Lemons and peaches...At the Well...

Are you a lemon or a peach? I am At the Well again today.....this time chatting about marriage. Please join me!

Do you ever feel PECULIAR????

Did you know that the Bible calls us "peculiar" people??? Do you ever FEEL peculiar because you're peculiar???? Join me today At the Well as I discuss this walk as "peculiar people" and how to help our kids TRANSFORM and not CONFORM.....

Click HERE.

A journey to the Cross at WFW

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross.....

Let's fix our eyes on Jesus....

Please scroll down to read a series I have been doing on Easter and Jesus and please visit HERE for more WFW.

GO ANDREW!

High FIVE'S to Andrew! I love his BOLDNESS for Christ.

Yesterday in Science class, after a speech about how God has to be kept out of school, and (what Andrew got from it) how unimportant "GOD" is.....the science teacher sent around a survey of what the kids know about science. Questions like how was the earth formed? Why is the sky blue? How did humans get here? Andrew and the MAJORITY of the class answered the questions with because God created it, because blue is God's favorite color, because God created humans, etc......

GO ANDREW!!!!!!!

Do I really NEED Jesus?

Easter is 3 days away. This is the time of year when the world seems to take an interest in Jesus, the Christ. We will begin to get bombarded with shows on the Discovery Channel and History Channel claiming many different "truths" about Him. What is true? Who is this Jesus?

Is Jesus really needed for our eternal salvation? A dear one asked me the other day, "But, what if a person has been "good" for most of his life"?.........The implication being, if a person is basically good, but hasn't accepted Jesus as Savior, will that be enough? Would God really deny that "good" person into the Kingdom of Heaven?


We don't want to think God "would do that."

Isn't that mean?

Isn't that cruel?

Well, first of all, we have GOT to get a clearer picture of God. HE is Creator. HE sets the "rules." He is KING- King of the universe, King of all creation, KING of the KINGdom of Heaven! When has our vision of God become so small, or our perception of ourselves so big that we would deny God His right to "make the rules"? He created us- He is Sovereign- He is all-knowing! Do I set the stars out one by one and call them each by name? Do I "spread the snow like wool and scatter the frost like ashes"? Who am I to question God? (see Job 38-42; Isaiah 40) God is perfect. God is Holy. God resides in Heaven- it is HIS Kingdom.

For us to join Him there, in Heaven, for eternity, we too must be holy, perfect, sinless. It is NOT enough to "be good" to be in His presence- to be a part of this perfect place. Because He is Holy, His very nature is Holy, we need to be righteous. We must remember that Heaven is NOT earth. There is no sin in Heaven. There is only righteousness. So, how can I, a sinner, enter Heaven, a perfect place that has no sin?

"But, I am good"........................


What we think is "good" is not righteous. Isaiah tells us that our righteousness is "like filthy rags to the Lord." I may be good, but I am not sinless. Think of the 10 commandments. Have I ever lied? Ever stolen anything? Ever wanted something that was someone else's? Have I lived my whole life with NEVER committing a sin? The bible tells us "ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3) I have seen the wretchedness of my soul and fall down crying out for a Savior! I have fallen short! I have seen the blackness of my heart- unkindness, a critical spirit, anger, hurtful, unwholesome words out of my mouth, selfish ambition, wrong motives, gossip, lying lips, pride, oh pride........... I NEED a Savior!


So, what am I to do? How could God set such high standards if I will fail?

Praise God! I don't have to DO it! God knew that we would never be able to DO it. God is love. He is compassionate. In His mercy, He has made a way for us. "But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions...For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it the gift of God- not by WORKS" (Ephesians 2) God knew that our WORK would never be good enough, never be enough, so HE provided a way! It is His "will that not ONE would perish..." God, in His mercy and love for us provided the righteousness we need in the blood of His Son.

"For God so loved the world, that He sent His One and Only Son, Jesus, Christ, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16.) "The righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood." (Romans 3).

Jesus is THE only way to the Father. Jesus said Himself, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6)

Think about this sacrifice! Would God have given His Son as a sacrifice if it weren't necessary?????? Have you seen the movie, "The Passion of the Christ"? Before the crucifixion, Jesus sweat drops of blood! This is no small thing! Jesus paid the price for us. Think on that! Jesus took the penalty of our sin. What we deserve- the punishment for all the wrongdoing for our whole lives is not carried out against us because Jesus took the sin upon Himself- He BECAME sin.

