Holidays and Back to Reality

Summer Holidays really are wonderful. Sunshine, family time, visiting friends, relaxation..BLISS!! We had such a great time with our kids, covering a lot of distance, seeing a lot of beautiful mountain/ocean scenery, and re-connecting. I was in such a relaxed state that time didn't matter and i had no idea what time it was for the most part! :D

And then the holiday must come to an end. it's back to bills, school, cleaning, work, and, well, LIFE!

I must admit that returning is a bit stressful for me, and many of my fears come back. For instance, in 3 days we are needing to hand in a deposit for our trip to Ukraine in November..a deposit that we do NOT have. You know, fear is proof that we cannot live our lives without God. Because in Him there is no fear, and the enemy uses fear as his greatest weapon against us! And, proof yet again that we need to arm ouselves with the FULL armour of God in order to stand!

we KNOW that the Lord is asking us to go, and we are believing Him to provide a way! and so, for today, i will be still and know that HE is God, HE has a plan, and He is always FAITHFUL!

Lord, remove my stress, fill me with your Peace, and the truth that you will complete what you started!

One day at a time,

Darcie.

LORD, give me Strength!

"I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength." Phil. 4:13

You know, i usually read the verse like this.."I can do ALL THINGS through Christ.."

I can DO IT ALL!! I can DO it ALL. I can DO ALL THINGS because i have Christ... ????

UMMM.... do you see what is wrong with this picture?

Every SINGLE time i try and try and try in my own strength, all i do is exhaust myself and FAIL.

For some reason i think that i am superwoman, able to accomplish great feats simply because i serve a great God!

Weeellll.....

I think i need to learn how to read a little bit better.

I can do all things THROUGH CHRIST who GIVES me strength.

Not my strength, but His.

Not my ability, but His.

Not my worry, but His concern.

Not my failure, but His VICTORY!

Our own strength can only take us so far, and THEN what?? How can I teach others to rely on Christ if i continually strive to DO in my own strength?

God didn't put us here so we could figure it out on our own, we need to learn to lean on HIM.

"Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light. "

Matt. 11:28-30

One day at a time,

Darcie.

Search Me, O God, part 2

"You have tested us, O God; you have purified us like silver"

Psalm 66:10

In my previous post, this image of being refined kept popping up. Do you know the process involved in refining silver?

I read a story of a woman who had a similar question. So she met with a silversmith to get some answers. Watching the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames are the hottest as to burn away all of the impurities. He said that he must sit in front of the fire the whole time the silver is being refined. If the silver is left a moment too long, it would be destroyed. His eyes cannot turn away through the entire process. The woman asked him how he could tell if the silver was fully refined. He answered, "That's easy. When i can see my image in it."

There is so much purpose to the hard things in life! We are being continually changed, formed into His image, and it is certainly NOT an easy process! But the PURPOSE!!

"He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness."

Mal. 3:3(emphasis mine)

Do you see??

The Old Testament speaks of the Lord's judgement, and offering acceptable sacrifices. Offering in righteousness and integrity, just, straight, innocent, true and sincere. We are not bound by the old law of sacrificing animals, etc. BUT we are a LIVING SACRIFICE!

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship."

Rom. 12:1

There is mercy in the refiners fire. He doesn't take His eyes off of you for one second, eagerly waiting for the moment He sees His reflection in you!

The purification process requires of us to lay down ourselves, our rights, freedoms, intentions, hopes and dreams. But what comes out of the fire is pure, holy, pleasing, innocent and beautiful. Just remember, He will never take His eyes off of you!

For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
Heb.13:5b

Allow yourself to be refined,

One day at a time,

Darcie.

Search me, O God, part 1

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." Psalm 139:23-24

We cannot spend our lives determined not to change. For reasons beyond our control, we cannot remain babies, children or teens. Once we reach adulthood, we have not "arrived". It is not our turn to become complacent about ourseleves simply because we have physically stopped growing.

The words of this Psalm are very familiar to me. And yet today they required some deeper inspection. There is a process listed in these verses that is instrumental in our walk with the Lord, to grow into who He needs us to be!

Search me, O God, and know my heart

The first step is surrender, allowing God access to our hearts. God cannot begin to change us if we won't let Him in.

Test me and know my anxious thoughts

This is not an easy concept, certainly not a welcome one! No one wants to hear that tests and trials are a NECESSARY part of life! But they are!! :D Tests allow us to grow, and bring out our character, our "anxious thoughts".

Point out anything in me that offends you

Offensive?? ME??!! Most of us would never intentionally desire to offend others. And if we did offend, we would want to know so we can fix the situation! As our character is revealed, certain "impurities" rise to the surface that need to be acknowledged and dealt with.

And lead me along the path of everlasting life.

As we desire to follow Christ, to live the life that He intended for us, we cannot remain the same. We need to follow His lead, which we are able to do when we have left behind our "impurities".

"My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

Gal. 2:20

God desires the best life for us. We are a work in progress, being continually shaped into God's image.

"And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will contiune his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."

Phil. 1:6

To be continued......