Seeing CLEARLY...

"For now, we can only see a dim and blurry picture of things, as when we stare into polished metal. I realize that everything I know is only part of the big picture. But one day, when Jesus arrives, we will see clearly, face-to-face. In that day, I will fully know just as I have been wholly known by God." -- 1 Corinthians 13:12

This week I had a Jesus moment sitting in the opticians chair.  

This past year I have really noticed my eyesight getting worse.  Though I've used readers for the past few years it has slowly become more difficult. Then one morning I woke up and was supposed to start a new prescription.  As I tried to read the directions on the bottle I could NOT make out what it was saying. (No matter how far I held it from my face) It was a wake-up call.  I decided it was time to call in the professionals.  

After a thorough eye exam we discovered that I have stage one cataracts and that my eyes definitely needed some help in both reading and distance.  It took a little over a week before my glasses were ready to be picked up.  I was not prepared for how much this was going to change my life. 

OH.MY.WORD!  When my optician slide the glasses on my face and I gazed out at the office area I could not believe the difference.  I had NO IDEA that I had been living in a dimmed down world.  I had been viewing everything through a very subtle murkiness.  As I gazed through my new beautiful lenses my world was brighter, crisper and clearer.  I had no idea that I'd been walking around not seeing things clearly.

As I've begun living in this new brighter, crisper, clearer world I've wondered how many times I've walked around doing the same thing in my spiritual life.  Are there times when my spiritual eyesight is not what it should be?   In busyness does truth become law and grace become works.  Is it possible that in certain seasons or situations I am walking in a dimmed down spiritual state and I don't even know it?  

YES!

As I am entering a new season of rest and I am letting go of "things" and "responsibilities" I am finding my spiritual hunger is being stirred up and renewed.  It changes how I think, how I act, how I respond.  It fills me with a JOY that is not based on circumstances.  It breathes NEW LIFE into every part of my being.  I think of the promise in Psalm 103:

"When your soul is famished and withering, HE FILLS YOU with GOOD and BEAUTIFUL things....satisfying you as long as you live"! -- Psalm 103:5

Lord, help me to see you clearly.  Remind me that apart from YOU I can do NOTHING.  Help me to faithfully put on my spiritual glasses (The Word) every single day so that it brings a clarity and crispness to my life.  

Mary, do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen; for the things which are visible are temporal [just brief and fleeting], but the things which are invisible are everlasting and imperishable.-- 2 Corinthians 4:18

OH HOW HE LOVES US

Meditating on Psalm 103

O my soul, come, praise the Eternal
    with all that is in me—body, emotions, mind, and will—every part of who I am—praise His holy name. (1)

Despite all your many offenses, He forgives and releases you. More than any doctor, He heals your diseases. (verse 3)

When your soul is famished and withering, He fills you with good and beautiful things, satisfying you as long as you live.  He makes you strong like an eagle, restoring your youth. (Verse 5)

The Eternal is compassionate and merciful.  When we cross all the lines, He is patient with us.  When we struggle against Him, He lovingly stays with us—changing, convicting, prodding. (Verse 8)

You see, God takes all our crimes—our seemingly inexhaustible sins—and removes them. As far as east is from the west, He removes them from us. (Verse 12)

For He knows what we are made of; He knows our frame is frail, and He remembers we came from dust. (Verse 14)

Give praise to the Eternal, all that He has made in all corners of His creation.  O my soul, come, praise the Eternal! (22)

Here is a link to the bible gateway VOICE translation: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+103&version=VOICE

Humility verses Pride

"Don't let selfishness and prideful agendas take over. Embrace true humility, and lift your heads to extend love to others."

--- Phil 2:3

I LOVE THIS VERSE!  It was the people who modeled this scripture for me that changed my life forever!  I watched them lay down the gauntlet again and again.  It made my heart hungry for more of what they had. Though I know we will never arrive until we get to heaven, I do pray with all my heart that these actions become more and more of a surprise and less and less the norm.

Get beyond yourselves and protecting your own interests; be sincere, and secure your neightrs' interests first.  In other words, adopt the mind-set of Jesus the Anointed.  Live with HIS attitude in your hearts. 

--Phil 2:4-5

Chosen, Cherished...I'm HIS!

Even before He made the world.  God loved me and chose me IN CHRIST to be holy and without fault in His eyes.  God decided in advance to adopt me into His own family by bringing me to Himself through Jesus Christ.  This is what He wanted to do and it gave Him great pleasure.  So I praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on me because I belong to His dear son.  He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased my freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave my sins. 

--Ephesians 1:4-8  (personalized)

This week is an exciting one! It's a time of reflection, celebration, and glorious goal setting. (I love dreaming and goals let me do that)  It's my birthday week and I want to spend time asking the Lord to show me where I've grown this past year and where I still need to grow.  I don't ever want to become complacent or comfortable.    I deeply desire to live my life with purpose for HIS Kingdom.  This world is not my home.  One day I will take my last breath and stand before my Savior.  Oh to hear Him say....well done, my daughter.  

This morning as I linger in Ephesians I see his holy hand in my life.  He adopted me, called me by name, wrote my name in His book!  In that moment I became HIS.  

My life is not my own.....

Because I am united with Christ, I have received an inheritance from God, for He chose me in advance, and He makes everything work out according to His plan.--Ephesians 1:11

Lord, let me spend my inheritance serving you and loving others in your name.  Teach me how to be courageous enough to share your gospel with those who are perishing.  Give me wisdom as a wife and a mother that my actions and words might draw my beloved's closer to you.  Thank you, Lord.  Thank you for choosing me.

You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.  How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.  They cannot be numbered.  I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!  

