Faith-Works

Here is something I read this morning that I thought I would share with you. It is from a small devotional entitled ‘God Calling’ by A.J. Russell

Faith-Works

Pray daily for Faith. It is My Gift. It is your only requisite for the accomplishment of mighty deeds. Certainly you have to work, you have to pray, but upon Faith alone depends the answer to your prayers – your works. I give it you in response to your prayer, because it is the necessary weapon for you to possess for the dispersion of evil – the overcoming of all adverse conditions, and the accomplishment of all good in your lives, and then you having Faith, give it back to Me. It is the envelope in which every request to Me should be placed. And yet “Faith without works is dead.” So you need works, too, to feed your Faith in Me. As you seek to do, you feel your helplessness. You then turn to Me. In knowing Me, your faith grows – and that faith is all you need for My Power to work.

You Are Ever With Me

Upon reading the 23^rd Psalm, I reminded of a poem written by Thomas Merton. Merton was a Trappist Monk known as Father Louis and considered one the 20^th centuries greatest American Catholic authors. I personally enjoyed this book ‘The Seven Storey Mountain’.

You Are Ever With Me

My Lord God,

I have no idea where I am going.

I do not see the road ahead of me.

I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself,

And the fact that I think I am following

Your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you

does in fact please you.

And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing.

I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the

right road, though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust you always though I may

Seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and

you will never leave me to face my troubles alone.

Hmmm ... Random Thoughts

It is ok to use four letter words and adult language in your household and personal life. Try using four letter words like LOVE, HOPE, CARE, GOOD, BEST ...
and adult language like RESPONSIBILTY, DETERMINATION, TRUSTWORTHY, INTEGRITY, HONESTY, PURPOSE ...
Go ahead and try them and see how they can empower you and others around you.

Is it just a dream...?

For three years we have vacationed in the Appalachian Mountains. Just this past weekend, we drove up to the Blue Ridge near Charlottesville just because we were itching to be near the mountains once again. I am always excited as we head out and just as we reach Goochland, I am on the lookout for spectacular views and beautiful animals and wonderful people. Since we had to travel back the same day, we only went as far as 20 miles west of Charlottesville. I could have stayed there all day! I have no idea why I have such a fondness for these mountains. I am currently praying for clarification. Is this a vacation fondness or a permanent stay fondness?


We are a military family and have always moved to where duty has called us to serve. Now that we are facing retirement, we are actually entertaining the idea of moving because we want to. I like living in Virginia Beach and would actually recommend this as a great place to live especially if you love the beach. But there is something about those mountains that draws me! I love the laid back and slow pace. I love nature and I love country living, all the way down to the clothesline in the backyard and huge garden on the side. I love fishing –hmmm, well I love going with my husband while he is fishing! But canning, sewing quilts, gardening are my past time hobbies; and towards the end of the evening I would sit out on my porch and read while enjoying a cup of tea. I love the small but close knit communities that we come in contact with. In some of the small communities that are farther from the larger towns, there is poverty and a lot of living off the land. None the less, the people are beautiful and smiling.

One small community we visited during the Maple Fest boasted having an awesome Trout Dinner. You will never guess where it was served –the volunteer fire department! It was great and filled with local people. The desserts were made by the women of the community -it was totally awesome!! Around 5pm everyone helped to clean up and in record time, they we are all headed out to there perspective homes just over the mountain ridge. It was a strange sight seeing all the cars at once head over that mountain ridge but an experience of camaraderie and friendship that I admired.

I have done a lot of research, search property in many different areas. I am always looking at the job market and any news that I can get from that area. Although I truly love this place, I want whatever God wants for me. I am praying, listening and watching…

A love relationship with God is more important than any other single factor in our lives.

                                                                                                           (H. Blackaby)

Ahhhhh... Summer Reading.

