YAY God!!

Well, the deadline is 2 days away, and we now have ... fifty dollars MORE than we need!!!!!!!!

Praise you Lord!! :D Thank you for your provision and for people who listen to your voice.

I love being fully convinced!

now onto airfare.....

one day at a time,

Darcie.

Fully Convinced

"[Abraham] did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform."

Romans 4:20-21

I cannot get these verses out of my head! There is such a profound truth here, that it bears stopping for a look.

I think that when we are waiting on God for something, the longer the wait, the tendency is to become weary in faith, discouraged, wanting to give up. But here's the thing: He's either God, or he's not. He's either going to do what he said, or he won't. Are you FULLY CONVINCED?? Are you convinced that He is able to do what He promised??

I had a realization this week: God is only incapable because I make Him so. In my finite mind, i determine what God can/can't do, what He is/isn't capable of. I box Him up into what i can imagine, and leave my expectations there. And I believe that I limit God in my unbelief! How much more would He do if we were FULLY CONVINCED??

We wonder why our lives are so different spiritually than those in Bible times. Where are our signs and wonders? Where are our miracles? I think that those people were fully convinced. They knew even by saying, "the sky's the limit", they were limiting God! He is not bound by human thought. We cannot even comprehend the word LIMITLESS. Just think about that word for a moment.

And yet, He IS! He is the Great I AM. Limitless. Incomprehensible.

There is no reason to waver, falter, or fade. Simply believe- be fully convinced- that God is who He says he is. And with that little mustard seed of faith, He can move mountains!

Ukraine update: at this point we have just about half of what we need to pay by wednesday. In 3 days we need to pay for the on-the-ground expenses of our trip, after getting a 3 week extention. We are believing!! Then it's time to save for the airfare....

I am FULLY CONVINCED!

One day at a time,

Darcie.

answered prayer..

Answered prayer!! :D We were supposed to have paid $675 each as partial payment for our trip to Ukraine by LAST friday. At this point, we have next to no money for the trip. Today we found out that our deadline has been extended to the 15th of September! Thank you Lord! We are trusting you, waiting to see what's up your sleeve!

Now faith it the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.

Heb. 11:1

Hebrews talks about the "great cloud of witnesses" that have gone before us, people of great faith. Noah, Joseph, Moses, Abraham, Jacob, the list goes on. Hebrews 12: 1 says that since they surround us, we can "lay aside every weight", looking to Jesus so we don't become "weary and discouraged in our souls" (v.3) Their recorded victories become a source for our strength! I'm sure when they were going through all of their hardships they weren't thinking of how it would help us, but God was! :D

Today, my goal is to be like Abraham:

"He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He has promised He was also able to perform."

Rom. 4:20-21

We have HOPE!!!

"Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

Rom. 5:5

Jesus is our living hope, we have no reason to doubt. He will not disappoint! 1Thess. 5:24 says, "He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it."

"Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments."

Deut. 7:9

HE is God, faithful, living hope.

Who better in whom to trust??

one day at a time,

Darcie.

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......