So today I started studying for a new topic in the women's study. We are going to be talking about a lot of different topics.....that are all magically intertwined together.
To start off with we are talking about our position in Christ. What do we become, or rather what should we become when we as young ladies are adopted into the family of the king? The title of the lesson is "Once Upon A Time". I don't know, I think it's rather clever. Anyway.....what does it mean to be a Daughter of the King? A Princess. How does a princess of the Most High act. How does she respond to others. Dress, talk, think? All of these things are going through my head....so much in there...but it's so hard to reign it all in.
So anyway. I am anxious and nervous about this because I want my thoughts for this group to be God's thoughts. My plans His plans. I believe that He has placed this on my heart but it is an undertaking such as I have not done up until now. I would love prayers so that I would be able to organize everything into the lessons and weeks ahead, and that I will deal honestly and openly and with love....and that it will be encouraging and provoking the others to Godliness. Oh and that I won't leave anything out. Oh so much. Anyway....so yeah...prayer would be great!
Princess in Training!
Jaime
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
A Beastly King's Tale: Based On A True Story!
There was a mighty king of old his heart was lifted high;
His city walls and towers strong his riches made him sigh.
Of all the kingdoms near and far of big and small combine;
no glory shadowed over him no king could match his shine.
And then this king lay down his head for night the sun had dimmed;
he closed his eyes to sleep thought he with pride his heart full brimmed.
Expected he to dream of wealth, of glory, fame, and praise;
instead a root of greatest height began to weave it's maze.
A sturdy tower, a blooming bud, a tree to heaven reached;
its fruit delivered willingly, it's sweetness all men preached.
It's shadow from the noon day heat provided creatures care;
of comfort, peace and sheltered rest for any stopping there.
No woodman's axe, no fires flame could take away it's length;
with passing time it's mighty limbs would only grow in strength.
Until one day a watcher from highest heaven flew;
along with him a holy one with both a mission true.
They felled the mighty trunk, yes and brought it to the ground;
destroying all but lowly stump, beside no leaf was found.
Seven seasons, seven rains, fruitless harvests, blinding rays;
no signature of greatness, no legacy, nor praise.
With this the king woke startled, quite unsure of what he'd seen;
he knew he had to seek it out what could the vision mean.
He called the wisest of the wise he searched for all his gods;
but none could find the reason and left the king at odds.
But then an idea struck him of one that he could call;
he claimed to be a servant of the greatest God of all.
The prophet stood in silence as the king relayed the tale;
and then left in eerie musement once instructed not to fail.
For hours the man sat speechless as Jehovah answered true;
the meaning of this vision brought sorrow coming due.
The tree explained the prophet oh prideful king is you;
reduced to live as cattle, you soon will follow through.
You credit all your power, your greatness and your wealth;
you look not to the maker but find it all in self.
Until you look with in you and see a creature true;
you never will be ready to bow your heart a new.
A day a, a week, a month, a year passed quickly for the king;
until the prophecy became a true and living thing.
His heart was full of wickedness, was woven through with pride;
he looked at all his kingdom and himself he glorified.
And before the next full hour in misery and shame;
the king had lost his senses this man a beast became.
For seven years he lingered his hair and nails grown thick,
he crawled on bended knee and hands as time began to tick.
And then one day God's mercy fell upon the wretched soul;
his memories returned to him, his senses became whole.
And in that very moment he praised the God most high;
for none can rule in power without Him standing by.
The beast became a king once more a modest, wiser king;
all honor and praises to only one would he forever sing.
And now my story's ended its moral should ring true;
a broken contrite spirit yield, lest pride make ruin you!
His city walls and towers strong his riches made him sigh.
Of all the kingdoms near and far of big and small combine;
no glory shadowed over him no king could match his shine.
And then this king lay down his head for night the sun had dimmed;
he closed his eyes to sleep thought he with pride his heart full brimmed.
Expected he to dream of wealth, of glory, fame, and praise;
instead a root of greatest height began to weave it's maze.
A sturdy tower, a blooming bud, a tree to heaven reached;
its fruit delivered willingly, it's sweetness all men preached.
