.

Theology .

God's disclosure of Himself and His will to His creatures.

an instance of such communication or disclosure.

something thus communicated or disclosed.

What I DESIRE................for myself I CANNOT attain, BUT.....what HE DESIRES in me HE can attain for me!

Maybe what we all need in 2012 is a REVELATION...........of the truth.........that because of our own flesh.........we DO NOT have the ABILITY to place God at the center of our life! God himself has to place himself there!

Maybe this day we could ask together.............with our hands held out OPEN.......for the gifts that He has for us. For Him to take our eyes and fix them upon HIM!

As the rain moves in and the sky turns grey............... it's me who whispers; "make this day a day of of obedience, a day of spiritual joy and peace.

And through each small death of our flesh........God perplexes His Kingdom forward.
Let us not be afraid when life seems the heavy because He is my father and yours.............we shall not be afraid!

all is well my sweet friends,
robbie

Weekends are for enjoying the brightness of the day

2012-01-07T09:02:00.000-05:00

     Let your where-abouts this weekend warm friends be about the LIGHT that never fades........ His light......let Him in.........open your blinds..............open your doors........open your hearts..........letting His light invade your home and your hearts!

     Let the SPIRIT........of Him who is the LIGHT of the world...........rule within your heart!

all of grace,
Robbie

Waiting on the Lord

2012-01-05T16:36:00.000-05:00

I watch my lab.................he is always WAITING................waiting for my husband to come home.

A real surrender is what I see.................when I cup his face in my hands it is then that I wonder......how? how can he simply wait all day long if necessary for us his humans to return?

It is us that God himself is asking our souls..............to practice..............WAITING.....on Him!

Psalm 25:4-5

English Standard Version (ESV)

⁴ Make me to know your ways, O LORD;
teach me your paths.
⁵ Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.

And so we wait...................................we wait for His guidance!

How hard it is to just WAIT on the Lord!

God is so interested in us that He longs......desires......(Eros); for us to be in His will...............and His love.

We are powerless to do the waiting on our own.......but we are no longer alone.............the Holy one has taken up residency in us..........Immanuel....."God with us."

It is me who prays mudane prayers all about me;.................but wait quietly before the Lord, pipe dreams I scream..........................and in His word He says to me:

Psalm 46:10

“Be still, and know that I am God;

It is all about surrender.......surrendering to the Divine and the keeping our eyes on Him!

Do we believe that He wants to be gracious?.........that He wants us to EROS.....HIM! Then waiting on Him would be considered pure JOY!

"My soul, WAIT thou only upon God!"

all of grace,

Robbie

What will 2012 bring?

2012-01-03T10:07:00.015-05:00

What is it that you desire?

The wind whips the hard through the night.............and it's me who wonders what will the new year bring?

The New Year does stir excitement within...........that maybe this thing called self can truly die!
Jesus who gave no thought to ease or pleasure or WORLDLY enrichment.............but filled His life with DOING..............FOR OTHERS.........always SELF-DENYING!

Winter is truly unfolding this day...........with a glimmer of hope that this year can be the year to know Him better.

2011- Was the year of learning to give thanks in every situation.............finding gratitude.- “eucharisteo."

EUCHARISTEO - - Greek Verb
MEANING:
To be grateful, feel thankful; give thanks
NUMBER OF TIMES USED IN THE BIBLE:
Used 39 times in Scripture in the following ways:
Give Thanks = 26 times
Thank = 12 times
Thankfulness = 1 time
EXAMPLE:
He that regardeth the day, regardeth [it] unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard [it]. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. Romans 14:6

God has been circling me for a while with the word.............."desire."
2012 will be my year of DESIRE..............desiring to know Him better.

greek word for desire= Eros --meaning a longing! I long to know Him better.
Longing only to seek the pleasure or desire of Christ!

Ask yourself today; "What is it that you desire?" (for 2012)

Standing at that cross-roads in life............which path will I take? Which path will you take?
The road less traveled is going to be steep..........one with bumps and bruises.
I want to connect with God.............no more half-hearted commitment!
PSALMS 42:1-2;
¹ As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.
² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?

I need Him................I desire that personal intimacy with Him......we are a living incompleteness.......a gap, and emptiness that longs.............for fulfillment!

So this year 2012 will be a year of prayer! Prayer leads to intimacy with God. That's how we will connect!

Over 75 million Christians go to church every Sunday.........falling into two main groups:
1) wanting a personal experience of God's presence or
2) to have a better understanding HOW to live the Christian life.

(Although over 75 million Christians are going to church less than 1/3 have an actual relationship or even DESIRE to have a relationship with Him!)

I need to KNOW Him............I can't settle for the feel good experience......the day will come when brokenness happens.....................pain...........even death and I can't rely on my feelings! I have to know Him in order to trust Him! And the only way to know him better is to spend time with Him.

Prayer is the door for knowing Him better!

Sometimes God will bring you to the door but He can't make you go through it................you have to step out on your own free will and MOVE forward! Your real encounter with God may behind that door! Prayer is your heart!!! Asking myself today; "What are the desires of my heart?"
I am tired of being the Israelites wandering in the wilderness............with trials and hardships that can literally kill me! He sat me in front of a dead forest..................He is telling me that I am in the wilderness..................where it is consistently....BARREN, DRY and DESOLATE. I am asking Him today; "how can I so infested with SELF fit into His plan?"

EROS............ I whisper over and over again.............wanting that DESIRE to seek Him with all my heart, soul and mind.

I look out the window and I see it........the sun glistening through the trees in the 20 degree weather.....and I wonder how........how do I take my eyes off of me and place them on Him? Trying harder is only putting hope in self.......being the better mama..........friend............sister and wife only comes from Him. From A daily EROS for more of Him. Peace cannot be found................because He is our perfect PEACE.

James 8:8a “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you”

Psalm 73:28 “But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge that I may tell of all your works.”

Romans 12:12 “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
Might this year for me EROS be the year that changes everything?

Draw near to HIM.............Desire HIM.......................prayer is an expression of who we are!
What you desire is who you will become...........and what you become is what you will leave behind for the next generation!

Want you join me?
Let this be your year of DESIRING more of Him!

all of grace,
Robbie

Storms for the Broken

2012-01-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

asking for your grace today; a quiet repost

God's Assuring Voice Sings Love Across The Storm.

"For God hath made me fruitful in the land of my affliction" (Gen. 41:52).
The summer showers are falling. The poet stands by the window watching them. They are beating and buffeting the earth with their fierce downpour. But the poet sees in his imaginings more than the showers which are falling before his eyes. He sees myriads of lovely flowers which shall be soon breaking forth from the watered earth, filling it with matchless beauty and fragrance. And so he sings:
(Hasn't Ann VosKamp taught us that emptiness does SING)

"It isn't raining rain for me, it's raining daffodils;
In every dimpling drop I see wild flowers upon the hills.
A cloud of gray engulfs the day, and overwhelms the town;
It isn't raining rain for me: it's raining roses down."

Perchance some one of God's chastened children is even now saying, "O God, it is raining hard for me tonight.
     "Testings are raining upon me which seem beyond my power to endure. Disappointments are raining fast, to the utter defeat of all my chosen plans. Bereavements are raining into my life which are making my shrinking heart quiver in its intensity of suffering. The rain of affliction is surely beating down upon my soul these days."
     Withal, friend, you are mistaken. It isn't raining rain for you. It's raining blessing. For, if you will but believe your Father's Word, under that beating rain are springing up spiritual flowers of such fragrance and beauty as never before grew in that storm less, unfastened life of yours.
     You indeed see the rain. But do you see also the flowers? You are pained by the testings. But God sees the sweet flower of faith which is up springing in your life under those very trials.
     You shrink from the suffering. But God sees the tender compassion for other sufferers which is finding birth in your soul.
     Your heart winces under the sore bereavement. But God sees the deepening and enriching which that sorrow has brought to you.
     It isn't raining afflictions for you. It is raining tenderness, love, compassion, patience, and a thousand other flowers and fruits of the blessed Spirit, which are bringing into your life such a spiritual enrichment as all the fullness of worldly prosperity and ease was never able to beget in your innermost soul." --J. M. McC.
(Devotional From Steams In The Desert).

I was visiting another blog the other day and she had posted this devotion as I read it I wept. It was then that I remembered that I have this same devotion book. ("Streams In The Desert,") I quickly flipped it open to the current date and read it aloud on my prayer bench. Amy keeps telling me to just sit and be still. But I continue to allow myself to be pulled in 80 different directions....Not stopping to just breath....... It is only after reading this beautiful devotion that I realize that maybe I am in a storm to be the broken!

