Something On My Mind
Hey, Girlfriends! I don't have long because Jackson's at Bibby's house but we've had lots of good time together this morning and he's preoccupied for a few minutes. I've got something on my mind that I've got to share or I'm going to combust.
Yesterday I was with somebody I love who was describing frustration over not being able to get a breakthrough in a work matter. I've been in on it for a while so I knew it had been hard and I was searching for encouraging things to say that weren't just the usuals that we turn to when we don't know what to say. I reached out my hands toward the loved one's hands and said, "Let's pray about it right this minute." And we did. We had no more than said, "In Jesus' Name, Amen," then the telephone rang. It was the call the person had been waiting for and the breakthrough came. The phone call lasted some time so I just kept praying and even doing a few little thank You dances. When the loved one got off the phone, I said, "Can you believe that? That was the Lord!"
To which my loved one said, "You're probably right."
"No," I said, "there's no 'probably' to it! That was the Lord! I mean, did you see that timing??"
The person nodded and said, "Sure may have been!"
WHAT DO YOU MEAN, "SURE MAY HAVE BEEN"?? Are you stinking kidding me? (I didn't say all that part.)
"But you've gotta give Him His glory!" (I did say that.) Or what compels Him the next time when He didn't get any credit the last time? (Didn't exactly say that.)
Girls, listen. GIVE GOD HIS GLORY! When He does something for you, don't sit there and wonder if that may have been Him. GIVE HIM SOME GLORY!! Jump up and down about it. Get excited about it! I don't know about you, but I want God to ENJOY doing some things for me. I want Him to think I'm fun to get a reaction out of. I want to dang well NOTICE. Can you imagine when we thank Him for something that He's up there on His Throne shrugging His shoulders and saying, "I'm not sure what you're talking about. I didn't have anything to do with that"? Does Phil. 2:13 not say that God works in us to will and to act according to His good purpose? Ain't no doubt, Girlfriend. It is GOD.
"Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done!" Ps. 40:5
"I am the Lord; that is My Name! I will not give My glory to another or My praise to idols...Let them give glory to the Lord and proclaim His praise...!" Is. 42:8,12
Not fussing. Just feel passionate about it. I love you so much and want you to enjoy your God!
Labels: Beth
posted by Beth @ 8:11 AM
325 Comments
325 Comments:
AMEN !!!!!!!!!! God Bless, CINDY in HIGH POINT, NC
I just read your entry this morning and you are so right on !
Just have to share how God is in the little things as well as the huge and important things. I was balancing my checkbook the other day...because I HAVE to..to the penny every month. I was off well over 300.00 and it was driving me crazy. I added, readded, rechecked and could not find it. I put it aside to do some work and when I came back to it, I said alittle prayer and when I went back to the checkbook, I found my error ! I did give God the Glory!
Thank you Jesus for hearing me, even in the little things !
Love ya'll ! Thanks for all you do to invest in the Kingdom !
A TX Siesta......I just happened to have a trip planned to San Diego in April..I'll see you there !
thanks...i needed that.
Amen Bibby!!
beth,
thank you for that post. Through Breaking Free I am finding my joy, may I even say happiness,in God has been born. I love the days when I get the chance to sit on my bed, alone in the house and just BE with Him. Sometimes I even jump on the bed and get really silly! For the first time in my life I just KNOW that He loves me, that He cannot do anything apart from His lavish love for me. There are moments I know He loves me and I know it so much it almost hurts.
But everyday I want more of every part of Him. He makes me feel safe. He is simply the best and I am daily thankful for freedom and for Him convincing you to believe Him, to love Him like crazy and to "infect" me with it!
Sandy
Amen! You are so right! We MUST give God His glory!! (That's where all the fun is at anyway!)
Amen! He alone is worthy!!!
I am always amazed and saddened that God can work in such obvious ways and people don't claim it as Him. I just want to walk up to them and do the "Hello, McFly" thing! About a year ago I listened to your lesson on Phillipians 3:10 where you share how you ask God to show off for you. Boy, does He. In small ways and big ways. Just the other day I was laying in bed with my dog. She was asleap and dreaming, doing the little squirrel chaise. Then she groweled. I thought, oh that was so cute. Lord, can you make her do that again. And she did. Oh how He loves us that the little things matter as much as the big.
Thank You Jesus!
Thank you, Beth for the reminder of what our motivation should be while we are here with Him, to give Him the glory HE is due.
Oh, I know what you mean! The other day I needed to vacuum desperately but the belt kept coming off every 3 strokes (I was starting to have one myself it was so frustrating!). So after the last time it came off, I put it back on (difficult to get back on and time consuming, too!) and then begged God to allow this vacuum to at least give me 5-6 good strokes through the room I was working on and I'd be good. After every stroke, you could hear me say out loud, "Thank you, Lord!" or "Thank you, Jesus!". Do you know I finished that whole room and part of a hallway before it stopped again?!?!
Praise God even in your vacuuming, ladies for He loves praise and glory from His children in ALL things!!!!
Praising His name is ALL things!
tulip in Idaho
If we don't recognize God at work in a miraculous way, I believe He'll just stop going out of His way to bless us.
If we'll praise Him, He'll do it again. I think He likes to show off!
I just had one of those moments with God in the last two weeks. The stones would have cried out had I not given Him praise. I was overflowing with joy as the situation I am in is almost consuming. God answered my cries for help and is breathing new life into the half-dead part of me. I love Him more than words can say. HE truly deserves all the glory. No one does 'it' like God does! Thank you, Beth, for sharing and all you do as a faithful servant.
The timing of this e-mail is glory!!!! I just finished reading an e-mail about a sister who was in a terrible car accident about a month ago and she is healing amazingly well and fast. I was sitting her praising God for his wonderful healing on her. I was just about to shout. You know, God is so good to us we should be praising Him and giving Him ALL the credit all the time!!!! Thank you Beth for sharing with us. God is at work right now. You know, God doesn't have a "day off" from work like we do. Can you imagine....never having a day off???? He is so good and so real.
I guess I'm a little hyped up this morning...I just finished doing my Bible study and I am just reeling in the glory of the Lord. Can I get a AMEN!!!!
Praise His name...
On antoher note, my tod is at his Gi-Gi's house this weekend...must be a good weekend to go see Grandma huh? I hope you and Jackson have a great weekend together.
God Bless you Beth.
Oh for eyes to see, and mouths to speak His Glory and tell of His good works!! Thank you for the reminder after a tough week, and it all worked out and I even had a chance to tell someone who's dealing with some of the same things there is Light and Hope, because of what He did for me this week. I pray I glorified Him and I tell you what--I did give Him some praise!! He shows off for us, like you say. We better be grateful. Love you, Annette
I'm trying to get into the habit of praising Him for the big AND the little. And trying to pass it on to our sweet darlings.
Thank you for the reminder, Sweet Bibby!
Beth, I can so relate! And to add to that a little, when I do give God the Glory and Praise Him for answered prayer, I want to PROCLAIM IT! Then what happens? I get labled as too much "God Talk" or "Jesus Freak"!! I am learning to Break Free from what others think--and I have decided I am going to BELIEVE HIM! You keep on dancing and praising Him and giving Him the Glory--Beth Moore, us siestas are watching and are right there with you. Praying for your loved one to believe Him for huge things AND to give God all the glory! Love you.
Siesta from Tampa Bay
To see God at work, and not shout Praise the Lord, I think I would explode from holding it in!!
Amen and Glory be to God!
Amen,I agree. I am as passionate about this as I am passionate in saying Halleluia. I have many times praised him for answering my prayer. It could be as a moment when he answered my prayer to giving me a space to get in the next lane on 290 when the cars are moving so fast it causes my heart to beat so hard it feels like it will leave a bruise as when I have fervently prayed for a break through for a love one that seemed to me that my love one would never be delivered from BUT GOD did. He heard my praise that day. Thank you for stirring up in me the desire to give GOD more GLORY and praise on this day. Psalm 34:2-3 My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together. Blessing to you on this day siesta.
Beth,
You are so right and God really placed that on my heart last month. So much so that I had to blog about it. Check it out if any of you have time. Not about me, but once again, BRAGGING ON HIM and what He has laid on my heart. To HIM be the GLORY!
http://yolanda-highergrounds.blogspot.com/2008/02/brag-on-god-he-wants-to-hear-us.html
Praise HIS Name, Girlfriend!
I know the feeling of "I am going to burst if I can't give Jesus some crazy praise right down!!" He is marvelous, magnificent, wonderful. His love for us is unexplainable and the evidence in our lives makes tears run down my face with thankfulness.
jmm
I loved this post! I know God is in all the little things, though some don't seem to believe that. It is encouraging to be reminded that yes it is GOD who is working out all of the details of our lives.
Thank you so much for this reminder! I will do a dance of praise today! Have fun with Jackson today..
Blessings,
Amy T.
Hi Beth,
Several months ago there was a change at work that made my job sooo much easier. As my boss and I were dicussing it, I said thank the good Lord and just that fast she said, "no, you can thank Dennie". Went right over her head. I still kept thanking Him anyway.
Katnap
Oh, I wanted to dance just reading this! I LOVE God and His great timing. We have been busy giving Him glory for the past week, to anyone who will sit still and listen to the story of my daughter's healing of a blood clot.
Oh, God is SO good, and nothing delights me more than praising Him for His awesome-ness!
I love your heart for the Lord and His work in our lives. I'm just so grateful you are willing to be used by Him and all He has done through you. God bless you!
Amen He is SO good! He deserves all of our praise! Thanks for spelling it out and speaking the truth Beth.
I am so grateful that my first reaction is to give God the thanks and praise for the things he does for me. I find so much joy in being able to do that.
In my relationship with Him, I feel it draws a special closeness between us that is precious.