It's shadow from the noon day heat provided creatures care;
of comfort, peace and sheltered rest for any stopping there.
No woodman's axe, no fires flame could take away it's length;
with passing time it's mighty limbs would only grow in strength.
Until one day a watcher from highest heaven flew;
along with him a holy one with both a mission true.
They felled the mighty trunk, yes and brought it to the ground;
destroying all but lowly stump, beside no leaf was found.
Seven seasons, seven rains, fruitless harvests, blinding rays;
no signature of greatness, no legacy, nor praise.
With this the king woke startled, quite unsure of what he'd seen;
he knew he had to seek it out what could the vision mean.
He called the wisest of the wise he searched for all his gods;
but none could find the reason and left the king at odds.
But then an idea struck him of one that he could call;
he claimed to be a servant of the greatest God of all.
The prophet stood in silence as the king relayed the tale;
and then left in eerie musement once instructed not to fail.
For hours the man sat speechless as Jehovah answered true;
the meaning of this vision brought sorrow coming due.
The tree explained the prophet oh prideful king is you;
reduced to live as cattle, you soon will follow through.
You credit all your power, your greatness and your wealth;
you look not to the maker but find it all in self.
Until you look with in you and see a creature true;
you never will be ready to bow your heart a new.
A day a, a week, a month, a year passed quickly for the king;
until the prophecy became a true and living thing.
His heart was full of wickedness, was woven through with pride;
he looked at all his kingdom and himself he glorified.
And before the next full hour in misery and shame;
the king had lost his senses this man a beast became.
For seven years he lingered his hair and nails grown thick,
he crawled on bended knee and hands as time began to tick.
And then one day God's mercy fell upon the wretched soul;
his memories returned to him, his senses became whole.
And in that very moment he praised the God most high;
for none can rule in power without Him standing by.
The beast became a king once more a modest, wiser king;
all honor and praises to only one would he forever sing.
And now my story's ended its moral should ring true;
a broken contrite spirit yield, lest pride make ruin you!
Saturday, March 21, 2009
It's definitely a PETER NIGHT!
OUCH! MY FEET AND LEGS HURT ME SO BAD. I CANNOT SLEEP. PLEASE PRAY FOR ME. I WANT TO BE HEALTHY AGAIN! IT'S SO HARD TO EXPLAIN. IM FRUSTRATED AND UNCOMFORTABLE.
I CAST ALL MY CARES UPON YOU! I LAY ALL OF MY BURDEN DOWN AT YOUR FEET AND ANY TIME THAT I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO I WILL CAST ALL MY CARE UPON YOU.
j
I CAST ALL MY CARES UPON YOU! I LAY ALL OF MY BURDEN DOWN AT YOUR FEET AND ANY TIME THAT I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO I WILL CAST ALL MY CARE UPON YOU.
j
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
And so today I am officially down to one animal again. Lilly has grown increasingly "ill". I was so worried about her.....not playing, not eating, hiding a lot! Then one night about a week and a half ago she kept waking me up by running all over the place up things, down things, under things, and over them.....I was getting really irritated when I realized...she was trying to get away from Mylie. She just wanted to sleep, she's older, and she's used to sleeping at night. But 6 month old Mylie would not have it. I started paying closer attention and realized that when Lilly would try to eat...Mylie woud stop her...when she tried to drink...Mylie was right there. Poor Lilly is a one person cat...and she truly loves me the best she is able to....but adding another feline to the mix was more than she could take.
She's lived fine with Terriers, Lab mixes, and even a Chiuaua (sp?). She's fine with dogs...but there is only room for one cat around here I guess.
So today, bundled in a pink blanket...my beautiful gray kitten was sent back to the shelter I got her from. My friend Andrea went with me and as soon as I walk in the door I broke down. The lady behind the counter said...can I help you? To wich I responded with a sob and pointed to Andrea and said "talk". So Andrea started to explain...and the lady said..oh you're the one who called. Thankfully I had called early to explain why Mylie was being surrendered for adoption. The lady remembered and she said....it's ok. I filled out two forms and there you have it...they said we'll do the best we can and that was it.