Haven't we all been wounded? Sometimes by our own fleshing blood!
      Maybe even left...........with your heart split wide open.........where you actually do bleed the kind of blood that can't be replaced.....the kind that tears...........at you and spills the real you out on the floor.
Because out of the mouth the heart does speak.
The reaction that causes the fear to react.............and then it's the head that bows the low........and it is then that I am in the need...............the need for a saviour........a lifter of my head........by His grace alone!
Why isn't it enough what JESUS did for us on that cross?
How easily I am ensnared...........in the tangled web...........of LIFE'S lullabies.
It is the now the world (Babylon) in which I live.............no home-schooled teens here. We can barley mumble a prayer of thanksgiving out before the teens have taken their first bite out of their meal.
     The mission trips that are coming up fast...........the preparing............the leaders that keep the saying, "you will have a new child when they return!"
Pipe dreams I think when I feel disappointment that has pierced me the hard...........right through the heart.
But where is the forgiveness? The longer I bow the knees and hang the head down low.........is where I find I am tucked into the wings of pure grace.
Where is the grace that I so gladly take? Does it not apply to the ones who pierce my heart the hard?
If we are the given.........given the door of grace.......then shouldn't we be the first to open up our door of forgiveness?
What if we saw grace through His eyes?
     I am the broken mama with the broken girls......but do I really want to be the fixed? All these years I have tried to do the fixing myself.................is it because I am my own God? Is it the control that I so madly crave? The anger that has hurt much and little has been healed.........Is it that thy wounded self has open sores and when brushed up against it hurt others?
     But in all thy brokenness comes the whisper; " Thy Redeemer Lives," He has taken His own body and broken it for us the broken: and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; (1 Cor. 11:24)
     By His wounds we are healed. It is by our brokenness that God himself does His best work.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18)
     Knowing that I am the broken but also the called............the called to mimic the life of Jesus....so I give a little more.................I pour out even more and forgiveness...............forgiveness is given the ever more.
Because the broken will see healing.........and be showered upon by our redeemer who lives.

by grace alone,
Robbie

thankful today for;
long walks with the hubby
for the sunlight that comes across the tile floor
the purple butterfly that stayed with me on my walk
the cooler temperatures
the wind blowing through the trees
for a God who really does answer prayers
for a changed heart
for the teens who always fight
for the wet bathing suits in the floor

Mercy and Grace----New Years

2011-12-31T17:31:00.000-05:00

All sacred breaths that are gone........................although I want to inhale them back they have disappeared into the memory box of the past.

My warm friends, may 2012 be one of simplicity and stillness........ knowing that He is God!

Remembering: Jeremiah 29;11.........."For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord,"
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

all of grace,
Robbie

Weekends are for becoming more Christ like;

2011-12-30T10:30:00.001-05:00

May all your where-abouts this weekend warm friends.........be one of imitating more of HIM!

"For nothing can so make a person an imitator of Christ as caring for his neighbors."
(Fourth-Century preacher....John Chrysostom)

Christmas is not over...............although a short season it runs from December 25- Jan 5. Let us continue to celebrate the INCARNATION OF CHRIST!

(Incarnation literally means embodied in flesh or taking on flesh)

God himself chose........a lowly barn to be born in.....to be born of flesh........into this messy life!
He who took on flesh............is willing...........to meet you and me right in the middle of our mess!

all of grace,
Robbie

The Battle- Win or Lose?

2011-12-29T09:41:00.001-05:00

      Our BATTLES ARE FIRST WON OR LOST.......in the secret places of our will in God's presence, never in full view of the world. The Spirit of God seizes me and I am compelled to get alone with God and fight the battle before Him. Until I do this, I will LOSE every-time. The battle may take one minute or one year, but that will depend on ME, not GOD. However long it takes, I must wrestle with it alone before God, and I must resolve to go through the hell of renunciation or rejection before Him. Nothing has any power over someone who has fought the battle before God and WON there!

     I should never say, "I will wait until I get into difficult circumstances and then I will put God to the test." Trying to do that will not work. I must first get the issue settled between God and myself in the secret places of my soul, where no one else can interfere. Then I can go ahead and knowing with certainty that the battle is won. Lose it there, and calamity, disaster, and defeat before the world are as sure as the laws of God. The reason the battle is lost is that I fight it first in the external world. Get ALONE WITH GOD.......do battle before Him, and settle the matter once and for all.

      In dealing with other people, our stance should always be to drive them toward making a decision of their will. That is how SURRENDERING to God begins!!!!!!! Not often, but every once in a while, God brings us to a major turning point---a great crossroads in our life. From that point we either go toward a more and more slow, lazy, and useless Christian life, or we become more and more on fire, giving our utmost for His highest---- our best for His glory.

This beautiful devotion was taken from:
"My UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST; by Oswald Chambers

I am at this cross- road.............sick of being spiritually lazy......praying to be on fire! Will you join me?

all of grace,
Robbie

Surrender

2011-12-28T11:37:00.019-05:00

That thing that weighs you down.........straps you.................entraps you. Does it really matter?
Does anything really matter? Life can strip you of you.........it can twist you into knots of pain.
Everything can be stripped away and tossed into the fire..........so HOW? How do I allow God to use my talents that He has given me to perplex His kingdom forward?

Be careful of making friends with the Holy Spirit because He will ask you to die!!!!!

We must learn to let go...............letting go of self desires............and pursue God's purpose. Letting go of control...............trusting.
Just as God let go of His son for us, we need to totally live in absolute surrender.

I feel like I am asleep......................day sleeping that is. I am standing in the kitchen this morning.........trying to sort out my to do list before the day begins. With Christmas behind us I am trying to remember to just breath.

Wanting to know how...........to weave through the tangled mess of all the Christmas decorations..........and the tangled mess that life can sometimes weave. It is then that I remember............that the coming of Christ was about God himself entering.........................into the mess of this world, from the humble beginnings in a manger to the painful death of; "the cross."

God surrendered............his son.
Jesus surrendered ...............his life.
What is it that have I surrendered?

It is today that I have to truly ask myself....................do I really want to surrender my all?
Because if I DO REALLY want to SURRENDER.........my all then I have to pick up my cross and follow him?
Maybe it is me that is afraid of being inconvenienced.......... that total surrender and...........reckless abandonment to the King would bring.
Maybe I ENJOY feeding my flesh!
I have thought about the life changes that would need to take place to follow God and it's then that I am overwhelmed..........as I toss and turned last night in my bed with all these thoughts it simply boiled down to; "inconvenience." The thought of being inconvenienced scares me. I say I want more of God but do I really? I pray and I ask God what is it that you have for me? And the verse that continues to resurface over and over again:

Jeremiah 29:11

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

The only reason that I can think of for not seeking God with all my heart, soul and mind is purely selfish reasons.

I often wonder when the testing will come...............not if the testing will come but WHEN the testing will come..................and He will whisper..........."will you..............Robbie..........sacrifice it all for me?"
I want so badly to say yes.............I scream and I cry out remember that I am made from dust!

Luke 22:31-32;

³¹ “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. ³² But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

Not if you turn back but WHEN..........

Romans 7: 19-25;
For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
²¹ So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature^[d] a slave to the law of sin.

So yesterday I make that same familiar trek into the hospital with a new attitude...........a smile as big as my face...............walking through the halls of some of the sickest patients.........kissing foreheads........wiping up vomit.............wiping up feces...............and praising the King for an opportunity to see people through His eyes. It is in that moment that I see she is still in the ICU over 30 days now; the complete stranger that I love....................the 24 year girl who turned 25 yesterday. I am not prepared for the sight that meets the eyes............she is pale and smaller...........she is still unable to actually speak or eat. Her vocal cords have continued to remain paralyzed. So they gave her a trach and it leaks thick white secretions non-stop. ............I actually spend a few moments in time marveling...........that she is alive! She is weak but smiles a faint kind of smile as she reaches for my face.
She hasn't been able to eat in months............so she mouths the words to me that today is the day that they place a permanent feeding tube and do I think that is OK?
I stare right into her eyes for a long moment..........it is then that I see Him in her............bruised...........broken...........and although I want to fix her I know I can't.......but I tell her that we are; "children of the most high God!" And although we must share in His suffering we also get to share in His Glory! So we must call out to Him and lay everything at His feet.
Tears stream down both of our faces and I tell her PRAISE HIM anyway!!!!!! Praise Him through all of this. You are alive and He knows the plans He has for you!!!! Plans for a future and plans not to harm you!!!!
He is still a God of miracles today!!!!! A God that became one of us so He could feel our pain and taste our death............HE LOVED!

John 3:16

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

I am asking myself today and everyday......................"How often Lord...........How often I have neglected to do for the least of these?"

You see this young woman.........brain tumor and all is a child of the most High King........and He will stop at nothing to go and retrieve the one lost sheep! Pray for your eyes to be the opened..........to see through His eyes.

Life is busy and we can become so infested with ourselves...........but let us not forget that we were created to LOVE and...........God is LOVE............and if we surrender our will for HIS then it is at that moment that we become most Christ like!!!! Join me will you on this scary but amazing ride? For we are the BODY of CHRIST! Don't you want to see and feel what He feels?

all of grace,

Robbie

so grateful to the gifts that keep on coming; sending my praises to the King;

for the sunshine this morning
the cold crisp air
sap on the hardwoods from the real Christmas tree
a new season
the seal of God
kindness
mason jars
sweet tea
homemade banana bread
chocolate chip pancakes
warmth in front of a fire
squeezing hands in prayer before meal
early Christmas Eve service at church
remembering the birth of our Savior
candle light flickering into the night
curling up with a good book while teens cuddle close watching a movie

The Prayer of Love

2011-12-26T13:34:00.000-05:00

Gracious Lord,
Thy name is love,
in love receive my prayer.

