One Yes at a Time

Having a Mary Spirit... Week  six

" I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. " May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her. (Luke 1: 37)

" Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about 3 months and then returned home." (Luke 1:56)

We are left to guess at Mary's age at the time the angel visited her.. but she was probably no more than a teenager.  Can you imagine it? An angel comes to you and gives you the news that you are going to have a child. And that Child will be the Son of God.   I would be asking like she did... " how will this be?"  The angel answers her.. and then he tells her a very powerful thing... Nothing is impossible with God.

Donna Otto is quoted in the book as having said, ' as far as I can tell, once Mary said yes to the angel, she kept saying yes to whatever God was doing in her life and her home.

The Bible tells us that Mary spent 3 months with her cousin Elizabeth who was also going to have a baby promised by God.  Did you ever wonder why... was it to get away from prying eyes... or because Elizabeth needed her... or did she just need the comfort of an older woman who was experiencing the same thing she was?  When Mary turned to Elizabeth, she drew strength from fact that they had the same things in common. They faced some of the same challenges in their upcoming motherhood. Do you see the parallels? In watching Elizabeth give birth to a child who would become a man used by God... Mary was preparing her own spirit to meet her future as the mother of The Messiah.

But, even as I type this, I wonder, did she really understand what would be asked of her???  I can't help but ponder how Mary endured the things she endured as the mother of The Christ...

Just imagine...

I have said yes to God using my children. I know their hearts and how much they love the Lord... I have watched their hearts break while trying so hard to do what they believe God is asking them to do. I've seen the heartache and the pain when others don't understand who they are or why they give so much... 

Once my child was hurt so much by people who should have been there for him, who should have loved and supported him,but they  accused him falsely. And one day as I was praying for him, I said to the Lord..."Look how they have treated my child." and He replied, " Sharon, look at what they did to Mine." 

Doing God's will takes one yes at a time.. and sometimes these are very hard yeses.

   There was a time when God was asking me to do something and I was like Jonah... " Lord, You're kidding, right.  You know that I can't do that... that's too hard for me, I don't want to be a blessing to this person. I just want them to feel the pain that I feel."  Yeah, I was being very stubborn about it.  I went kicking and screaming. I did what God asked me to do after months of begging Him to let me off the hook. Did it make me feel better?  No.. I was still like Jonah... I was waiting on God to punish this person. After months of dealing with me, The Father helped me to understand, for my own good, I had to forgive and get on with my life. Is this person a different person today.. I pray they are.

  

Lord, use my life to honor you all of my days..

My Lord and My God, keep your servant from willful sins, that they may not rule over me. And I will be innocent of great transgressions. (Psalm 19:13)

The Misery Maker

Having a Mary Spirit- week 5

 Dying to Live

" I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.  For I have the desire to do good, but I cannot carry it out.  For what I do is not the good I want to do, no the evil I do not wish to do this I keep doing." Romans 7:18-19

  My sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit.  They are constantly in conflict. It is impossible for me to balance The Spirit and the flesh.  I must die daily to my sin... and I can only do this through the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

We are no longer under the Law, but under Grace.

In a Bible Study by Beth Moore, Living Beyond Yourself , Beth states that there is a powerful masquerading misery maker living inside of each of us.  It is only the infiltrating power of the Holy Spirit that I can ....

Do those things I couldn't

Feel the things I didn't

Know the things I wouldn't

                                    This is the verse that sustains me...

"The Lord God is My Strength, My Personal Bravery, and My Invincible Army.  he makes my feet like hinds feet, and will make me walk--- Not stand still in terror, but walk and make Spiritual Progress, upon my High Places of Trouble, Suffering and Responsibility." Habakkuk 3:19

an aside note... sorry I am so late with this... Life has gotten in my way lately... and I have not had time to post...

A BIG THANK YOU TO MY FRIEND ALICE.E... who granted me high honor by sending me 2 awards...thanks be to God who has blessed me with such sweet blogging buddies!

I will post them when I am able to get them on my sidebar!!

THANKS MY SWEET BLOGGY FRIENDS!!!

 

Don't Miss the Miracle

 A visiting minister recently filled in for our pastor while he was on vacation....

He gave the definition of a miracle as:  an unmistakable action or event of God that reveals His character or purposes....

"While He was still speaking, a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them.  He approached Jesus and kissed Him, but Jesus asked him, "Judas are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?" When Jesus followers saw what was going to happen they said,"Lord, should we strike with our swords?"  and one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. But Jesus answered and said," No more of this!" and He touched the man's ear and healed him." (Luke 22:47-51)

   By this time, Jesus had done many miracles and wonders.... but it seems that these people missed this miracle... Did You??? I'm pretty sure the servant didn't!!! So why did the others miss it????