At the end of the school year, I had my summer reading all figured out. I wanted to catch up on some the books that I quoted from but not read fully. One of the books I had to read for Organizational Leadership was Inspiring Leadership: Character and Ethics Matter by R. Stewart Fisher and Perry J. Martini which focused on accountability and responsibility and character. This is now a required summer reading for my 17 year old son and for my husband. My personal list included:

7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The 8th Habit

Good to Great

The 360 Degree Leader

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

The Effective Executive

Water for Elephants

So far I have managed to read:

Extraordinary, Ordinary People by Condoleezza Rice

Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices and Priorities of a Winning Life by Tony Dungy

Stuck in the Middle by Virginia Smith

Radical by David Platt

And I have just this morning started “If you want to Walk on Water you’ve got to Get Out of the Boat” by John Ortberg. I normally read two books at once so last night I started to read ‘The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership’ by John C. Maxwell. So far Mr. Maxwell has focused on effectiveness, influence, navigation and reflective thinking. I have only made it page 41 but lots of good stuff. I am thinking about listening to ‘Water for Elephants’ when I go for my morning walks! As the summer is almost half over, I am finally getting disciplined to get on the ball and lead myself!!

The Best Birthday Present!!!!

So, I had a birthday June 17th, but my daughter graduated June 16th and we had a house full of guest. Both sets of grandparents were here and we had a blast. So much so that the whole birthday thingy got lost in the mix. But a dear friend of mine was persistent and watchful. Among all the craziness, she waited for an opportunity to give me a gift she thought I would love. She was soooo right!!!! I have not put it down since she gave it to me. It is the complete works of Oswald Chambers! I really really love books and I love reading. Give me a book and your are considered a friend. Give me a book on something that I love or is dear to me and you are have moved to best friend status. She took notice of when I taught and when I wrote that I would quote Oswald Chambers. So thank you friend for thinking of me and blessing me in such a special way. I love you!

Taking a Break - Experiencing God

This summer I was going to take a few classes to ensure I would be done with my senior year in May instead of July. But I also had this unquenchable yearning to draw closer to God. So I began to pray for clarification to see where God really wanted me. I continued my journey and enrolled in summer classes but finances became tight and overwhelming and stressful. As I withdrew from my needed classes, I began to feel free and peaceful about withdrawing and the urge to spend time with God was growing greatly.

I had only shared this tidbit with my husband. I did not know where to start nor did I try to come up with a plan or a schedule. I just waited on God; something I learned to do while being a student here at Regent.

One day while browsing around Lifeway Bookstore, I was looking at the Experiencing God bible study by Henry and Richard Blackaby and Claude King. While I was in that aisle, a young woman said to me "Oh, that looks interesting. I am trying to narrow down where I should start as a new believer". A store worker happened by with the usual greetings and takes a survey of what we have in our hands. To the young woman in the aisle, he let her know that her items were good for someone who wanted to get familiar with the bible. To me he exclaimed, "Now that is an excellent study no matter where you are in your Christian faith". A woman that I had noticed in the store earlier peered over my shoulder and said "If you honestly open up and embrace God through this study (Experiencing God) you will have an encounter and never be the same again". Upon hearing this, the young woman in the aisle with me picked up the complete study of Experiencing God and looked at me with the sheer exhiliration and exclaimed, "I am soo excited! This is going to be great!" And my awesome and brilliant comeback was -I cannot afford the whole thing so I am just going to purchase the workbook (I have no idea what my problem was). This statement seems to have sent this woman's excitement through the roof because she immediately chimed in "GREAT WE CAN DO THIS STUDY TOGETHER THEN"!!!!!

By the time I left the bookstore, I had a new bible study and a new bible study partner and a hint that God was up to something. I told my walking partner about this encounter and she immediately wanted to join us. So the three of us are on this awesome summer journey learning to know and do the will of God. We are halfway through the study and it has been amazing to be able to look around and see that God really is always working. Blackaby and King give 7 points to experiencing to God. So far the second one is my favorite -God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal. I think this resonates with me because I felt God's urging to draw nearer to Him.

This study is very scriptural based and not a lot of opinionated fluff. It is actually like a class. There are 5 days of activity work to complete each week before our group meeting. We also have weekly scripture memorization, prayer, journaling, sharing and a video in each meeting session. We meet each Saturday morning at 7am. Initially we decided to be done by 8:30am but following the Holy Spirit we usually end by 11am. If anyone tried to get me to sign up with a bible study that lasted for four hours, it just would not happen. But we eagerly meet with our coffee and fruit and enjoy learning the Truth!

Show me Your ways, O LORD;

Teach me Your paths,

Lead me in Your truth and teach me,

For You are the God of my Salvation;

On You I wait all the day.

Ps. 25:4-5, NKJV