I love Him so.
Thank you for taking the time to share with us this morning! You are so right...it is easy to pray and ask, but just as we teach our children, we must remember to say thank you when our requests are granted!
I have just finished the Living Free study and I want to say thank you! I haved been blessed with a closer relationship to God through this series. I have thanked and glorified God, but I want to thank you as well, Beth.
Praise God for His many blessings on us!
We've been praising God this week for helping my husband pass an extremly difficult certification exam for his work. After reading your post, I want to say HOW GOOD GOD IS! Thanks for the encouragement!
Amen Siesta! He alone deserves all the praise and glory.
"Let everything that has breath Praise the Lord." He is oh so worthy of our praise. I don't want to hear any rocks cryin out cause I wont!
I love seeing God at work in the little things that are sometimes big--like a close parking space at the grocery store when I am in a huge hurry, brownies that turn out perfect, slack in a drenching rain for me to unload my car...seeing Him and giving Him glory in the small stuff helps me to trust Him when the big stuff comes along. Oh how I love Him.
Beth, have fun with that sweet little Jackson. My oldest grandbaby is just a little older, turns 3 in April. I can just eat him with a spoon he is so sweet. Calls me Gran, well actually it is Gwan-- Love it! Have a fun visit.
Oh give it up for the Lord!! I loved this post.
Just had some miracle surgery done and I will say it felt good to give God the glory for every directed step He gave me!! And I still have some people who tell me I'm lucky to have found a good doctor! LUCK - Luck had nothin' to do with it. The Lord had it in His plan for me. And now He gets the Glory every minute of the day.
God's Blessings to those who are still searching and thanks for such a powerful post on this wonderful Saturday morning!
Kelli in Colorado
Amen! We must alwasy to remember to give Him the glory. He has truly shown Himself to me his past years in several very long term trials and one day I found something I desperately and I started squealing and jumping up and down praising God, this had been "lost" for several years.
Please Siestas pray for my friend "B". She needs outstanding Chrsitian legal assistance. She is fighing an ex over several issues and he has multiple legal representation and she has none. She has no money to hire legal help and is feeling very tired, frustrated, hurt, angry, desperate and although she knows God is there she is not getting answers she needs.
What a great reminder! Speak His Glory! Give Him Praise! He does answer prayer. Don't allow ourselves to think that He is an unresponsive God or that it was just a coincidence when things "happen!" We serve a supernatural God who can and does supernatural "things" in our lives. Our hope is in Him! "Tell" the world about His awesome work in our lives or else how will people know!
"Rise and shine and (clap) give God the Glory, Glory!!"
Yesiree Bobby that's God alright!!!
Today is the anniversary of the day we legally adopted our sweet girl - she was ours from the minute we saw her, this just made it o-ficcial!!!!
If you wanna hear (aka READ) a story with God all over it, I will be bloggin her story today at my place!!!!
I LOVE you Beth - you rock, and BLESS, my stinkin' socks off!!!
Amen & Amen! Keep preaching it!
God is Glorious in All His Ways!
God is SO very good and I just have to give Him great honor and glory this morning. The last 2 weeks were extremely challenging between work and family and the other hundred things that I try to juggle. AS ALWAYS God was faithful to carry me through and to answer some prayers that made a way for my job to change to part time starting Monday. It was an absolutely amazing provision of GOD - not a sure may have been!
Oh Beth - thank you for sharing your passion for God with us! It is contagious, and I am jumping up and down with you! HE IS so very worthy of all of our love and worship and praise!
The most supernatural place I think to praise Him is when then God says "no" to me. How often I see God in the "yes" but am disappointed when He says "no". That is answered prayer too! God has closed doors, painful doors, for me. I praise Him and I can't wait to see what He is doing. Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name be the glory!
Thanks, Beth!!
Amen! Can you give us some pointers for folks who are "in the world but not of the world" so that when folks try to give us credit while we are, at that very same time, trying to glorify God for what just got done?
Thanks,
Kim in Apex, NC
As the team said in FACING THE GIANTS -" We're going to praise Him when we win and praise Him when we lose!" Just waiting and watching for Him to move gives me an excitement I can not explain. He is incredible! So why do I get so busy that I just rush on by and miss that?!! Thanks for the reminder!
debi in MO
Good Morning Beth,
I read this blog everyday (sometime more) and have never sent a comment. I just had to let you know first of all how much I enjoy having this connection and for how God is using this to help me work through a difficult time in my life.
Thanks you for todays message and the the reminder of what a wonderful, sweet and loving God we serve. He know that we don't give him the glory and yet He still loves us enough to answer our prays. May God be glorified in our lives and may He get ALL the glory.
Love and gratitude for you.
YES!!!! Last week I was talking to an unsaved friend about how we had made it through seven months of unemployment on next to nothing.. and I just couldn't contain myself from saying, "There is no way I would've believed we could go this long, on this little, and still be afloat with all our bills paid! It is GOD who brought us through this." She agreed that "somebody is looking out for you". But I had to give PRAISE to that SOMEBODY or the stones would cry out!!!!
God has proven to me that He does provide everything we need, out of almost nothing - like the fish and the loaves!! How does he do that?
I do fear I'm not ALWAYS as thankful as I should be, though.. so thank YOU for this awesome reminder!
Love,
Linda
Amen Siesta! May we always continue to strive to give God the glory in all things big and small. (The small ones tend to be my favorite.)
No fussing sensed! You hit the nail on head. I was taught "to always give credit where credit was due" and I feel God is the first on that list to receive credit. But I love the dancing part! That adds a whole new dimension!!! What joy..
Your passionate love for our God is so contagious and is such an encouragement to us. Thank you for sharing what's on your mind with us, I can then share them with my husband.
Enjoy your time with Jackson, I can only imagine that he's having an absolute blast with his Bibby and Pappaw! Hope the weather's decent for some outdoor fun.
Blessings,
Beth,
(I hope I am doing this right. This will be my first "blog.) I just want to thank you for allowing God to use you. I know you give HIM all the glory. You will never know how God is using your bible studies and messages to truly transform my life. Your hunger for God's Word is contagious. I just wanted to take the time to thank you for allowing HIM to use you. You are truly a blessing.
Amy, NC
Amen! & Amen! My little daycare friends and I sing everyday when it is time to get up from their nap time . . ."Rise and Shine and Give God the Glory, Glory!" They absolutely love that little tune! It just makes the rest of the day a joyous one! We as grown-ups need do the same more often than not. Thanks for giving us a little bit of your morning Bibby!
Thanks so much for this thought. I'm going through a season where God is answering my prayer quicker than I expected. He's so good and I am giving Him the glory for it.
What a great reminder for us all. Timing isn't a coincidence..it is the Lord. I've witnessed it so many times in my life. Looking back on certain situations, it is perfectly clear. Last year, my dad had a heart transplant (miracle altogether) and was at BSF when he got "the call" - that was the Lord. Everyone prayed for him right then and there and then he went straight to the hospital! Rom. 8:28.
Thanks Beth - Looks like I am not the only one that needed to hear that today... its too long of a story for a comment... but I definately needed it!
Beth THANK YOU!! Last night I was thinking how many times I get off track just because I choose to only see what can be seen with my eyes, and fail to ask for spiritual vision. I need to see His hand more often - and that starts by opening up those spiritual eyes.
An *IMPORTANT* thing on your mind, Miss Beth. Thank you for the direct reminder!
May it always be so in my life!
Deborah
Just this past week, we were going to have our car looked at as it had started shaking pretty bad when you got up to around 40 mph or faster. My husband's father was a mechanic. (It sure is nice to have a mechanic in the family!) So Thursday my husband planned to take the car up to his parent's house so his dad could try to find out what was going on. I prayed very specifically. I prayed that it would be simple to fix and inexpensive to fix. Let me just tell you that there's no doubt in my mind that God answered my prayer. Not only was it simple to fix but it didn't cost a single penny! That was God answering my prayer! It just tickles me to see God answer my prayer like that! I agree with you wholeheartedly Beth! You've got to give God all the praise and glory!
God is good - ALL THE TIME!
Karen
www.homeschoolblogger.com/salt
www.homesteadblogger.com/tagblog
Dear Beth -
AMEN! Thank you for that most important lesson/reminder. God Bless.
Much love,
Sharon, Nc
Perfect! Yes! He does deserve the glory!! He is God! There are no coincidences! Thank you for encouraging us to get excited!! I know God loves it when we do. I mean don't I love it when my son gets excited about something I've done for him? Sure I do! It's better than him just expecting it to happen on its own. This was a great reminder.
But Beth, If we give God the glory for all He does, then that means we have to admit that we are not in control....
Beth, sometimes I can be so caught up in the moment or the rush of the day, etc., that something can slip right past me before I remember to give God His glory for it, but I love those moments when it hits me right there, and I just have to spout it out :)
One example of something small but still really meant alot to me -- when may daughter was planning her wedding and registered at Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I wanted to get a set of the holiday kitchen items she had registered for so I could put them with another Christmas item to make a Christmas themed shower gift for one of her showers coming up in a few months. I had waited until too close to Christmas to shop and could only get a couple of pieces of the set. I was at the customer service desk begging for help :) and just when it looked like there was no way I could get the other item, another woman walked up to return the very item I was looking for! I blurted out "That was the Lord!" Not sure what everyone else thought, but I was jumpin' with joy and just knew that He had blessed me, even in this small thing. I think He got a real kick out of it , too!
Beth: I'm so glad I checked in! And I've actually already been with you for an hour as I literally just minutes ago watched DVD 5 of Stepping Up. Praise You Lord. It was oh so WONDERFUL!!!
Thank you for speaking a word in season - ain't no probably do it - that was a word in time!
