For us single people, Valentine's Day can be either very depressing - "I still haven't met that special someone..." - or it can be encouraging - "I have so many friends and people who love me! Not to mention the love of GOD!"
Personally, I prefer the second option. =)
The world has turned Valentine's Day into a commercial holiday all about cards, candy, and cute teddy bears for your "sweetheart." Not that promoting romance is a bad thing in itself. I think it's just too easy to focus only on that and forget about the true source of ALL love - God Himself.
I John 4:8 says "God is love." If God were not loving, I believe none of us would know anything about love. All love starts with God. John also said that we love God because He first loved us. I think it's also true that we love others and they love us, because God first loved us. Without God's love poured out on us, there would be no Valentine's Day, only "buy someone a teddy bear" day. =)
Because of this, I think it's only fair that God get more of the attention on Valentine's day.
In Ephesians 3:17-19 Paul wrote, "I pray that you...may have power...to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that supasses knowledge...."
The love of Jesus is beyond our complete comprehension, and yet Paul prayed we would know more about it. Oh how blessed we are to have the LOVE of GOD that is more wonderful and gigantic than we could ever imagine!
This Valentine's I hope you'll take a few minutes to think about what this world would be like without love. Then take lots of time to thank God for HIS love and for being the source of all love.
Happy Valentine's Day! God loves you!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
7 Day Feast
Yes, you read that right. I said Feast, not Fast.
With the start of a new year many people are doing a fast, and I think that's great. Unfortunately not everyone is physically able to fast. (Though I have fasted from things besides food, like TV, computer, etc.)
Last week I read these words of Jesus:
"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." -Luke 6:43-45
After reading this passage, I prayed, asking God to help me to store up good things in my heart. That's when He gave me the idea of a Spiritual Feast. It's so easy to let all kinds of things crowd into our lives and only have a little time to spend with God each day. Without realizing it, we often end up storing bad things in our hearts, not good things. Maybe instead of cutting something out of our lives, we need to put more good things in!
I think a spiritual Feast would mean taking little moments throughout the day (in addition to our daily quiet time) to stop and read a Psalm, or a verse in Proverbs or another book of your choice; spending a few minutes listening to worship music instead of the news or weather; praising God for some of His attributes while waiting in line or traffic; being still and quiet to listen for His gentle voice instead of filling the air with meaningless noise.
There are many possibilities for this Feast. Be creative. Just seek an attitude of 'How can I Feast on God this week? How can I fill each day with God's truth, an awareness of His presence, His thoughts and attitudes?' I know He'll guide us. He longs for us to be close to Him and to store up His goodness in our hearts!
So will you join me in a 7 Day Spiritual Feast? I know there will be obstacles and difficulties. For most people it's a lack of time. For me the problem isn't time, but limited physical and mental energy. I'm praying God will help me for the next 7 days to spend the little energy I have drawing near to Him, feasting on HIS goodness, enjoying His presence. I'm excited to see what a difference it will make. As I store up His goodness in my heart, I hope to see it overflow out of my life!
Happy Feasting! =)
With the start of a new year many people are doing a fast, and I think that's great. Unfortunately not everyone is physically able to fast. (Though I have fasted from things besides food, like TV, computer, etc.)
Last week I read these words of Jesus:
"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." -Luke 6:43-45
After reading this passage, I prayed, asking God to help me to store up good things in my heart. That's when He gave me the idea of a Spiritual Feast. It's so easy to let all kinds of things crowd into our lives and only have a little time to spend with God each day. Without realizing it, we often end up storing bad things in our hearts, not good things. Maybe instead of cutting something out of our lives, we need to put more good things in!
I think a spiritual Feast would mean taking little moments throughout the day (in addition to our daily quiet time) to stop and read a Psalm, or a verse in Proverbs or another book of your choice; spending a few minutes listening to worship music instead of the news or weather; praising God for some of His attributes while waiting in line or traffic; being still and quiet to listen for His gentle voice instead of filling the air with meaningless noise.