My sins are more than the wide sea's sand,
but where sin abounds, there is grace more abundant.
Look to the cross of thy beloved Son,
and view the preciousness of his atoning blood;
Listen to his never-failing intercession,
and whisper to my heart, "Thy sins are forgiven,
be of good cheer, lie down in peace."
Grace cataracts from heaven and flows for ever,
and mercy never wearies in bestowing benefits.
Grant me more and more to prize the privilege of prayer,

to come to thee as a sin-soiled sinner,
to find pardon in thee,
to converse with thee;
to know thee in prayer as
the path in which my feet tread,
the latch upon the door of my lips,
the light that shines through my eyes,
the music of my ears,
the marrow of my understanding,
the strenght of my will,
the power of my affection,
the sweetness of my memory.

May the matter of my prayer be always wise, humble, submissive, obedient, scriptural, Christ-like.
Give me unwavering faith that supplications are never in vain,
that if I seem not to obtain my petitions
I shall have larger, richer answers,
surpassing all that I ask or think.
Unsought, thou hast given me the greatest gift,
the person of thy Son,
and in him thou wilt give me all I need.

the cry of my heart this morning; from the prayer book of the saints before us;
"The Valley of Vision"

asking for grace these next few days while Amy and I are working in the ICU's;
all of grace,
Robbie

The Church of all Nations- Jerusalem

2011-12-21T09:51:00.033-05:00

(Re- posting some pictures this holiday season with information from our trip to Israel................longing to go back to a place that I feel is truly a part of me);

The Catholic church enshrines a section of stone in the Garden of Gethsemane that is believed to be where Jesus prayed on the night of his arrest (Matthew 26:36).

Inside, the symbols of each country that contributed to the church are incorporated into the inlaid gold ceilings of each of 12 cupolas. The 12 cupolas rest on six monolithic pillars.

The domed roof, thick pillars, and floor mosaic give the church a Byzantine appearance

The front of the church features a colorful facade supported by a row of pillars. The mosaic above the entrance depicts Christ as the link between God and humanity

The Church of All Nations, officially named the Basilica of the Agony, is located at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem next to the Garden of Gethsemane.

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.

Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

--Matthew 26:36-39

History

The modern church stands on the foundations of two ancient churches: a 4th-century Byzantine basilica, destroyed by an earthquake in 746 and a 12th-century Crusader chapel, which was abandoned in 1345.
The Basilica of the Agony was built from 1919-24 with funding from 12 different countries, which gave it its nickname: "the Church of All Nations."

The architect of the building was Antonio Barluzzi, who also designed the nearby Dominus Flevit Church.

The basilica's three aisles culminate in three apses at the east end, which are decorated with mosaics depicting biblical events in the Garden of Gethsemane. In the center, the high altar overlooks a large slab of rock, which is said to be the very rock on which Jesus prayed in agony on the night of his betrayal.
The Church of All Nations is run by the Franciscans, but an open altar in the garden is used by the Anglican community on Maundy Thursday (the day before Good Friday).

all of grace,

Robbie

"God with us"

2011-12-21T06:39:00.000-05:00

"All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel-

which means, God with us." Matthew 1:22-23

God with us-

One of God's promises to us- is that he will never leave us nor forsake us.

Clarence lay there in his ICU bed, dying. There was nothing more that we- the medical team could do. His family was on their way. We were not sure if they would make it in time. I wish that I could say that he was not in pain, but he was. I wish that I could say that his death was peaceful, but it wasn't.

He did suffer before the end. At one point- the turning point of the end- I looked straight into his eyes and said- You are very sick and there is nothing more that we can do. Clarence, you are dying. After a brief silence, I asked him if he knew Jesus. He quickly said yes- he changed after that point. No more did he cry out just in pain- he cried out for Jesus. Begging Jesus to help him.

As the end came closer- several of us had gathered around the bed- his family still not there yet. He begin to say over and over again- God is with me.... God is with me.... I silently prayed for him- asking God to forgive any sins that he may have and to be with him and keep him comfortable. Over and Over.... " God is with me".

I felt God in his room- I felt- protected- like we were in a glass bubble- one that could never pop. It is hard to explain, unless you have been with someone dying. He was dying, but only to live in eternity with our savior.

Clarence- you are going to be spending Christmas with Jesus this year. The one who made it possible for all of us. There was a peace in that room at that moment. A peace a calmness. His nurse cradled his head in her arms. Minutes before he took his last breath, his family arrived. They were able to be with him for his last minutes on this earth. There was not a dry eye in the room.

We were in the room as his soul left his earthly body and rose to be with our king. His last words on this earth were... God is with me. I thought about the word- Immanuel- God with us. He came over 2000 years ago to be with us and he is keeping his promise- as Clarence said just minutes before taking his last breath- God is with me.

In His Service,

Amy

Christmas is coming

2011-12-20T11:21:00.000-05:00

There is something about the air this season.................it is turning...........bitter and cold.

The wind of this season has hit me hard.

I feel it and I see it...........our hearts in this house are not the ready for Christmas!

We are the running...............the spending.............the decorating. But what about our hearts?

Isn't this the time of year that we should be preparing our hearts?

As I drive down the roads............... I have never seen such lights...........Christmas lights. The beauty of them twinkling into the dark hours of the night. But have we missed it? Missed it in this hustle and bustle of the season? Have we missed the true meaning of Christmas?

It seems easier for us to decorate our homes than to open our hearts to God?

As I walk through the hospital halls I can see it......................even taste it.........the pain of grief!

And yet I have to ask myself, "What is the true meaning of Christmas?"

I have wasted too many moments with the frustrations of this life. So I ask myself today...............what have I done to open my heart up for Christ to come in?

To rid me of stinking self...........knowing the way up is down!

There is still time.............only a few more days......... to slow down and be ready........ready for His coming.

And the truest gift we can give this season is to surrender...........surrender our lives for the opening of our hearts to Christ so we will be ready when HE returns!

Are you ready? He is coming!

Joel 2:1 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand--

all of grace,

Robbie

Jewels

2011-12-19T10:13:00.003-05:00

The day............ Julie stepped off this earth into eternity...............I was running around crazy getting ready for a Christmas program at church. Funny how the pain of life can sometimes stop you right in your tracks.

And what is growing without hurting?

What is pain without grieving?

It was the morning when I didn't want to wake to pray that husband said the words I never wanted to hear. One of your high-school friends was killed yesterday.
But I hadn't known because the world that is spinning has been spinning me a bit disoriented lately.

I look at him as the tears swell and tell him; " I don't know how to pray anymore."
And this thing called growing in HIM doesn't shield you from that.
Sometimes I want to step off.........run away to somewhere far......far......away....where death is no longer and good people don't have to die.
I put my feet on the ground not knowing what to do............I walk to the kitchen...........there is trash over-flowing.........dishes piled in the sink, laundry on the floor.
One of the teens slam the front door as she is leaving and it is me who is seeing the filth of my sins. Who am I? I scream.............me a wretched woman with unclean lips who has had a story book life. But not Julie...............she has never had a story book life!
It is then that I wonder why on Earth I allow the things that annoy me to sacrifice my own happiness?

I think about Julie finally being whole again..............dancing with her Savior. It is now that I realize how I wish I would have lived my life so different. Not wanting to lose any more moments that matter.
Not wanting to continue to RUSH around my day not even noticing that things that truly matter.
If Julie could speak to us now I have a feeling she would say to us all; "don't miss it......don't miss the mundane things in the everyday life that God gives us. Stop, smell, and notice the gifts that God gives us everyday.........the sun rising in the morning glistening through the trees..........the leaves falling in the winter............the flowers blooming in the Spring!" She would want us to WAKE up to the blessings in our lives.....and to thank God for them in the moment in this now. Don't waste another moment in this life letting the things of this world still our joy.

John 10:10

¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

My heart breaks for a friend who words of wisdom were so easily at my finger tips but now are gone...........and it us the living that will continue on in a world that continues to spin and people continue to hurt.............but where we can still have HOPE. So when the grief of this world gets to us I feel like I know what Julie would say............."breath and say His name Immanuel because you are never alone so you never have to be afraid!"

Matthew 1:23
²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”^[a] (which means “God with us”).

There will be an ache..........a haunting remembrance of a girl who stood by her faith who gave us all direction by her wisdom. Rest easy my friend you are seeing His face just a little ahead of the rest of us.
She has stepped out of our dark world into the Light............to a God in heaven who loves.
He LOVED the world so much He GAVE................his only SON for us.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.(John 3:16)

;weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. (Psalm 30:5)

all of grace,
Robbie

Prayer Room

2011-12-14T08:00:00.002-05:00

Prayer Room at the Cove

The only thing that keeps me from prayer is me. It's Wednesday and Monday almost destroyed me. I left the house Monday at 6am. I didn't come home until 930pm. I feel no joy today with the everything being completely drained from me. Sometimes I wonder; "is this it Lord?"

I want to stop and pray but I CAN'T!

I rolled over this morning and pretended I was too tired.

I have told Him before that I live in Babylon...........................and he gently whispers again; " so did Daniel."

So how did he do it stop three times to pray?

There is always one more crumb to wipe up........ and the piles of laundry that continue to grow and I can't help myself I don't know how to slow down and just breath.

And all the while it is my soul that is starving.

I am too busy with self!

The sun is shining through the coldness this morning and it's only my "excuses," that keep from the King.

It is me who claims to want to know Him............so why is it that I consider me and my agenda more important?

He commands that we grow to a stillness............and know that He is God!

It's time to ask myself; "Do I really want to know Jesus?"

Remembering the way up is down.......It 's time to bow the low and pour out my heart like dirty water.