Yes amen - we need to be "shoulder to shoulder" and not fussing - but WISING UP, ENCOURAGING, & LOVING DEEPLY! (From Stepping Up - Week 5!!!)
You are precious and have encouraged this sister sojourner on this cold windy Saturday in Middle Georgia.
Looking forward to seeing you in Jacksonville, FL the end of this month for the LPL event.
Love you deeply,
Georgia Jan
I understand giving praise, but I also understand your friend saying maybe.
I too have been in the midst of a job nightmare for 8 months now. I have committed my job to the Lord many years ago and know that I can do nothing without him. So when a bomb dropped last Summer and it appeared the Lord was moving me to a new job after 15 year I just praied the Lord for the new challenge to come. Following the Lords leading I turned in my notice and expected the Lordf to keep moving...wrong!
My company wanted me to stay and I told them I would pray about it 3 days. The Lord gave me scripture out of Peter that told me to serve out of humility, and be a witness to those I work with, so I said I would stay until the end of the year. When I tell you that the Lord stopped talking to me, I tell you there was nothing.
I have never had such a desparate time of seeking the Lord. I don't know what I did wrong, I have confessed everything and vowed to remain obedient until the Lord speaks again all while trying to be humble and not bitter. This week i have realized that humility is hard and that my pride was in need of being broken and boy am i broken. I feel like a useless dishrag that needs to be thrown away.
To say the least I feel like I must have listened to Satan and not God and I have never felt more useless. I was praising God for leading me so clearly 8 months ago but I am so broken that I can't imagine feeling like less than I do at this moment.
I say all this to say I understand your friend saying "maybe it was God answering this prayer" because I feel like God left me in September and gave me go Satan to do with whatever he wants. So it is hard to be happy for what seems like an answered prayer once you have so many stone bruises because you have been hit so hard.
My desire is to be obedient and find my joy again.
I love it! In fact, this entry prompts a story for you. For years I had been praying to not only fully "get" and believe God's love for me, but also to be so in love with Him that I'd be a fool for Him (like you always say Beth!) :) Well, just the other day I was running on the tredmill at my gym and listening to worship music. Suddenly I was in the throws of worship that I found myself with my eyes closed and my hands raised at my local bally's. I have done this stunt before and faired pretty well but this time my balance was all off and I fell right off the machine. It was humiliating. But what else could a girl do? I just jumped right back on that horse and picked right back up where I had left off...this time with my eyes open and my hands gently at my side a runnin'. I guess you could say I was officially a fool for God!...Hallelujah! :) And I gave hIm some praise for that answered prayer! :) just felt I should share that. Enjoy Jackson on this beautiful Houston day! P.S. I flipped in the Spirit over your verses in Bible Study Tuesday night! :)
Ascribe to the Lord
O Sons (& Daughters) of the Mighty
Ascribe to the Lord
Glory and strength
Ascribe to the Lord
The glory due His Name
Worship the Lord
In reverence and strength.
Thanks Beth for the exhortation. It's the cherry on top of my quiet time reflection on Psalm 29.
It all comes down to believing God. If we believe He is Who He says He is and is able to do what He says He can do - we will ask believing we will receive an answer and wait and watch expectantly. How glorious it is to see our Beloved.
Love,
Elizabeth
PS Can't wait for the siesta fiesta in San Antonio! It's getting me through tax season!
I just have to share this! After putting a contingency offer on a house last fall (and losing it when ours didn't sell in 45 days)...we put an offer on a house last Friday...put ours on the market last Saturday...and this morning we just accepted an offer on our house!! Praise God. My husband and I could not help but praise the LORD! Last Friday, we got on our knees before bed after putting our offer up for the new house - and prayed that God would cause the pieces to fall into place. Yea, Jesus! Our house sold in exactly ONE WEEK! And to quote you, Beth, Yahoo-Jah!
Beth,
I had the same thing happen to me on Thursday. My nephew, from Dallas, called and asked he could stop by and see us because he was at Wallyworld (Wal Mart World Headquarters) on a business call. I was thrilled! I made a grocery list, headed to the store and bought everything I needed for a nice meal. It wasn't until after my usual 3:30 school pick-up that I realized I forgot the Cool Whip. It was snowing and sleeting-- and I had to get my 16 year old to work by 4:30. NO TIME TO GET THE COOL WHIP AND HAVE MY KEY LIME PIE GEL FOR THREE HOURS.
On the way home, I asked Jesus to please provide the Cool Whip. I even told him that I would use Redi Whip if I had to...Lo and behold, I got home and opened the frig door and honey, there was a big, old tub of COOL WHIP sittng there staring back at me. And let me just say, for the record, IT WAS NOT THERE BEFORE!
Jesus wants to delight us! We just need to ask and remember to give him glory.
Jan
p.s. The new pie recipe wasn't very good, but the Lord's provision was.
Amen!!! Thanks so much for this message today :)
Hey Beth,
It's Grace's Mama again. Your thoughts this morning were what I needed after awaking at about 3:30 am to satan attacking me. I had gone to bed in an awful mood after an hour of trying to persuade my sweet 7 year old that she had to let me give her an enema because that is the best way to get the medicine into her colon where it needs to be. I lost the battle.
What was disturbing me was what I posted on your blog yesterday. I said that the best news was when we found out that Grace has ulcerative colitis. Satan pounced on that. After a day of praising God that Grace did not have cancer and that we had truly felt God's presence with us as Grace had done so well, I began to doubt what I had said. Satan kept whispering, "So that's good? Her having ulcerative colitis is good?" I was feeling like Elijah after battling the priests of Baal...defeated, thinking I had opened my mouth and once again stuck my foot in it (which has happened before).
As I lay in bed, I began to talk to the Lord. I told him that I was feeling embarrassed for what I had said. As He spoke to my heart, He reminded me of Romans 8:28 which has been my verse thoughout this last year. I continually praised the Lord throughout my treatment of thyroid cancer because I believe to the core of my being that He is working all things out for my good. Laying there, His words to me were, "Am I not doing the same for Grace?" My response, "Yes, Lord, Yes. I know You are."
So after a long sleepless night I can still praise God today knowing that whatever Grace might have to go through, God is in it and is working all things out for her good.
Siestas I covet your prayers. I know that there will be plenty of unpleasant days that Grace will endure. But I also truly believe that God can take her through them. He is able to do all things! As I said to Grace before the surgery, He will never leave us nor forsake us! He is so good!
Kimberly
PRAISE GOD!!! His timing is so perfect and profound! What an encouraging word - thank you for sharing. God is with us and NOTHING happens that doesn't first pass through His hands :) Thank you, Jesus!
amen amen Bibby...you are so right.
thanks for sharing and getting me on the right track this morning.
Amen! So many times we forget to give God the glory he deserves, even in the small things we must do this, thanks for reminding me of this today
elle in Nebraska
My 94 year old Mom went home to Jesus yesterday. Two years ago she
broke her hip and had to come to my home town, to an assisted living facility so that I could see about her and see her most every day. Much healing has come in these two years...she has been a tremendous blessing to me and to those who cared for her. She became my ''child'' to watch over as her short term memory faded further and further away and her physical body becamwe weaker. Who would think a broken hip could bless so...who would think short term memory loss could be a blessing, but it was. She was always a worrier...fretted about all kinds of things...but in these last years, she just didn't remember what happened yesterday, or even today, for that matter, so there was no cause for worry. She had been ill for the past month, and when I would see her daily, or twice daily, we would talk about her being ill and she would say, I don't think I've been sick and sometimes she would get rather adamant about it.
As I would go and visit her, I remembered that many long years ago she could recite all the books of the Bible, so I would say, okay, let's do the books of the Bible and she would get all the way to Ezekiel, most times, and all the way to Collosians before she would get messed up. I asked if she could quote the Lord's prayer and she started and finished the 23rd Psalm. I said, okay now let's do the Lord's Prayer, that was the 23rd Psalm, so she started and finished the Lord's Prayer and could do all of the Apostle's Creed....couldn't remember what I just said or even what she just said to me, but she could remember those things and I was so richly blessed to hear her do that. We did it many times before her sickness....I Praise God for the broken hip which led to her being with me..I Praise Him for her attitude, her cuteness thru the last two years...everyone who knew her thought she was the ''cutest thing''. She was very witty and funny and I praise Him that He knew I needed her here, so that I could be her''Mama'' as she had been to me.
Thank you, most precious God, Thank you !!!
THANK YOU for the powerful reminder.I've been a little resistant giving Him the glory out loud. I used to be very intentional, that people knew my faith was in God. I praise Him in the quietness of my heart but I should be "shouting" the praises on the rooftop...or at least a little more audible that others may hear ~ "to Him be the glory, forever and ever, Amen" Eph. 3:20
amen, amen, amen. just the other day i said, "Lord, are You tired of hearing me say thank You that You are giving us a grandson?" and i knew right then that He never gets tired of me expressing my heartfelt thanks for His goodness.
Thank you so much for the reminder! I've had several YAAAAH GOD!! moments this week and I was convicted about one I should have really been jumping up and down about[I confess I got dicouraged when those I thought would be equally excited when I shared with them and they weren't]but I'm going to jump up and down today!!! Never too late! And I have a Praise God this morning as our area is pounded with snow and because of a schedule change a month ago, I didn't have to work today!! I did tell people at work yesterday that God was watching over me!! GIVE HIM PRAISE!!! In Jesus' Love Kathy Knoblock
Beth- A few years ago my mom did a bible study, in which you told a "shopping" story. You and Melissa were looking for a sweater for a Christmas gift. After looking for some time, you went back again and found it...your reaction "GIVE HIM SOME PRAISE!" (And you made her clap right there in the store!)We loved this story! Since then- we 'give Him some praise' all of the time. Sometimes it is over something big, but other times it is just a daily thing! Just the other day a new store opened in our town and we were very excited about it! Right there inside the new store...GIVE HIM SOME PRAISE! Our God is the author of everything in our lives. He deserves all of our praise and it is so fun to give it to him!!!!We GIVE HIM SOME PRAISE for you for teaching us this valuable lesson! Thank you!