There are many possibilities for this Feast. Be creative. Just seek an attitude of 'How can I Feast on God this week? How can I fill each day with God's truth, an awareness of His presence, His thoughts and attitudes?' I know He'll guide us. He longs for us to be close to Him and to store up His goodness in our hearts!
So will you join me in a 7 Day Spiritual Feast? I know there will be obstacles and difficulties. For most people it's a lack of time. For me the problem isn't time, but limited physical and mental energy. I'm praying God will help me for the next 7 days to spend the little energy I have drawing near to Him, feasting on HIS goodness, enjoying His presence. I'm excited to see what a difference it will make. As I store up His goodness in my heart, I hope to see it overflow out of my life!
Happy Feasting! =)
Friday, January 1, 2010
Happy New Year!
2009 - What a year!
Yep, 2009 was a remarkable year - full of really bad things, and really good things.
From January to September I lived in 7 different "homes," traveled from FL to MO, to AZ, to ID, back to MO, then finally back to FL. I don' think I've ever traveled so many miles in one year.
Bad things - being "homeless," having to sleep in the car, running from smoke, asphalt, pesticide aerial spraying, more fires and smoke, herbicide, etc. Also, having trouble breathing, going to the ER, getting worse physically, etc.
Good things - getting to see family & friends I hadn't seen in years (in AL, MO, AZ, ID, NE, MT, etc.). Also getting to visit Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon.
- God's provision through every hardship, the love of His people, and His comforting presence.
- making new friends, writing a book, coming home again!
As you can see the good clearly outweighs the bad here. =) Praise be to God!
So now it's a new year - 2010. I wonder what this year will hold? I hope there won't be as many bad things as last year, but as long as there are plenty of good things, how can I complain?
Some of my goals this year are
1) to keep working hard on my health and Lord-willing see major improvements
2) to keep writing, as God leads and directs
3) to raise greater awareness about Environmental Illness
As part of working toward goal #3, I've written a "Frragrance-Free" Challenge for you all on my other blog. I hope you'll check it out and give it a try! =)
http://supereigirl.blogspot.com/2010/01/2010-fragrance-free-challenge.html
2010, here we come! =)
I wish you a wonderful & Happy New Year!
Grace & peace in Christ,
-Joanna
Yep, 2009 was a remarkable year - full of really bad things, and really good things.
From January to September I lived in 7 different "homes," traveled from FL to MO, to AZ, to ID, back to MO, then finally back to FL. I don' think I've ever traveled so many miles in one year.
Bad things - being "homeless," having to sleep in the car, running from smoke, asphalt, pesticide aerial spraying, more fires and smoke, herbicide, etc. Also, having trouble breathing, going to the ER, getting worse physically, etc.
Good things - getting to see family & friends I hadn't seen in years (in AL, MO, AZ, ID, NE, MT, etc.). Also getting to visit Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon.
- God's provision through every hardship, the love of His people, and His comforting presence.
- making new friends, writing a book, coming home again!
As you can see the good clearly outweighs the bad here. =) Praise be to God!
So now it's a new year - 2010. I wonder what this year will hold? I hope there won't be as many bad things as last year, but as long as there are plenty of good things, how can I complain?
Some of my goals this year are
1) to keep working hard on my health and Lord-willing see major improvements
2) to keep writing, as God leads and directs
3) to raise greater awareness about Environmental Illness
As part of working toward goal #3, I've written a "Frragrance-Free" Challenge for you all on my other blog. I hope you'll check it out and give it a try! =)
http://supereigirl.blogspot.com/2010/01/2010-fragrance-free-challenge.html
2010, here we come! =)
I wish you a wonderful & Happy New Year!
Grace & peace in Christ,
-Joanna
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Happy Birthday Jesus!
Well, I wasn't on the computer at all yesterday, so this post is a day late, but I still wanted to say Merry Christmas!
I didn't really get to do any of the usual Christmas activities this year. (Though we did get to put a tree up, thankfully that's one thing I wasn't allergic to this year!) =) Even without all the normal fun things, I tried to remember I could still celebrate Christmas in my heart.
