Don’t be bewildered or surprised

1 Peter 4: 12-13 Living Bible (TLB)

¹² Dear friends, don’t be bewildered or surprised when you go through the fiery trials ahead, for this is no strange, unusual thing that is going to happen to you. ¹³ Instead, be really glad—because these trials will make you partners with Christ in his suffering, and afterwards you will have the wonderful joy of sharing his glory in that coming day when it will be displayed.

Peter reminds the congregation that they shouldn’t be bewildered or surprised when they go through fiery trials.  But let’s be realistic, sometimes you are so surprised and bewildered at what is happening that very minute.  We sometimes are thrown of guard and when you struggling through the difficulty and cannot seem to get focused, that’s when you should remind yourself of God’s great plan for your own life.

My Dad used to remind us that we all face the same trials and tribulations in life because we are people and we need to learn, grow and God is busy changing and shaping our character. 

I also noticed that when the trials are at their most intense and toughest the outcome is normally great.  I want to encourage you today, stay focused on the Lord Jesus, don’t every give up and stretch yourself forward, grow spiritually and let God shape your character.  In the long run you will pick the fruits.

You are a blessing!

Turn back the hands of time?

You know people tell you ‘life happens’, yes and time flies.  Looking back over my life makes me realize time waits for no one.

I wonder why we do the things we do to each other. Taking people for granted, lies told, hurting one another.  Hmm

Then I realized it, many times it’s what’s going on inside of you, not the other person.  It’s your fears, failures and attitude.

Carried over to the other person and no one can ‘turn back the hands of time’.  What is done is done.

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 Living Bible (TLB)

3 There is a right time for everything:

² A time to be born;
A time to die;
A time to plant;
A time to harvest;
³ A time to kill;
A time to heal;
A time to destroy;
A time to rebuild;
⁴ A time to cry;
A time to laugh;
A time to grieve;
A time to dance;
⁵ A time for scattering stones;
A time for gathering stones;
A time to hug;
A time not to hug;
⁶ A time to find;
A time to lose;
A time for keeping;
A time for throwing away;
⁷ A time to tear;
A time to repair;
A time to be quiet;
A time to speak up;
⁸ A time for loving;
A time for hating;
A time for war;
A time for peace.

As you consider your time, remember it’s all about what you do with your time.  Your attitude will determine your way forward. 

Here I am. Send me!

Isaiah 6: 8 Living Bible (TLB)

⁸ Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom shall I send as a messenger to my people? Who will go?”

And I said, “Lord, I’ll go! Send me.”

Good morning … what a wonderful privilege it is for me to actually sit down and write a little message today.  You have no idea how I longed to get back onto my blog.  

God is awesome and He works in mysterious ways.  I really and truly believe that the Lord is call out to us:  ‘Whom shall I send as a messenger to my people?  Who will go?’  today I do want to challenge you to read these words.  Search your heart and motives and think about the people that need to hear God’s word.  Let take up the quest and do as the Lord asks.

Lord Here I am, send me.  As you read these words, think about it and lets start working together to get the message of the Lord out there.  People need to hear about our wonderful, excellent and awesome God.

You are a blessing in my life, may everything your hands touch today be blessed, may the words out of your mouth be a blessing and may whatever your heart desires come to you.

Thank you, ;-)

Hallelujah - I love You Lord God

Proverbs 16: 7 

When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

What an awesome God I serve.  I am so grateful for the good things in my own life I can only say thank You Lord.  I believe God is able to make my life go as He plans it to.  I was stressed out and concerned but I prayed say ‘Your will Lord, Your will.’  

My enemies are many, I seem to step on peoples toes all the time, I seem to get their hair all knotted and in a mess.

Take note:  work at doing what God asked You to do, and see how God will make even your enemies be at peace with you.

Awesome, hallelujah – I love You Lord God.  Amen

My funny old life

Going to church on Sundays is one of my highlights of the week.  Ah what no one really knows is that I never have any cash available in the week and then suddenly on Sundays I have money available for the offering.  Of course I am grateful and it’s part of what I do on a regular basis. 

My stepdaughter looked at me on Sunday and said ‘You, Aunty Yvette, I really think I want to see if I can buy a Bible just like yours.’  Looking at her as we parked the car in the parking lot of the Church I replied ‘Why Alezandra?’

She started to laugh and said ‘This Bible always has cash in it for Church offerings.’  We both sat laughing for a couple of minutes and went into to church to attend the serve.

What my darling stepdaughter doesn’t realise is that sure my Bible always has a couple of Rand in it, is that when I receive cash I place some notes into the Bible.  I feel I need to bring my offerings on Sundays and I really don’t want to come empty handed to church.

1 Cor. 1: 4 “Every time I think of You, I thank God for your life.”

Praise God for letting me have cash to bring into His house as a offering.

#Blessed

God has only been supernaturally favorable towards me and my family.  My life is good and I have so much to be grateful over.  God watches my coming and my going.  God has been instrumental in showing supernatural favor over my children.

There were times when I just felt I could not face another day and then something wonderful would happen.  I would get an unexpected call from one of my children.  The great news of my daughter having a little baby girl, is just such a blessing to our family.

God has blessed my family with success, with health and wealth, with supernatural favor with man and with God.  I can only say LORD GOD ALMIGHTY Thank You.

We are waiting to see our new little addition to our family, a beautiful little darling girl.

Thank You Lord for blessings my family and me.

In the Name of Jesus Amen

Beauty & the Beast

Proverbs 31: 30
Charm can be deceiving, and beauty fades away, but a woman who honours the Lord deserves to be praised.

