Monday’s Life In HIm

Happy Monday Everyone!I’m sorry I am so late at posting this, I’ve been so busy!Who wants to join in “Monday’s Life In Him”?It’s easy… Just grab this button below & post it somewhere either on your blog post or on your main page.Then…Write a post about HIM (Jesus)Sometimes I just post a verse, sometimes I share a short story or sometimes I write a short study.Either way… Let’s spread His Word and His Love! <a border="0" href="http://wedonthaveitalltogether.blogspot.com/search/label/Life%20In%20%27Him%27" target="_blank"><img src="http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab13/jacquiblogger/danielle/buttonlifeinhim1.jpg" width="125" height="125" /> </a>

^{Here is what I have for today}

^{I posted yesterday about our family’s Outdoor Photo Shoot. Since that task was over, today I was able to start looking for Christmas cards for one of the photos. I have 50 free cards coming from Shutterfly for doing a review for them… so I was on my search.}

^{A lot of the cards I could have printed in them anything I wanted. Anything!}

^{I wanted scripture.}

^{I started thinking of all of the typical verses you always see on Christmas cards – but I wanted something different. This is what I found…}

^{Luke 2:10-11}

¹⁰ The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I am bringing you good news that will be a great joy to all the people.¹¹ Today your Savior was born in the town of David. He is Christ, the Lord.

That last verse makes me want to jump & shout!

Today your Savior was born!!

He is Christ, the LORD!!

Life In Him

^{Hello friends!}

^{Today is my first day hosting "Monday's Life In Him".}

<a border="0" href="http://wedonthaveitalltogether.blogspot.com/search/label/Life%20In%20%27Him%27" target="_blank"><img src="http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab13/jacquiblogger/danielle/buttonlifeinhim1.jpg" width="150" height="150" /> </a>

^{I have been trying to post on Monday’s about my life in Christ. Sometimes it is just a story, sometimes it is a verse or even a short study.}

^{Join in & post whatever God puts on your heart to share.} 

^{I will put up a linky at the bottom, so be sure to join in so others can visit you.}

^RULES:

^{The only rule is please post my button. Other than that, let’s spread God’s Word, Love & Jesus, and let’s meet some new bloggy friends in the Lord :)}

^{HERE is my post for today’s “Life In Him”:}

^**sigh**

^{Do you feel that?}

^{That heaviness?}

^{I happen to be going through a trial lately. By lately, I mean a few months now. And I am BEAT! I am EXHAUSTED! I am sick of fighting to stay above water!}

^{And I know that I am not the only one. I have read some blogs & a lot of facebook posts from others like me. It seems like there are many of us right now going through a tough time.}

^{So I was reading and reading and reading today, trying to find some encouragement. This is what I found:}

^{1 Timothy 6:12}

¹² Fight the good fight of faith, grabbing hold of the life that continues forever.

For starters, the only fight we are told to fight, is the fight of faith! We don’t need to fight this struggle that has come up against us. God has already done this. We have victory through Jesus! Just have faith in His finished work on the cross. Through this faith we have eternal life with Him in heaven! Nothing in this world matters more than where we will spend eternity!

Philippians 4:6-7

.⁶ Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks.⁷ And God's peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Have you ever heard of the saying,

“If you worry – then you don’t pray. If you pray – then you don’t worry”

God will give you His peace. Seek His face & ask Him for what you need!

Matthew 6:24-34

²⁵ "So I tell you, don't worry about the food or drink you need to live, or about the clothes you need for your body. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes. ²⁶ Look at the birds in the air. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. And you know that you are worth much more than the birds. ²⁷ You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it. ²⁸ "And why do you worry about clothes? Look at how the lilies in the field grow. They don't work or make clothes for themselves. ²⁹ But I tell you that even Solomon with his riches was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers.³⁰ God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today but tomorrow is thrown into the fire. So you can be even more sure that God will clothe you. Don't have so little faith! ³¹ Don't worry and say, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?'³² The people who don't know God keep trying to get these things, and your Father in heaven knows you need them. ³³ Seek first God's kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well. ³⁴ So don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own worries. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

God takes care of the animals, how much more important are we to Him? He WILL take care of us!

^{James 1:2-4}

² My brothers and sisters, when you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, ³ because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience.⁴ Let your patience show itself perfectly in what you do. Then you will be perfect and complete and will have everything you need.

We have to remember this!!! In the midst of our trial, we HAVE TO REMEMBER… this trial is testing our faith!

How are we going to handle this trial? Are we going to worry? Or are we going to trust in Him to lead us through to the other side? Are we going to worry so much that we can’t see His face? Do we forget to pray & ask for His help?

Do we do everything in OUR power to get us out of the trouble we are in? (<------ that’s me a lot of the time :) Sometimes we are control freaks & forgot that God is the one who is in control.