It's the inner washing that I need....................to step out of this world into the quietness of Him.

After all doesn't Christ dwell in a house of prayer? (Luke 19:46)

“Now when Daniel… he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” -Daniel 6:10

This is transformation! Kneeling three times a day not to ask but to praise. This is where we find refuge away from a lost World that is spinning.

IT'S A CHOICE!!! You and I can choose to STOP, to kneel and pray. It a choice to stop letting LIFE rule us. PRAYER takes our eyes off of us and puts our eyes on the one true thing that matters....."Christ!"

To live in this moment is a choice............Want you make it boldly with me today?

I am choosing to stop and sing praises to the King.

all of grace,

Robbie

Praising Him for all things big and small:

-the Christmas tree that looks like it belongs at South Park Mall

date night with hubby

Lights of Festival at my church

teens giggling into the wee hours of the morning

the laundry that is over-flowing

bare trees

cold crisp mornings

stillness in the darkness

seeing through His eyes

the longing for simplicity

the gift of eternity

Weekends are for pouring your heart out

2011-12-10T08:20:00.000-05:00

I open the washing machine door to a clank, clank..........it is a quarter.......then I see a empty candy wrapper, three balloons. I gather all that has come out in the wash!

It's steady rhythm going around and around...............washing away the dirt of life.

May your weekend be one of asking.........to be washed in His blood.

Pour out your heart this weekend like dirty water.

all of grace,
Robbie

Love

2011-12-09T10:05:00.001-05:00

Today I have loved...........complete strangers!
I am open now.........to the heaviness......of life.
I am infested...........with a cult of self! But wanting to be more; "Christ Like!"
My own thoughts exploding with possibilities.......of yearning to make a difference in the world.

The weight of it all pushes me down............and it's He that whispers......."I have entrusted you with much." So much will be demanded.

I seriously think about surrender.........but I am not sure if it is possible.
MOVE on I hear him whisper.............move forward.
It's in the early dawn I just want to lay back down and pull the covers over my head. Visions dance of a large white sheet flapping in the wind...............with me screaming.........."I give up............I surrender!"
At the end of a long two days at work I am forever changed.

She's 24................and she has two kids............3 and 5. They thought she had a vertigo issue so they gave her medicine. But instead it's a tumor the kind with fingers............growing into her brain stem.

I nuzzled my face into her neck. The surgery is today and she could die.
I kiss her forehead and rub her back. I tell her of a Jesus who saves..............and she begs me not to leave her.
Her speech is garbled and it's hard to understand................the tumor is pushing hard on the brain stem.
Her mouth starts to droop mimicking a stroke victim all the while the pain is starting to spiral out of control.
Just when I think it couldn't get any worse she goes blind and now her world is black. She can't see any of us anymore and it is then that she looses it.
Jesus I whisper......help her. I murmur prayer over her and nothing really comes so we all just cry.
Why me? I scream. But I do it anyway because; God is Love and Love is God!
We are filled so we can spill out................His love! Does it hurt this bad because we love? Is this seeing people through His eyes? The scales are starting to fall from my very own eyes. I am scared and unsure if I truly want to see.

I have been blessed in so many ways.............and it is at this moment I have been chosen to endure the pain...............the pain of feeling love for a complete stranger and feeling scared for her as if she was my own child.
Some days my vision is blurred from other's pain.............and it is then that I forget to find the gratitude in everything..... that every moment is from Him......if only I could see...... (maybe it's me who is choosing not to see.)

Tomorrow or next week I will forget...........someone else will come through that hospital hurting, maybe dying. I will struggle to find the right words to encourage.
The hospital can be a place where somehow the trauma of people's past come back to haunt them.....but I tell them to fight to hold on to the goodness of God. God is here in this mess.......and He knows pain and suffering! He did it for us.

Life can be messy at times and for some reason through it all Jesus is there. Showing His goodness in our trials of life. If we would just look up keeping our eyes on Him through it all.

He who lived only to die!
Could I ? Could you? Live only to die to self? To spill out His LOVE?
He died for you and for me? Can we not spend a little of ourselves on others this Holiday season?
The more you stretch..........yourself for others.........for complete strangers is where you will see His face!
all of grace,
Robbie

Extreme Humility

2011-12-06T10:17:00.000-05:00

Philippians 2 5-11

" Your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ. Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing,taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus Christ every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

As I rush - As I roll into my workplace on two wheels- to punch in - to swipe my badge. I look again at the time I punched in. 0650- late again. What is that showing my co-workers? I love to sleep and that extra 15 minutes feels so good- but so does sin for a time.

I was so blessed by God- for him to use me as a critical care nurse. Do you know how many lives I touch a day- or could touch a day? Rolling in on two wheels is not what God expects from me.

He expects me to apply the example of Jesus Christ's servant hood at work.

I am in management in the 20 bed CCU where I work. I rush in - either right on time- or late. I may not say " hello" to all the staff each day. I spend extra time with the ones that " interest me". I'm trying to be honest! I may see some struggle with their work assignments- sometimes I help- sometimes I don't. Is this why God put me here? No - he didn't- He put me here to be an example to others of Christ's love for us.

Our Job here on earth- which is not our home- is to show the love of Jesus to others. To make a difference. To show humility and compassion. To show the Love - the Love that Jesus so freely shows to us.

Philippians 2: 1-4

" If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing our of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also the interest of others."

Show alittle joy today- let others see what Jesus is all about. Not a grumpy, miserable, and unhappy person. If nothing else- show joy for having a job- show joy for our salvation.

God is good-

Show Humility today-

Live up to what we have already attained- external life with Jesus!!!!!!!!!!

Rejoice always- even at work!

Show the love of Christ today.

Amy

"Love thy neighbor as yourself."

2011-12-05T11:04:00.001-05:00

So our theme of our teen bible study is to; "save a life." Most of my bible study girls are seniors and will be graduating from high- school this spring. They will be going out into the real world. It weighs heavy on my heart that this; "next generation,"..........get that they can make a difference. One girl did; because she was simply OPEN........... to God's will in her life.

So this Christmas instead of buying gifts for my girls I am buying gifts that change the world one person at a time!

When you buy one of these necklaces or books it feeds hungry children in Uganda!
The necklaces also employ a hard-working woman in Uganda. Keeping her from turning to prostitution, or digging through the trash or turning to alcohol to comfort the hunger pains.

"I have seen the Vision and for self I cannot live;
Life is less than worthless till my all I give."
Oswald J. Smith

We've a story to tell to the Nations;

We've a story to tell to the nations,
That shall turn their hearts to the right,
A story of truth and mercy,
A story of peace and light,
A story of peace and light.

Chorus:
For the darkness shall turn to dawning,
And the dawning to noonday bright,
And Christ's great kingdom shall come on earth,
The kingdom of love and light.

We've a song to be sung to the nations,
That shall lift their hearts to the Lord,
A song that shall conquer evil,
And shatter the spear and sword,
and shatter the spear and sword.

We've a message to give to the nations,
That the Lord who reigneth above
Hath sent us His Son to save us,
And show us that God is love,
And show us that God is love.

We've a Savior to show to the nations,
Who the path of sorrow hath trod,
That all of the world's great peoples
May come to the truth of God,
May come to the truth of God.

Chorus:
For the darkness shall turn to dawning,
And the dawning to noonday bright,
And Christ's great kingdom shall come on earth,
The Kingdom of love and light.

How will we ever learn our destiny when we have so little identification with God's destiny for other nations?

God has given us plenty in this world to eat...............we are the distributors.............there is nothing wrong with the Creator................it is us the distributors that is the problem.
Our hearts bleed for the hungry but we do the nothing. We whine, about our lives and how we don't know our purpose in life. But it is all in the bible........"to love your neighbor as yourself," as Kisses from Katie said; "I don't want to be hungry.......so I don't want my neighbor to be hungry!"
We are blind and cannot see.........or maybe we chose to ignore the hungry in this world.
Are we praying only, "self absorbed prayers?" We have been chosen for such a time as this! .......what we do here will change our destiny!

Try praying:
"Lord, how do you want my life to fit into your plan for my times?" ( One girl did pray this and it is changing the world!)

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Jesus Christ (Matthew 6:21)

100 percent of absolutely everything in our lives belongs to God!
Every believer is called to "full-time ministry.

"Though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them."
Psalm 62:10

Matthew 25:35-36;

³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

When we stand face to face to the King what is it that He will say? Will He say; "well done, my good and faithful servants?"

The one thing I know for certain when we stand before our almighty, holy and amazing Lord, we will be totally aware of the fact that our self-efforts were nothing but filthy rags.
(Isaiah 64:6)

Take some time today and pray.........picture yourself standing before our King. God sees our hearts!
God's number one focus is LOVE! He is compassion.

To be like Christ requires us to see suffering, hunger, pain.
God loves the world! The world- shaped life is the cross shaped life!

We can't change the whole world at once but we can change the world one person at a time!
Join me.....will you?

All profits from Amazima's jewelry sales support the feeding of 1,600 starving children.

When you purchase a gift this season...............think of a gift that will keep on giving!
Think about a gift that would help create jobs, or feed the hungry!

Think about it..............."What does Jesus really want for His birthday?" Do we or our own children really need more things?
www.amazima.org

all of grace,
Robbie

Advent

2011-12-02T09:08:00.000-05:00

Laying on the word of God!!!!