My struggle these day is "beauty and the beast".  Growing older makes me feel I am not as beautiful as always.  Then I realized it is something we all face.  Mother nature is at work and time is against you and me.  It's all part of life!

The secret is to know who you are in the Lord Jesus and stay focused on the Lord!

Don't be deceived by your beauty it does fade! Start a relationship with the Lord while you are young.

prayer

O Lord thank you for always being there for me! Bless and praise Your Holy name!
Amen

May God lift you Higher .... and .... Higher

Matthew 17:20 (NIV)

²⁰ He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it, by starting at some point and doing it on a regular basis you begin to rise higher.  In the beginning it is baby steps and then you progress to little bigger steps and before you realise it you have giant steps.

The thing is start now, the year is still ahead of you and with the help of the Holy Spirit you are able to attain your goal.  Praise God for His faithfulness and also that He gave you faith, now use it.

Prayer Abba Father nothing is impossible with You by my side, I feel excited and look forward to each new day.  Thank You for raising me higher and higher, in the name of Jesus.  Amen

Generosity, is it part of who you are?

My thinking is this as I read Matthew 25 from 14 through to 30 I am reminded that God is in the position to make each one of us wealthy.  The parable is told of 3 people who have been entrusted with an amount of talents.  The first person is entrusted with 5 talents, the second person was entrusted with 2 talents and the third person was entrusted with 1 talent.

As I read these passages I see that each person did as he felt was the best and it was clear the one with the 5 talents worked at creating another 5 talents, the second chap did his best and also accumulated another 2 talents.  What amazed me was the third chap, he took the 1 talent and buried it.  He felt it would be safe in the ground and didn’t worry about it anymore.

Now to my mind I believe the two other chaps were probably working hard and had the ability to think ahead, I also believe they must have cared about their master and wanted to impress him.  I think they also may have been people that were generous and would probably help other people in need.

The third chap made me think he was someone that didn’t take chances and he didn’t give freely to others and was tight fisted.  He also said to the master that he knew the master as a hard man, harvesting where he didn’t sow and gathering where he didn’t scatter seeds.  I think this guy was selfish and thought to himself “the master has so much why; must I give him anymore?”

I think being generous is something we should practice and with the little that we have we should bless people around us each and every day.  You have heard one day when I am rich I will give to this charity and that charity.  Ha ha, that’s just not going to happen, you aren’t giving now why then?

To my mind giving freely God will make you wealthy.  Trust in God He knows best!

Heavenly Father, Lord teach each one of us to give freely, we aren’t able to take what we have accumulated on earth with us into heaven.  Let us not be attached to our worldly belongings but be concerned and worried about our friends, neighbours and people in need.

Thank YOU Lord for blessing me with a job, I am so grateful that I am able to start work again.  Thank YOU LORD Jesus.  Amen

With God all things are possible

http://bible.com/1/mat.19.26.KJV

do not lose your 'mojo'

Today it felt like I lost my mojo.  Everything was just in slow motion, I just couldn’t do things the way I normally do and it was a drag.

My husband reminds me that I am not as young as I think I am and it drives me nuts.  I have so much to do and so little time to do it.  I think my day didn’t work out as well as it would have if I done what I always do. 

Spending time in God’s presence, I thought let me just do this, that and the other and before I know it the day is over.  So what went wrong?  Well I think its because I didn’t spend time with God today, I wanted to quickly do the washing, clean the house and then go to the shops and then sit down and relax with the LORD.  Guess that didn’t happen, yip your right I was too busy.

So its late and I want to spend time in God’s presence and I hope it not too late for me.

Oh LORD, forgive me for not being the person I am supposed to be, I keep on losing myself in not important things.  Forgive me LORD, in Jesus Name. 

Pray for Mercy

Isaiah 63 : 15 ~ 19

'Look down from heaven and see from your lofty throne, holy and glorious.  where are your zeal and your might?  Your tenderness and compassion are withheld from us.  But you are our Father, through Abraham does not know us or Israel acknowledge us; You, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name.  Why, O LORD, do you make us wander from your ways and harden our hearts so we do not revere you?  Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes that are your inheritance.  For a little while your people possessed your holy place, but now our enemies have trampled down your sanctuary.  We are yours from of old; but you have not ruled over them, they have not been called by your name.'

How to change my thoughts?

Psalm 139: 14 ‘I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.’ (NIV)

I struggle with negative thought patterns and it really brings me low, I would be doing something all of a sudden a really bad thought would pop up.  Something like ‘ag, you are just no good, who would like you?  Look at you!’  Before I have complete my task at hand I would really think that I am just not good enough and yes ~ I must be all bad.

I have been thinking about this and decided I am not allowing these thoughts to pester me anymore.  I speak words of faith in my life and I want to change my thoughts to positive and create thoughts.  I say to myself out load “Lord I praise You because I (Yvette) am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”  Even if it is all I say for the whole day, I stay focused on the fact that God is perfect and I am made wonderfully.

Then I also think that because I am wonderfully made I deserve the very best and on the very best is coming to me now, because I am wonderfully made.

I now make a point of shielding my head with my God, by asking that the Lord will give me mercy and would shield my head in the day of battle and not grant the enemy their desires.

I plead the blood of Jesus over my life and know that I am safe.  Keeping this up until I have won the battle I believe I am changing my future.  To a big bright future God has for me.  Amen

Daily reading

http://bible.com/1/eph.1.17.KJV