Women of Faith Contest!

Exciting News!

The team of writers at Laced With Grace is please to announce our fall readers contest. We have joined with Women Of Faith Ministries to offer two premium tickets to attend the two day conference at any venue in the United States.




Tickets include admission for two, boxed lunches and other neat stuff.
Women of Faith has been a life changing ministri for so mani women!
What do you think God could do in your life through a Women of Faith conference?

Please plan to enter our contest daily. Stop in and read our daily devotions Monday through Friday and leave us a comment. All comments count as an entry. We will announce the winner on the Monday following Thanksgiving. ~A perfect day for one of our readers to receive a gift and a give thanks to the Lord for all He does in our lives.

Tell your friends and add our button to your blog or website then let us know. We will enter your comments twice into our drawing.

Internet Cafe Devotions FALL contest....

Internet Cafe Devotions is sponsoring a contest for Fall, Falling for Jesus that is, and the winner will receive a $50 gift card to Amazon.com and have their piece published on Internet Cafe Devotions.
How to enter:
Write about your most treasured God experience following the guidelines listed below.
Post your writing on your blog.
Post the Falling for Jesus button on your blog either in the sidebar (preferred) or with the post.
Link directly to your contest post here using Mr. Linky.
Make sure that you leave your email address in the comments section so that we can get in touch with you if you win.
Guidelines:
writing should be uplifting and void of condemnation.
writing should reflect a Biblical perspective.
writing should contain at least one Bible verse (along with its reference and the translation it was taken from.)
It should be 400-700 words in length, and should be well proofed for errors before submission.
Authors must own the rights to any works that are submitted.
We are looking for writing that shares the God moments in day-to-day life; the honest transparency that brings you closer to the heart of Jesus; and words that guide readers into Biblical truth.
Details:
All entries must be received before October 26, 2008 at midnight.
The judges will be Amy Bayliss, Lori MacMath, Darlene Schacht, and a few of Internet Cafe Devotion's other regular contributors.
The winner will be announced on November 1st.
Please direct all questions regarding this contest to amy@internetcafedevotions.com or lori@internetcafedevotions.com.


Hello? Hello? Hello???????

Please come over to Laced with Grace today to read about "dropped calls" and God!


Blogging Break......

Hello, all! Sorry that I have been "gone" so long! Last weekend's women's retreat was wonderful. God was amazing!

Then, this week

the grass needed mowed

groceries gotten

sick kids with fever, sore throat, headache

Aaron has field trip

Aaron has doctor's appt.

I had doctor's appt. WITH pap smear (UGH!)

soccer practice

football game

house cleaned

laundry done

fall decorations out

AAAHHHH and is already Thursday!

Thank God, He is my provider. Thank You, Lord for being my strength. Thank You, Lord that Your peace passes all understanding. Thank You, Lord that I can do all things (that You call me to) in Christ who strengthens me. Thank You, Lord, that I can do all things joyfully when I commit them to You. (Colossians). Lord, I love You!!!

AND....next week I get to go to Joyce Meyer to be filled!!!! 4 days alone/with my spiritual mama!!!! WOOO HOOOO!!!!!! My husband is the coolest!!!!!! My God is the coolest!!!!!

Thankful Thursday


Today's Thankful Thursday is in honor of Iris' birthday!

Iris, I am so thankful for you and your gentle heart for the Lord! Thank you for all the dedication and love you put into Laced With Grace. Thank you that you host a place each week where we can be so grateful to our Lord!

Happy Birthday, my friend!!!!!!!!!!

I am also soooooo thankful for last weekend speaking in Platteville. God is soooo good. He is AMAZING! Thank You, Lord, for "showing up" and showing up in a BIG way! Praise Him!

Please visit Iris if you have time. Wish her a Happy Birthday (Sat.) and share with us what you are thankful for!!! Blessings!

Thankful Thursday


I am soooooo thankful (and excited!!!!) that I get to go to see....


Sarah Palin


tomorrow!


I am taking my girls to see her at a rally at the airport in the morning.


I am also so thankful that I am going to speak at a women's retreat this weekend. Oh, how thankful I am for our sweet Lord who woos us and draws us to Him to spend these wonderful weekends with Him.


Please visit Iris for more grateful hearts.


At the Well.....Purity

Greetings at the well!
Lord, we thank You that You have brought us together here to learn from one another and to fill our cups with Your Holy Presence and Your Living water. Give us wisdom today as we again come before You, seeking to live out our faith as Titus 2 women, bringing Your refreshing water to everyone we encounter.




