My Walk with the Lord

     I've been asked to talk about how my walk with the Lord is, and how I spend time with Christ everyday. Let me start by saying, unfortunately, I don't study the word of God as often as I should. I let other things get in the way at times.
     Before my husband goes to work every morning, we try to pray. We Pray for the day, and that God would give us the strength and energy we need. Sometimes there's specific requests for ourselves that we pray about, and other times it's just a general prayer.
     After he leaves for work, I usually clean up around the house, do dishes, respond to emails, do a little exercising, and some other work. I try to make it a point in the day that I sit down for a little bit, and write in my prayer journal. I write a note to God basically praying for my needs/want/hurts.... or others things. Lately, I've been praying for a lot of wisdom on how I can encourage my husband and let him know how great he is on a daily basis! :)

     I'll admit, at times, my days are so busy, I can easily forget to do my Bible Study every day. I have to constantly remind myself to put God as my priority. My husband and I try to do Family Devotions every night. At the moment, we're going through the Psalms and Genesis.
     The main thing to remember is, God wants you, He wants your attention. God is a jealous God. (Exodus 34:14) God created us to Glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. In America, we're given the freedom to own a Bible. Many people have one, but few people actually read it. Charles Spurgeon once said: "A Bible that's falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn't." When life gets hard, what do we do the most? What do we turn to?
     A couple weeks ago, someone very close to me was going through a rough spot in life. This person felt very messed up, and like a failure. I can't tell you how many times I cried out to God to help this person. It's in those moments that I think God uses the most. It's in those moments when we're most desperate, and God shows us His strength in our weakness. It's in those moments that I keep reminding myself that God is still good, He's still on His throne, He's still faithful, and He's still Sovereign over all. God listens to all our prayers. He sees each tear that falls, and he's not ignoring our prayers. He's teaching us to rely on Him, even in the trials and tribulation that come our way. God has a way of refining us that we can't see when we're in the midst of something.
     I have to remind myself that when I'm in the midst of daily life, to continue my walk with the Lord, and know that God is on His throne. My walk with the Lord is coming at a slow pace at times. We run a race on a daily basis. Distractions come our way. I'll admit, even in those times, I'm not always great about going to the Lord in prayer. I need to remember to keep God as my #1 priority. "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." ~Matthew 6:33~
     In what ways do you find helps your walk with the Lord? What might distract you? 

When Our Strength fails and Gods Strength Prevails

       All of us go through hills and valleys in life. We have days when our strength is completely helpless, and we feel like we can't go on. We have days when our whole world feels like it's falling apart. However, through it all, I can honestly say that God is good! I'm realizing every day that even on my bad days, I just have to remind myself of all of life's many blessings, and look at it, and say, "God is good...even then!" This past week, I've been learning a lot about trusting in God. Learning to completely surrender and give my all in all, to Christ. It's when we come to that place in life, when we completely surrender to Christ, and take up the cross, and follow Him, that God's strength is seen. We can't it on our own. It's only through Gods grace and mercy that I make it every day. 

     This past week, some family members and I were talking about struggles in our own lives. Struggles like, having doubt, worrying, stressing out about things, feeling like a failure at life, second guessing ourselves... the list can go on. But, I came to a stopping point this past week. Some family members came over to our house this last week, and we prayed. We prayed for Gods goodness and mercy to prevail. We prayed for Gods grace and strength to take over. There's a breaking point in every Christians life. A point where we have to literally give up, and fall upon Christ. I love how Paul Washer says it, "Repentance, is simply giving up! To stop fighting against God, and to stop attempting to gain your own salvation through your own works; to literally give up and fall upon Christ."
     I came to a breaking point a couple years ago. A point where I realized that I don't have strength to get through each day. I can't make it on my own. Some days, I still think I can... but it's in those moments, that God uses us the most. God is continually refining us. I'm constantly reminded in James 1:2-4, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." We can't get through life on our own strength, only in Gods. In 2nd Corinthians 12:9, we read, "And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness..."
     Man will fail us every day of our lives. God is the only one who never fails! He is faithful to the end, and with us every step of the way! So, when we feel like we can't go on anymore, just know that God will give you the strength to get through each day... we need only to seek God and ask.

Loving God with all your Heart

The other day, we had some friends over, and my dad and I were talking about God. My brother asked my dad, “Daddy, what does it mean to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength?” I thought my dad told it really well. He said, “Loving God with your heart is, loving Him with passion! Loving God with all your soul is loving Him with all your emotion, will and passion. Loving Him with all your mind, is how you think throughout the day, and taking every thought captive. Loving God with all your strength is loving Him with all your energy and strength to glorify Him in everything you do."

     So, what are some way’s that you can love God throughout the day? Have you ever heard of the acrostic, "Joy"?
Jesus
Others
You

Here are just a few verses about loving God. Enjoy!
“...You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind..."~Luke 10:27~

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ⁶ These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. ⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."~ Deuteronomy 6:5-8~

I thought I'd post the video/song below of a song called, "Love the Lord your God" by Lincoln Brewster.