Just give up… throw up your hands… and say,

“Lord, here I am! I can’t do this on my own, I am powerless! HELP! I am YOURS!”

Now it’s YOUR turn! Write up your post, post my button & link up so we can visit you!

What Are We Doing With That Gift He Gave Us?

I’m horrible.

I have been in a rut. If any of you know me… you can probably tell that I am in a rut by my facebook posts. I go through these stages where I am a good mom/wife/housekeeper – bad – good  – bad.

And by ‘bad’ – I mean lazy. Out of control. My household has been full of chaos lately & I don’t know how to calm things down.  I don’t know how I get in these lazy/chaotic ruts.

God speaks to me & tells me,

“GET UP and stop being lazy!”

“Get organized!”

He NEEDS to YELL at me though, haha.

He is telling me,

“These children are a gift I gave you! I gave you your husband! You have a roof over your head & food on the table! What are you doing with these blessings I gave you?”

Am I the only one that God needs to yell at & scold? I sure feel like it!

So there is a lot on my mind as a sahm. As I go to look up verses for different reasons, somehow God keeps making me stumble upon verses like these below… and even when I see these verses for husbands/fathers -  I am feeling like this is God speaking to ME, not men. Really all these verses apply to me too.

I really have some shaping up to do!

Psalm 127:3
Children are a gift from the Lord; babies are a reward.

Psalm 113:9
He gives children to the woman who has none and makes her a happy mother. Praise the Lord!

Proverbs 13:24
If you do not punish your children, you don't love them, but if you love your children, you will correct them.

Proverbs 20:11
Even children are known by their behavior; their actions show if they are innocent and good.

Proverbs 22:6
Train children to live the right way, and when they are old, they will not stray from it.

Proverbs 23:13
Don't fail to punish children. If you spank them, they won't die.

Proverbs 29:15
Correction and punishment make children wise, but those left alone will disgrace their mother.

Proverbs 29:17
Correct your children, and you will be proud; they will give you satisfaction.

Proverbs 31:28
Her children speak well of her. Her husband also praises her,

Ephesians 6:1  Children, obey your parents as the Lord wants, because this is the right thing to do.

Ephesians 6:4
Fathers, do not make your children angry, but raise them with the training and teaching of the Lord.

Colossians 3:20
Children, obey your parents in all things, because this pleases the Lord.

Colossians 3:21
Fathers, do not nag your children. If you are too hard to please, they may want to stop trying

1 Timothy 3:4
He must be a good family leader, having children who cooperate with full respect.

1 Timothy 3:12
Deacons must have only one wife and be good leaders of their children and their own families.

1 Timothy 5:10
She must be known for her good works—works such as raising her children, welcoming strangers, washing the feet of God's people, helping those in trouble, and giving her life to do all kinds of good deeds.

Titus 1:6
An elder must not be guilty of doing wrong, must have only one wife, and must have believing children. They must not be known as children who are wild and do not cooperate

Titus 2:4
Then they can teach the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,

Proverbs 12:4
A good wife is like a crown for her husband, but a disgraceful wife is like a disease in his bones.

Proverbs 19:14
Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a wise wife is a gift from the Lord.

Proverbs 31:10
It is hard to find a good wife, because she is worth more than rubies.

Ecclesiastes 9:9
Enjoy life with the wife you love. Enjoy all the useless days of this useless life God has given you here on earth, because it is all you have. So enjoy the work you do here on earth.

1 Corinthians 7:3
The husband should give his wife all that he owes her as his wife. And the wife should give her husband all that she owes him as her husband.

1 Corinthians 7:4
The wife does not have full rights over her own body; her husband shares them. And the husband does not have full rights over his own body; his wife shares them.

Ephesians 5:23
because the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church. And he is the Savior of the body, which is the church.

Ephesians 5:28
In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they love their own bodies. The man who loves his wife loves himself.

I just hope I am not totally displeasing the Lord in every single way. I hope He sees  my desire to please Him… and I hope I am able to climb out of my rut!!

I want to be a better wife & mother.

I hope I can get better control of my household.

I want things to calm down & the chaos to end & I want order back.

I want to run my home in a way that pleases HIM.

We Are Not Our Own

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (New King James Version)

¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? ²⁰ For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Oh this is a good one!!

If we are children of God, born again, saved by the blood of Jesus… then the Holy Spirit is living in us.  We are not our own because we were bought & paid for. We  were bought for a price: The precious blood of Jesus was shed for our eternity with Him. We belong to God!

Considering we ‘are not our own’ – do we do whatever we want with our bodies? In reality, I could write a list of ways that we abuse our bodies… but let’s just be simple.

