Beautiful Words to Remember

I am nearly done with an amazing Bible study I got to be a part of this summer with some amazing women! I highly recommend "Gideon - Your Weakness God's Strength" by Priscilla Shirer.  All I can say is that it was AMAZING!  Today, like everyday, there has at least been one truth that resonated with me.  This is the truth that struck me this morning in my quiet time:

Priscilla writes:
"Seeking God and His will must remain our constant desire and aspiration, even after we've began seeing His strength demonstrated in our lives.  Otherwise, we will be submerged beneath the momentum of human approval, momentary convenience, personal desires, or misplaced ambitions.  When the dominoes of life cave in, our level of steadiness will be equal to our fellowship with the Father.  
Consider Jesus, After all, there is no better illustration of someone staying true to the task at hand."

Mark 1:35-38 Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.  Later Simon and the others went out to find him.  When they found him, they said  "Everyone is looking for you."  But Jesus replied, "We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too.  That is why I came."

"Jesus was intent on doing the Father's will...and nothing else.  So He purposefully and faithfully sought the Father for direction, and then stayed committed to the divine purposes for which He had been sent even if it meant disappointing a crowd of people to do it."

Oh Lord, how I need you!  

Proverbs 3:5-6  "Do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take."

God has stirred this verse I memorized long ago as a child of 7 or 8 years old anew in my heart  for the past few weeks.  I know it so well, yet I am seeing it again in this season of my life with fresh eyes!  Sweetly, He is reminding me again that my dependence for EVERYTHING is in Him.

As I've pondered this, I thought of what a beautiful sight it is to behold a mother with her precious newborn baby!  She knows that her child fully relies on her and she is always near. She lovingly and readily provides for her child, even anticipating any need that could arise making preparations in advance.  She lavishes her love on the child she adores with tender kisses, touches, and gentle swaying as she rocks her beloved in her arms, speaking comfort and peace to frantic cries for help. Distance and time spent away stir a desire within her heart to be near her child.  The feeling of separation sometimes so great that she must go to her child, even when the child is sleeping, just to peer into that little face she loves so dearly.  She must be near.  Her heart compels her.  She yearns to be close. She longs for the moments she can wrap her little one tightly in her arms, right next to her heart, knowing it's rhythmic beating yields a comfort and familiarity words cannot describe.  To this tiny baby, her scent, her face, her voice, and even just her mere presence brings comfort and satisfaction.  The bond between mother and child is truly amazing!  What a beautiful sight to behold indeed!

Like a helpless baby in the arms of my beloved is where I want to be!  Where I need to be.  A place of complete and utter dependence on my Father.  I am helpless without Him.  I need only but to look upon His face, feel His presence.  Oh that I may gaze upon His beauty and delight in His sweet embrace!

Psalm 27:4 One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.

Troubles, Science, and...Milk!

"...no life is free of troubles, regardless of religion, race, or nation.  In fact, as Job said, every life is full of it.  When we trust our lives to the hand and pen of an unseen but ever-present God, He will write our lives into His story and every last one of them will turn out to be a great read.  With a grand ending.  And not just in spite of those catastrophes.  Often because of them.  Don't just wait and see.  Live and see."-Beth Moore

In my women's Bible study group, we are studying a book on Esther by Beth Moore.  I am really loving it, and I'm loving how in-depth and thorough she is.  I've always loved Esther's story, so I'm very excited about this study!  The passage above was from our study guide.  I got a lot out of the first week, but this part really jumped out at me.  I had to share it with you!  God's plans are good for us, but friends, we live in a broken world.  Pain, tragedies, and all kinds of "catastrophes" are going to happen, but if we trust God with our lives, He will do great things!

Something else I'd like to share.  I'm sort of a science fan.  Yes, the Science Channel does interest me a bit!  Something really intrigues me about Science.  I also like learning about the great minds who have influenced our world.  I am so excited that one day when I get to Heaven, I will fully understand E=MC2!  I mean REALLY understand it...not just in layman's terms!  And I really think Einstein was on to something with his string theory...maybe it wasn't quite right...maybe it wasn't for his time.  But I'd love to understand it. My husband shared this quote by Louis Pasteur with me today:

"Science brings men nearer to God."

Check out this link for more information on Pasteur:

http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v14/i1/pasteur.asp

Here's a little more information from the article on his quote:

 "Pasteur saw no conflict between science and Christianity. In fact, he believed that ‘science brings men nearer to God’. In his work as a scientist, he perceived evidence of wisdom and design, not randomness and chaos. Pasteur stated that: ‘The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of the Creator’." 

Pretty neat stuff.  In case you didn't know (I didn't), he invented the Pasteurization process!  

Got Milk?  

Although he accomplished many other great things in his lifetime, Pasteur was no stranger to heartache.  Here's more information from the article on his personal life:

"Three of his five children died of childhood diseases. Also he had been brought up with a sister left mentally retarded by a childhood disease. Rather than crush his spirit, these tragedies spurred him on in his efforts to spare others the heartbreak of losing their children to disease. His own life was touched by a brain hemorrhage and several strokes which left him partially paralyzed."   

I'm so inspired by people like Pasteur!  He allowed God to use the tragedies in his life to accomplish great things!  God wants to pen some wonderful things in your life...won't you trust Him today!   

  This one of my very favorite websites I like to dig around on about Science  stuff:

http://www.answersingenesis.org/ 

It has a lot of information on Creation Science.  
Okay, that's all folks...to bed I go!

Resolutions

I went to the gym today and did a one hour class called Bodyworks, and boy did it work my body!  I'm hoping to keep at this working out thing and hopefully a new, healthier, more fit me will emerge.  I'm not big on resolutions, because I try to continually assess my life and perpetuate change.  However, I needed a fresh start.  I started running at the beginning of summer '09...went on a short family vacation and didn't start running again until the end of summer!  I ran until the first round of cold weather hit...and here I am doing nothing again.  Husband and I (I meant to say "husband and I," by the way! :) really need to get healthy, and it's so good to be on the same page!  We did a workout with a Pilates DVD one time a few months ago...yes, only once!  So, we joined a gym.  Exercise isn't new to either of us, it's just been awhile!  This was my second time, and I must say that I think I'm going to like it!  I have to get away to exercise...too many distractions...housework...kids...need I say more?!!  I definitely want to incorporate exercise into my life again, and it's a great time to start! 
I guess if I had to give my New Year's Resolutions, these are the things that I would like to put into practice. 

Here goes:

1. Daily Bible Study/Quiet time/Prayer

2. Exercise-Take better care of my body

3. Sleep-More of it (I think I'm allergic to it!)

4. Organization-some type of system, especially for paper clutter

5. Exercise my Love Muscle-love like Jesus loves!

Okay, so these are my resolutions!  How about you?  Did you make any this year?  It's going to be an awesome year!  Do you have any goals, desires, or things that you'd like to start...or stop?  If so, you're not alone if you know Jesus.  It's a good time to start fresh and new!  What we can't do on our own, God can help us with!

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong."

And with His help, "all things are possible!"

(Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27)

I will be posting some organization inspiration photos soon!  I know that excites you!  C'mom...do some cartwheels or backflips now!