I was so bummed but when I got home I was greeted by a bouncing happy Lilly. Now confindent in her position...and eating like a pig.
I will never forget that pretty little gray....I pray that she finds a great home...where she too will be queen bee.
I'm going to wait a year or two....then...I'm getting a dog. :-)
She's lived fine with Terriers, Lab mixes, and even a Chiuaua (sp?). She's fine with dogs...but there is only room for one cat around here I guess.
So today, bundled in a pink blanket...my beautiful gray kitten was sent back to the shelter I got her from. My friend Andrea went with me and as soon as I walk in the door I broke down. The lady behind the counter said...can I help you? To wich I responded with a sob and pointed to Andrea and said "talk". So Andrea started to explain...and the lady said..oh you're the one who called. Thankfully I had called early to explain why Mylie was being surrendered for adoption. The lady remembered and she said....it's ok. I filled out two forms and there you have it...they said we'll do the best we can and that was it.
I was so bummed but when I got home I was greeted by a bouncing happy Lilly. Now confindent in her position...and eating like a pig.
I will never forget that pretty little gray....I pray that she finds a great home...where she too will be queen bee.
I'm going to wait a year or two....then...I'm getting a dog. :-)
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Remember When?
As children some of the first verses we learn are Proverbs 3:6&7. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.
Yippee! Got it! Here we go, down the path....straight ahead, no bends, no forks in the road, or speed bumps. Better yet no slimy disgusting pits of the devil to fall into! Nothing but blue skies and smooth sailing. Trusting in the Lord and letting Him direct.
Woe wait a minute...that's not you're life? It's not mine I can tell you that. Bumps, bruises, friends that fail, plans that fall apart. People that disappoint. Sound slightly more familiar?
Ok now we're on the same page...so we say Trust in the Lord and He will direct you! It says so right here! Do it! Just do it! Huhu...how?
How do you trust God when you don't know what's coming, when you don't know IF anything is coming at all? When you've been beat up, pushed around and left for dead? Do you muster up all of the Spiritual Fortitude in your tiny little heart and go for broke? Do you blink three times, turn around and spit on the ground? Or how about click your heels together three times? Sorry...they're RED HEELS with sparkles on them! (Ha Ha)
So what's the magic words to make the Trust come flooding into the soul and restore peace, refreshment, and focus?
Think about this:
When Joshua was taking over the leadership of the Israelites he said "remember how God brought you out", when they crossed over Jordan he put up a monument so that they would "remember", over and over year after disappointing year the Israelites were called to remember what God had done for them in the past. And with each memory, strength was renewed, hearts revived, and TRUST restored.
So tonight I sit and remember.....how God got us down a mountain in pitch black...with no head lights then brought a complete stranger to our motel door to pay for the car repairs.
How a small bunch of country folk in a little teeny Texas village gave me and my brother birthday parities...even though they'd never met us.
How many times checks showed up in the mail right when we needed them. Or a big trash bag full Christmas gift showed up on the porch when things were tight.
I remember my parents going to Greenland and coming back with just about as much money as they'd left with. And stories about a little girl in Alaska that gave her heart to God when a man looking for a mission field showed up and preached.
I remember the hundreds of believers that prayed, gave, and encouraged. Many many more than the ones that tore us down and drove us away.
I remember, and I am amazed! I remember and I am ashamed. I want so badly for those certain relationships and people to accept me...and here I am.....accepted by the God of the universe. What is wrong with me?
I remember the strong men that I had the privilege to sit under and learn from. Many of those men got paid to teach preacher boys the stuff I was getting for free. Many a preacher boy had to pay tuition for the stuff I got all summer long.
So I thank Him for the mountains, and I thank Him for the valleys, I thank Him for the trials He's brought me through....cause if I never had a problem I wouldn't know that God could solve em' and I wouldn't know what faith in God could do! Through it all, through it all, I've learned to trust in Jesus and I've learned to trust His Power! Through it all, through it all, I've learned to depend upon His Word!