Waiting is not something that comes easy. Did you know that a Christian's life is supposed to be filled with waiting? In a world that is spinning out of control I sit in the dark this morning and I try it.....I wait! I am longing to know Him more this season. I am wanting to teach the girls the fullness of the value and meaning of the mystery of Christmas!

It starts in the wee hours of the darkness.................that longing...........that nudge to "come away with me." So I struggle...........but I step out of the warmness of the sheets into the cold dark floors and grab my bible and a pen. It's my heart that I want changed. "A transformation!"

It's today that I think about Mary and the struggles she had. She had to ride that donkey for days with a swollen belly that was carrying the KING OF KINGS! She recognized His presence in her. She BELIEVED!

We live in a world pregnant with HOPE! Our waiting is not passive but a active waiting.

ADVENT = "the coming."

We celebrate the coming of the Christ child and what God has already done. But we live life waiting for His return. With the eyes of our hearts seeing, learning, and praying.

I wonder is it dangerous to always live in comfort?

Jesus knew suffering and pain.

I reach out to those who are lying in a hospital bed dying............and I think; "Christmas is coming and people everywhere...............God's people will know suffering and pain."

Longing to know Him is not enough this season..................He is asking each of us to stretch ourselves a little more. Having a heart transplant is painful...........it takes time to heal. But the great Physician is working overtime................souls are at stake.

This season................. I am learning even when life doesn't make sense I am going to trust HIM!

As I walk through the hospital and life seems so unfair with people dying alone...............children losing their parents.........parents losing a child and I realize it is because we live in a broken world.

I ask myself why did he allow himself to die like that for all of us? The answer is simple; because of LOVE the one word that most of us can never truly comprehend. Our God who put on skin who was born and died all for us. Who chose to taste the pain of death and all it's ugliness. Just for us.

Beauty, love and pain surround us all this season.....all of them from Him. And through it all it's me that longs for those quite moments away from everyone to sit in His presence this season. Begging and pleading for me to die to self. Wanting a transformation this advent season. Learning to slow the pace and wait.

Maranatha! ("Our Lord, Come!)

all of grace,

Robbie

God is the Gift this Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T08:37:00.002-05:00

Ephesians 5:20

²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is to ponder.............shouldn't everyday be Thanksgiving?

As I prepared to host Thanksgiving at my house with the changing of sheets, the scrubbing of bathrooms, the cleaning out refrigerators, tripping over dogs toys, the kids screaming their hungry, husband asking me questions............. my head was spinning me a bit disoriented....................but isn't that the time to give thanks?

Life is pounding hard against me.........a test........not enough hours in the day.

I grab hold of the vacuum cleaner in front of me and it is resentment that traps me.

Four tweens.............17, 16, 14 and 12............who don't lift a finger.

Where is my gratitude? In this mundane living of this race we call life.

Jeremiah 29:11

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Even in the ordinary days of our life..................He has plans for us!

I set out their journals again............encouraging the tweens to join in.

We have to train them to leave their mark of gratitude.

Proverbs 22:6

Start children off on the way they should go,
and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

When we give thanks in everything the good the bad and the ugly..... it turns our eyes towards the King. Being changed is the name of the game. Transformation of the heart is what we need!

I ask myself today........."couldn't everyday be Thanksgiving?"

I scurry to find my gratitude journal.........why did I lose my way?

I start by reading from my gratitude list and water swells within my eyes.....how soon we forget to be Thankful in the everyday!

Help us Lord to see through your eyes........today and everyday.

I stick to the Kitchen floor as I walk past.........(freshly mopped an hour ago)...........it is then that I see the red kool-aid dripping from the frig. Yes I will give thanks that we have kool-aid to drink.

I smile as I wipe up the mess.

Thankfulness should be the very breath that we take.

It is then that I notice that there is blood on the floor from the 16 year old dog.

I murmur it quietly........"please Lord, not now........don't let him die with all my family coming today."

Why do I give thanks only in the good times? Is it; "Selective Faith?"

I rub my hand across the 16 year old dog............and my heart tears. I start the flood of memories from the past. Just a few more days Lord, please.

Why do I "the taker," only hold my hand out to accept the good?

And it's me who prays to be more godly.

And so from this day forward I am making a decree.............to restart my gratitude journal because....."giving thanks in all things paves the road to giddy grace!"

In thanking God for everything that happens to you or to me.......deep wounds begin to heal and gratitude turns this life into blessings. Joy finds it's way into your life after all happiness is only circumstantial. But true Joy is from the Lord.

So move over and let God work His miracles and watch Him turn sorrow into joy.

Through life the heart will continue to ache...........but the ache of the past is eased over and over again by giving THANKS to him in all things!

Thank you Jesus;

for a family who drives to spend thanksgiving with us

for the extra dogs every family brought (all of them around 100 pounds!)

For the peaceful passing of our sweet precious hound.

For advent that is right around the corner

For a pastor who teaches us what absolute surrender really is

For all the help in the kitchen from; my mom and sister-n-law

For nieces and nephews who love

praise and worship at church

finding our gratitude journals

2 turkeys (deep fried)

praying as a family

the lab who lays at my feet in the wee hours of the morning while praying

clean sheets for everyone

brownies in the oven

all of grace,

robbie

Thanks- Giving

2011-11-25T16:32:00.000-05:00

Do we really " Give Thanks on Thanksgiving"?

Oh how easy it is to be thankful when everything is going " our way". However..... when life gets hard- we find it harder to be thankful.

Do we have a thankful attitude towards God when times are hard? When we are hurting... In those times we need to stop... and pray for a thankful heart.

Ask God to help you to understand his love and his plans for your life.

A Thanksgiving Day Prayer.....

Lord, so often times, as any other day

When we sit down to our meal and pray

We hurry along and make fast the blessing

Thanks, amen. Now please pass the dressing

We are slaves to the olfactory overload

We must rush our prayer before the food gets cold

But Lord, I'd like to take a few minutes more

To really give Thanks to what I am Thankful for....

Even though my family often drives me crazy- I am thankful this year, that we made it through this year with the safety and health of my kids, husband, parents, and rest. Thank you father for all you do- to protect me and my family. We have no idea the daily battles that go on all around us.

This year I want to be different-

Father - grant me a kind, gentle and thankful heart.

Amy

Surrender

2011-11-21T09:05:00.000-05:00

Hebrews 12:1;

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Why is it so hard to run this race called, "life," with perseverance? Is it my fear of suffering? Or my refusal to suffer?

For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. (2 Corinthians 1:5)

But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.(1 Peter 4:13)

Perhaps my greatest sin is not surrendering my all?
Surrendering........... a powerful word...............meaning wreck-less abandonment to the King.

He was reclining on the floor eating as it was customary in those days...........a women worked her way through the crowd in the Pharisee's house............. she stood behind him weeping...........for her sins were many....................her tears begin to fall like a river that runs through............. raining down upon his feet. She in the most intimate surrender of all broke her most valuable possession and poured it out on His feet.

She had nothing to wipe his feet with. It was the truest surrender of all.......... without caring what one thought of her.............she reached up and dropped her hair down and began wiping his feet with her hair..............and kissing his feet over and over again. (a women's hair was the most intimate thing she owned back then) Completely exposed.............open..............vulnerable. She recklessly abandoned all. (Luke 7: 36-50)

Her FAITH............. Her love!

I whisper Jesus' words.....“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Wanting this to be my very own heart beat.....His words to flow through my veins.
It's a new day...........surrender............be willing to abandon your all. I am quiet this morning before dawn..........I close my eyes and say it out loud.............visualizing that I am waving a white flag....and I murmur it softly......"I surrender."

My heart will be your altar.

all of grace,
Robbie

All of grace

2011-11-18T20:51:00.000-05:00

The quieter you are the more his grace can evade your life. The world we live in deafens us with it's endless noise.

May this weekend be one of sitting in silence for a moment in time.
Silence can sometimes awaken our very own soul.

There is a time to listen and a time to speak. We are always listening to something............but are we really hearing?

All of grace,
robbie

Trust

2011-11-17T08:45:00.000-05:00

Jeremiah 17:7-9

⁷ “But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.
⁸ They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”
⁹ The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?

all is grace,
Robbie

When your ready to flee from yourself

2011-11-16T10:35:00.001-05:00

Is Thanksgiving really almost here? It has happened so unexpected.............the leaves falling from the trees all changed.....Life continues to be a gift but I can't seem to escape from the "self."

It's my exaggerated sense of self that keeps me putting my schedule ahead of the King.
But remaining empty and craving fullness.

I am starving my very own soul from the eternal food...........it's where the darkness and disobedience go hand and hand. Who am I really I scream? Me the wretched woman and mama.............who is the want a be Christian. With my hand held out being a taker always the taker........and then it's grace that whispers.......come, take..........receive GRACE...........from the one where atonement comes. Our blessings are secure in Him.................He is faithful even when we are faithless.

Jesus is the road less traveled where you will find His mercy and truth meeting together.
Righteousness and peace are entwined together and upon all of that sits: "The Throne of Grace."

Our God gave up His throne to put on skin...............skin like ours.......he became human........to walk humble............but HOW do I follow in His footsteps.............humble? Me who claims to know my God!

Why do I make an effort to avoid people who hurt and not make an effort to love those who hurt me?
PRIDE............seems to rear it's ugly head over and over again. I am no better than a Pharisee!
It's a daily battle............and it's my very own SOUL that's at stake.