Titus 2 calls us "to be self-controlled and pure.....so that no one will malign the word of God."


How do we teach the next generation (both our daughters and other young Christian women) how to live a life of purity WITHOUT falling into legalistic rules, or on the other hand, to slip into a worldly mindset, teetering on impurity?


How do we live, as Jesus said, "in the world" without being "of the world?"

How is the word of God "maligned" when we aren't living in purity?


Wow, these are some "tough" questions, aren't they? But, yet, God calls us to be pure.


First of all, "purity" comes from the blood of Jesus. It is never something we can "muster" up on our own. It is only the power of the Holy Spirit living within us that empowers and enables us to live in purity.


"God has united you with Christ Jesus...Christ made us right with
God; He made us pure and holy, and He has freed us from sin."-1Corin. 1:30

But, we must also cooperate with the Holy Spirit and WALK in this purity by our choices, commitments, and values.


"God has called us to live holy, not impure lives." -1Thes. 4:7

We have to be careful about the TV shows we watch, the music we listen to, the books we read. Our choices are important. We need to choose things that glorify God, not lead us into unwholesome thinking or tempt us to sin.


But, here is where it can be tricky. We do not want to legalistic, piling rule upon rule on our kids. That will turn them running in the opposite direction. And, here is where I have struggled.


TV is an example. At first, we said "no" to all evening Disney and "Nick" shows. I don't like their push for romantic relationships with children, their focus on clothing, disrespect for grownups, and the music videos! But, as our children grew up, they wanted to watch shows their friends watch and felt like they were "missing out." So, now we take it "show by show." As parents, we need to watch with them to point out values that we do not agree with. Some shows are still "off limits." And, we will turn off a particular episode of shows that they are allowed to watch .

The point is that we want to fill our hearts and minds with things that glorify God. We don't want to become too familiar or comfortable with ideas that are "worldly" or hinder our walk with Him.


"Do not be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind. Then, you will know the will of God." Romans 12:2


So, how do you keep "purity" from being a list of rules or becoming legalistic?


When you make purity a matter of the heart. Purity comes from a heart of love for God, and a close relationship with Him. When we love Him, our heart wants live to please Him. When we are walking with God and watching a movie that grieves the Holy Spirit, we, too will want to walk away from it.


The things that offend God offend us. The things that make God sad will also make us sad. As we continue to grow in our love relationship, we will seek the things He wants and turn away from the things He doesn't.


How does living an impure life as a Christian "malign" or shame the Word of God?


The world is watching us as Christians. We are Christ's ambassadors, His fragrance, His reflection. It is so important to our witness to live in purity.


Unbelieving husbands are "won over not with wive's words but when they see the purity" of their lives. (1Peter 3:1-2)


Philippians 2:14 says, "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe..." To shine the light of Jesus to the generation around us, we must live in purity.


We don't want to "blend in" as Christians! We want to offer "an alternative" to the world's standards! We are set apart and "peculiar", strangers and aliens in this world. (see 1Peter).


Webster's says "pure" is "free of dirt or pollutants." That says it all! We want to keep the "dirt and pollutants" from our hearts and lives. Again, we don't want to conform to this world, but allow God to renew our minds and transform our lives. We want to live IN the world WITHOUT becoming like it.


And, finally, when we live pure lives, God can use us.


"If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for an honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work." -2Tim. 2:21

Isn't that neat? We are special utensils in the hand of God. He wants to do things IN us, but also through us. He wants us to be ready for His call and purpose.


So....how?


The best way for us to teach our children about purity is to LIVE it. It means we can't tell them one thing and then do something else. (We can't talk about TV to them and turn on "Sex in the City" when they go to bed.) We need to keep our hearts pure within a close relationship with Jesus. We need to ask Him to continue to purify our hearts, thoughts, and motives. We need to talk to our kids. Explain these things to them. There is a battle going on for their hearts and their purity. We need to prepare them. We need to pray for their purity (as well as our own!).


Oh, how I could go on and on about this topic! It is one that is dear to me. I also blogged about it here . But, I want to give you the opportunity to share your thoughts and revelations!


Please comment. Please dive in and share your input. I am looking forward to hearing from all of you!


Lord, thank You for the blood of Jesus that purifies us from all unrighteousness. Help us to live this life of purity in You. Help us to be a light shining in a dark world that mocks purity and living for God instead of yourself. Grant us the grace to walk in purity. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.