Could it be that they were just too busy with their own agendas?  Their own cares, worries, selfishness?

Have you ever witnessed a miracle, but it wasn't until much later that you realized that you almost missed it?

I have seen many miracles in my life.  The miracle of grace that saved my soul.. still amazes me.  The miracle of the Father's care of my family when I was a child, and the miracles that I have witnessed in mine and my husbands lives. And, yes the wondrous  miracles in the lives of my own sweet children.  Thus far, I have not missed the birth of ONE of my grandchildren... I almost missed Jacob, but I walked into the room just as his mother 'laughed' and out he popped.  Yes, she was laughing, aren't the drugs they give you today just the greatest?

Praise God, I did not miss the miracle of my sweet Mama when she went home to be with Jesus.  I did not miss the miracle when God granted my Sweetheart a clean bill of health from prostate cancer  and the miracle that he still is cancer free!!!

There are so many many miracles that God has performed in my life, and the lives of my loved ones that one day I will find time to record... miracles of such awe and wonder, that take your breath in such a way that all you can say afterwards is... " THAT WAS GOD!!"

  The miracle of friendships that last a lifetime... those sweet and precious friends who come into your life, and you know that they will always and forever be your friend.... and you are allowed to witness the miracles in their lives as well.

   Today... I saw the result of a miracle... a miracle that brought three people together that might just have missed each other... but by the Grace of God.... a Miracle of friendship that began miles away.. but we know in our hearts, it is  ' A God Thing'.

    I cannot explain it... but I KNOW that it is a miracle.  What His total plan or purpose is... has yet to be revealed...but Praise God... I did not miss it!!!

                          Kathy, Joy and I had lunch in Downtown Columbia.... Kathy... who I had never seen face to face... my friend through this Bloggy thing... that introduced me to my friend Joy... who now lives here about 10 minutes away... and oh what JOY  we shared as we 'shared our lives' with one another.  You can find Kathy here.

             Oh, Sweet Ones.... don't be so busy that you miss the miracles that God would have you witness...  do not miss the actions or events that Our Gracious, Loving Heavenly Father wants to reveal to us each day..... Keep your eyes peeled for His Miracles!!!

Strength in Weakness

Week 4  Having a Mary Heart....

 "But He said to me.. my Grace is Sufficient for you, for My Power is made perfect in Weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Commentators do not agree on the exact nature of Paul's 'thorn in the flesh'. Some think he had epilepsy, severe headaches, or eye disease.  Some believe it was a fever, and others, a speech disability.  Yet under the influence of this pain... Paul wrote these words communicated to him by God.

In our homework for this week... this statement is made...

Often the difficulties we face in life are actually preparation for a greater work God wants to do through us.

And we are asked to consider David, Joseph, and Jesus... and to describe the method God used and the Situation for which they were prepared....

  David was a shepherd boy.. yet God used him to destroy one of Israel's.. most feared enemies.... (1 Samuel 17)

   Joseph was just a teenager when he was sold into slavery by his brothers... God used Joseph to save many lives and lives of his own family from famine.

Jesus....the Bible tells us that Jesus was lead by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil....(Matthew 4) and Hebrews 4:14-16 says that Jesus was subjected to this temptation so that as our High Priest, He would be able to sympathize with us...in our weakness.

" For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but we have one who has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then approach the Throne of Grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4: 14-16)

       In this life we will be placed in many situations...  Life lessons... Character builders... it's hard for us to see where He is leading when we are in the situation.... but His Grace is Sufficient ...

AMAZING GOD!!

  I want to share with you about an amazing week-end that I had the privilege to be apart of this past Friday and Saturday....

      I was one of an estimated 70,000 women who attended the Living Proof Simulcast with Beth Moore by way of satellite.  There were sites in Forty nine of the Fifty United States, Canada and Mexico. 70,000 women worshipping and praising God in One Accord.  In all there were 217 sites attending this awesome venture.  What is even more amazing is that during this time, only one location lost the feed, and that was only for about 20 minutes.

   In this world of technology we are able to reach so many with The Truth... and be taught by an awe inspiring teacher.... The Worship leader and The Praise Team were amazing and lead us all in glorifying and praising God.

  Beth's scripture reference was Luke chapter 8, verses 1-13.  The title for the Week-end was 100 Fold Word... Maximum Impact..

The Knowledge of the secrets of God have been made known to you.(Luke 8:10)

You can read more over at Truly Captivating.com

This is ONE miracle that I did not miss....  I will discuss this later in another post.