And if it's me that claims to know God better than others..........then it's me that is feeling like I am the better............and that's not God at all that I am following!

Praying for the living waters to flow through me..........But how? Sometimes I want to give up........surrender from the life of Faith. It seems like "pipe dreams," impossible to reach.

The road less traveled gets steeper and steeper winding you deeper and deeper until you feel you just can't go on............and just when you think you can't make it another step.............. the glory of the resurrection descends upon you and the false sense of self begins to fade. It's the revelation of who God really is that starts to surface. It happens when I stop holding out my hand for the taking and start
following......... in His humble footsteps.
So how do I walk before him blameless?...............Surrender...................giving up and allowing Almighty God Incarnate to work in us and through us.

Our human relationships are the very conditions in which the glory of God should be exhibited!
Love more...........Forgive more..........walk balmelessly before the Lord.

Genesis 17:1-2 “Walk Before Me, And Be Blameless”

all of grace,
Robbie

Ongoing Project

2011-11-14T09:56:00.000-05:00

I remember a song- one that I sung when I was little.....

"He's still working on me- to make me what I ought to be

It took him just a week to make the moon and stars- the sun and the

earth and Jupiter and Mars.

how loving and patient he must be- 'cause he is still working on me".

Loving and Patient are two qualities I want.

I pray- before my feet hit the ground- "Father- change me- make me into someone you can use."

I listen to the boys upstairs- playing. No TV or Computers tonight. Just the three of them- trying to entertain themselves for a few hours. I hold my breath- 'cause it is a matter of time before the fighting and whining begins.

Please Father- help them see what you would have them see.

My boys are apart of the next generation. How can I help them? How can they make a difference in the world?

We watched- (you-tube) boys and girls from all over the world open "shoe boxes" filled with toys. I want to teach them compassion- a "want" inside of them- a want to help others.

This video is about kids helping kids.

What a great start - to teach your kids about compassion! -

It starts with a shoe box- a few gifts- a letter. Send it across the world to make

a small difference.

A small jester of kindness- a small example of compassion. I hope to spark an

interest- an interest for others.

They watch me- the boys do- they watch my actions and behaviors.

We went to McDonalds tonight- a quick fix for dinner.

I had a quiet nudge- to pay for the car behind me- something the radio station I listen too has been doing for a few years now. This was the first time- I didn't have "the note" that explains what and why. I just did.....

behind me was a police car

I paid for his dinner- he pulled up to my car and asked "WHY"....

Because- I said- I just wanted to thank you for your service.

My kids were so excited- My middle son- Josh

said- " Mom- that made me feel good inside". Me too- I said.

Hey boys- lets make a difference in someones life tomorrow- Kind deeds can be free. At school see how you can "make a difference" or show "kindness".

They all agreed and are excited for tomorrow's mission.

It just takes a minute- to show kindness.... and it sure feels good.

With a Thankful Heart...

Amy

What you love

2011-11-12T07:45:00.000-05:00

What we love is what we become!

And what we become is what we model...........................................and what we model is what we will pass on to our children.............."What is your legacy that you are leaving behind?"

Are your desires shaping you? Are my desires shaping me?

Me a wretched woman..........straddling the fence with one leg in the spiritual realm= eternal............and the other leg in the world= temporary!

We are only passing through this life............it is not our home. We are here for just a season!

But our season here will determine our resume for our eternity!

May your weekend be one of reconstructing your resume.........it is the most important resume you will ever write because it is for eternity!

My prayer I read this morning before dawn:

O eternal God, though Thou art not such as I can see with my eyes or touch with my hands, yet grant me this day a clear conviction of Thy reality and power. Let me not go forth to my work believing only in the world of sense and time, but give me grace to understand the world I cannot see or touch is the most real world of all. My life today will be lived in time but ETERNAL issues will be concerned in it. The needs of my body will be clamant, but it is for the needs of my soul that I must care most. My business will be with things material, but behind them let me be aware of things spiritual. Let me keep steadily in mind that the things that matter are not money or possessions, not house of lands, not bodily comfort or bodily pleasure; but truth and honour and meekness and helpfulness and a pure love of Thyself.

For the power Thou hast given me to lay hold of things unseen:

For the strong sense I have that this is not my home:

For my restless heart which nothing finite can satisfy:

I give Thee thanks, O God.

For invasion of my soul by Thy Holy Spirit:

For all human love and goodness that speak to me of Thee:

For the fullness of Thy glory outpoured in Jesus Christ:

I give Thee thanks, O God.

I, a pilgrim of eternity, stand before Thee, O eternal One. Let me not seek to deaden or destroy the desire for Thee that disturbs my heart. Let me rather yield myself to its constraint and go where it leads me. Make me wise to see all things today under the form of eternity, and make me brave to face all the changes in my life which such a vision may entail: through the grace of Christ my Saviour.

Amen.

A Dairy of Private Prayer: by John Baillie

all of grace,

Robbie

Door to Door

2011-11-10T10:16:00.000-05:00

They always come the unexpected.................and it's me who screams...........who am I the woman with the unclean lips......who lives my life like I am the centered.
Letting my emotions guide me............. like I can handle it ...........after all I am the one anchored in God's word.

Isaiah 6:5-6

⁵ “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”
⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.

It looked like a comedy show somehow as I stumbled and mumbled to answer their questions about the Trinity............ They twisted and turned even my thoughts and I felt myself hot under breath wanting to run as fast as I could to the Saviour's arms. As their words fell my throat lumped...........and I said "JESUS," where are you? They explained that the "Trinity," was built by pagan's back in the day............ Are you kidding me? I gasped as I tried to hang on..........I felt my world spin..........and then it was me who was the confused!

²⁴ For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
Matthew 24:24

They handed me a little book and told me that "Jesus," sent them my way to help me understand the bible.......................... the bible is so confusing and difficult............."let us help you!"

I murmured it softly........."I don't think I need help understanding the Bible...........I have the Holy Spirit living in me.

1 John 2:27
²⁷ As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

Something in me deep realized how fragile we really are and I simply cracked wide open as the water started to fall. I felt shredded........with bits of fragments of me sweeping away.
"What if I am wrong and they are right?" I am not as closely identified with Christ as I thought.

After they leave it is me who falls right down on my knees and pleads for the Lord to show me truth...........it is then with the WORD Himself that I truly start to see. The scales begin to fall and they continue to fall for weeks. I break out of darkness...........the truth is revealed by the light. They had one thing right; they were sent by Jesus himself but for a different reason: For the collapse of my independence.......to the SURRENDERING of my life to the SUPREMACY of the LORD JESUS.

God can only bring us to the point but........ he can't push us through it.
He is breaking my outer layer of my individual INDEPENDENCE! He is asking...........you and I............Do we want it?
The dying to self .........to our false sense of self........... so that we may become one with Him? Oneness with the Father! I must stop relying on me, me, me........and not following the ideas of man...........but the utmost loyalty to Him. If we get to this point there will be no confusion.

Proverbs 3:5;
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding

Colossians 2:8;
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

He who died for me is breaking my independence..........Everything else is just me being a "want a be"= "Religious Fraud." I must be broken from myself......and when that happens supernatural power will come my way and the witness of the SPIRIT OF GOD will be UNMISTAKABLE. I will be truly CRUCIFIED with CHRIST!

He is gathering brokens fragments of me..........and of you.......placing them back together like a beautiful piece of Mosaic art- a patchwork of people, places, times, and cultures- that depicts ONE person; JESUS CHRIST! A flash of recognition has transformed my life as the world whirls and we spin too............how important it is to see............that the body of Christ is much bigger than the small pieces we experience in our everyday lives.

Galatians 2:20

²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

The salvation that comes from God is not based on human logic........but on the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.

all of grace,
Robbie

Worthy is the Lamb

2011-11-08T04:57:00.000-05:00

Psalms 51:10

"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."

Psalms 51:12

"Grant me a willing spirit"

Ecclesiastes 5

" Guard your steps"

"Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God."

"God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few."

I remember several times growing up- during a hard time- I needed God. I did not realize it then, but my spirit longed for God. I would open my bible and look at the pages. I looked at the words, but I didn't really read any of it. I would flip through the pages and eventually find the shortest chapter and grab a few words off the page- trying to get full. Just as easy as I opened the bible, I closed it. Well I tried, I thought. Maybe I did feel better after reading. I grew up in a Christian home. I knew how to pray, and I knew that if I needed God- that he was always there. But what did I give back to God- nothing. I went to church every time the doors were open- cause I had too. I participated in devotions - because I had too. I prayed because- I had too. If it did not benefit me- I didn't do it. I faked the part of a Christian girl. I went to church willingly- cause I liked a boy in my Sunday School class.

Now grown up- I realize how blessed I was- how blessed I am.

God protected me all those years- he protects me now.

I open the bible now, and every word touches me- grabs me and wont let go.

How can I read his word, and still fail- still sin- still fall.

I have wasted so much time- time that I could have spent building his kingdom, but too busy worrying about me, or things that concern me.

How mighty is our God. How patient is our God. How blessed are we that proclaim his name.

He is so worthy to be praised. I will lift up his name.

As I tucked in my boys tonight- I thanked God- Thanked him for an uneventful day. One with no injuries- bad notes from school- trouble with friends.