So, His blood is needed to make us righteous. We are washed in the blood of the Lamb and He forgives ALL of our sins- past, present, and future and makes us righteousness. "...the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1John 1)

This gift is FREELY given...I don't have to DO anything to earn it...accept believe and receive it!
 
I do need Jesus!

But, if you have not experienced this forgiveness of sin, you don't understand this FREEDOM! To know that I am clean.....to experience the freedom from a guilty conscience....to know that I can walk in victory from sin, to experience this liberty, this victory....THIS is TRUE LIVING, TRUE life! Hallelujah! I once was lost, but now am found! I once was blind, and now I see! Oh, how I thank God that I did not need to DO it on my own! Oh, how I thank my precious God that He sent a Savior! Praise Him! Thank you, Jesus!


If you have not accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, please make that decision right now! God loves you so much! He has made a way- He has provided everything you need.


All you need to do is believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that He is Lord and Savior. Pray, "Father God, thank you! Thank you that my salvation does not depend on my good works or that I am "good" enough. Thank you that you provided your Son, Jesus Christ, as an atoning sacrifice for my sin. I do confess that I am a sinner. I have sinned against you in my thoughts, in my words, and in my actions. I need you, Jesus! Jesus, I accept your sacrifice. I accept your love. I receive your sacrifice. I am washed by your blood, made clean by it. Jesus, you said, 'It is finished.' Everything that is needed you have accomplished. I make you my Lord and Savior. I ask that you come into my heart. I want to make you Lord of my life. In Jesus' Name I pray. Thank you, Jesus."


If you accepted Jesus Christ as Lord of your life, please comment and tell me! I would to pray with and for you.


For further study, read the book of John, and Romans 1-8.

"What is a Christian"?

Have you ever thought about what a Christian is? Christians are people who have shuddered at the awfulness of their sin. They have seen sin for what it is : willful rebellion against the rulership of God in their lives. And, in turning from their sin, they have embraced God's only means of dealing with sin: Jesus."

-Kay Arthur
This was first published March 02, 08. I am reposting several of my Jesus devotions in celebration/preparation of the Easter season:

Happy 1st Day of Spring!

OK, God has such an amazing sense of HUMOR! Today is the first day of Spring... (Happy Spring!).....and we woke up this morning to 3 inches of SNOW on the ground!!!!!! God is full of surprises!

Here is the post I WAS writing for today! LOL!

Oh, I am so thankful for the first signs of Spring! The weather is warmer, the snow has finally melted away, revealing the patches of green underneath, and the daffodils have been peeking up. The sweet sparrows are fluttering, and the morning doves have been awakening me with their beautiful songs. I have been enchanted by their sweet cooing. I have even seen a robin dancing around!

Ah, spring is in the air! When I take deep breaths outside, I can smell the crispness, the cleanness. I am so thankful for Spring.

This Spring I am especially thankful because the winter was long.

I love that God can show us how wonderful Spring is by the trials of the winter. Would I have appreciated this Spring if it were not for such a hard winter?

I am thankful for Spring because it a season of Life, and I am thankful for the Life that brings Spring.

Now, I am looking forward to Spring with eager expectation......hope. I have experienced the death of winter and now long for the new life of Spring.

"HOPE springs eternal".....and SPRING brings HOPE.

Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
Man never Is, but always To be blest:
The soul, uneasy and confin'd from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come.

-Alexander Pope,
An Essay on Man, Epistle I, 1733

God wants to show us the HOPE we have in a RISEN Jesus Christ through the new life we see all around us. He is NOT DEAD! Hallelujah! He is ALIVE!

"You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. "(in the tomb) Mark 16:6


Oh, how good God is. I love that Easter for us falls in this season of Life. When we experience Christ's resurrection from the darkness of death, my eyes, nose, ears- all of my senses experience the same thing happening in nature.

We see things "spring to life" after a long, cold, bleak season of death.

There is a time for winter. There is a time for Spring.

Lord, thank You for Spring! But, most of all, thank You for Jesus, who IS the Resurrection.

Happy Birthday, Miss Abigail!

3 years old today......
Sugar and SPICE.....and everything nice-
that's what little girls are made of...

Join me at the Cafe today....

Do you notice Ashley's name printed on this beautiful Barbie? Join me at the Cafe today to read more about it.....

Click HERE.

Word-Filled Wednesday

This is an amazing psalm! Listen to this!