Mercy

Father, I cry out for our country. Father, You are the Father of comfort and the God of all compassion. Please pour out Your comfort, compassion, love, and peace to all of the people suffering in our country. From these hurricanes to the the train disaster. Lord, this has been a trying year for so many with natural disasters....tornadoes, flooding, hurricanes. I know many may be wondering where You are. I know some are blaming You and hating You in their hearts. I know some are questioning if You are real. Lord, have mercy on us. Have compassion and patience. Lord, fall a fresh on these weary hearts. Fill them with Your love, Your forgiveness. Fill us, Lord with the peace that passes all understanding. And, Lord, may we, as Your Church, as Your hands and feet, spread Your love and Your presence to the hurting. May we bring comfort. May we walk out our faith by being that helping hand, that loving tongue. Help us a country, Lord, turn back to You. In Christ's precious Name I pray. In the name above all Names. By the Name and by His sacrifice may Your grace fall on the United States.

Purity....and the MTV Awards


Did you see the MTV music awards? Well, I am NOT in the habit of watching anything on MTV, but flipping between FOX and CNN Sunday night, I stopped when I saw this loud man.

Here are a just a few of the despicable things he said:

“People of America, please elect Barack Obama. Some people say America is not ready for a black president, but I know America to be forward-thinking, because otherwise you wouldn’t have let that retarded cowboy fella be president for eight years. In England, George Bush wouldn’t be trusted with a pair of scissors.”


He then turned his attention to Sarah Palin, calling her a “VILF” - explaining the term stood for Vice President I’d like to fondle. And on her pregnant daughter Bristol, he said: “You feel most sorry for the teenage father. One minute he’s having joyful, unprotected sex, the next minute he has to go to the Republican convention. Best safe-sex message of all time. Use a condom, or become a Republican. That boy is never going to have sex again.”

If you would like to read more about this and watch the actual video clip, click here.

One of the worst things he said though, was about the Jonas brothers, making fun of their promise rings- a commitment to wait until marriage before having sex. He mocked them, again reinforcing that today's culture, especially young adults (MTV is geared to the 12-24 year old age group) are being encouraged to have premarital sex and ridiculed for a decision not to.

I am hosting Monday's AT THE WELL. I would love for you to join us to chat about what we can do to teach purity to the next generation. I pose these questions:

Titus 2 calls us "to be self-controlled and pure.....so that no one will malign the word of God."

How do we teach the next generation (both our daughters and other young Christian women) how to live a life of purity WITHOUT falling into legalistic rules, or on the other hand, to slip into a worldly mindset, teetering on impurity? How do we live, as Jesus said, "in the world" without being "of the world?"

How is the word of God maligned when we aren't living in purity?

To get you thinking, here is something I wrote a few years ago on the topic.


Passion and Purity
I believe God has a call on this generation, women today, to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to change this generation and to teach the next generation. God is raising up women who have hearts desiring change. We have been a generation belonging to this world. We have been distracted, deceived, and led astray by our longings for the worldly. But, that time is over!



In this generation, we have been so entangled with worldly pursuits. We have been obsessed with our physical beauty, trying to have a perfect body, younger looking skin, and a beautiful wardrobe. Our generation has been on a pursuit of perfection- perfect bodies, perfect husbands, perfect children, the perfect career or volunteer career, and the perfect model home. In the process, we have traded in what is “perfect” for God’s best in our lives. We have missed out and gotten “sucked in.” But that time is over!



Many of my friends are just now coming to a relationship with the Lord later in life. As Christians, we feel a sense of relief for finally knowing the Truth, but a sense of loss for our wasted time and the many mistakes we’ve made. This generation needs to EMPOWER the next generation- our daughters and our young women in the church, to be mighty women of God!

2Timothy 1:7 says, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or fawning fear, but a spirit of power, love, sound mind, and self-discipline.” We need to be awesome Christian examples! The world’s view of the Christian woman can best be illustrated by Saturday Night Live’s “Church Lady”- paranoid, hypocritical, and unattractive. That is not how I want to be seen, and it is not how I want my daughters to be seen. This is not what a woman of God looks like.


But, Christian women MUST look different than the rest of the world. Peter tells us to live as “aliens and strangers in this world.” And then says in 1Peter 2:12, “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.I want the light of Jesus shining so brightly in me that everyone around stops and says, “I want what SHE has!” I want to “spread the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.” (2Corin. 2:14) I want my life to point the next generation to the Lord!