Oh Beth!!!! Praise be to GOD!! How I wish more of us knew this kind of power God puts forth when we seek him earnestly in prayer. When God does what ONLY God can do, I almost do back flips (at 48 it would be a little risky)but instead I dance, I sing etc. I have been blessed so greatly by God in many ways such as you experienced with your friend. You almost want to say "God, would you please open the heavens for just a sec and smack my friend around minute so she will get it!" He is so active in our lives! He is the power that resurrected our Jesus!!!!! What He did in that office was mere "pocket change" for Him, if you know what I mean. It also saddens me. I wish so many times, with tears in my eyes, that people like your friend knew what I know (which is not much) about God. I wish they would tap into His power, believe Him, and watch Him work in their lives. And then come and join me for a few back flips (which knowing my God...He could heal the damage).
I love jumping up and down and giving God the glory.
All As- up and down. Scary piano recital over- up and down. Couldn't have done it without Him!
Absolutely! It's called faith! If you aren't looking for God's hand in a situation, you can always chalk things up to "chance" or "coincidence." But I don't believe in either of those things! I've had so many prayer requests that were so clearly direct answers from God, but if I didn't have FAITH, I would never have even seen them as God directing the details in my life.
Amen! You know that's right!!
Last Sunday night a friend of mine called me and we were talking about my mother (who was in the hospital) - and her mother who had already gone to be with Jesus a few years ago - the struggles, pain, grief, etc., that goes along with long, long term illnesses for the person as well as the family - and then after the person passes the guilt of "Did I do enough?" for the loved ones left.
My friend is struggling with faith/believing IN God. I've sought to live my faith before her and... very recently she told me that she WANTS to believe, but again, is struggling with it. She is open, but admits she is not at all sure if God is Who He says He is. She also told me she would welcome anything I had in way of devotionals, books, etc.. I prayed about it and went to Lifeway Bookstore and spent hours looking and praying for what God would have me give her. I bought her the "Believing God" devotional. She was so touched that I would do that for her and I was thinking, "God opened this door after years of prayer for you and I'm not about to NOT follow Him!"
The following morning after we talked last Sunday night, I received a call that Mother had passed away. I called my friend and she was saying "Wasn't that a coincidence that we were just talking about all of this last night?" My reply - "Oh, ___ (her name), there are NO coincidences with God; that was Him using you to help me prepare for today. He knew I needed you to remind me of certain things."
May GOD alone receive ALL HIS GLORY!
"G" in B'ham
AMEN SISTER!! Oh my goodness, I have something to share. My best friend and her husband have been needing a breakthrough for something for a year. The other day I called her and she said we have to, or NEED God to answer us on this thing. I said, I am going to pray for you again. She went into a private room and I prayed and we asked God to give them a breakthrough in this situation. I can't go into all details but the very next day what we prayed for came in the mail!! She called me on my cell and I was in Kroger giving God some glory!!
One of many things I have learned from you, jump up and down, clap for God when HE answers a prayer, meets a need, HE just might come back for an encore!! I am expecting an encore!! HE is a blast !!
Love You,
Patty
Beth,
Glad to hear you are enjoying your time with your "grandboy". I have been reading 2 Peter 1:3-4 this morning. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. I have been listening to Fred Hammond's song, "Everything to Me". God and Jesus are Everything to me. There are so many things that can't be explained, but in all things let God be the Glory! Philippians 4:7-And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Thanks for your message of God's Word this morning!
Amen! So be it. Preach it! Any good thing we know on this earth comes from him. I anticipate his answered prayers. Thank you for teaching us so well, Beth.
I have so enjoyed this blog and I've got a wonderful praise that I want to shout from the rooftops.
My sweet baby boy is 21 months old and has Down Syndrome. Yesterday during his therapy session, he walked 25 steps and this morning he climbed up 3 stairs!! Praise God!!
We have experienced so many emotions since the day Charles was born. We continue to experience joy in the midst of frustration and worry. Thank you Jesus for never leaving us!
I said the same thing sort of a few days ago. Some things were going own , &I felt that since they wouldnt yuse me The Lord was putting me somehwere else or do somehting diffrent right then & there the phone ring & a specail lady said I think you need to do this will I knew what that was then all of a sudden I felt the 2 things that God wants me to do is going to bo together ,I know it will be awahle but thats ok 2 many people have come bqack with you should do so own, I do dance for the Lord all so am a little scared goijg out like this but threw the Lord I can do it.I don't understand why everyone cant see thisI would have been daceing up & down with you myself God bless love sister in Christ Victoria NC
AMEN!!!!
Like it says it Luke..."Before the rocks cry out!
I had two HUGE blessings from God this week. Praise him.
Yes mam! Especially if He'll join in on the dance with me up there upon His throne :)
AMEN, siesta! We should live nearby so we can both look weird when we do the "thank you, God whoop!"
Love you lots,
Beverly in Oregon
AMEN BETH!
Oh, this is so great! I just have to share this because something similar happened a week or so ago with my family. We live in the hills of Western NC (God's country). We recently moved from South Florida so we are so excited every time is snows, which isn't that often). A couple of weeks ago it snowed and we enjoyed a full day of sledding and snow play, it usually melts before noon. Our guess is that we got about 8-10 inches. We thought the whole area got about the same but to our amazement others were talking of only an inch or two. My son had gotten up that morning telling me that he prayed for a foot of snow. We are a busy family so we didn't acutally end up talking about this again until 2 days ago. My boys 8 and 11 were discussing how we seemed to be the only ones who got so much snow. I told them that I thought it was because they prayed and that God does what brings Him glory and that day it seemed that answering their snow prayer did just that. We thanked Him together. Thank you Beth for teaching me that lesson over and over in many of your Bible studies!
Janetl in NC
AMEN!!! Well said!
ALL good and perfect gifts are from the LORD. James 1:17
Let us give HIM the glory in all things.
Lisa in Orlando
AMEN! I have just had a huge break through in one of my most important relationships. I set there and tried to figure out what finally went right after praying about it for 5 years and seeing no improvement. It was almost like I was so used to the drama of the relationship that I was going to brace myself (unbelief) just in case it was a tease and not really a break through. I had felt so discouraged for so long and thought things would NEVER change. As soon as I would start to give up in the relationship God would remind me of such a quoted verse: "With God ALL things are possible." Even my situation was possible and I had to stop believing the lie that I had the one thing that He wasn't going to change. Then, the Lord woke me up to the fact after things started changing that I was so used to the drama and I built so much of my life around the drama (of the relationship that God was for) that I had to come to a crossroad...I was either going to bow to the idol of the drama or I would have to go on in belief that while things may never be perfect I was going on with Him and going to PRAISE HIM for changing things. He truly is to be praised because in my life He told the mountain to get down and get under His feet. Enough was enough and I am going on with Him if that makes sense. Just because our breakthrough doesn't come in our time doesn't mean that when it comes that it wasn't of Him.
AMEN and AMEN!!!! Praise Him!! All Praise and Honor and Glory!! Hallelujah!!!
After over ten years of waiting, and wanting a child, God gave me one. He is a miracle, a true gift from God. He is now 2 (just a little bit older than Jackson), and he is precious. I give God ALL the glory! I tell everyone I come in contact with that he is my miracle baby...the people on the elevator, the grocery store checker, the neighbors..... God is so good, how could I not thank Him everyday and give Him the glory?!
Thank you for your ministry!
Rhonda
We definately live in the flesh, don't we! Dispite ourselves He continues to love us and bless us.
In the big things I pray for, I praise Him, In the tinniest things I pray for, I praise Him. (I always tell my husband, it doesn't take alot to make me happy and content.) I feel so loved by my God, even in the depths of where I have been at times. I live for His covering! As I do my husbands, here on earth. We need to be thankful in ALL things. It's certainly not by anything "I've" done, that made the situation come together, only through Him! Praise Him or the ROCKS WILL! HE IS YOUR GOD! Hallelujah!!
PRAISE HIM, PRAISE HIM ALL YE LITTLE SIESTAS, GOD IS GOOD, GOD IS GOOD!
YES HE IS, YES HE IS!
LYNDA M.
I too have been having some issues at work. Mainly working with non-followers of Jesus is the biggest thing. It never fails when I ask God to give me the right attitude and fill me with His Spirit He comes through. The most special thing to me right now is a year ago this would not have been what I would do. However, I'm breaking free and trusting myself to listen to the Almighty at every turn. He loves me and I love Him dearly. Oh, what a blessing to be able to share. Thanks Beth for being such a warrior. U Rock!!! Glory be to God! Katy Girl Breaking Free
Amen!
I just LOVE your enthusiasm Bibby! It is one of my favorite things about you! It is so contagious! Thank you!
We LOVE you Lord! Thank you for giving us Bibby!
Emmy : )
Amen and Amen!!
So true!!
Thanks for reminding me to give Him some glory right now!
steph.
Amen and AMEN!
Yes, yes yes! Give Him some glory!
About a month ago God led me to read Hebrews 4. It's all about taking a Sabbath rest from our work...and BELIEVING Him. He was calling me to repent from working so hard to earn His favor and to BELIEVE His promises. I asked Him to confirm this Word. THAT day Chuck Swindol spoke on Hebrews 4! I did a "You are so cool" dance. The NEXT day Tony (The Man) Evans spoke on Hebrews 4. More dancing, more praising. THEN during my usual devotions He led me to 2 Thess 1:7 which talks about rest. WOW! As Kirk Franklin says, "I think we're gonna have some Church up in here!" I keep telling Him, "You are the coolest! I love you so much. " I actually sensed His laughter. God is so personal, so fun, so... HIM!