Did I make a difference today in someones life? Did someone see Jesus in me.

I don't know.

I met a women at the nail salon- her husband was in the unit where I worked recently. Did I make a difference in her life- letting her see Jesus in me?

I helped one of the teachers today. Did I share Jesus with her? Or did I watch the clock and pray that the time on the clock would speed up.

Why is it so hard, to share what I know- what I learn in my daily bible reading.

Am I too busy- I sometimes cram bible reading in- like I am reading cliff notes before a book report. Just give me the basics- just to pass the test.

Is that what I want to do- just enough to get into heaven- as long as I am there right?

That thought stings my soul.

I have so much and I give so little.

Father- Give me a glance with your eyes- let me see what you see. How you could come to earth, just because- just because you loved me first.

Let me show your love through my actions and words. Let my words be few, but my actions be many for you.

And let your name be praised.

I want to be an awesome fruit bearing branch,

Amy

The Vine- John 15

2011-11-07T10:03:00.002-05:00

⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

THE VERY SPIRIT OF THE VINE IS LOVE

Do you ever wonder if you are bearing fruit when your dishes are piled the high and the laundry is never done? It's ground-hog day once again for me!

It's then that I wonder if I am truly connected..................It's simple really the branch grows out of the vine..........it lives there and grows......it has no responsibility except to RECEIVE the sap and nourishment from the root and stem.

It is days like these that seem so repetitive that I ask myself; "Am I really connected?"
If the sap is being received there will be fruit. If there is no sap then there is NO CONNECTION!

As I glide up the stairs to the tornado of the teens rooms..... I wonder if I will really miss this? Miss the emptying of the trash...........the making of beds..........the laundry that is never done. Maybe it is me who is not the crucified with Christ!
Do I really want to be? Who wants to stay the broken?
But HE has ordered our steps? So what have I sold my life out too? Is it things? A cleaner house?
Jesus poured the truth of God's word into his disciples...................and He sent the Holy Spirit from the Father. He was telling them how to stay connected. Why is the flesh so strong? It is all out war-fare.
Do I really want to be connected?

There are 3 stages of fruit bearing:

1) In stage one you are connected and are receiving sap but not fruit bearing like you should.
This is where 60-70 percent of all Christians stay!!!
This is also where you feed your flesh............you even feel at times that something your doing is not right but you do it anyway....By your sin many are defiled. The rebuking starts in this stage as well:

Hebrews 12: 5-6
My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
⁶ because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”^[a]

There is conviction in this stage and you may even stop for a while but discouragement rears it's ugly head.....and it's a cycle that never seems to end.

2) In stage 2 is where the pruning happens....Testing can even become intense. Trails are brought your way by God himself as He does the pruning. He starts to cut away the temporal things in your life. He wants the eternal views instilled. He is saying: "worship only me!"

Deuteronomy 5:7-8;

⁷ “You shall have no other gods before^[a] me.
⁸ “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

Your habits you have developed over the years determine now determine your priorities.....You come to a fork in the road.......... which path will you take? The eternal or the temporal?

This is where most Christians that have made it to this stage turn and run back to stage 1. This is where we need to pray for God to plant our feet on solid ground!!! To remain before him BROKEN!
If you hang on this is where He will bring you out of the firey furnace as His Trophy of Grace!

¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5: 19-21)

God is telling us to let go of our baggage!!! Sometimes I feel like I treasure my sin! I don't want to let go.

3) The last stage is all about the Savior. This is about you running to His arms and Him being FIRST in your life. This is about you being and not about doing!
This is where you finally SURRENDER! Setting ourselves apart........guarding our hearts and our minds at all times.....with the eternal view in mind at all times! Most Christians will never experience the gift........of such PEACE. This is where He gives us what we need...........not what we want!

Set today apart from other days...........say it out loud: ABSOLUTE SURRENDER to you Lord is what I have choose!

God is trying to get our attention!!!
THE BRANCH IS CALLING YOU AND ME TO ABSOLUTE SURRENDER!

Let your surrender to Christ be absolute. Cry out!!! Time is short!

all of grace,
Robbie

so thankful to God for:

the opportunity to be broken
Jesus
crumbs on the floor
clogged toilets again
sun glistening through the trees
leaves changing colors
peace
a pastor that teaches the word
friends that show up unexpected to visit your church
forgiveness
long talks after church with the teens
an extra hour of sleep

Weekends are made for light

2011-11-05T16:02:00.000-04:00

All of grace is because Jesus is our all in all, and His grace is free...........it is the eternal light that gives us the very breath we breath! There is no life like the one lived in the light of Christ.

May your weekend be one of

walking in the light........thinking only of the eternal instead of the temporal

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12)

all of grace,

the Yahweh Sisters

Come to me

2011-11-04T10:28:00.001-04:00

It was 4:45 am this morning when I went straight into the Throne Room with aching prayers.
Begging God to deliver me from "self."

Trying to sit in silence while battling thoughts popping in and out of my head like popcorn in a microwave..........begging to be poured out so He can pour in....trying to stay awake while the rain falls against the windows and the colors of my life begin to fade.

I take my seat on the floor with a notebook and my bible...........not able to cease the thoughts of what lies ahead in the day. His presence overwhelms me and my breathing becomes the hard.........I beg him to speak.........but only His presence woos me and leaves me as fast as it comes.
I wonder what I did wrong? Was it my thoughts that won the moment?

I finally give in to my rages of mental battle...........and open up the Word and read the coming of the day of the Lord.

I read because He has said over and over again............SEEK.......SEEK ME FIRST!!!!!
And I have learned that if you need peace for the day it starts at daybreak with Him being the first. Remembering the way up is down.

They are not just idle words for you--they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess."(Deuteronomy 32:47)

So I read it because it is the eternal food that is everlasting;

Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sound the alarm on my holy hill.
Let all who live in the land tremble,
for the day of the LORD is coming.
It is close at hand—
² a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness.
Like dawn spreading across the mountains
a large and mighty army comes,
such as never was in ancient times
nor ever will be in ages to come.
³ Before them fire devours,
behind them a flame blazes.
Before them the land is like the garden of Eden,
behind them, a desert waste—
nothing escapes them.
⁴ They have the appearance of horses;
they gallop along like cavalry.
⁵ With a noise like that of chariots
they leap over the mountaintops,
like a crackling fire consuming stubble,
like a mighty army drawn up for battle.
⁶ At the sight of them, nations are in anguish;
every face turns pale.
⁷ They charge like warriors;
they scale walls like soldiers.
They all march in line,
not swerving from their course.
⁸ They do not jostle each other;
each marches straight ahead.
They plunge through defenses
without breaking ranks.
⁹ They rush upon the city;
they run along the wall.
They climb into the houses;
like thieves they enter through the windows.
¹⁰ Before them the earth shakes,
the heavens tremble,
the sun and moon are darkened,
and the stars no longer shine.
¹¹ The LORD thunders
at the head of his army;
his forces are beyond number,
and mighty is the army that obeys his command.
The day of the LORD is great;
it is dreadful.
Who can endure it?
(Joel 2: 1-12)

Who can endure it?
Us if we can surrender our hearts.

Even now,” declares the LORD,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
¹³ Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.
¹⁴ Who knows? He may turn and relent
and leave behind a blessing—
grain offerings and drink offerings
for the LORD your God.
(Joel 2: 12-14)

He who is gracious..........compassionate........slow to anger...............and abounding in LOVE......
is saying..............."COME.................TAKE...................RECEIVE.....my grace.
Come to me..........(Matthew 11:28);

"His word come means "to act." Yet the last thing we want to do is come..........But everyone who does come knows that, at that very moment, the supernatural power of the life of God will invade you.....The dominating power of the world, the flesh, and the devil is now paralyzed; not by your act, but because your act joined you to God and tapped you into His redemptive power"......Oswald Chambers; My utmost for His highest.
Yes our redeemer lives!!!!

I fill my cup with coffee it's warmness invades me............it is raining hard..........it's a new season.....I end with a prayer of Thanksgiving..........I am empty no longer..........the house is starting to stir and I know that fullness will not last......that we have to feed on His flesh daily!

Watching the leaves fall like God's grace in the rain at daybreak, realizing that His grace truly does abound.

all of grace,
Robbie

Abide

2011-11-03T10:28:00.004-04:00

The Cove.............a place of inspiration. Where the agenda belongs to God!

While in the beautiful mountains in Asheville, NC......... Amy and I had to sit in silence and draw near to the King. We prayed for a transformation of our hearts. It was there on the mountain that the Lord himself took me to a deep, dark , cold place!

³⁴ “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13: 34-35.

I decided to hike up as far as I could and pray along the way for the perfect spot to spend time with God. After an hour of hiking and praying...........I came to a place where I felt in my spirit I needed to stop and pray.
As I was standing at the edge of a ledge.........trying to breath.......the sun warming my face.....it was then that I saw it.................the blackest...........deadest forest in the whole 1600 acres.
Fear (my old faithful friend) ran through my body............me trying to breath..........it was at that moment I begin to understand what the Holy Spirit was showing me........that I must truly die..................die to self..............die to my will................and surrender my all.
The FEAR...................did I really have to die?
Maybe it was the dead everywhere.................was how my life was supposed to be? Me dead to self?
Something is holding me back................from the dying. What is it that I can't let go of ? Is it me in my me-ism little world screaming please..........more of the easy? (Anything that you put before God is an idol.)

