.Share your story.

So – I sat down this morning, thinking about blogging, because I haven’t in a while… and my mind drew a blank!  Life lately has been beautifully rich in the Lord and relatively simple otherwise.

THEN.I.REALIZED.

My 6 month wedding anniversary is ONE WEEK from today! {Yes!!}  I have some simple plans…BUT I would love to hear from you!'

What did you do for your 6 month anniversary (if you can remember)?  OR What’s your favorite anniversary memory?

I LOVE hearing stories about… well… LOVE <3 <3.

Can’t wait to hear!

-H-

PS:  Here’s me and mine on our wedding day, hard to believe it was 6 months ago! We’re still SO in love today!

[Isn’t he handsome??]

.Back to Simplicity.

The Beatitudes

    He said:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

I’m still studying these, slowly but thoroughly… it’s SOO rewarding!  For the first time in my life, I’ve been able to sit down and slowly go through a passage of scripture over months. WHY?  Because these are SO foundational, practical and REFRESHING!

Matthew Henry said it this way:

This chapter, and the two that follow, are a sermon, a famous sermon, the sermon upon the mount.  It is the LONGEST and FULLEST continued discourse of our SAVIOR that we have upon record in all the gospels… He proposes blessedness as the end, and gives us the character of those who are entitled to blessedness (very different from the sentiments of a vain word), in eight beatitudes…

You see, these beatitudes build on one another.  The first being the prerequisite of the rest – be pour in spirit – it “is a gracious disposition of soul, by which we are emptied of self, in order to our being filled with JESUS CHRIST.” – Matthew Henry.

YES Lord - EMPTY ME!

~H~

.Hannah.

You can find her story here:  1 Samuel 1 – 2:11.

She is “ A Portrait of Feminine Grace” – John MacArthur.

Her name meant “Grace”.

This lady faced one of the biggest trails a woman could face back then with HUGE amounts of grace and dignity.

.She.Was.Barren.

It was like walking around with a red stamp on your forehead saying “Inadequate”.  Do you ever feel this way? 

In many ways Hannah’s story mirrored that of Sarah – both barren until late in their years, married to bigamist husbands because of their barrenness.  They often wept bitterly AND cried out to God, because of this fact.  [how many times do we stop at the weeping??]

And yet, despite her inadequacies, God used her to birth the last of the judges and  a GREAT figure in Israel's history.  Although she is not in the direct lineage of Christ.

On top of many similarities to Sarah, she also foreshadowed Mary, the mother of Christ in her prayer - dedicating her son to God.   Check it out!

Hannah’s Prayer

¹ Then Hannah prayed and said:

   “My heart rejoices in the LORD;
   in the LORD my horn^[a] is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
   for I delight in your deliverance.

² “There is no one holy like the LORD;
   there is no one besides you;
   there is no Rock like our God.

³ “Do not keep talking so proudly
   or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
for the LORD is a God who knows,
   and by him deeds are weighed.

⁴ “The bows of the warriors are broken,
   but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
⁵ Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
   but those who were hungry are hungry no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children,
   but she who has had many sons pines away.

⁶ “The LORD brings death and makes alive;
   he brings down to the grave and raises up.
⁷ The LORD sends poverty and wealth;
   he humbles and he exalts.
⁸ He raises the poor from the dust
   and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
   and has them inherit a throne of honor.

   “For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s;
   on them he has set the world.
⁹ He will guard the feet of his faithful servants,
   but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.

   “It is not by strength that one prevails;
¹⁰ those who oppose the LORD will be broken.
The Most High will thunder from heaven;
   the LORD will judge the ends of the earth.

   “He will give strength to his king
   and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

And she gave her son to God’s work at the age of 3. Although, she visited him often, which helped him to build the character he would need to be the last great judge of Israel (although she didn’t know this at the time, she was just helping him build Godly characters).

She had a great love for her husband, despite him having another wire,  a holy ambition… and so much more.

This woman, who’s story only takes up a chapter and a half of scripture, was a MIGHTY tool that God used to change a nation.

Are you willing to be used by God in this way?  To change the nation He has you change – a school, a business office, a home, a city, or maybe an actual nation.

If so, make sure your eyes are on Him and in His Word, not on the “goal” of being used, and He will use you for HIS glory.

Blessings,

H

PS- I finally posted it, proud of me??

. I can be SO unaware sometimes.