If they Holy Spirit is living in us from the time of our conversion, I look at it this way:

• The Holy Spirit is taking part in  what we are taking part in.
• The Holy Spirit is seeing what we are seeing.
• The Holy Spirit is hearing what we are hearing.
• The Holy Spirit is in us when we are saying what we are saying.
  • So… what are we doing everyday with our bodies? Over eating? Smoking? Getting Tattoos? Cussing? Dragging someone’s name through the mud? Lusting?
  • What are we watching? Would we watch the same TV show if Jesus was sitting next to us on the couch?
  • What are we listening to? Would we listen to the same radio station if Jesus was riding shotgun in the car with us?
  • Would we be listening to gossip or taking part in dragging someone’s name through the mud if Jesus was in the conversation?

Romans 6:13

¹³ Do not offer the parts of your body to serve sin, as things to be used in doing evil. Instead, offer yourselves to God as people who have died and now live. Offer the parts of your body to God to be used in doing good.

¹⁹In the past you offered the parts of your body to be slaves to sin and evil; you lived only for evil. In the same way now you must give yourselves to be slaves of goodness. Then you will live only for God.

So what is so hard about this to understand? We are not to be the way we used to be, now that the Holy Spirit is living in us. We are not our own anymore. When we are going about our day… do we stop to think, “What am I doing?” or “What am I saying?”

Why don’t we stop & think:

• “Would I be taking part in this activity if Jesus was standing by my side?”
• “Would I be saying these things if Jesus was sitting here listening to me?”
• “Would I be thinking these things if Jesus was right here beside me?”

Well He IS!!! We really need to realize this through out our day. We need to glorify Him in all we say and do! There are only 2 spirits in this world… if we are not serving one, then we are serving the other.

We all need to examine our daily walk. Do we glorify Him in all we say and do? Do we even take this into consideration? Or do we go about our day with out even thinking about this?

I know God has a lot of work to do with me, that’s for sure :)  

“I'm not what I should be, I'm not what I want to be, but praise God I'm not what I used to be.”

~C.D. Brooks.

My Idea Of A Relationship!

I was lazy this week & didn’t post anything…  So I am making up for it now :)

I got this email today & I really enjoyed it. I figured I would share.

This is MY idea of a relationship with HIM!

 

MOM'S EMPTY CHAIR 

A woman's daughter had asked the local minister

to come and pray
with her mother.
When the minister arrived,

he found the woman
lying in bed with her head

propped up on two
pillows..
An empty chair sat beside her bed.
The minister assumed that the woman

had been informed
of his visit...
'I guess you were expecting me, he said.
'No, who are you?' said the mother.
The minister told her his name and then remarked,

'I saw the empty
chair and I figured you knew

I was going
to show up...'
'Oh yeah, the chair,' said the bedridden woman
'Would you mind closing the door?'
Puzzled, the minister shut the door.
'I have never told anyone this,

not even my daughter,'
said the woman.
'But all of my life I have never

known how to pray.

At church I used
to hear the pastor talk about prayer,

but it went right
over my head...'
I abandoned any attempt at prayer,'

the old woman continued,

until one day four
years ago, my best friend said to me,

' Prayer is
just a simple matter

of having a conversation
  with Jesus.

Here is what I suggest..

'Sit down in a chair;

place an empty chair
in front of you,
and in faith see Jesus on the chair.
It's not spooky because he promised,

'I will be with you
always'..
'Then just speak to him in the same way

you're doing with
me right now...'
'So, I tried it and I've liked it so much

that I do it a couple
of hours every day.

I'm careful though . If my daughter
saw me talking

to an empty chair,
she'd either have a nervous breakdown

or send me off to
the funny farm.'

The minister was deeply moved by the story and

encouraged the old
woman to continue on the journey.
Then he prayed with her, anointed her with oil,

and returned to the
church.
Two nights later the daughter called

to tell the minister
that her mama

had died that afternoon. 
Did she die in peace?' he asked.
Yes, when I left the house about two o'clock,

she called me over
to her bedside,

told me she loved
me and kissed me on the cheek.
When I got back from the store an hour later,

I found her .
But there was something strange about her death.

Apparently, just
before Mom died,

she leaned over and
rested her head on the chair

beside the bed. What
do you make of that?'
The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said,

'I wish we could
all go like that.'  

Ephesians 3:14-20  (New Century Version)

The Love of Christ

¹⁴ So I bow in prayer before the Father¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth gets its true name.¹⁶ I ask the Father in his great glory to give you the power to be strong inwardly through his Spirit.¹⁷ I pray that Christ will live in your hearts by faith and that your life will be strong in love and be built on love.¹⁸ And I pray that you and all God's holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ's love—how wide and how long and how high and how deep that love is.¹⁹ Christ's love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with the fullness of God.

²⁰ With God's power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine.

Life With Him

Acts 4:12 (New Century Version)


“Jesus is the only One who can save people. No one else in the world is able to save us."

Just thought I’d throw that out there. Call me intolerant. That’s ok.