How can I become the one with Him........when I can't even let go and surrender? Is there such a thing as abide?

As I lay on my back wrestling with; "who am I really?".......Praying my heart could be his altar. It was then I could hear deep down in my soul..............SEEK.....SEEK.............SEEK......SEEK me with the all of you.

What is the pleasure of Christ?

Am I seeking only..............to have God's blessings while I live my own life?

I can feel the wind starting to whip...........the leaves are falling...........it is then all alone in the mountains...............where God himself has taken me.....a place where the trees are dead...........that I cry out to God:
"LORD, keep me from EVERY sin.

The branches are swaying to the rhythm of the wind..............and they are calling..............me and you to an ABSOLUTE SURRENDER! He wants possession = unbroken fellowship.......by abiding in him.
Death = Resurrection

Why do I hold myself captive?...................Is it because I don't want to be the FREE? Refusing to give up my will.............. Scared of disappointing the King? I crave the easy remember.........spiritual laziness it seems. Pipe dreams I tell myself..........I am just a want a be!

¹⁴ We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. ¹⁵ I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ¹⁶ And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷ As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸ For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.^[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
²¹ So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7: 14-25)

The more we die to self.........................the deeper our peace.
To die to self is to embrace God's will. After all aren't all Christians the walking dead? Crucified and dead.............unknowing, at the time of birth partaking of His death............ but alive in Christ!
So why do we believers run from our death and ressurection? Because our greatest enemy in this life is our very own SELF!!!!!!

The heart beat of the old me can thump in and out like there never was a death..........it is war for my very own soul. But those nail pierced hands are waving to us saying........"Are you ready? Ready to give up SELF to death? To give up self entirely to death on the cross to be kept there until self is wholly brought under the power of Christ?

Yes abiding does exist...........but to truly abide in Christ.........prepare..........to part from self,
aka....(FLESH) FOREVER!!!!!
(Praise God that in the middle of all the dead trees were tiny sprouts of green life coming up through the deadness!!!!!)
all of grace,
Robbie

faith building

2011-11-01T09:57:00.009-04:00

" Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of sufferings are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world." 1 Peter 5 : 8-9

Be alert
Be watchful
Be clear-minded

Satan knows our weakness- we rarely hide them- we whine and cry to others about them. So why wouldn't Satan use them against us, and to his advantage.

James 4:7- " Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you"

In order to submit yourselves to God and resist the devil- you have to stay in his word and pray. Spend time with him.

My trials will not be yours- Each trial we face, depends on our strength. God tells us in his word, that he will not give us more than we can handle.

James 1:13

" Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempted any man

God does not have evil in him. Satan uses tests and trials to steal us from God and what he says in his word.

Mark 4:15

" Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their heart."

I feel "most alert" and ready for the trials of the day, when I get up early and dive into his word- or simply sit still in his presence.

I am a busy mom- of three boys

A wife

A nurse in a Cardiac ICU

So.... I am busy...... But what I have prayed for in the last couple weeks, is for God to show me how to slow down, keep my eyes on him- to be a better mom and wife. Not to waste my energy, more that is required, at work or on other things, but to focus on my family.

I put on my June Clever mask and with a smile on my face- wait for the day.

Well the first day- my oldest son woke up at 4:30 am throwing up, not in the bathroom, but on the carpet. Not in his room, but in his brother's room and in the hall.

The June Clever in me left and I fussed as I cleaned up puke! " Why did you walk through the bathroom - to throw up in your brother's room?

Yesterday I was spending some time with my friend- we went to hobby lobby- we had been there for thirty minutes, when the school calls and tells me that my eight year old had knocked out three of his permanent teeth while at recess.

Why ?

I ask

But every thing happens for a reason. My kids have their health, so do we. On the way to school I thanked God for this minor thing. It was hard to pray, but I did. In the middle of my pity party, my son got a phone call from a school friend. The one that Andrew prayed with during lunch detention one day. This friend asked Jesus into his heart that day, but that friend was the only one to stay on the playground and look for the teeth, and also to call and check on him after the accident.

God's ways are not ours, and I also put out a "all Prayer" that the root of the front teeth re-attach and become strong again. I talked with Andrew - my youngest without teeth- or at least without all of the teeth.

That there is POWER IN PRAYER.

He agreed with me and we prayed. We felt the prayer from others. I felt them and I know Andrew did.

Amy

God's dream for you......

2011-10-31T08:00:00.001-04:00

Do you ever wonder what God's dream is for you? Are you ever afraid that you are going to miss it? Maybe it is just me. I no longer question my salvation. My fear is that I am going to miss it. Miss what God's dream is for me. And it will be my fault. I am afraid that I am going to spend my life on what is comfortable, easy, safe. I want to learn to abandon my life to a Greater Power and a Greater Purpose. I don't want to choose my own course. Their is so much thrills, joy and beauty if we allow God total control over our lives. God has shown me lately that I have only given him part of me for a sacrifice.
Look at Romans 12:1, Therefore I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship..
When we ask God what do you want? And he says, "I want your body." You see when he gets the body, he gets the contents. Paul gives us so much direction how to give it to him. "Present your body to him as a living sacrifice." If you are like me by this point you may saying OK what does that really mean? Why a living sacrifice? Paul was basically contrasting it with the old Testament sacrifices, which animals were first killed, cut into pieces and placed on the altar. Paul was saying, "Don't kill your body and place it on the altar. Place a living body on the altar."
When a sacrifice was placed on the altar it no longer belonged to the person who offered it, it belonged to God. It is as though God says here, "Place your body on My altar as a living sacrifice. From now on you don't own it. I own it. You don't make decisions as to what will happen to your body- I make them. I take full responsibility for it. I decide what you will eat, wear, and where you go. Hang with me this is the meat of this message: There are major benefits to this kind of commitment. God has a different attitude toward the property that is merely leased to Him as opposed to the property that is His. He accepts full responsibility for what he owns. This information came from a book by Derek Prince "Secrets of A Prayer Warrior."

God has made it clear that offering our bodies as living sacrifices is OBEDIENCE that comes from our heart. This is so much more important. Daily laying aside our own desires to follow him. Putting all our energy, resources at His disposal and TRUSTING him. This should be the least thing we can do, since God sent Jesus to die for our sins.
Surrendering your life to God is the most wonderful and hardest thing you will ever have to do. To cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will find it. (Matthew 10:39).
Drinking from this world will cause us to give up the dream that God has for us. The more we drink from this world with the earthly treasures: money, power, popularity, the more we will discover how empty we really feel. We have to realize that the earthly treasures are only temporary and that we are citizens of another world that offers us eternal life. We live in a world who favors blending in, being just like everybody else. Their is a cost to going after the "life that is living the dream that God has for us." At the end of my life when I stand at the throne of God, I long to hear those powerful words "Well Done My Good and Faithful Servant" you went after the dreams that I planted in your heart, and you fulfilled your purpose exactly the way my dreams for you were. Well Done!

all of grace,
Robbie

The Cross in Our Bodies

2011-10-28T11:57:00.000-04:00

This is a pretty neat story and an interesting thing that few of us know. It's brief, so please read. (FROM A DOCTOR)

A couple of days ago I was running (I use that term very loosely) on my treadmill, watching a DVD sermon by Louie Giglio... And I was BLOWN AWAY! I want to share what I learned.....

He (Louie) was talking about how inconceivably BIG our God is... How He spoke the universe into being.. How He breathes stars out of His mouth that are huge raging balls of fire.. Etc. Etc. Then He went on to speak of how this star-breathing, universe creating God ALSO knitted our human bodies together with amazing detail and wonder. At this point I am LOVING it (fascinating from a medical standpoint, you know.) .. And I was remembering how I was constantly amazed during medical school as I learned more and more about God's handiwork. I remember so many times thinking..'How can ANYONE deny that a Creator did all of this???' Louie went on to talk about how we can trust that the God who created all this, also has the power to hold it all together when things seem to be falling apart...how our loving Creator is also our sustainer.
And then I lost my breath. And it wasn't because I was running my treadmill, either!!!
It was because he started talking about laminin. I knew about laminin..

Here is how Wikipedia describes them: 'Laminins are a family of proteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement membranes in almost every animal tissue' You see.... Laminins are what hold us together.... LITERALLY. They are cell adhesion molecules. They are what holds one cell of our bodies to the next cell. Without them, we would literally fall apart. And I knew all this already. But what I didn't know is what they LOOKED LIKE..
But now I do. And I have thought about it a thousand times since (already)....Here is what the structure of laminin looks like... AND THIS IS NOT a 'Christian portrayal' of it.... If you look up laminin in any scientific/medical piece of literature, this is what you will see....

Now tell me that our God is not the coolest!!! Amazing. The glue that holds us together.... ALL of us...... Is in the shape of the cross. Immediately Colossians 1:15-17 comes to mind. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. All things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him All things HOLD TOGETHER.' Colossians 1:15-17 Call me crazy. I just think that is very, very, very cool. Thousands of years before the world knew anything about laminin, Paul penned those words. And now we see that from a very LITERAL standpoint, we are held together... One cell to another.... By the cross.

You would never in a quadrillion years convince me that is anything other than the mark of a Creator who knew EXACTLY what laminin 'glue' would look like long before Adam breathed his first breath!!

What I found when I googled laminin !!!!!!!!!!!

all of grace,

Yahweh Sisters