Two areas of ministry that speak to my heart to empower women are 1) having a passionate relationship with the Lord and 2) living a life of purity.

First, we should hunger for a wild, crazy love for Jesus! We need to be completely abandoned to Him. We need to “love the Lord with all of our hearts, minds, souls, and strength!”


The other passion God has placed in my heart is living a life of purity. I believe God is bringing the Church back to this ideal. For so long we have shied away from the idea of “purity.” We never wanted to be “stuffy,” and now we want to be “politically correct.” As a generation, we ran from the image of “Puritans” and today we embrace our “tolerant” views. We don’t want to be seen as “holier than thou,” and we think anyone who strives toward this ideal of holiness is being hypocritical.


But, God is calling us to a different standard. He is calling His Church back to purity and godly living. He is calling us to be sanctified- set apart in Him and for Him! Again, we need to live differently than the “world.” We need to have the aroma of Christ. “He has anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” We are His dearly loved children and His bride. We need to take that position, and take confidence in it! We need to “clothe ourselves” with the Lord Jesus Christ! We need to put on the robes of His righteousness and “live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way.” (Colossians 1:10)



God is raising up a new generation- a generation of godly woman who are totally and completely in love with the Lord! He is empowering Christian women to lead the next generation to a life full of godly passion and purity.


Do you worry? I am at LWG today!


Do you worry? Please click here to visit me at Laced With Grace!




Hello, Mrs. Nelson's Class!!!!!

Hello to Mrs. Nelson's class!


I am Aly's mom and am so glad to visit your class!


Do you know what a BLOG is?????


It is a super cool way that we communicate today. I write "posts" on my site and people can read them over the Internet. Then, readers can "comment" or talk back to me, telling me what they think about what I wrote.

A blog is a great way to communicate with people all over the world!

Because my blog is a Christian blog, I tell people about Jesus and how much He loves them. I am able to encourage women and help them to grow in their faith. I can also tell readers about my life and how much I need God every day.

I also like to post pictures on my blog.

One of my favorite movies we saw this summer was "Kung Fu Panda."

Our family also loves to go camping.

What does your family like to do?

I hope you enjoyed reading my blog!!!

Thankful Thursday


I am so thankful for the wonderful, hard-working teachers we are blessed to have. I am thankful that they are KIND, LOVING, and DEDICATED! I am thankful they are positive encouragers.

Aly is the Super 2nd Grader this week and I get to come into her class to tell them about myself and my hobbies. I am going to introduce them to the world of "blogging" and show them my blog. Check out my post to her class about 10 AM Thursday.

Since Thursday is 9-11, I can not help but think about the horrific tragedy our country endured 7 years ago. I am so thankful for all of the dedicated firefighters, policemen and women, and first responders who so valiantly gave their lives trying to save others.

I am so thankful for all of the stories of triumph over tragedy, the miracles, and all of the people who came to call Christ their Savior because of this event. God truly can bring good from what the enemy means for evil!

And, I am so thankful that our country has not suffered from any more attacks. According to the experts this IS a miracle. Terrorist experts fully expected another attack on our soil by now. Whatever you think of President Bush, he truly has kept our country safe, and for that I am THANKFUL!

I am thankful for a precious God who loves me so much. I am thankful that He is a personal, present God who desires relationship with me. I am thankful for the Holy Spirit who leads me and guides me, comforts me, and teaches me.... I am thankful for the grace of God which enables and empowers me to walk in the Spirit, living a life for the Lord!

For more thankfulness, please visit Iris at Sting My Heart

Thankful Thursday


Thank You, God, for Sarah Palin! Thank You, Lord that You raised up a leader who cares about unborn babies and families. Thank You, Lord for wisdom in John McCain's choice. I continue to pray for this country as we go into this election season. Lord, how we need to come back to Your Word and back to Your ways.

Please visit Iris for more thankfulness!

I'm at the Cafe

We are intrigued by fear, aren’t we? We tune into TV shows like “Fear Factor,” ride the most thrilling roller coasters, and watch scary movies. We cheer the prospect of being victorious in overcoming our fears.

But real life fears can be different, seizing us and consuming our lives. I have a friend who confessed that she is gripped by fear, afraid of making mistakes as a mom and things happening to her children. Although she didn’t like the feelings of fear, it was apparent that she had come to a place of “living in it.” And, as she shared these feelings with a group of women, they drew the conclusion that fear is just a “normal” part of life and something we just have to live with.

Or is it?


What if……


Please visit the Cafe to finish reading this devotion!