Month: July 2017

Empowered by God

alliewayLeave a comment

 

Harley’s Talent – Begging

Never downplay the talents and skills you have.  No matter how large or small they are, you have the right to be proud!

I have this great desk calendar that was gift from a friend and each day I receive some motivation or even a good laugh.  Actually, readers of this blog have seen a few quotes that I read on my calendar.  The not so strange part of this is that God seems to send the message I need on the day I need it.  I stand there sometimes with goosebumps and/or tears.  That is what happened this past week when I read this message.  “Never downplay the talents and skills you have.  No matter how large or small they are, you have the right to be proud!”  (no author was listed). I felt God wrapping his arms around me when I needed a hug from him reminding me of the talents and skills he blessed me with and that my only goals are to work hard, be proud, and glorify HIM.  The timing was perfect in his plan for me.

Glorify God 

God knew I needed this message.  He knew that I needed to stop struggling within myself and I needed to be able to celebrate my talents because these are gifts that God prepared for me according to Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”  This reminder not only puts a smile on my face but reminds me to always give my best for the glory of God and no one else.  No one else matters because he gave us the greatest gift of eternal life.  Romans 6:23 reads, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  This is my reminder that I live for the Lord and share my gifts for his glory.

God’s Gifts

I am blessed that the Lord has given me the perfect gifts, yet I am called to ensure that I use these gifts to glorify God.  Romans 12: 6-8 gives direction to all Christians in using their gifts, “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”  As I move through the coming weeks and use my gifts from God, I will be sure to glorify him more and focus on me less.  I know from the past when I look away from myself and toward Christ that I am truly blessed in my work.  I cannot become the like the Pharisees in Matthew 23: 1-3, “Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so practice and observe whatever they tell you—but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice.”   My happiness is practicing what I preach and focusing my life on Christ.

Become Empowered

In closing I want to share scripture from 1 Corinthians 12:4 which reads, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.”  This scripture is a reminder to us all that God has given us gifts and these gifts should empower us to live lives that give God all the glory.  As I speak to coworkers, family members, or meet a stranger during my day, I  remember that I am living a life for the Lord.  I am Empowered by God!

Closing Verse:  1 Corinthians 10:31, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

Challenge:  Are you using your gifts to glorify God?  Reflect on how you are using your gifts that God has blessed you with.

 

God’s Perfection – Me!

allieway1 Comment

Life isn’t about finding yourself.  Life is about CREATING yourself.  -George Bernard Shaw

Who Am I?

Maybe I have been trying to find myself for too long, and now I finally realize that I should have been creating myself.  So, if I want to create myself then I must look deeply at who I am.  So who am I?

I Am A Christian

First and foremost, I am a Christian.  I am not a perfect Christian because I fall short of God’ glory each and every day and seek his forgiveness and mercy in my daily life.  I believe in and love the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior.  Sometimes, I forget what an important piece this is in my life and that nothing else that I do is more important than my life as a Christian.  I am reminded by John 3:16 ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”  This famous verse in the core of my faith.  God has provided an opportunity for me to show the world how God has saved and blessed me.    Recently, My husband and I were given the chance to share his grace with a neighbor.  We did not have a sit down and discuss, but just modeled his love and blessings in our lives and tried to help her refocus all her anger and bitterness on the positive.  She has just let life get the best of her like so many of us and learning to lean on Christ in both the good and the bad is what should truly define our lives.  I pray that I continue to CREATE myself as a Christian so that others will always see Christ as Matthew 7:16 reads, “You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?”  I pray I bear his fruits.

I Am A Wife And Mother

As I really look at the life I am creating, I see the blessings I have from a loving husband of 28 years and two beautiful adult daughters.  I know that as a mother I failed them both many times, but I hope that above all they knew I loved them and Christ.  Psalms 127:3 brings me joy, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.”  I hope that somehow I showed them how to love those that God will place in their lives both now and in the future.  Being a mother never really stops as I continue to pray for their futures, their lives, and that they will be blessed.  I could not have been a loving mother without a loving husband by my side.  He is my greatest blessing from God.  Ephesians 4:32 defines my marriage blessing, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”  My heart hurts when I think about how I have let him down, but the life that he has given me is one of laughter, fun, and dreams lived.  He helps me see the future so that I can believe in my own dreams.  Each day and each year just gets better and I can’t wait for the future with him.  He is the gift God gave me so that I could CREATE the real person that I truly am.

I Am An Educator

God has given me the great opportunity to work with so many children in my career.  I get excited when I bring a child and learning together.  I love the sparkle in their eyes when the learning means something to them deep inside.  I know that this comes from the Lord because Jesus has a special place in his heart for children, Matthew 19:14 reads, “But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.””  Over the last twenty years, I have been a school librarian and this has changed my life.  Working with both students and teachers in this role has allowed me so many opportunities to see not just the success in the classroom but around the world.  Proverbs 8:10 clarifies this purpose, “Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold,”  I hope that my future somehow holds a piece of this in it because I truly love this part of me, but I know that it is not the definition of who I am or who I want to be.  It is just a piece of me, but a piece that I love.