How awesome is that?
I will remember to give Him the GLORY!
He is so good!
Can anyone say CONVICTION! Lord, forgive my unbelief and thank you for answered prayer!
Beth, I was just sharing with my sister on the phone not 2 hrs ago how I did something much like your friend not once but twice in the last week. Then I turn on my computer and checked your blog.
Only God. Thanks for sharing.
Melanie
I agree 100% with you Bethie. I don't believe in coincidences, they are God moments. God intervening. May I share a quick answer to prayer. I've been praying for a friend for awhile now (long story to get into) I have friends but not the kind one shares the all and all, go out to lunch stuff. Well wouldn't you know it, God sent a special someone into my life and it started out with HER ASKING ME (I'm always doing the asking) to be her prayer partner. Out of the blue. Would you believe my first reaction was to get a little anxious about it!!! I can home and prayed a thank you to the Lord because if he orchestrated it, it is with his blessing. My new friend and I talked on the phone today and share our desire for genuine friendships. To make a long story short, I know it was God that put us together. We prayed together this morning and I've been praising Him all day since. TO GOD BE THE GLORY.
In this day when everybody in the world wants to blame God for every bad thing that happens--"I can't believe a loving God would do that...or this...!!!" Well you can bet your sweet bippy that I am going to praise Him to the rafters for all the things He does for me. I do not believe in happenstance---He is to be Glorified in my life every single day.
Haha!! What your friend said sounds like what I say about 75% of the time
Btw, While I was reading this, at first I thought it was Amanda writing, and I kept thinking "But it sounds like Beth." Then I read the part that said "Are you stinking kidding me", and I knew it had to be you writing it.And reading that made me laugh out loud b/c I'm telling you it's like a reading convo that you and I would have if I ever found you when I was having a bad day. :)
And I just love this picture:
"Can you imagine when we thank Him for something that He's up there on His Throne shrugging His shoulders and saying, "I'm not sure what you're talking about. I didn't have anything to do with that"?"
Awesome!!! Thanks! And thanks for sharing this...I needed to hear that.
♥ya!
Amen Siesta!! I really like the image of God shrugging his shoulders and saying - I don't know what you're talking about. You are so right. I had never thought about it that way before and I think that it will help me praise more in the future. Thanks!
I have to add one more thing! Today I went clothes shopping and I HATE IT!! Because I am a plus size woman, the cute clothes are usually in size 0-2, it's hard for me to get excited about clothes shopping for myself. Anyway, before I left and on the way I asked God to let me find SOMETHING, please. Well I came home with two blouses, one knit top and a cute casusal jacket. How's that for answered prayer! And my husband didn't even make a face when I told him how much I spent. :)
God is good!!
AMEN---
We have just gone through my husband losing his job and finding another--getting the first interview within one week of being RIFed(reduction in force). Ain't no probably about this being God's doing. He is in an industry that there are lay-offs continuing to happen. God is sooooo faithful--we continue to give him the glory.
I hope your friend's doubt is replaced with a sincere belief in how awesome our Lord Jehovah Jireh is!!! Love, brenda in indiana
Well said Siesta and AMEN, PRAISE THE LORD!!! I've done my share of Praise God dances and High Fives to the One on High. I just LOVE when He comes thru in His "perfect timing" and I have NO DOUBT that it WAS Him!!! Isn't He AWESOME!!! Much Love from your Siesta in Lathrop, Missouri
Yes, and amen! And don't even THINK the word "coincidence"! That just means we choose to not believe God and ignore His gracious pleasure! To Him be glory forever and ever!
Michele in Grapevine, TX
Beth,
I know you will get a kick out of this. Early this morning I read this blog and had typed in my comments on the matter on how we should praise HIM in all things and it had to be a God thing because when I went to post my comments there was an error and it would not let me. So I decided I would study my leason that I teach Sunday evenings for our Youth Discipleship class. Well I want go into all the details but if you would like you can read my blog that I posted about what God showed me in this lesson.
But needless to say God showed me scriptures on why we should give HIM all the Praise for ALL the things (big or small) that he does in our lives.
THANK YOU GOD FOR EVEN NOT LETTING MY FIRST COMMENT POST AND FOR ALLOWING ME TO SHARE THIS WILL ALL MY SIESTA. Sometimes He just wants us to wait on HIM so we can share even more with everyone.
Thank you Beth for all you do.
Becky
Attalla, AL
Amen! It was the Lord.
Just yesterday, the Lord did something that I am praising Him for and I KNOW IT WAS THE LORD. My honey took our precious 3 year old daughter to "Transportion Day" at a local church/preschool....firetrucks, police cars, motorcycles, ice cream truck, horse and buggie etc... Well the sirens on the emergency vehicles spooked the 2 horses attached to the carriage that they darted off down the parking lot full speed. The man was pulling on the reigns and yelling for people to watch out. The horses trampled an empty baby stroller and ran right into the outside wall of the church! My husband said he was standing right where those 2 horses trampled just 30 seconds prior. No one was hurt (minus the horses!), thank you Jesus. It was the Lord who either whispered in all of those mommy's ears to move out of the way and just in the nick of time or it was everyone's guardian angels (that the Lord had sent) to give everyone a gentle push out of the way. Those horses would have trampled someone to death. IT WAS THE LORD!
Amen! I have been teaching in christian schools for over 11 years now. I have taught a variety of ages, from the little ones to the about to graduate ones. And one thing that I have noticed that has been grieving my heart is the spirit of entitlement that seems to be upon them. They are not thankful for anything--they seem to EXPECT everything. I do realize I am generalizing, but by and large I think I am speaking truth here. Anyway, the Lord has really used my observation to convict me in my own walk with Him. Do I not feel entitled to certain things? Do I always thank Him for the daily blessings He gives me?
Sadly, I don't always. But I am getting better. I agree with you that the timing of the phone call was undeniably God's hand upon the matter. And I am praying that in my own life that He will keep me ever-seeing His hand at work, so that my mouth (and feet!) will be always praising.
God bless you!
His,
Jen
Dear Beth,
I see many young women in my church who did not grow up in a Christian home and who never went to church because their parents did not go. Years ago when Christ came into my heart and saved me, my eyes were opened. However, discernment in the ways of God has been a slow, continual process. What is easy to understand today I would not have recognized back then.
God does speak to us and He moves in our lives. When we give Him the glory, people in our circle of influence will start to see the ways of God and they will recognize His hand in their own lives.
There is a line in a song that speaks to my heart. It says, "Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise, blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be His holy name.
Beth, thank you for sharing this today. I needed this word.
Hug Jackson for me.
I love you, dear Siesta
Mary :)
Thanks for posting, it is a good reminder. I am great about praising God for the big, obvious things like your story, but I don't think I slow down enough to recognize and praise Him for all the little things, but I will today!
Amen! Amen! I loved this post!
Ain't no high like The Most High!! Praise Him for His Grace and many, many blessings to me and my family.
Melana in Wyoming
Thank you Sweet Beth! A much needed reminder for me.
There is a poem I have been wanting to share with you. I know you are well read so maybe you have heard it. But your post reminded me of it once a again.
Thou that hast given me so much
grant one more thing -
a grateful heart.
Not thankful when it pleases me
(as if thy blessings had off days)
But such a heart
whose very pulse is praise.
- George Herbert
Thank you, God!
blessings,
Sister Lynn
There is no high like the Most High!I completed "Breaking Free" last year.I thank God. I thank you,Beth. There are so many changes that God has done in my life...bondages broken...at times just blows me away. It makes me want to worship and praise Him for all He has done and continues to do in my life!!! Amazing thing about our Heavenly Father...He takes that worship and praise that was meant for Him and turns it around and uses it to bless us again and again. He is the Gift that just keeps on giving.
" I am God, and there is no other; I am God and there is none like me"( Isaiah 46:9).
Praise Him for His acts of power; praise Him for His surpassing greatness ( psalms 150:2 ).
Blessings.
Cady
HALLELUJAH all the time girls!!!
Love you Ms. Beth and have a blast with Jackson!
Hugs from snowy TN!
Fran
Yes, God is so good and deserves so much praise! To God be the Glory! Halleujah!
AMEN!How could it NOT have been God? He is sooooooo good!
Thanks for the encouragement. You are right. God does want us to get excited about what he does for us. He is worth getting excited about.
GOD IS GOOD, AMEN...........
He is doing some awesome things right here in front of our eyes, how can experiance such presence and not shout and praise him for what he is doing!
Beth I have to say that God is doing some great things in my church and in my family- and satan knows it and is trying to do every thing in his power to destroy what our Lord is doing. I know that there is nothing to big or to small for my savior Jesus Christ!
Keep us in your prayers.
Love always
WOW! God is so good. My husband and I have been struggling for 6+ months with a particular issue and I am finding it very difficult to trust God with the out come. Just this morning, a friend and I were discussing the fact that I cannot do it alone, I must continually surrender the issue to God and she encouraged me to read Philippians chapter 2! Then I started to pray that God would provide in a way so amazing that it would leave no doubt to myself and others that He had provided.
Just now... I got online and read your message!!! God is so good, and He definately gets ALL the Glory! Thank you for your words of encouragement and allowing Him to use you to His glory!
-Christy in Colorado
Beth,
Sometimes it's ok to fuss at us. Sometimes...ok, well, a lot of times...we need it. Anytime the fussing is to help us grow closer to Him, it's imperative. Thanks for fussing, thanks for your passion, and thanks for the reminder to give ALL the glory to HIM!!!
