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Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Whose Day Tuesday

Whose Day Highlight: Sarah L.
Family Stats: married to Joe, daughter Lily and son Luke (our sweet angel baby)
Spiritual Gifts: Leadership, Mercy, Administraion
Spiritual Pathways: Contemplative
Passions: writing, blogging, photography, home decor/design, reading, time with my family, cooking and homemaking
Pet Peeves: updating all things technical, when I'm late
Secret Shames: my giant sweet tooth!
Books that you love: One Thousand Gifts, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Sacred Ordinary, The Help, Water for Elephants
Can't Live Without: my rosebud salve lipbalm, my family of course!
Favorite Room: my kitchen
Favorite Tradition: my family spends every Christmas at my parents' cabin in Estes Park, CO--it is the best week of the year as we are all together.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Memorize-It Monday

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.  ~Philippians 1:6

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Think on it Thursday

***NOTE: Please be sure to pre-register for next year's Mothers Together - click here. This will help us greatly with prep for next year.

Begin at Forgiven
I wish I could sit down over a cup of tea with me from ten years ago.   Two things I would encourage her (myself) to do is offer forgiveness quickly and receive forgiveness completely.   I knew ten years ago that Jesus took my sins at the cross and bore my punishment, offering me complete forgiveness and reconciliation with God.   However, the hurts I carried with me from my young and colorful youth didn’t disappear with my new life.   I just hadn’t discovered the emotional tools necessary for building new relationships with myself and others that intentionally accepted forgiveness as a beginning and not an end; as a starting point for healing and not a grand finale of resolve.  Just as my new life in Christ begins with a foundation of me accepting His forgiveness of my sins, I needed to realize that my earthly relationships have to reflect that truth too.  Living as someone who has been forgiven of so much gives me permission to not hold someone else’s sins against them.  I can say in full confidence that it is just not my job.  If you’re still not sure to whom the job belongs let Psalm 103:8-14 sink in for a good while.

8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9  He will not always chide,
    nor will he keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
    nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
    so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
    so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame;
    he remembers that we are dust.

The Bible has so much to say on our forgiven life in Christ and what God expects from His forgiven children.  I encourage you to go read Ephesians 4, Matthew 6:14-15, Mark 11:25 and Philippians 2:12-13 for starters and prayerfully ask God to break down any walls that may be keeping you from experiencing and offering His forgiveness.  God willing, my next ten years will be filled with crumbling walls and broken chains because life is just too short to not live in the abounding joy of my Forgiver and share it with everyone else.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m craving a cup of tea…
Heavenly Father, you show compassion to your children and as your child I ask for grace to pour over any areas of my soul that are holding on to past hurts.  Let your words be my words and your desires my desires, Lord.  If I am withholding forgiveness from someone open my eyes and show me how to offer it freely as you have done for me.  I ask these things in the name of Jesus, the author of my story, Amen.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Wisdom Wednesday


 
Today during our Mothers Together meeting Michelle Pemberton is going to teach us more about being a disciple of Christ and explain a tool that will help us become better listeners of what God is trying to say to us.  We will call this tool "The Learning Circle".  Being able to confidently recognize the Lord's voice and know when God is at work in our lives helps us to learn and experience growth in our spiritual journey with Christ.  


The Learning Circle
May 2, 2012

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”  Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:1-10
My sheep listen to my voice; know them, and they follow me. John 10:27

The word “disciple” is sort of a religious word we don’t use very much in other settings-no one would know what we’re talking about. Actually it’s not a religious word at all. It’s simply a word that refers to somebody who chooses to learn.  In Greek, it’s the word mathetes. The word simply means “learner” or “pupil” Jesus said this: Go out into all the world and make learners out of the people you meet. If you’ve become a learner, then make other people learners. If you’ve learned how to learn from me, then go and teach other people how to learn from me. Go and disciple them-make them learners.
Learners of what? What is it specifically that Jesus wants us to learn? He wants us to learn how to be like him. 
From Continuous Breakthrough by Mike Breen

Discussion questions-
1.  What is a nudge from God that you are willing to share with the group?  You don’t have to have it all figured out.
2. Who will you share and discuss a nudge with in the next week? When?
Action step-We learn the learning circle by practicing it.  By next Wednesday practice the right side of the learning circle and reflect on a nudge and then discuss it with a safe person.  Maybe you will develop a plan from that discussion.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Whose Day Tuesday

Whose Day Highlight: Nanette H.
Family Stats: Husband Bob, 2 sons RJ (12) Garrett (6)
Spiritual Gifts: Administration, Teaching, Compassion
Spiritual Pathways: Serving, Relational, Intellectual
Passions: teaching, walking with others, helping heal, nature, camping, health, prayer, writing
Books that you love: The Bible, One Thousand Gifts, Purpose Driven Life, The Shack
Can't Live Without: my family, coffee
Favorite Room: bedroom
Favorite Tradition: family dinner everyday

***NOTE: Please be sure to pre-register for next year's Mothers Together - click here. This will help us greatly with prep for next year.