"Keep me safe, O God, for in You I take refuge. I said to the Lord, 'You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing'.....Lord, You have assigned me my portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the LORD, who counsels me.....I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure because You will not abandon me...You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence."

There is JOY in His presence! How do I "get" joy???? IN HIS PRESENCE!

God has assigned us our portion and cup and He has made our lots secure. He has "fenced" us in a secure place.....our boundary lines are in PLEASANT places!

Do you feel insecure today? Rest in this psalm. Ponder it. Ask God to fill You with this revelation and understanding that Your inheritance is delightful. When You have made Christ Your Lord and Savior, Your inheritance is SECURE! Peter says in 1Peter 1, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ. In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade- kept in heaven for you, shielded by God's power who through faith are until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time."

This psalm must have impacted Peter because he also quotes it in Acts 2:22. After Peter's speech, the Bible says about 3,000 (men- not including women and children!) became Believers that day!

Lord, help us get a revelation of the great and glorious inheritance we have as Your children. You have something so marvelous waiting for us in Heaven....something that will never perish. And, we have rest, security, and joy in Your presence right now! Help us (help ME!) to get a hold of that, God! Fill me with joy in Your presence, Lord! I love You, God!

Please visit for more WFW!

Changing Seasons....

Here we are.....at the beginning of new season...

Spring is in the air....

It makes me ponder about how quickly time goes by....one season into the next.

Lazy summer days full of running in the sprinkler, grilling out and eating outside,
swimming, just enjoying the warmth of the sun...

Quiet talks....

Soon gave way to crisp fall days... Back to school, fall camp-outs and decorating pumpkins...

Giving thanks...

...brought in the SNOWY, COLD days of WINTER...

Our snow fort, built during Christmas vacation has finally melt away.
the season that seems to last forever as you are anxiously waiting for warm....


Spring is in the air.

Time for rebirth.

Birds singing.

New life.

Don't miss it!

Get Revived Conference 2010

March 15th-19th, 2010 - Register Today for only 12.95! This conference is all about giving you a spiritual dose of adrenaline because we all need it sometimes. Maybe you are concerned about your calling or perhaps you are afraid to begin walking toward what God has for you. Maybe your faith has taken a nose dive and you need to be pointed back in the direction of our Lord, Jesus. Or, it could be that you just need someone to tell you that it is okay that you failed but you need to get back up! It happens to all of us. This event's speaker line-up is phenomenal. These are some great women of God, humble enough to serve and strong enough to stand up and proclaim His word to all who are in need of hearing it. This conference is for any woman in need of revival in her spirit. What you can expect for only $12.95: Live sessions, entirely online, with some of the Christian community's most popular speakers and authors. Free access to download and save the MP3's from all the sessions, as well as all the handouts, chat logs, and/or presentations. Participation in real-time question and answer sessions with all of your favorite speakers. Lots of downloadable swag as well as entries to win some great prizes! The opportunity to make some new life-long friends and experience some fun and fellowship.

I can't wait to see you there!!!!!

Visit me at Laced With Grace Today....

Do you ever feel like you wear the "cone of shame"???

Visit me at Laced with Grace today to read more....

and if you would like to read more about walking FREE from shame..

please scroll down to read an excerpt from my talk "Freedom in Christ."

There is another story of Jesus meeting a sinful woman that begins in Luke 7:36. The story says that Jesus was having dinner at a Pharisee’s house named Simon. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was there, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume to Him.

Now, we may not understand the significance of this, but it is really important. When a woman would become of marrying age, as part of her dowry, her family would purchase a marble, or alabaster box or jar. It would be filled with expensive perfume, sometimes costing as much as one year’s wages. This would be the woman’s most precious possession, a priceless treasure. When a man came to ask for her in marriage, she would break the jar at his feet, anointing him with the expensive oil as a sign of great honor.

So, this woman brings her alabaster box, her most precious possession intended for her earthly bridegroom, to the house where Jesus is.

Can you imagine what everyone all around is saying?

"What is she doing here, and with her alabaster box?! What is she going to do? WHO would marry HER?"

She walks in and stands behind Jesus. Notice her body language. She is standing BEHIND Jesus, maybe ashamed to look into his face. She is weeping at His feet. She wipes His feet with her hair. She kisses His feet, anointing them with her perfume. We don’t know what her sin was, but we know how thankful she was feeling- she was washing Jesus’ feet with her hair and her tears.

Maybe you understand her shame all too well- maybe you feel like because of what you have done, or because what has been done to you, you could never come to Jesus. You feel unworthy of His forgiveness.