Robyn
A wonderful reminder and encouragement for us all!!! I know that I don't always remember to verbally aknowledge my praise to God but it so happens that yesterday I was able to give a big verbal shout out of praise to God for the return of my 16 year old son's favorite jeans....I had to share this 'cuz it's so funny... he returned from our youth groups "Purity Weekend" last week without his favorite pants!!! Now if that isn't either great cause for concern or better yet, part of the promo material for next year!!Of course they were his absolute favorite so when they showed up yesterday after we had looked everywhere we could think of, we had a little Priase the Lord time. Trivial I know but God even cares about the small details like our favorite pants!!
Amen Amen.!!!!
Last night after work at midnight in Indiana and a hugh snow going on I started home only 3 miles (I thank God for that every day I'm so close) I turned on my road and I was somewhat concerened as the wind had drifted bad bad :) I do have 4 Wheel drive and thank God yet again I had had to get new tires jsut last week ! Thank God again I didn't want to buy new tires But God knew I was going to need them real soon :) ! So all the way down the drifted country road I just said Jesus Jesus Jesus Thank you Jesus all the way till my drive way and then just set and praised him for helping me. If I could have seen all around me I probably would not have started down that road I was probably in the field !!! I just Thank God He takes so good care of me as I'm a single seista. :)
Love you all and give little Jackson a hug for me. I get to see my little ones in a couple weeks.
Thanks for including us all . God Bless You
Pam
Oh and when I woke up this morning a dear neighbor was out on his tractor cleaning my drive. He will get a loaf of fresh baked bread real soon :) and a big God Bless you.
mama beth, you=great.
love your heart.
love your hair.
love your passion.
and i love that i just tried to explain to some lady at walmart who was looking at your book that we have a couple hundred mutual friends, and we all 'talk' several times a week via the internet. (she clearly thought i was on a emotional-high from all the snow, because she did not get it.)
Amen and Amen! I try to remember to always give Him thanks for answered prayer. That's why a prayer journal is so effective. When you go back and see all the answered prayer He gives, that's enough to make you want to do a Glory Dance for Him! :D
Thanks Beth!
WOOHOO!! I hear you! I pray that I will always see it and love it when He makes Himself obvious to me!
Oh, thank you for your post! I have recently begun waking at 5 to meet with God. I've found that my "good intentions" of having time with Him during the day do not somehow turn out. This morning, I headed downstairs at my normal time well before my husband and kiddos were awake. I was enjoying a wonderful time with the Lord, but my hair kept falling in my face and bugging me as I read in my bible and wrote out my prayers in my journal. I wished to myself that I had remembered to pull my hair back before heading downstairs. Not wanting to wake my family, I stayed put and got back to reading. Clear as day, I heard a (not an audible voice) clear command to reach into my pocket (of my robe). When I did, there was a ponytail holder. I think bc it was so early and I was so into my time with my Father, I immediately praised Him. But, then I felt doubts ~ and began to think it was foolish of me to believe God had been the one to tell me the ponytail holder was there. However, I decided to tell Satan to get thee behind me so I could continue to praise my Father in Heaven for loving me so much and for being present with me and for meeting with me! Have a wonderful rest of the weekend!!! Kim in Ohio
I am so enjoying Jesus, even while we wait on Him. There is sure some faith-strength training going on in the Smith home. Yep, there is.
We count our blessings--each one. And we give Him effusive praise!
But I must add, it has been a hard 3 1/2 months...I'm praying that God comes through for a job for my Chris this week. I hope He answers, just as we are praying. Mmm Hmm! Amen.
Praying over your dear sweet family.
Love,
holly
Amen ----- He tell us to "be still and KNOW that He is God . . ." - I pray that we all continually aware of His hand in our lives!
Beth and other Siestas,
I feel like I am going to jump out of my skin if I don't echo from the mountain tops a concert of praise!
The story is too long and too complex to go into, but I walked through 30 days of fasting from something I have never had victory in, FAITHFULLY!!!! Do you know what? I didn't even white knuckle it! Surely for the first few days my husband was asking me how long this fast was going to go on. :) But we made it, the Spirit convicted me of fasting in a way without others noticing and then put a humorous punchline on it with Beth's portrayal of "smelling like smoke" from the Daniel study.
You need to understand, Satan has had this stronghold in my life since I was 8! That is 30 years!!! I have never walked in freedom like this. Sure, I looked like I walked in freedom in my early 20s to those in the world because I spent 3 hours a day at the gym for 13 days in a row, but never with peace, balance and a contentment like this one.
I just want to share a testimony that your Strong Tower can do anything you need. Hang in there. Hold fast. Stand up when He whispers your name. And GIVE HIM THE GLORY when He redeems the circumstances. You will be radiant with His glory even in the process, when your eyes are on Him.
HE IS GOOD... ALL THE TIME...
Thanks for the wonderful insight! I've been doing the "Beloved Disciple" study with my Mom, (my first!) and part of the homework today was about something similar. Maybe God is trying to tell me something.... :)
Lindy
GLORY!!!!
HALLELUJAH!!!!
and
AMEN!
For Kimberly and other siestas fighting the good, noble, and necessary fight of faith:
an ode to the LORD...
A Might Fortress is our God
A mighty fortress is our God...The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him. His rage we can endure, for lo his doom is sure. One little word shall fell him...A mighty fortress is our God!:)
WHOHOO! Absolutely LOVE that song!Praise Him! Greater is He who lives in you than he who is in the world.
katiegfromtennessee
How easy it is sometimes to "forget" that God is in everything. Thanks for the reminder!
Love
Cynthia in OK
How easy it is sometimes to "forget" that God is in everything. Thanks for the reminder!
Love
Cynthia in OK
You are so right-we have to give God all the glory, in all things!! I try to look at everything through spiritual sight-you see God more that way! Last night we hosted a sleepover for all our daughters friends who were trying out for freshman cheerleading. One of the "counters" for the event walked out and saw my vehicle packed with excited and anxious teeenagers waiting for the results to be posted (it was midnight). She whispered "Not a good decision" and reminded me not everyone gets these things. My heart sunk as I though about the 7 girls in my vehicle. I suddenly lost my excitement over the thought of what I would do if one of these girls did not make the team. God was good-each one of the girls in my car made it!!! I just laid my exhausted head on my pillow when we got home and kept saying "thank you Lord, thank you" until I fell asleep. It could have been a really long and painful night. God was good!!
In His Graces~Pamela
GOD IS SO VERY, VERY GOOD! He rented our house today just when I thought I couldn't take it any longer! We are off very soon to NYC to follow HIS calling on our lives! I LOVE HIM SO VERY, VERY MUCH!
Thank you so much for sharing that. Oh, I love Him so! He's always on time even when we fail to see it!
Agreed - thank you for speaking the truth in love to your friend and to me. Sometimes we aren't looking for Him and He's right there with exactly what we need. Oh, Lord, increase our faith! I appreciate you, Beth more than you can know and thank God upon every remembrance of you. Praise God from Whom ALL blessings flow - EVERY good gift comes from above!!
Amen and Amen! Praise the Lord for this reminder today...twice! I just finished my Bible Study homework from Daniel 9. He truly was a man of the Word of God and one that was a prayer warrior- And, he hadn't even stopped praying when his answer came. Though your answer wasn't given by Gabriel, I think the timing of that phone call showed you God's answer. He heard you before you even uttered the prayer, and answered you immediately. Praise you, Lord! Oh, how I pray that God would make me a "Daniel-prayer" too!
I love that you remind us to give Him the glory and praise- I think that's really what this whole thing we call life is about. Loving Jesus and giving Him glory!
On a cute side note: I teach the 3 and 4 year olds at church and everytime we see God answer one of our prayers, we clap our hands and say "Yay God!" Well, our prayer time has become one of their most favorite times- We pray for everything: hurt toes, scraped knees, coughs, runny noses...and even for the people that don't love Jesus:) And as soon as they see God answer a prayer, they say, "Mrs. Tara, can we clap for God now?"
Oh, if only we would live with that expectation- "Can we clap for God now?" Yes, siestas! Praise Him and give him the glory...
Love,
Tara
This whole past week since we moved, every time I go looking for something in one of the MANY boxes, I'll say, "Lord, please help me fine the 'phonebook, can opener, etc' and when I find it, I say with great exuberence, "THANK YOU, LORD!"
It MUST be ALL about HIM!
Amber in TN
Beth,
I am encouraged by the faith that has increased in you! Allison
Your timing is impeccable. 15 minutes ago, I finished painting our bedroom and went to plug the vacuum in before I put our boys to bed. I had to unplug our space heater (no coils on the thing--like an old radiator but it's new). When I pulled the plug, it left black soot on the socket. Lo and behold the rubber on the plug was melting, the plug was HOT, and the outlet had rubber debris in it.
WOW GOD. He is incredible. And I wasn't even praying for safety!
Thank you for reminding us of the obvious. Just today I told the Lord that He just needed to handle something b/c I gave up and that I have no real reason so think He would want to except for grace, mercy and love. He will handle it I am sure and until then I will try to "not be anxious for anything, but in everything, with thanksgiving present my request to God." (Phil 4:6) =) Jill
Well...let me give Him a little praise:
1) provided us a handicap van in less than 30 minutes
2) Provide over $3,000 for a training session I have to attend in CO. Plus a full scholarship
3) Turned MRSA into mercy
4) Allowed us to sell our car 30 minutes before we took it to the dealer ship
Honey don't tell me they were coincidences, the were GOD-INCIDENTS and I know it!!! Thank you Lord.
AMEN! I feel your passion! I think it's time we start jumping up and down and Praising Him! I feel exactly the same way! He deserves the Glory!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you sweet Beth for reminding us today!
Love you,
Angie xoxo
Amen!!!!!!!!! Thank You Lord for your goodness and taking care of me and my family. All Glory and Honor and Praise is Yours Heavenly Father! Thanks for getting us to the retreat yesterday and I praise you for the Work you are doing in my two children who went.