I was sent a link to a  Video the family research counsel did on the History of America… which sent me to their blog to see what else I could find.  I stumbled across this….

Part of me CAN’T believe this happens and, sadly, part of me CAN!!

The content of this video is definitely eye opening and only for older adults, so I won’t be posting it to FB and ask you to use discretion as well… I believe it’s something my bloggers can see.

It’s an “undercover” interview of a PP worker.

Planned Parenthood talks child prostitution with LiveAction

Shocked!

H

.A Devotional.

I had to share the devotional I read this morning! It’s SO good!

It’s from “Morning and Evening” by Charles H. Spurgeon.  You can find it daily here.

Here’s todays [Bolding is my emphasis]:

"Therefore, brethren, we are debtors." --Romans 8:12

As God's creatures, we are all debtors to him: to obey him with all our body, and soul, and strength. Having broken his commandments, as we all have, we are debtors to his justice, and we owe to him a vast amount which we are not able to pay. But of the Christian it can be said that he does not owe God's justice anything, for Christ has paid the debt his people owed; for this reason the believer owes the more to love. I am a debtor to God's grace and forgiving mercy; but I am no debtor to his justice, for he will never accuse me of a debt already paid. Christ said, "It is finished!" and by that he meant, that whatever his people owed was wiped away for ever from the book of remembrance. Christ, to the uttermost, has satisfied divine justice; the account is settled; the handwriting is nailed to the cross; the receipt is given, and we are debtors to God's justice no longer. But then, because we are not debtors to our Lord in that sense, we become ten times more debtors to God than we should have been otherwise. Christian, pause and ponder for a moment. What a debtor thou art to divine sovereignty! How much thou owest to his disinterested love, for he gave his own Son that he might die for thee. Consider how much you owe to his forgiving grace, that after ten thousand affronts he loves you as infinitely as ever. Consider what you owe to his power; how he has raised you from your death in sin; how he has preserved your spiritual life; how he has kept you from falling; and how, though a thousand enemies have beset your path, you have been able to hold on your way. Consider what you owe to his immutability. Though you have changed a thousand times, he has not changed once. Thou art as deep in debt as thou canst be to every attribute of God. To God thou owest thyself, and all thou hast--yield thyself as a living sacrifice, it is but thy reasonable service.

Also,  I got a CD over the New Year that has really blessed me, here’s one of my favorites!

Have a Blessed day!

H

.Is being Content OK?.

This has been mentioned to be several times over the past few months… we need to be CONTENT exactly where the Lord has us today!

My insides always CRING at the word?  WHY, Lord? WHY?

I was praying as I was falling asleep last night, something I used to struggle to do, but praise God for even this small work in my life…. and I realized something.

EVERYTHING.in.this.world.screams.DO.

NOT.be.content.

Buy bigger…., have more……, do more….., watch more……

It’s almost as if I think that they are saying being content and being lazy are the same thing. Have you ever thought that? Well…THEY ARE NOT!

Just for fun, let’s look at the dictionary.com definitions:

con·tent

1. satisfied with what one is or has; not wanting more or anything else.

2. British . agreeing; assenting.

3.Archaic . willing.

4. to make content: These things content me.

5. the state or feeling of being contented; contentment: His content was threatened.

6.(in the British house of Lords) an affirmative vote or voter.

la·zy

1.averse or disinclined to work, activity, or exertion; indolent.

2.causing idleness or indolence: a hot, lazy afternoon.

3.slow-moving; sluggish: a lazy stream.

4.(of a livestock brand) placed on its side instead of upright.

More importantly – what does God say?

Content:

*Proverbs 19:23
The fear of the LORD leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble.

*Job 36:11
If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment.

*Psalm 131:2
But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content.

Lazy:

*Proverbs 10:4
Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.

*Proverbs 10:3-5 (in Context) Proverbs 10 (Whole Chapter)

*Proverbs 12:27
The lazy do not roast any game, but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.
Proverbs 12:26-28 (in Context) Proverbs 12 (Whole Chapter)

*Proverbs 26:15
A sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.

Besides those, there are many other scriptures that talk about being content or finding our contentment in Him.  Look it up! Search it out!  It’s good stuff!

Will you join me in praying for the heart to be  FULLY content in Christ, who died for you… HE is enough and nothing this world has to offer can ever compare to Him!

Love,

H