Yippee! Got it! Here we go, down the path....straight ahead, no bends, no forks in the road, or speed bumps. Better yet no slimy disgusting pits of the devil to fall into! Nothing but blue skies and smooth sailing. Trusting in the Lord and letting Him direct.
Woe wait a minute...that's not you're life? It's not mine I can tell you that. Bumps, bruises, friends that fail, plans that fall apart. People that disappoint. Sound slightly more familiar?
Ok now we're on the same page...so we say Trust in the Lord and He will direct you! It says so right here! Do it! Just do it! Huhu...how?
How do you trust God when you don't know what's coming, when you don't know IF anything is coming at all? When you've been beat up, pushed around and left for dead? Do you muster up all of the Spiritual Fortitude in your tiny little heart and go for broke? Do you blink three times, turn around and spit on the ground? Or how about click your heels together three times? Sorry...they're RED HEELS with sparkles on them! (Ha Ha)
So what's the magic words to make the Trust come flooding into the soul and restore peace, refreshment, and focus?
Think about this:
When Joshua was taking over the leadership of the Israelites he said "remember how God brought you out", when they crossed over Jordan he put up a monument so that they would "remember", over and over year after disappointing year the Israelites were called to remember what God had done for them in the past. And with each memory, strength was renewed, hearts revived, and TRUST restored.
So tonight I sit and remember.....how God got us down a mountain in pitch black...with no head lights then brought a complete stranger to our motel door to pay for the car repairs.
How a small bunch of country folk in a little teeny Texas village gave me and my brother birthday parities...even though they'd never met us.
How many times checks showed up in the mail right when we needed them. Or a big trash bag full Christmas gift showed up on the porch when things were tight.
I remember my parents going to Greenland and coming back with just about as much money as they'd left with. And stories about a little girl in Alaska that gave her heart to God when a man looking for a mission field showed up and preached.
I remember the hundreds of believers that prayed, gave, and encouraged. Many many more than the ones that tore us down and drove us away.
I remember, and I am amazed! I remember and I am ashamed. I want so badly for those certain relationships and people to accept me...and here I am.....accepted by the God of the universe. What is wrong with me?
I remember the strong men that I had the privilege to sit under and learn from. Many of those men got paid to teach preacher boys the stuff I was getting for free. Many a preacher boy had to pay tuition for the stuff I got all summer long.
So I thank Him for the mountains, and I thank Him for the valleys, I thank Him for the trials He's brought me through....cause if I never had a problem I wouldn't know that God could solve em' and I wouldn't know what faith in God could do! Through it all, through it all, I've learned to trust in Jesus and I've learned to trust His Power! Through it all, through it all, I've learned to depend upon His Word!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
God's Blessing in Disobedient Times
When I was a little girl I used to constantly read the books of Ruth and Esther over and over again. We were encouraged at very young ages to try to get into a habit of individual reading apart from the family devotions. I was and still am a hopeless romantic. Cinderella was my hero! So I would read Ruth for the obvious romance and Esther because....well who wouldn't want to be queen and save the world?
Finally my dad told me, "Jaime, there are other books in the Bible...pick something else next time!"
So here I find myself once again going through a study in Ruth and Esther. It was chosen for the 12th grade girls at the church and we start it tonight. I get to start the lessons and I'm nervous. I'm always nervous because although I know the material, I don't know sometimes the best way to present it and what exactly the girls are going to need from it. I'm so glad God knows.
There is one over shadowing question in my mind. The amount of speculation that comes into play with the marriages of Ruth and Orpah to Mahlon and Chilion.
When the Elimelech gang packed it up and headed for the hills they were running away from famine, away from their land, their people....and their God. At first glance you think...the man's just providing for his family cut him some slack...but anytime that a Jewish individual took up residency in a pagan land, it was a picture that they were taking matters into their own hands and relying on their own strength. Essentially they were turning their backs on their God.
Disobedience Act 1: Elimelech decided that God could no longer care for his family and that he was going to need to do it himself. He headed to the land of their arch enemies...the Moabites. Unfortunately, trial followed him in Moab and he died there.
