Who shall I say sent me? I Am that I Am...

My children have fallen in love with one of the most known stories in the Bible, that of Moses. Often times I hear them debating back and forth who will be Moses and who will be Pharaoh!
Having become a mommy almost 4 years ago, I've developed a greater understanding of what Jesus meant when He talked about coming to believe with a faith like that of a little child. When you're child is standing on a table or something of that nature and you tell them to jump off, that you will catch them, in most cases they will not even hesitate for a second. They believe you when you say that you are going to catch them. And why shouldn't they? You are their parent, right? You do look out for their best interests, right? So why is it that when we read throughout the scriptures where promises are made like, "My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory." we still second guess Him?
What difference would it make if we trusted INSTANTLY when our heavenly Father leads in one direction or another. When it becomes so blatantly obvious that He is directing this way and/or that. What impact would be seen in our spiritual lives if we came to Him with the faith of a child at all times?

In parenting, you learn so much about yourself that you never in all your life realized! You develop a greater understanding of what mercy, grace, love etc really are. You begin to experience true sacrifice and what it means to become totally self-less. In the same way that one would spurn their child in the right direction, our Father God does the same through the Holy Spirit. Maybe its time that we stop debating or attempting to manipulate our way out of a situation, like Moses tried to do, and trust that the Lord is all knowing in what He's wanting from us. Resting assured that every promise and word given in the Bible will ring true. Remember what God told Moses when he asked, "Whom shall I say sent me?"
"I Am that I Am"

Celebrating this Valentines? A new twist perhaps???

Valentines Day in America, can any and all businesses say, "CHA-CHING!!!"

We are a culture that is soo caught up in this love affair with, well, LOVE! It's all about how many dozens of roses, how big the "gamble chocolate" case is, how mushy gushy the cards can be. But you know what I find completely mind blowing, for most out there, the One who is Love (1 John 4:8) usually is not even recognized...

After talking with my husband we decided that Valentines Day for our family was going to be an extra special day for Jesus. We are going to spend the entire day talking about the things He's done for us. His death on the cross, how He takes care of us, for all of His creation, His favor, His mercy and on and on and on! Isn't it important that we as Christians put the recognition and emphasis where it is due? That it is because of Him you have your spouse and children, home, job etc. Because He loved us is why________(fill in the blank).

So another challenge I give is to make this Valentine's Day one that is special and meant to show the utmost of your love to and for Him. Let God be your Valentine and remind yourself in His word just how special He thinks you are!!!

PSALM 139:12-14
"Even the darkness is not dark to You,
and the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to You.
For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother's womb.
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
wonderful are Your works,
and my soul knows it very well."

God's Silence

Have you ever felt that after you prayed there was this sort of "null and void" feeling. Like maybe everything you just poured out of your heart fell like empty words right to the floor?

In the book of Psalm 13:1,2 we read about a similar experience that King David had...

"How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take council in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day?..."
It is evident that David is experiencing extreme anguish in his spirit, he is broken and torn by this feeling of "abandonment".

Sometimes as Christians we get this idea that when we get a silent response from the Lord that maybe we've done something wrong or have un-confessed sins. This may be the case but, most likely the issue is simply that the silence is God's answer at that time.
We live in a world that is constantly going going going. We get our food to go, and we get irritated if we have to wait!! We get angry if we have to wait in traffic. We get annoyed standing in line to use a restroom, "hello! doesn't everyone know that I need to use the bathroom?" Uh, HELLO, don't you realize that there ARE other people on the planet other than yourself? So, in making our prayers made known to God, we find ourselves once again in that impatient state.
For myself and in my own experiences when I find my answer to be silence, there is usually a lesson coming immediately following. I believe that when God gives this answer of temporary silence its then that He's wanting to see if we are really trusting Him like we're saying we are regarding our prayer(s) or maybe He's just wanting to see if your willing to accept that answer and wait until He sees fit to give you a more clearly defined answer, which in all honesty could be a simple "yes" or "no".

Hebrews 13:5 gives us this promise as Christians. A promise that should always bring comfort in those "temporary silence" moments...

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'NEVER will I leave you; NEVER will I forsake you.'" (emphasis mine)
No matter how "alone" we may feel in that silence you don't stop praying, you don't stop communicating with the Lord, you don't stop growing. You move forward and wait until His complete answer is made known. Like the scripture says, "be content with what you have" and wait patiently in the silence...