Ladies, whatever her sin was, however dirty or terrible it was, it led her to Jesus. There she is with her most precious possession, her alabaster jar, reserved to pour out honor upon a bridegroom, pouring it out upon Jesus, mixing the expensive perfume with her tears, washing the feet of Jesus. Her heart, completely abandoned to Him, not caring about what others thought, only there full of praise and thankfulness for her Savior.

I wonder if words similar to Psalm 30 were on her lips? “I will exalt you, O Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. O Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. O Lord, you brought me up from the grave, you spared me from going down into the pit.” No matter how "bad" her sin had been, it brought her to Jesus.

But, of course, there is always someone there to judge us. And, in this story, it is Simon the Pharisee. He says to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of a woman she is.”

But, ladies, that is just it- Jesus does know who is touching Him, who we are and what "kind" of women we are and IT DOESN’T MATTER.

Jesus answers Simon with a parable. He says, “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One man owed him 500 denari and the other 50 denari. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now, which of them will love the man more?”

Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had a bigger debt canceled.”

Jesus agrees. And, while He is still speaking to Simon, Jesus turns and looks at the woman. Even though He is talking to Simon, Jesus turns to look full in her face. He says, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You didn’t give me any water for my feet, but SHE wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins are forgiven, so she has shown much love.” Jesus tells the woman, “Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

Ladies, those of us who have sinned much are forgiven much! Jesus wants us to come to Him, no matter how great our sin, to be forgiven. He wants us to go in PEACE. He wants us to experience the peace that passes all understanding. He wants us to not worry about what others will think of us, but to be completely abandoned, head over heals in love with Him, pouring out on Him all the things of our alabaster jar which we think are so precious. To come, so thankful, full of praise to our Savior, pouring out on His feet all of our sins, all of the things we have felt guilt and shame over, to pour on Him. He will turn our sadness to joy, our mourning to gladness, our ashes to beauty.


Dear, sweet sisters, come now to the feet of Jesus where you will find mercy and forgiveness. Whatever you have kept in your alabaster jar, pour out on His feet. If you have sinned much, you have been forgiven much. Don’t worry about what others will think of you, but instead give Him everything you have. Fall head over heals in love with your Savior. Pour out your praises on Him, He who forgives and loves and offers peace.

Lord, may I come to You honestly, seeking TRUE forgiveness. It is when I am truly sorry, truly repentant, truly full of Godly sorrow that I can experience the JOY of being forgiven...the JOY of Your salvation. Lord, give me eyes to see my sin the way You see it. May I never look a blind eye to it. Thank You for Your forgiveness. Thank You, Jesus.

Christ's Ambassadors

"For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those we are being saved and among those who are perishing." 2 Corinthians 2:15

I used this picture because I received the ultimate compliment recently!

Was it that I looked great?

Nope. I usually have "bed head"...wearing my sweatshirt..no makeup.

Was it that I spoke with such authority....offering nuggets of profound wisdom?

Nope. I usually just say, "Good morning."

So, what was this compliment that had me so excited?

Ashley came home from school with a message from the car "valet", the teacher that opens the car doors as kids are getting out and going to school:

"Tell your mom 'thank you' for me. Every morning she smiles at me and makes me feel so good."

Wow.

Do we realize the difference our "smile" makes?

I want to be the AROMA of CHRIST! I want to shine His Light to everyone around me! I want strangers to wonder what is radiating in me and friends to know that it is Christ! And....I want everyone to think, "I want what SHE has!"

Not the perfect body.

Not the latest clothes.

Not the most expensive car (or jewelry or house).

Nope.

I want people around me to want...

THE LIGHT OF CHRIST.

And, it is always so important to remember that we are the ambassadors of Christ.

People are watching us- even when we don't realize it!

We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. 2Corinthians 5:20

I loved this devotion from Joel Osteen:

TODAY'S WORD from Joel and Victoria

Did you know God had a plan for you before the foundations of the earth? He created you to be holy and blameless in His sight. Why? He chose you to be His ambassador, His representative on the earth. God created you to reflect His glory. He created you to reflect His character, His righteousness, His holiness. Think about that for a moment. Part of your purpose on this earth is to be a representative for the King of kings and the Lord of lords. That should make you want to walk a little differently. It should make you want to talk differently. It should make you think a little more carefully about the places you go and the things you do.

Please visit my wonderful friend Lori for more WFW!

Ashley's violin recital.....

Derby Car Races!!!!