Oh Girl, you are so right! My dear friend just recieved word that the offer she made on a house was accepted, and let me tell you we KNEW THAT WAS GOD! No way the owners would've accepted that offer with the Lord working in it all! Praise Him!!!!
I have learned to Praise God for even the smallest blessings, things that I feel like God doesn't really have time for. I am putting together a surprise tea party for my daughter who just turned 9 years old. Due to working, everything the girls are involved in and going to school myself, I have had very limited time to try and get my plans together for this little shin-dig. But today I was so very successful in getting most of the stuff for her party together. I even had the girls with me. My husband would just take them off in another direction and let me do what I needed to do. For everything I was able to cross off my list, I would say 'Thank You God' over and over and I meant it from the very bottom of my heart! This party is going to literally rock her world! She absolutely loves tea parties and a good friend of hers had a surprise tea party a couple of years ago and she still talks about it. This year she said she just wanted to have a couple of friends over for a sleep over instead of having a party so she doesn't suspect a thing. I am so excited! I can't wait to see her little face when she walks in. I will definitely be giving all the Glory to God!
I'm with you, Beth! We've been praying for a job for my husband for 5 years and for the last 2 years at a particular place. We just couldn't understand why he never even received a call back or an interview. Then finally in December he started receiving call backs on some of his job inquiries and received some interviews....but none at the particular place he had really wanted. Finally, he received a call back and interview at the place he wanted and Praise the Lord started his new job 12 days ago! I've been giving God the Glory ever since!!!! His timing in this was perfect, for too many reasons to list here!
I'm praying your loved one will see the situation for what it is......the LORD OF EVERYTHING doing HIS "THANG"!!!
AMEN! Thanks Beth! My family and I have been so through the storm and back, but we MADE sure we praised God EVERY time (Big things and little things) and praised Him loud and proud!
We made sure we did not keep it to ourselves and when he healed my son last year, we stood in front of our church to shout it from the rooftops of what our great God did and tell Ethan's story every where we can!
I learned something about this topic a few years ago when I heard a "certain" Bible teacher tell a story about seeing her delight (baby bear) in the woods while on a hike. You are the one who has taught me to be thrilled when God shows off.
A friend shared with me recently about her job and the stress of it and how she didn't feel appreciated and was questioning should she apply elsewhere etc.
We shared back and forth about what we know God says about us and our value to Him and how to try to remain positive... and we both knew each other would be praying.
Honestly....it was as if her boss was listening in on our conversation. The praise began...within a day or so of our talk.
She and I both knew and praised God for His work in it.
Just today I was watching week 4 of "Stepping Up" and you were talking about the praise and dance in your office over answered prayer and then those ladies walked by and the one wanted you to pray for her friend.
My eyes teared up with that one.
You're right....we need to give Him thanks and praise!
Thanks for the reminder.
Enjoy Jackson & Amanda!!!
Love,
Valerie
I have taken a stand, and I will publicly praise the LORD!!!
Siesta in VA
Beth:
Your post is such a good reminder. I had one of those praise God mornings. He gave me just the verses I needed to keep my focus on Him and not go into a tail spin of worry. A year ago fear would have won out but today God did and I had victory. I have had victory over not giving into fear and worry for about a year now. I could not have done it with out him. And He used verses in the week 10 lesson 4 of the Daniel study. I could not believe it right in the middle of all that history were the very verses I needed to read today. Praising God. Kim B. in AZ
SPEAK A WORD SIESTA!!!
Gonna be givin' God some glory in the morning at church! My sweet friend just got home with their adopted son from Guatemala last Thur and he's going to be dedicated in the morning! I'm gonna be runnin' some glory laps in that Southern Baptist sanctuary so look for me in the paper!! ;-)
YYAAAHHHHOOOOOOOOOO-JAH!!!
CRAZY for Jesus in NC
Val
Amen, Amen, Amen.
He reigns, God is who He says He is. God can do what He says He can do. I am who God says I am. I can do all things thru Christ. God's Word is alive in me. I'm believing God. I can't memorize but those 5 things sure have stuck with me. Thanks bunches!!!!!
I'm amazed sometimes how we will stay in prayer and beg God to interceed on our behalf then when he comes through for us we fail to give him the Glory He soooo deserves. God showed himself real to me 34 years ago and He has kept me from going under more times then I can count. I hope I never cease to give him the glory and be thankful. I never want to forget how he has taken care of me through the trials in my life. The good, bad, and ugly. Praise You Heavenly Father
Amen! That made me think of a story that I just have to share. I'll try to give you the abridged version.
About 5 years ago, my husband and I really felt God calling us to adopt a child from China. Well, I'm not a big risk taker and really needed God to be loud and clear about His will. So, one day after I put our 3 year old daughter down for her nap, I sat down to do my daily homework for "Jesus the One & Only". During my prayer time I asked God to "hit me upside the head" with His will for our family. I mean I wanted Him to really let me know (without a doubt) if we were supposed to adopt.
About 30 minutes later my sweet daughter gets up from her nap and says:
"Mommy, I can't wait until my baby sister gets here".
"Really," I said (about to fall over). "Where is she?"
"She's in China," she said. "She isn't born yet, but I can't wait until she gets here."
I can tell you that after I picked my jaw up off the floor, I was praising God for His (very swift) answer.
By the way, that was in September. Our daughter (who we adopted from China) was born 5 months later in February.
Isn't God good?!!
Sheri in NC
"Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! ... "I tell you," He replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." Luke 19:38,40
In Beth's own words, "Go forth and display divine special effects to the great glory of God."
You are so awesome, God! I love You with all my heart!
He is due praise tonight...I was feeling fear and anxiety as I was home alone with my little son tonight and as I rocked him to sleep I began praying, remembering scriptures, praying with thanksgiving and within minutes I realized I was relaxed and no longer stressed/scared. Awesome. Thank you Lord for hearing my prayers!
I need to praise Christ....my husband's heart's desire for over 10 years has been to start his own business as a home builder....my husband, his father, and his brother joined together but things still weren't happening because everyone still had to work and had no means to jump right in....Well, my brother-in-law lost his job recently and they just got a 19 house contract for a developer!!! This is an awesome opportunity that we give them a firm foundation. PRAISE GOD! My heart leaps that Christ is granting my husband's deep desire! Thank you Lord for hearing our prayers!
Amen and Amen...Praise His Name!!
So profound. Yes, yes, yes!!!
Beth, thanks for the reminder. I'm sure willing to do a "jig for Jesus"!! Listen to what He did for me this week . . .
He gave me a $2500 scholarship from the nursing school I'm attending! That's half my school bill for this semester (and the other half He took care of through Pell Grants!). Isn't He AMAZING!!!
Jessica
You must be having so much fun with Jackson and Amanda there!! I loved the reminder to give God the glory when He does something for us. I too have seen obvious God things happen that another person just shrugged off as "coincidence".
You know something, Beth? There is somebody I drive nuts sometimes with exactly the same comments: "Probably." "Might have been." when I am trying to be really honest with where I am at.
There have been plenty of times that I have been the one failing to "give Him the glory"...not from thinking He couldn't, but because why on earth would He bother with me? Too big a stretch to imagine it.
Am learning...slowly...that He is mine, and I am His. Trying to do the "regardless of what I understand, I obey" thing. Holding on tight to the picture of Him loving me, delighting in me, singing over me...but sometimes, I slide back into asking "why me?" -- which is definately the wrong question! -- and remembering Him saying (in Stepping Up I think!) "Because I want to!"
There are still some pretty deep icky places in me that He hasn't finished with yet. I am glad He doesn't give up easy; glad that the continuation of His love for me is up to Him, and is not depending on me "getting it" or "being good"!!
Always, always, wanting more love, more power, more of Him in my life...
Thanks for the constant pull towards Him; thanks for your passion for Him. Makes me want the same all the more...
great reminder to believe and give thanks! why do we doubt?.. are we afraid of "drinking the Kool-Aid?" so we gotta "hedge" our faith? hmmm... i'll be thinking about that - and looking for God's answers to my prayers more!
Amen!! But Beth, how do you respond or, more importantly, cope when a close loved one can not see it? Can't see God's hand at work? When they say, "Could be....you might be right." It's so frustrating. So heartbreaking!
God is so personal and involved in our lives and if we look we will see Him all over the place. I remember a time that I was driving to work and thinking about something I needed to bring to God to help me focus on in my life. I seemed to keep repeating the word focus over and over in my mind...when I came to the next stoplight I glanced over to see what else?...but a white Ford Focus! What a cool affirmation! And a white Ford Focus at that! I just love it when things like that happen!
Been doing an internal dance all week. I'm taking a brief pause on writing an absolutely dear friend a who knows how long letter. He's currently in Jail (for the last month) and His heart went from HARD stone to well to watered down JELLO. God is working and after nearly 6 years of praying, I'm SO excited to see this dear, soon to be brother become so hungry that he can do nothing other than come to Jesus for FOOD. Going to Cook County Jail in Chicago.... which is such a hard place.... and seeing His heart melt... Give God the Glory!
"Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done!" Ps. 40:5
"I am the Lord; that is My Name! I will not give My glory to another or My praise to idols...Let them give glory to the Lord and proclaim His praise...!" Is. 42:8,12
Boast in the Lord! Great is our God...totally do the dance, jump up and down, and recognise HIS hand! I love my relationship with HIM. Keep it real, keep a thankful heart, and just watch HIM show off!! Absolutely give God some Glory!!
risk looking crazy to the world, you look beautiful and just as you should to the Lord!
AMEN!!!! I think we sometimes to forget to give God the glory because we are so excited about what happened and it was awesome. God is so amazing in everything and I do believe with daily life we tend to forget that. Love ya'll siestas. Mary Anne
Right on Amanda!!!