Disobedience Act 2: Weather or not the boys took their wives before or after their fathers death is not entirely clear. What is clear is that they shared their parents lack of respect for the God's laws and disbelief that God would provide. Soon after, they also died. Many speculate that their lack of trust and faith in God is what led to their death...this is not indicated in Scripture and can only be speculation.
The Blessing: So far Ruth is not such a wonderful fairytale aye? We have three men dead, and three widows without a penny to their names. Where is the blessing? Here, a picture of God's grace begins to peak through the clouds as Naomi decides to return home dejected, empty, and alone. In those last moments on the trail before heading down the mountain side Orpah leaves in tears. She's tasted of the God of Israel and all she sees is death and need. But then comes that beautiful speech...the speech so many now use as a picture of commitment in the wedding ceremony... Ruth says to Naomi, where you go, I will go, your people will be my people and your God my God! That is grace right there! God's grace! It is the testimony at the time of Ruth's conversion. She make the decision to follow God...to leave the world, her family, her friends, any chance of material possessions, all of it, behind her. She chooses to follow God....No Turning Back.
Does this mean we encourage disobedience. By no means....what it does mean is that even the stupid, faithless decisions of man cannot stop the work of Christ as He seeks and saves those who are lost. Either you will obey and follow Him and He will perfect His will in you and through you or you will decide to turn from Him and He will perfect His will in spite of you.
Choose to be a vessel of honor fit for His use!
Run with Patience
Heb 12:1
J~
Finally my dad told me, "Jaime, there are other books in the Bible...pick something else next time!"
So here I find myself once again going through a study in Ruth and Esther. It was chosen for the 12th grade girls at the church and we start it tonight. I get to start the lessons and I'm nervous. I'm always nervous because although I know the material, I don't know sometimes the best way to present it and what exactly the girls are going to need from it. I'm so glad God knows.
There is one over shadowing question in my mind. The amount of speculation that comes into play with the marriages of Ruth and Orpah to Mahlon and Chilion.
When the Elimelech gang packed it up and headed for the hills they were running away from famine, away from their land, their people....and their God. At first glance you think...the man's just providing for his family cut him some slack...but anytime that a Jewish individual took up residency in a pagan land, it was a picture that they were taking matters into their own hands and relying on their own strength. Essentially they were turning their backs on their God.
Disobedience Act 1: Elimelech decided that God could no longer care for his family and that he was going to need to do it himself. He headed to the land of their arch enemies...the Moabites. Unfortunately, trial followed him in Moab and he died there.
Disobedience Act 2: Weather or not the boys took their wives before or after their fathers death is not entirely clear. What is clear is that they shared their parents lack of respect for the God's laws and disbelief that God would provide. Soon after, they also died. Many speculate that their lack of trust and faith in God is what led to their death...this is not indicated in Scripture and can only be speculation.
The Blessing: So far Ruth is not such a wonderful fairytale aye? We have three men dead, and three widows without a penny to their names. Where is the blessing? Here, a picture of God's grace begins to peak through the clouds as Naomi decides to return home dejected, empty, and alone. In those last moments on the trail before heading down the mountain side Orpah leaves in tears. She's tasted of the God of Israel and all she sees is death and need. But then comes that beautiful speech...the speech so many now use as a picture of commitment in the wedding ceremony... Ruth says to Naomi, where you go, I will go, your people will be my people and your God my God! That is grace right there! God's grace! It is the testimony at the time of Ruth's conversion. She make the decision to follow God...to leave the world, her family, her friends, any chance of material possessions, all of it, behind her. She chooses to follow God....No Turning Back.
Does this mean we encourage disobedience. By no means....what it does mean is that even the stupid, faithless decisions of man cannot stop the work of Christ as He seeks and saves those who are lost. Either you will obey and follow Him and He will perfect His will in you and through you or you will decide to turn from Him and He will perfect His will in spite of you.
Choose to be a vessel of honor fit for His use!
Run with Patience
Heb 12:1
J~
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