There is an absolute truth. And it is the Word of God. And The Word of God says that Jesus is the ONLY one who can save people. (saved = eternal life in heaven) There are NOT ‘many paths’ that all lead to heaven.

So if you think I am intolerant… Take it up with God.

Life With Him

Ephesians 2:8, 9


"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."


In other words...
Through God's Grace He saves our soul ~but~ ONLY BY FAITH! WE can NOT save ourselves. We can't EARN our spot in heaven. Being a 'good' person won't get us there.
 The only thing that gets us to heaven is having faith in Jesus. Jesus said this, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6

Life With Him

Galatians 5:13 (New Century Version)


"My brothers and sisters, God called you to be free, but do not use your freedom as an excuse to do what pleases your sinful self. Serve each other with love."

This is just a reminder to all of us. Just because we know we are saved, and we know we can ask God to forgive us, and we know He will… this doesn’t give us an excuse to do the things that we know are WRONG. Simple as that. We take Him & His grace for granted too many times just to please ourselves. Because of course – ANY kind of sin feels good to some part of the body. No matter if it is physical or otherwise. Sin feels good to the flesh. Think about it. But keep in mind this:

Galatians 6:8 (New International Version)

"The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life."

So when we are ‘moaning & groaning’ about our miserable lives… remember… we may have caused our own destruction. Start living for Him (please the Spirit) and see how your life changes.

Life With Him

This is a verse that I would have my little one’s in Sunday School memorize. They were pre & kinder’s. Very easy verse & very important to know!


Romans 10:9 (New International Version)

"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

So basically… similar to the famous John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. Of course everyone knows this one.

The jist of it all? If you have faith that Jesus is The Only Son of God, He died for your sins, and He rose on the 3rd day… you are saved eternally. You will spend your eternal life with God in heaven.

Life With Him

Luke 9:26 (New International Version)


If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Are we ashamed of Jesus (the Son of Man)? On judgment day when we stand in ‘that line’ on the other side… will He be ashamed of us? Will he accept us in? Or were we too ashamed of Him here on this side?

Life With Him

James 2:19 (New Century Version)


You believe there is one God. Good! But the demons believe that, too, and they tremble with fear.

This is an interesting one. I don’t think anyone can say it’s not. Demons? Come on! The topic on demons in the bible is such an interesting topic! And there is TONS of info on demons (in the bible) It KILLS me to read peoples’ FB status’ or stories about “ghosts” because everyone is sooo curious! Well it’s all answered in the bible. There IS a such thing as the paranormal. There is a perfect explanation to all the spooky stuff that happens. It can be backed up with science along side of the bible. And the answer: DEMONS! Demons have been around longer than Adam & Eve. They have roamed this earth forever. FYI – Adam & Eve were not the first people on this earth. There was a whole race before them. Interesting, huh?



Anyway back to the verse… The demons know God. They know Jesus. They know what is going to happen to them at the end of time. That’s why it says the demons tremble with fear! Funny how the demons know God but so many of us deny Him. This verse basically says this: Soooo many people “claim” they ‘believe’ in God. Big deal! The demons ‘believe’ in God too. That doesn’t mean God is going to spare them at the end. To ‘believe’ in God – is to have a relationship with Him. It would be like me saying, “Hey, do you know that guy that lives down the block at the corner? Yeah, I ‘know’ him” Well kinda the same with God. When you have a relationship with Him, you are considered “His”. You are a “child of God”. Part of His ‘family’. You can claim to ‘know’ God – but it won’t get you into heaven unless you really KNOW Him!

Life With Him

James 4:14 (New Century Version)


"But you do not know what will happen tomorrow! Your life is like a mist. You can see it for a short time, but then it goes away."

This is so true. I have seen so much life end in the past year or two. Life that was taken MUCH TOO SOON. So many died of cancer, accidents, unknown heart problems. Young people that had so many years left in them.

This makes me think of Shannyn. Shannyn is Mike’s daughter who passed when she was 3. She passed back in 2002. She would have been one month older than my daughter Emma. Emma is 11. I can’t imagine having Shannyn right now. I can’t imagine what she would be like. We named Gracie after her. “Gracie Shannyn”

God has a day for us. We don’t know when that day will be. There is nothing written in stone that says we are going to live to be 80 years old. Our day to end our life here & start our life in eternity may be tomorrow. Are we prepared for eternity?

Life With Him

Genesis 1:27-28


27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth…”

This is the beginning of the bible when God creates man (Adam & Eve) Everyone thinks that Adam & Eve were the first people on this earth. Not true. The word ‘replenish’ proves this. REplenish! Do it AGAIN! Interesting. There was a whole race of people on this earth before Adam & Eve. It was the time period when Lucifer had his kingdom set up here on earth. He was kicked out of heaven.

To read more on this topic, click HERE.