Who Am I? Who Are You?

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Who did God create you to be? Do you know His plan for you? Do you compare yourself to the world?

As I think about these questions my mind goes to Esther 4:14 – “…I am here for such a time as this”. God has a plan, a purpose, and a process for me. I know I am loved. I know He chose me. I know I’m forgiven. For me, that’s what matters.

Am I immune to the world? No! I am tempted by the same things you are. Let me tell you something that recently happened. I am very active in the music and worship services of my church. I do not want any service ever to be the Marie Show. I want my part in the services to be all about God. Last evening, I went to Facebook to check what my family and friends had done on this Easter day. The first thing that popped up were pictures of the Morning Worship Service. There I was, in four of the 10 frames. Not only was I prominantly there, the outfit I had on made me look horrible. Am I immune to the world? No!

Here’s the thing. The evil one uses this kind of stuff to get me to think I’m not what God thinks I am. Here’s another thing. I will not let him. I will be the woman God wants me to be. I will keep in mind that I am God’s Daughter, that He is expecting me as a permanent guest in His home, and most of all that He loves the real me! Even more than this He loves my family, friends, and neighbors, too!

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

This blog post is written in response to Week 9 of the 52-Week Devotional Journal For Women, by Deb Wolf

I love to cross stitch and create charts using God’s Word. From time to time I will include one with a lesson. I hope you enjoy this! If you take the time to stitch it please send a picture to asatisfiedspirit@mail.com The flosses I used for this chart are DMC 915 Plum-dk and DMC 4 Tin-dk

All items in this blog are my own copyright protected designs.  You have my permission to use the charts on this page.  Please respect my rights and work by not claiming them as your own.

Miriam’s Song

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“Words cannot control Him. We can simply ask Him.” This simple, yet powerful, truth permeates the pages of Jill Eileen Smith’s new book, Miriam’s Song.

The story of the Exodus is thoughtfully enhanced by the telling of Miriam’s part in it. With a few historical twists and turns, and a lot of the author’s imagination, the ancient story comes to life.

Although there is very little known about the real Miriam, there is much in this work that is plausible and possible. This very believable fictional retelling is worth every word. It flows with the ups and downs, goods and bads, of what was a very difficult journey.

In all really good fictional stories, there are interesting ideas that are introduced to enhance the reader’s understanding. For instance:

Have you ever given any thought to how dangerous it might have been to get water from Nile River? Crocodiles were a real possibility.

The blood covering the doorways of the Hebrews protected them from death, just like Jesus’ blood on the cross does for us.

When Pharoah asked Moses and Aaron to bless him, they just walked away. (See Exodus 12:32.)

This is an absolutely, delightful, thought-producing, retelling of The Exodus. It’s definitely worth the read. I give it 5 stars. Thank you, Jill Eileen Smith.

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell/Baker Publishing Group. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Loving God

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How prepared are we to give our absolute loyalty and obedience in all we think, do, and say to God? That’s what loving Him means.

To love God with our whole mind we have to know Him. To know Him we have to know His Word. Yes, we certainly should read it but there is more to it than that. We need to study it, pray it, memorize it, ponder it, and live it.

 

 

To love Him with our whole being we have to make a conscious choice to make every action we take, every choice we make, every word we speak, acceptable to God. David, in Psalm 19 wrote these words, and they often come to my mind when difficult choices happen: Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

 

 

 

And then, we must love Him with all our strength which means using our time, talents, and resources for Him. You might be thinking that doesn’t make sense but it takes physical and mental power to ensure that everything we are given by Him is being used for Him.

I hope you’ll find some time today, every day, to love on Him!

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

This post is in response to week 8 of Deb Wolf’s 52 Week Devotional Journal For Women.

 

 

Gospelbound – Book Review

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I had just spoken to one of my ESL students who said she has little or no hope for the world in which we live. Her vocal tone was almost a monotone and she rarely smiles. I am not sure how I can help this beautiful young woman. I want to help. I want everyone to understand that they were put on earth, at just this time and place, because God has a plan and purpose for their lives. Then I came across this book – Gospel Bound by Collin Hansen and Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra.

The authors of this book suggest that the key to living a hopeful and rewarding life is ‘to think big and small at the same time.’  What does that mean? Thinking big for me means trusting God for everything. Thinking small means helping others. Buy a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk and take it to the young mother who commented she didn’t have any. Call the friend who is making some tough decisions and simply listen to her talk. Giving what I can when I can is often just a little thing but it makes a God-sized difference in someone else’s life.

One of the problems in the US right now is that we do not understand or perhaps even recognize the amount of suffering that is going on around us. We have isolated our thoughts and actions to our own small group of people and rarely reach out to others. That’s not the way it’s supposed to be. The question becomes – is what I’m doing making any difference at all?  Gospel Bound suggests that it’s rare to be able to change someone else’s habits. But we must keep on helping others. Some will eventually see the Light. Others will go on as they always have. The Bible doesn’t say each endeavor will be successful, it just says do it! (Be obedient!) We are not asked to do miracles, that’s God’s job anyway, we’re asked to use what we have been given and get on with it.

How do we show God’s love in this topsy-turvy world? Here are a few examples from the book:

God’s Word is and must be our guide.

Live and work with integrity.

Give the best we have in all circumstances.

Show hospitality by sitting with newcomers in worship.

Volunteer in ways we never thought we could.

GET INVOLVED. Don’t just sit back when you see a need.

Be holy, godly, diligent, at peace (2 Peter 3:11,14).

Work while we wait because our minds are set on heaven.

Invest your love (of Jesus) in all your relationships. Take the focus off yourself.

Visit the lonely, feed the hungry, care for the sick.

Do what’s right even when you don’t want to. Even if no one notices. In other words, live with honor. Romans 12:17

Plant a church.

Pray through all your decisions and then stick with them.

Favorite Quote: “When billionaires like Bill Gates give away their fortunes to fight diseases and help the world’s poorest people, we recognize God’s provision, even if Gates does not recognize God.”

Although I recognized the value of this book I was a bit disturbed by some vulgar language and way too much explicit description of sexual activity. I simply want to warn you with this statement. I hope it doesn’t keep you from reading it.

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

This book will be published on April 6, 2021

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Net Galley/Walter Brook & Multnomah Press. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

 

I Surrender

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There is a beautiful hymn with these words: All to Jesus I surrender, all to Thee I freely give. As I listened to them I wondered, is that even possible? Don’t get me wrong. I want to. I really want to! I want to put every one of my shortcomings on the altar, at the foot of the cross, and leave them there, permanently. The problem is I give the junk of my life and my thoughts to Him, and then take them right back. Don’t you? I’ll bet you do. You just may not be able or want to admit it.

So, then, how can we get past this. Are we able to? Certainly not on our own. Here’s the thing. There is One who really wants to take our stuff, our negative thoughts and ideas, our falling short, our ‘I disease’. Not only does He want it, He died for it. He stretched out his arms on the cross, gathered every sin that ever was, and said, “IT IS FINISHED”!

At this point, I’ll bet you’re saying, OK, I get it! But how? Pray! Go to Him! Talk to Him!

He knows! He hears! He will listen! And, He will give the answers you and I need. He will give you the strength, wisdom, understanding, and courage to get through the day.

Take my life and let it be…

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

This post is in response to Deb Wolf’s 52-Week Devotional Journal For Women Week 7