To God be the Glory!!
Let's take every opportunity to say so!!
Thanks for sharing this.
Oops! Sorry Beth, don't know why I wrote Amanda. LOL
Amen. Beth. Amen.
This morning God gave Dallas,Texas one of the most beautiful sunrises. It was one of those rose skies touched with orange, and clear with the promises of a wonderful day.
This truly is the day the Lord has made and I will rejoice.
No matter what tomorrow brings, no matter what is on my "worry list", no matter what is on my "to do list"; today- right this moment- I will rejoice.
Thanks to Hadassah for her comments. I identify more with Beth's loved one sometimes. I don't know why. But what Hadassah said is that it all comes down to FAITH. Belief that He really does-(not "can" because I know He CAN do anything)- want to be involved in the details of my life. I've got to have faith that He does. Lord, I believe, PLEASE help my unbelief! Thanks Beth and Hadassah....
Oh, Beth. Right on.
I am SO convinced God is not a tease. He led me down a road just recently (ministry & work related) that hinged on lots of decisions made by others on my behalf. I had peace at every turn that even if a door shut with them, God had not given me a burning desire and gift for which He would never provide an outlet. However, the answer was ultimately YES and AMEN!
The thing is with our God, all things are a Yes and Amen!! Hallelujah!! Sometimes its just a matter of His knowing Door NO. 2 will be much better for us than NO. 1.
There is no better feeling in this 'ole world than when our dreams and His Will line up to the exact same thing. The verse you quoted 'God works in us to will and to act according to His good pleasure' is the epitome of that. If we don't look for Him in every detail, every decision, every pain - we sure won't know to praise Him instead of ourselves when we actually want the good end to which He's been leading us towards.
Okay, I'm ramblin'...Have fun with Jax! ;)
This is my first time at your blog site. I catch you when I can on Wednesday's thru Life Today, which is always a blessing! (They are wonderful poeple!)
Anyway, I have some blog friends who make a point to mention you, and visit, so today, I thought I'd try!
You are so right on this topic! How can we fail to give Him the Glory? Actually, I always had thought I did a fairly GOOD job at this. And the past few months He has graciously shown me that I can come up higher (way!)...I was truly failing to express my thanks for the many daily things He does, I just get task oriented and move on to the next...Now, I am making an effort to stop right there and Thank Him. I mean for me, I never doubt that it's Him indeed, but, how dare I not show my gratitude? Because I am focused on the next issue or problem? How dare I NOT celebrate His outrageous goodness?
It's a learning experience for me!
Thank YOU for your faithfullness to serve Him and teach, and make disciples!
May God bless and protect you through the blood of Jesus and may He ever continue to reign in your heart, life and ministry!
In the fight of faith with you,
Maria
Beth, I think you are absolutely correct!! Satan loves to put the spin on things, and if we are already spinning the thing, his work is half done. I drive in my garage and say thank you God for this garage to park my car. Its all because of Him, there is "NO" question in my mind. I think its important that we say those things with conviction even if we may "appear" crazy to others. Incidentally one of the definitions for appear: to come formally before an authority. Sorry Beth you made me this way.
Needed that. Thank you...
God is so glorious. You are so right. I so need to praise Him for the good things He has done in my life. Just this week I was spared in yet another round of layoffs my company did. Instead of praising Him, I've been loathing in the fact that my good friend of 22 years was laid off. Not to take away from the sadness of what happened to the friend, but in that, I forgot to praise God for what He did for me. He is so good. I am in His grace...
Thanks for sharing!
To the lady who feels as if God has left her, I too feel as a dishrag right now and being told by so many that I have no life because I am humbly serving many and my life is not filled with many "pleasures" I know that I wait diligently for God to say "Well, done good and faithful servant and will continue to take joy in the simple pleasure of worshiping Him for eternity. MUCH love to you in CHRIST and I will be praying with you.
I am doing a dance right now-- GLORY BE!
Maybe . . . . . coulda been . . . . so anti-climactic isn't it?? I give Him the glory for the next breath I breathe! He owes me nothing and the fact that he blesses me is beyond my comprehension.
And I second the "Amen, Bibby" sentiment :-)
(((hugs)))) from Washington state
This has nothing to do with giving God glory - although HE does deserve it. I wanted to know if anyone out there just has days when they don't "like" their husbands. Just the sound of his voice irritates you, the look on his face, the "what's for dinner" question. I'm trying to pray through this. He is a wonderful, Godly man and I know he loves me and I do love hime. Right now though, he just irritates me. Can anyone relate? K
Oh Beth you are a bright shinning star, you bring me back to reality when I read your words that God is so much apart of... Giving God Glory to him is so important part of the relationship that you and I and so many others have or want even if they don't know it... Thank you again...
Connie
God Bless you
PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!
MAJESTY, WORSHIP HIS MAJESTY, UNTO JESUS BE ALL GLORY HONOR AND PRAISE!
And, let your mind DWELL on these things, whatever things are true, noble, just, pure,lovely, of good report, if there is any virtue and ANYTHING praisworthy, meditate on these things!
Anything not just the big stuff or obvious stuff, praise Him and let your mind meditate on His goodness for providing it!
Thank you Beth for the reminder. Right now I am thanking Him for you and your ministry. I am so thankful for all that you do for us. We asre simulcasting your event in Kentucky in out church in August and just this morning they ran the video during church and I hjad a lady ask all about it and said that her teenage daughters seemed very interested in coming. Praise The Lord that you can reach so many people. My heart pours out His Praises! AMEN!
Angie in SD
Dear Beth, I was very moved by a couple of posts by two of our Siesta's, Grace's Mom and a anonymous sister who's been struggling for months about a work decision. Just wanted to say I am praying for you both that Jesus will surround with His love today and that you will sense His hand and presence in your situations. He is near He is working and He loves you very much. In Jesus' Love Kathy knoblock
Dear Amanda,
You are just so right!! God deserves the Glory for all our blessings. Amen, Amen!
Cindy in Lexington, NC
Amen Siesta!
It bums me out too when someone misses God's biggness even in the little things!
I will jump and down w/ praise - thanking our Father for bringing the much needed phone call for your loved one!
Praise God from Whom ALL Blessings flow!!!
Okay, this is jumping back a few blogs, but glory to God, there is skinny cow in rural Alabama! It is such a blessing to someone that can't eat anything and still fit in her pants! I am thankful for the hook up!
Now- jump subject again- sorry- I never get to blog, but I wanted to recommend that Melissa and everybody else read Kay Arthur's, A Marriage Without Regrets. Hands down the best book I Have read on marriage. I give it to every newlywed and tell them to pick it up the first time they feel like running back to Mama! I know this grammar is awful. I have an English degree for goodness sakes (just no time)!
Jenny in Bama
Oh, that's convicting.
Just yesterday, I was relaying a recent time where God put things into motion for my protection (which included, oddly enough, my teenager faking sick to come home from school). The woman I was talking to is a very vocal athiest. Knowing I would get an eye roll from her, I said "...goodness knows what would have happened if....". My heart was saying "THANK YOU, LORD"
I failed to recognize His protection and in doing so, failed to witness to His Love and Divine Hand on my life. Move over Peter, I'm a denying bum, too.
Grrr. Thank you, Jesus that my failure is not final. Thank you Jesus that I will again have an opportunity to shout out "OF COURSE IT WAS GOD!!!!!!!!!!"
Ouch, Beth. Hurt a bit today, but much needed. LOVE YOU. And *THAT* I can boldly say, is from Him!
I totally agree -- give God all His glory, because even the heavens declare the glory of God.
Through the years, the Lord has helped me quickly recognize when He's "making a way for me," such as, finding a parking place - in Atlanta! or discovering a beautiful skirt on the clearance rack -- only one left and it's my size!
or, coming home at the end of a dreary, cold day to see a beautiful red cardinal perched on the fence. His stunning color absolutely brings glory to his Creator! Yes, it's a marvelous thing to see God's presence in the smaller things of our lives, and to give Him glory.
On another thought, I can understand how someone going through such a time of testing might have been hesitant to give God credit when the breakthough comes. I'm reminded of when Peter was led out of jail by the angel and when arriving at the home where they were praying for him, they did not believe he was really there. They did not immediately give glory to God.
Sometimes we get so weary and numb in a trial that when the answer finally does come, we may need a little push or reminder, that God is at work! Thank the Lord for others that when one stumbles, the other can help her up!
Beth,
Thank you for that post. I had a breakthrough in my realtionship with my mother-in-law recently. I've been in prayer, my bible study group has been in prayer and ever so slightly, I've sensed God moving in the situation until she grabbed my hand this week and said to me I love you so much. You better believe I praised God!!! I love not just seeing Him at work but truly recognizing Him at work.
I also want to share how God has used you the past two years to truly deepen my relationship with Him. I feel like I know you and love you. Thanks for all you do for Jesus!
Amen and Amen, Siesta!!! Praise the Lord and pass the biscuits!!!
whoo hooo!!
Thanks for the reminder. He is worthy of ALL our praise, that's for sure.
I must share a personal situation. About ten years ago, a family member was in the hospital literally dying from alcoholism. One day I stopped in a park to pray. I couldn't even form the words...but God knew my heart. Several months later, the doctor told my dearly loved family member that "...there is no medical reason to explain why he is still alive". And, ten years later, he has not had one drink of alcohol.
Praise be to Jesus, the One who can deliver us from all our addictions.
This family member still thinks he just got lucky, but I continue to remind him Who intervened on his behalf.
ck.
Praise You Lord!
I like to get my praise on by dancing to the Breaking Free theme song "Shackles."
Let's never forget to praise!
Love ya!
Kristi B.
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