Philippeans 4:13

“I can do ALL things through Christ, who strengthens me.”

Today as I was diligently working on packing at the condo then bringing stuff to our new home and putting them away I began to become overwhelmed.  I thought, “I can’t do this!”  I just saw no end in sight.

Then the verse, “I can do ALL things through Christ, who strengthens me” came to my mind.

It was like it gave me a “second wind.”  I knew I couldn’t get it all done on my own accord so I turned to the Father.  I prayed, “Lord, please help me get this done and to have wisdom of what to pack and take and what to declutter and get rid of.”  I didn’t want to bring excess “stuff” to our new home.

God is good.  I could feel a sense of His peace come over me and I felt as though He was right there helping me, and He was.  He is inside you and me and is always there for us to just ask for whatever it is we need.

John 15:4

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

AMEN, AMEN, AMEN!

Apart from Him we truly can do nothing.  That goes for the smallest of things to the hardest.

So again, I found myself today, as every single day, that I needed to seek Him to get the things done that I needed to.  I couldn’t do it alone.  It was too daunting.  With Christ by my side, carrying me through.. I was able to get so much done that I was amazed.

Each morning when I wake up, I thank God for the day and ..then.. I ask Him to walk with me each step of the way.

God is faithful to us and He’s always there when we need Him.  We just have to reach our arms up to Him.

Lamentations 3:23

“Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each day.”

Praise God for this!  Right?  :)  No matter how today goes… tomorrow is a brand new day.

Some days are hard and you just plain can’t do it all.  You try but you are human and nothing is ever going to be just perfect.

Sometimes it goes to a point you feel like a failure.  You wonder, “have I messed things up so badly that it can’t be turned around?”

All of our answers are in God’s word!

His mercies begin afresh each day.

So, when you are struggling and you go to bed that night thinking of all you wish you had done differently, remember, tomorrow you get the chance to start all the way over, brand new!

Where else in life can you find that?  No where that I know of!

God loves us so much that He wants to forgive our sins.  He waits patiently for us to come to Him and repent.  He doesn’t make us go for days or weeks on end in misery.  No.  Each and every day is a new start.

I have seen on a commercial, I believe, where they talk about a “re-do button.”

That’s basically what God has given us… the opportunity to start again.

As time goes by and we keep turning to Him and having each day anew, we will begin to walk in the Spirit and we will build our faith through going through these times.  Our habits and routines of doing things the way God intended will come more often.  We will see ourselves become a new creature.

So, no matter how today has gone, or how this week has gone, just remember:  Tomorrow is a new day.  God’s word is never void and He gives us the gift of having each day anew.

What a wonderful gift, one we should thank Him for daily!

Blessings!

Phillipians 4:6-7

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.  If you do this you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Have you seen the little signs that say, “If you’re gonna pray; don’t worry.  If you’re gonna worry; don’t pray.” ?  That sign always annoys me.  The reason is because SO often I find myself praying and worrying all at the same time!

Boy!  That does seem contradictory.  You either have complete faith or you do not.  Being human, we can sway back and forth.  So many times I have found myself carrying things and putting them at the foot of Jesus and finding that peace that surpasses all understanding.  Then, very shortly after, I will find myself carrying that burden and worrying again.  It’s as if I think someway, somehow I think I can fix it.  Where does that leave my faith?  God is MUCH MORE capable (ha! ya think?) of solving issues than I am.  ONLY HE sees the future!  I only see right now.  And I often worry or have fear about the future.  My husband reminds me that the Bible says each day has enough worries of it’s own.

Growing up I was often called affectionately a worry wart.  Now that I am grown I am fighting against that!

I want to walk by FAITH and not by SIGHT.

Your faith can grow so much when you just walk in faith with the Holy Spirit filling you to overflowing.  When you see how God provides or takes care of a situation … your faith grows!  We rob ourselves of that growth when we grab it back in our own hands and worry and try to fix things ourselves.  That’s without even mentioning what a mess we can make of things on our own.

God offers us the “easy way out.”  We pray about our needs or whatever is bothering us, leave it at the cross, then sit back and watch God work!  It can be very exciting!

So many times I have thought things impossible only to see God work a miracle.  Then my faith will grow and the next time around, it is easier leaving God in complete control.

So, please let me encourage you, carry your burdens to the Lord.  Leave them there.  Put them out of your mind.  Let God handle it… and then see how your heart will soar as you see Him caring enough about you to handle your problems, even the smallest of problems!

I believe this is something that takes practice.  It’s something we have to work out.. but the reward is so amazing.

May God bless you and may you see His hand working in your life.  May you have the strength to let go and let your maker take care of all things.. from the tiniest of things to the “impossible” things.

Matthew 11:28  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

As mothers, we all, at some point find ourselves weary and heavy burdened.

We’re tired, we feel like we are at the end of ourselves, yet we *know* that we can’t just give up and let things go.  So, when we are at the end of ourselves, where do we go for that rest?

I think Matthew 11:28 is THE ANSWER.

Rest is not found in the number of hours you sleep or the number of breaks you have throughout the day.  TRUE REST comes from our Father in heaven.