-- Psalm 139:16-18

Renewing our heart through the Freedom Workshop....

"Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord" Isaiah 1:18

"He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less" John 3:30

PRECIOUS TRUTH

Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.  So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.  For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will.

Romans 8:5-7&11

"For God is working IN YOU, giving you the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him.  Phil 2:13

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable. So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe.  This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.  

Hebrews 4:12-15

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrews 4:16

Smashing Our Calf!

I LOVE walking in community!  It sharpens me, painfully refines me, and graciously holds me accountable.  Tonight my Classical Conversations campus met for an evening of encouragement and equipping.  I am constantly amazed at how often God has me share my struggle and what He has done/is doing to help me overcome my false idea's of what my life is supposed to look like.  

Several years ago I was miserable trying to do everything in my own strength.  I wanted to be the perfect wife, the perfect mom, the perfect homeschooler.  I was failing miserably. (duh)  The harder I tried the worse I felt.  

I had two children going to All Children's hospital for speech therapy, a grandmother I was happily caring for after knee surgery, a baby in diapers, and I was pregnant with #4.   I lived in a state of constant condemnation.  I thought everyone else had it all together.  I cried out to God and He answered me.

{Mary Arnold}, This calf you crafted by your own hands.  It is not God;  therefore it must be smashed to bits!  Hosea 8:6

My story is all about what it looks like to smash my man-made vision so that God can lovingly show me what it means to walk in a humble state of imperfection.  It's there that I I find Him.

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrews 4:16

Tonight I was blessed to come together with homeschooling moms who are on the same journey.  We spent time breaking up into groups and sharing our areas where we struggle.  What did we come away with?

It's not about us.  It's all about Him!

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:27-29

Roshanda Smith is a brand new director and excited about Classical Christian Education and Classical Conversations.  She shared some of her planning inspiration and offered great equipping idea's.

Roshanda shared ways she uses CC Connected in her home.

We then broke up into groups and discussed idea's of how we can walk out New Grammar and Review in our homes.  Some were sweet and simple and others were creative and fun.

We stopped and reviewed what makes Classical Christian Education different than other philosophies.  

Terri Ulrich did such an incredible job of sharing the vision of why it's so important to keep doing the little things, the hard things, daily, consistently.  She painted the picture that takes us beyond elementary and middle school and even beyond highschool.  

We closed with worship and sharing.  You want to know what was interesting?  When asked how the Lord spoke to them it was never the practical.  They were inspired by God's word reminded them:

For I know the plans I have for you.  Plans to prosper you and not to hard you.  Plans to give you a hope and future!  Jeremiah 29:11

Freedom Workshop Week FOUR!

O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. Psalm 95:6

I love that we begin and end with praise and worship.   It's a time to put our whole focus on the lover of our soul.

Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
    No one can measure his greatness. Psalm 145:3

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105

We went right from worship into reading and praying through Romans 8 relationally.  It was such a sweet and intimate time with the Lord.

Powerful exercise done with the girls at our table tonight.  I love how we take God's Word and use it as the main focus.  This is not a bible study where someone shares her thoughts, feelings, and opinions.  This is a workshop that mentors women to be self-feeding christians. It's about women getting women to CHRIST. 

It's life-changing!

The word of God, you see, is alive and moving; sharper than a double-edged sword; piercing the divide between soul and spirit, joints and marrow; able to judge the thoughts and will of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
    do not depend on your own understanding Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6

Freedom Workshop Week TWO!

My heart has heard you say, "Come and talk with me".  My heart responds, "Lord, I am coming"!  Psalm 27:8

The ladies loved working on their new memory verses.  Storing up HIS Word in our heart.

Julie, did such a great job making us hungry for more of HIM!  

One of my favorite parts of our evening was the time of sharing at our tables.

Julie, then went from table to table to hear all that God had spoke into our hearts.

We then broke up into teams to walk out relational reading together.

We ended with a precious time of prayer

Basking In His Presence!

I love how God's word feels brand new no matter how many times I read through it.  The Lord is doing so much in my own heart this week.  I feel overwhelmed with the HOPE of HEAVEN.  He has given me a renewed sense of the POWER & PROMISE of HIS WORD!  Thank you, JESUS!

ROMANS 6

⁴ For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.

WE CAN LIVE NEW LIVES

⁵ Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was.

WE WILL BE RAISED TO LIFE 

⁶ We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.

WE ARE NO LONGER SLAVES TO SIN

⁷ For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.

WE ARE FREE FROM THE POWER OF SIN

⁸ And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him.

WE WILL LIVE WITH HIM

¹⁴ Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

WE LIVE UNDER GOD'S GRACE

¹⁶ Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.

WE CAN CHOOSE TO OBEY GOD

¹⁸ Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.

WE CAN BE FREE FROM BEING SLAVES TO SIN  

¹⁹ Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.

WE MUST GIVE OURSELVES TO SLAVES OF RIGHTEOUS LIVING SO WE CAN BECOME HOLY!

Freedom Workshop!

The Lord changed my life forever through The Freedom Workshop!  It's an excellent discipleship course that gives women the tools to have a rich and vibrant walk with their Lord.  

We kicked our time off by getting to know one another.  What a beautiful aroma to the Lord as each woman shared a snapshot of why she was there.

Rita Latimore is a precious woman who I love and adore.  I'm so thankful the Lord has allowed her to be a part of my life the last few years. 

Tonight was our very first night.  It was such a blessing to watch families and friends come together to grow in the Lord!

We really are better together!

The team leaders did such an excellent job building relationship, vision, and excitement.

Many women come to know the Lord for the first time!  

But this is also a great workshop for believers who are looking to refresh and renew their walk and be reminded of their FIRST LOVE!

And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint. - Galatians 6:9