Hearts Entwined Forever

  The moment that my oldest child was born, I was amazed at just how much God loved me!! He had entrusted into my care this perfect, beautiful little person.  She was my constant companion.  As my children grew older, I learned how to 'play' again, how to be silly and laugh out loud at silly things. To giggle and share  the 'fun' things of life.  I learned all over again how wonderful and entertaining children's books could be. I learned that jumping rope, and playing in creeks were just as much fun as they were when I was small. I learned that everyday chores  could be full of joy.

My children's smiles delight me now just as much as they did when they were small.   I began to learn what it is to be a mother from being with them. And now I am learning all over again from my grandchildren!!!!  Which says once again, you are never to old to learn.

                               "My daughter introduced me to the soothing luxury of a bubble bath and to the charms of reading out  loud  and pretending.  Her expressiveness has encouraged my own.  I find the edges of my personality rounding out..."           Angela McBride

                         TINY TEACHERS

              Children are the best teachers in the world.  They teach young women how to be mothers, and young men how   to be fathers.  They teach older men and women how to be grandparents.  They even teach other children how to be brothers and sisters. 

               Think about all the skills children teach people.  They teach moms how to be nurses and dads how to be heroes.  They teach brothers and sisters how to share, toys, rooms, dreams and cookies.  They even teach teachers how to teach in creative and fun ways.

              Children teach the world how to love.  They teach us to look past a person's skin color right to his or her heart.  They teach us how to be honest and open and innocent.  And they teach us how to hug and laugh and be enthusiastic.

               Children make us keep our promises because they never forget one that we make.  They even make us into scientists and professors by asking, "Why!" about everything that moves and many things that don't!

               Isn't it interesting that while we are teaching our children to be adults, they are teaching us to be children? That's especially important when we remember that Jesus said," Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these." (Matthew 19:14)

                                                                                                      (Raising Children by Mary Hollingsworth)

  Without children, what a boring, depressing world this would be!!!  There would be no infectious giggles, no peek a boo, no patty cake.   Who would make older people smile just by walking into the room?  There would be no use for toy trains, dolls or tiny bikes. Barney would have no one to hug, there would be no need for Kermit the Frog.  Caterpillars would never get petted, and turtles and bunnies would never get to sleep in the house.

  Let's face it, without children life would be a drag!!!   Children are the essence of Life!!  They are God's answer to depression, loneliness and hate.  They are Joy and Love Personified!!!  God Himself In Tiny Bodies...

     "Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven."(Matt.18:3)

                               

This post is dedicated to a very special child... in honor of his birthday

 

Mary Spirit Week 3

Marked by Love.....In her book, Having a Mary Spirit, Joanna Weaver states; "I believe the ability to love people as we should, only comes from the security of knowing we ourselves are loved. For you cannot share what you do not have. This is another reason we need the Holy Spirit--- for He bears witness with our hearts that we are God's children and dearly loved." (Romans 8:15-16; 1 John 3:1) Which brings me to the thought process of the Sweet Southern young woman when asked... "So what has God been saying to you lately?" "Well, I have been realizing how much God loves me, but the most exciting thing is that I feel like He loves me more than ya'll"She quickly clarified that by saying that she knows that God loves everyone, and that she didn't think she was better than anyone else. "But you know, I still feel like His favorite!" She said with a wide grin.Then Joanna asked, "What happened to make you feel so secure in God's love?" What Happened? This question reminds me of the story of the mother who wrote a letter to all of her children to be read after her death... the mother wrote to each of her children telling them that they were her favorite, and then explaining why they were. And as a mother of four, I so understand this mother's heart... because each one of my children are my favorites... because God created each of them to be different and He knew that I would love them because of their differences.It also reminds me of my grandmother, whom I called Mammy. Her favorite hymn was In the Garden. I still here her sweet voice singing this song as she was busy in the kitchen or doing the laundry, or whatever she might be up to that day. But most especially singing it to me at night as I lay in my bed as a small child, waiting for sleep. I come to the Garden alone, While the dew is still on the roses, and the voice I hear falling on my ear, The Son of God discloses.He speaks and the sound of His voice is so sweet the birds hush their singing, and the melody that He gave to me, within my heart is ringing.I'd stay in the garden with Him, though the night around me be falling, But He bids me go, thro' the voice of woe, His voice to me is calling. chorusAnd He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own; And the Joy we share as we tarry there.None other has ever Known. Being 'raised' on this song, I know that I am special to Him.The times I spend with Him are special,Because the Joy We Share, As we tarry there, None other has ever Known. Oh Sweet Ones... You can know this Love, too.