When we lived in Colombia we had an unusual Christmas celebration. Our fake tree was about 2 feet tall, not much room for decorations. December is dry season where we lived so the weather was in the 80's & 90's. We got one trip to town in Dec. for our shopping, that's it. Neighbors shot off fireworks on Christmas Eve, etc. All those things were different from what would be considered 'normal' here. But honestly, those Christmases in Colombia were my favorite.
Christmas, after all, isn't the trimmings & trappings, (as the Grinch would say). It's a special day to remember that Jesus came to be Immanuel - God with us. I'm thankful for that truth every day!
So with or without all the fun activities, I can still say Happy Birthday, Jesus!
I didn't really get to do any of the usual Christmas activities this year. (Though we did get to put a tree up, thankfully that's one thing I wasn't allergic to this year!) =) Even without all the normal fun things, I tried to remember I could still celebrate Christmas in my heart.
When we lived in Colombia we had an unusual Christmas celebration. Our fake tree was about 2 feet tall, not much room for decorations. December is dry season where we lived so the weather was in the 80's & 90's. We got one trip to town in Dec. for our shopping, that's it. Neighbors shot off fireworks on Christmas Eve, etc. All those things were different from what would be considered 'normal' here. But honestly, those Christmases in Colombia were my favorite.
Christmas, after all, isn't the trimmings & trappings, (as the Grinch would say). It's a special day to remember that Jesus came to be Immanuel - God with us. I'm thankful for that truth every day!
So with or without all the fun activities, I can still say Happy Birthday, Jesus!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
my book...
Ok, it's official - the book is on its way to the printers! Praise the Lord!
This book has been a work of God's grace from beginning to end. He is so amazing!
Anyway, the book is called "Grace In Time Of Need - Encouragement For Those Who Are Suffering."
It has 52 devotionals and also includes several poems and some photographs from all my travels over the last year. I've copied out some excerpts below. I hope you enjoy reading them. =)
Ordering information is at the bottom of this post. Please feel free to tell others about it if you think they'd be interested. I'm relying on word of mouth to promote it since my publisher doesn't do advertising or marketing. Thanks & enjoy!
from “Never Say Good-bye”
... In His grace, God has made suffering a place of deeper communion with Jesus. We can experience that communion because Jesus is always with us. In every moment of pain, we can cry out to Him. With every breath of air, in each moment of peace, we can thank Him. We can listen to His voice and know He’s holding our hand. We can go to sleep confident He will hold us. We can wake up to His presence and to mercies new each morning. The best part of all is that we will never, ever have to say good-bye to Him! ...
from “A Sponge”
... God knows that I’m made of dust. (Ps. 103:14) I don’t think He ever gets tired of reminding me He loves me. Love is patient, after all. It’s not a bother to Him to repeat His promises over and over. He’s already repeated them from Genesis to Revelation. And His resources are unlimited. He can use any number of ways to send me encouragement again and again. I may be a porous sponge, always leaking out the encouragement God pours in and never getting quite full, but I know He will never stop pouring into me all that I need and more. ...
from “He Knows”
... Whatever situation I’m in, even though my circumstances may be different than His, I’m learning that Jesus truly does know. He can sympathize and share in my pain. That’s probably why Paul talked about the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings. (Phil. 3:10) In every hardship, we can find some common ground with Jesus. We can let Him take us a little deeper into knowing His heart and understanding what He went through – all for love of us. ...
from “Blessed”
... What better method does God have for drawing us near to Him than through suffering? It is through pain, hardships, and affliction that God draws us closer to His heart. We’re not being punished – we’re being invited! Granted, it’s not an enjoyable process, but the end result of closer fellowship with God is certainly worth it. ...
Ordering Info. -
You can order this book at the Deeper Roots website (Deeperroots.com). Just copy this address into your web browser to go right to my book -
http://www.deeperroots.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/24_37/products_id/732?osCsid=ca66bc409b39b7e01e1b896024cbaf5f
=)
This book has been a work of God's grace from beginning to end. He is so amazing!
Anyway, the book is called "Grace In Time Of Need - Encouragement For Those Who Are Suffering."