Praise God for that because many of us would never have rest if it were not this way.

Exodus 16:23a

“He said to them, “This is what the LORD commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD.”

If we honor God on our Sabbaths then we will also have a day of rest.  It is a symbol between the Father and us.  Even GOD Himself rested on the 7th day.  So we can see that rest really is an important issue.

The Bible makes it clear in so many scriptures of how to find rest.

Think of the example you are setting for your children as you take your Sabbath to rest and just enjoy fellowship with God and your family.  A day of rest.  Whew.  Why do we need prodding in this area so much?

I think for some of us it’s because we put too much on our “plate” so we don’t “have time” to have a day of rest.  When we find ourselves in this place we have gotten our priorities messed up somewhere along the way.  God would not have said this if it didn’t have special meaning.

On a personal note…  when I am weary and tired and just feel I can’t go any further.. I think of a few things:

1.  If I do not keep going and get it done, who will?

2.  If I do not get it done NOW, it will pile up on me and be harder.

3.  What am I teaching my children if I be slothful and not do what I should?

4. Plain and simply I tell myself, “there is no option.  JUST DO IT.”

I pray that this message would encourage some of you as you are pressing onward to the goal.

Remember, to stay in prayer at all times and listen for our Fathers gentle voice.

Follow Him and let the rest happen as the Father leads you.

Many Blessings, Cassidy 

From the book speaking about a Godly keeper at home, “Her place in society isn’t ruled by the culture, but by God’s unchanging and eternal word.  By His grace, she has no desire to question His ways (Isaiah 55:8); on the contrary she rests in them.

Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”
  declares the LORD.

I keep thinking about the part saying she has no desire to question His ways but rests in them….

It truly is renewing to just trust God and let God be God.  There’s relief in accepting that He is in control and we don’t have to worry about it.  We can hand over everything to our Father and just accept His ways and REST IN THEM.

Times happen in our lives sometimes and we want to question God.  Is it that we think God has forgotten us or that He forgot about a situation that was so important to us?

He hasn’t.  He keeps record of everything..even the number of hairs on our heads… so we can guarantee He has NOT forgotten us or anything relating to us.

The truth may lie just in the fact that our thoughts are not His thoughts and our ways are not His ways.

How does that affect YOUR LIFE?

For me?  It brings peace.  I can just walk by faith and not sight.  I can live in joy no matter what is around me.  I can know that no matter what happens that GOD is holding me and NOTHING can pluck me from His hands!

I can trust that He is in control of the situation and that all things work for the good of those who love the Lord.

Look at all the beautiful promises we have to hold onto.  We just have to trust.

Let’s take that first big step…. and just TRUST, COMPLETELY WHOLY TRUST.

What is the *ONE* most important thing you do each and every morning to point yourself, your children and your day in the direction of Jesus?

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Sometimes life gets so busy that I feel like I am chasing my tail just to keep my head above water.  There’s not a woman on this earth, that I know of, that doesn’t feel like this at times.  Some of us feel it often!  Then, we get the mind set that we are going to slow things down, get organized and do “better.”  Isn’t it funny that usually at that very time.. we go into bondage with *TOO MUCH* organization?  We squeeze the leading of the Holy Spirit out of our lives because we are keeping on task, keeping it simple… and doing ‘better.”  Don’t get me wrong, I love making planners and being organized.  However, the Bible says, “We can make our own plans,
      but the Lord gives the right answer.”  Proverbs 16:1  We’ve got to ask Him to lead us.  If we try to go by our own plans, we are *guaranteed* failure.  The Bible tells us the Lord gives the right answer.  I know we all know this “intellectually.”  But.  Do we act on this?  With everything going on in the world today, I think it’s so important that we just get simple.  There’s so much we can get caught up in… so much that can steal us away.  To get life more simple, it’s very “simple.”  We just go to the Lord.  We ask Him to set our plans.  He’s going to have the final say anyway, so why not save our hearts and serve Him by going to him FIRST?  He’s never going to lead us astray.  Galatians 5:4 says, “I suspect you would never intend this, but this is what happens. When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and projects, you are cut off from Christ, you fall out of grace. Meanwhile we expectantly wait for a satisfying relationship with the Spirit. For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love.”  So see, even when we are being our “best religous selves” by making our own plans we are cut off from Christ.  I believe that is simply because we just squish His lead right out of our days!  What we write out on that piece of paper is “set in stone!”  To keep my day simple and allow GOD’s leading, I am trying to have “benchmarks” for my day.  Basically saying:  “Here is a list of things I would love to do in my day” –*IF GOD SEES FIT!*  His will, not mine!  If I have something on my list that God doesn’t want to happen for whatever reason, even if my plan is good and something I would think is right unto God, I pray He blocks the way and that He speaks to me.  You see, He *WILL* speak to us.  It’s more the matter of will we listen.  Will we stop long enough to ask God?  Do we feel so crazy busy that we don’t take time to ask Him?  If that’s the case, we already can count the failure.  He says His yoke is easy to carry.  Praise God for this.  Let’s pray together, encourage each other, and most of all — Let’s get simple and *ONLY* do what GOD leads us to do!  *smiles* Cassidy