I CREATING Myself To Be Free

What I have learned about myself is that I want to live a life as free as the life Christ has established for me.    What does that mean? Psalm 119: 105 explains it this way, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”  I look for the path where I feel free and I find that is when I am on the sand and near the water.  This is when I feel free.  I want a simple life that is what is deep down inside.  I want to CREATE that person who needs less, loves more, and explores the beauty of God’s creation all around me – (but especially those areas near a beach and the water!)  Digging deeper into myself has allowed me to really see what I have been created to love and to be.  I am ready to start CREATING a new part of me!  “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”  Jeremiah 29:11

Closing Verse:  Proverbs 16:9, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”

Challenge:  Stop trying to find yourself and look deep inside so you can CREATE who God planned for you to be.

 

Perfection

alliewayLeave a comment

Blue Angels Fly

After a weekend celebrating the birth of this great country, what better way to capitalize on this celebratory time then to experience the Blue Angels.  This past weekend my husband and I had the honor of watching the Blue Angels perform.  This was our first experience watching them fly and it was sweeter because we were in their home base of Pensacola, Florida.  The Blue Angels are heroes here, and I was continuously reminded the ultimate hero in my life.  As I watched each performance of perfection,  I thought of Christ perfection and his call for such precision in our lives.  Christ’s life is an example of the perfection we seek as we walk through this life.  Such perfection is hard to attain, but watching the Blue Angels fly is as close an example of human perfection one maybe able to find on this earth.  These navy pilots can not risk imperfection because it will and has cost a life.  They must be exact in their precision of moves while in flight or the results will cost them theirs.  This precision causes many especially at their home base look upon them with awe.  This is the same awe we should wake each morning with as we focus on our Savior.  We must also train like the Blues so that we can walk with precision through our daily lives.  2 Timothy 3:16 provides the way, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,”

Aspiring for Perfection

Watching the Blues really had me focusing on Christ’s life and how he provided the perfect model for us all to follow, but knowing we would fail he open the door for us all be becoming the perfect sacrifice for our sins.  I look at my life and I want to see someone aspiring for perfection, but usually I just find a sinner who desperately needs her savior.  I know that my life is a work in progress, and that I must always be striving to attain the perfection that Christ showed us all when he walked this earth.  It seems so simple to think, say, and write, but I believe we all know it is extremely difficult to even come close to Christ.  Knowing this struggle, I am thankful for the sacrifice the Lord made in sending his son and that Christ himself was willing to hang on that cross so many years ago to wash away the sins of my imperfection.  My comfort is found in 1John 1:7, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”  I long for the day that I stand cleansed before the Lord.

Christ’s Perfection

Christ walked on this earth to show us all the perfection of the Lord and the provide us with the greatest gift of all.  This gift of sacrificing his only Son so that we might all live forever in His Glory.  I am thankful for the vivid reminder of Christ’s perfection and sacrifice.  Hebrews 10:14 reads, ”

For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”   This scripture,  refocuses me to strive to live a life for Christ.  He asked very little of sinners in return, but to follow him.  Follow him I will as Matthew 10:38 commands, “And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”

Closing Verse: John 3:16, ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Challenge:  Are you walking toward the cross today?

 

Choosing Freedom

alliewayLeave a comment

Screen Shot 2017-07-06 at 8.44.05 AM

Freedom!

July 4th celebration is a reminder of our freedoms here in America, and that these privileges that we have came at a cost.  The price that so many paid by sacrificing their lives so that this country could stand as it does today.  These sacrifices can never be forgotten.  There will always be sacrifices that will have to be made for the United States to continue to stand strong in the world.  This week is when we stop and remember.  These freedoms and sacrifices should also cause us all to pause and remember the ultimate sacrifice that was made for us so long ago by Jesus Christ.  “Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.” Acts 13: 38-39

Freedom through Sacrifice

Freedom was purchased for us by Christ as he sacrificed himself for our freedom from sin.  Christ’s sacrifice may even have been a model by which revolutionaries and patriots chose to fight and raise up this country so many years ago.  Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  These words were not just words that the first signers used without regard to their true meaning.  The signers were purposeful in choosing these words for our country to stand strong for 241 years now.   These words are significant not just to our country but our faith.  Galatians 5:13 reminds us, “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  We must love our neighbor just as we would love ourselves.  Sometimes we maybe called to sacrifice.  Now, I must use the freedoms given to me to use for good as 1 Peter 2:16 reads, “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.”

Christ’s Sacrifice

I began my focus on Freedom before the July 4th holiday after reading a devotion that focused on this verse.  (I am sharing two versions as I prefer the NLT translation.)

Psalm 119:45, “ I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted myself to your commandments” (NLT)

 “and I shall walk in a wide place, for I have sought your precepts.” (ESV)

As I read this verse, I could not help but make the connection from the sacrifices made for America and the sacrifice made by Christ for our souls.  Christians of different sects come together to create a country that would be accepting of different beliefs but allows for the compassion and tolerance that Christ modeled in his life.  Christ sacrifice brought Hebrews and Gentiles together into one family through his love and sacrifice for all our sins.  The Patriots chose to build a country that brought many together through their own blood and sacrifice. 

Christ is a Firework

090702-F-7797P-003

While watching fireworks explode across the water, I saw the beauty even though it was brief.  What a powerful symbol not just to celebrate our country, but as a symbol of Christ’s short life.  Although he only walked on this earth for around 30 years, his impact is still felt today.  He is like a firework exploding in the sky.  These are quick and beautiful and we remember that beauty until we get to see some again.  I cling to Christ’s beauty until I am able to behold him with my own eyes.   John 8:36 confirms my freedom through the Son, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

Closing Verse: “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  John 8:32 

Copy of Untitled drawing

Challenge:  Be thankful each day for the sacrifices made for both your country and your soul.