It has 52 devotionals and also includes several poems and some photographs from all my travels over the last year. I've copied out some excerpts below. I hope you enjoy reading them. =)
Ordering information is at the bottom of this post. Please feel free to tell others about it if you think they'd be interested. I'm relying on word of mouth to promote it since my publisher doesn't do advertising or marketing. Thanks & enjoy!
from “Never Say Good-bye”
... In His grace, God has made suffering a place of deeper communion with Jesus. We can experience that communion because Jesus is always with us. In every moment of pain, we can cry out to Him. With every breath of air, in each moment of peace, we can thank Him. We can listen to His voice and know He’s holding our hand. We can go to sleep confident He will hold us. We can wake up to His presence and to mercies new each morning. The best part of all is that we will never, ever have to say good-bye to Him! ...
from “A Sponge”
... God knows that I’m made of dust. (Ps. 103:14) I don’t think He ever gets tired of reminding me He loves me. Love is patient, after all. It’s not a bother to Him to repeat His promises over and over. He’s already repeated them from Genesis to Revelation. And His resources are unlimited. He can use any number of ways to send me encouragement again and again. I may be a porous sponge, always leaking out the encouragement God pours in and never getting quite full, but I know He will never stop pouring into me all that I need and more. ...
from “He Knows”
... Whatever situation I’m in, even though my circumstances may be different than His, I’m learning that Jesus truly does know. He can sympathize and share in my pain. That’s probably why Paul talked about the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings. (Phil. 3:10) In every hardship, we can find some common ground with Jesus. We can let Him take us a little deeper into knowing His heart and understanding what He went through – all for love of us. ...
from “Blessed”
... What better method does God have for drawing us near to Him than through suffering? It is through pain, hardships, and affliction that God draws us closer to His heart. We’re not being punished – we’re being invited! Granted, it’s not an enjoyable process, but the end result of closer fellowship with God is certainly worth it. ...
Ordering Info. -
You can order this book at the Deeper Roots website (Deeperroots.com). Just copy this address into your web browser to go right to my book -
http://www.deeperroots.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/24_37/products_id/732?osCsid=ca66bc409b39b7e01e1b896024cbaf5f
=)
Happy Thanksgiving!
"...give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations." -Psalm 100:4b-5
I love this holiday! I think it's my favorite (or maybe tied with Christmas). I love the simplicity and sincerity of Thanksgiving.
I have a lot of things to be thankful for this year. It would take more time than I have to write them all out. So instead I've got a "Top 10" list.
The Top 10 things I'm thankful for in 2009:
#10. 2000 Honda Accord - my "home" away from home for many months this year.
#9. Grace Livingston Hill (it's a long story) =)
#8. my digital camera
#7. all the doctors and treatments that have helped me this year
#6. being home again!
#5. the wonderful opportunity to write a book!
#4. the incredible privilege of leading a friend to the Lord
#3. the Family of God - especially all their love, encouragement & prayers for me this past year
#2. my amazing mom!
#1. God's grace that never fails!
There you have it folks! =)
I hope you have a wonderful celebration of giving thanks to our awesome God for all He has done, is doing, and will do!
God bless,
-Joanna
I love this holiday! I think it's my favorite (or maybe tied with Christmas). I love the simplicity and sincerity of Thanksgiving.
I have a lot of things to be thankful for this year. It would take more time than I have to write them all out. So instead I've got a "Top 10" list.
The Top 10 things I'm thankful for in 2009:
#10. 2000 Honda Accord - my "home" away from home for many months this year.
#9. Grace Livingston Hill (it's a long story) =)
#8. my digital camera
#7. all the doctors and treatments that have helped me this year
#6. being home again!
#5. the wonderful opportunity to write a book!
#4. the incredible privilege of leading a friend to the Lord
#3. the Family of God - especially all their love, encouragement & prayers for me this past year
#2. my amazing mom!
#1. God's grace that never fails!
There you have it folks! =)
I hope you have a wonderful celebration of giving thanks to our awesome God for all He has done, is doing, and will do!
God bless,
-Joanna
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