This week has been chaotic in our home. The children are swapping bedrooms and this seemed the perfect time to improve one of the rooms by having a closet door removed, the wall opened up and a larger door put in.

As I’m typing, we have a wall partially torn up and the frame rebuilt to accommodate the new doors.  Even though our home has a lot of dust and chaos at the moment, I can see in my mind the closet being fully maximized so my child can access the whole closet and not just a portion.

While cleaning all the dust and debris I was thinking about my heart being under construction. (Philippians 2:12)  The Lord is always working on my character and selfish desires of my flesh.  I’ll admit I don’t like it.

What keeps me going? What causes me to pursue The Lord and His ways?  Like the closet, I keep the end result in mind when I will hear Him say “we’ll done my good and faithful servant.”

My heart is the same way.  When I surrender the parts of my life that are not like Him, He gains more access to utilize the gifts He has placed in me to serve Him and the body of Christ.

Do you feel like your under construction?  Be encouraged.

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Philippians 1:6 NIV

How do you encourage yourself to pursue God?

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; ~ Isaiah 43:2-3a NKJV

Lord,

I thank You that as I pass through the adversities of life that You are with me. When the pressures and responsibilities of life are overwhleming You are with me. According to Your word I will not drown and I will not be scorched.  I fix my eyes on You for You are faithful and loving.  May others come to know You as a true and loving God.  In Jesus’ name.

Amen.

I’m linking up with Mentoring Moments for Christian Women today.

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How do you enter into the presence of the Lord?  David describes for us how we should be joyful, glad, thankful and praising Him.

 1Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! ²Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. ³Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. ⁴Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. ⁵For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.   ~Psalm 100 NKJV

I’m picturing a person like Riley.  She is our two year old Maltipoo.   She gets so excited to greet a person.  She shows her joy by jumping, barking, spinning in circles and will not stop until you pick her up.

When I look at verse 2 it states Come before His presence with singing.   The NIV says joyful singing. Have you ever had a day so wonderful that you burst into song for no reason?  Most of us think of joy being connected to an external happiness but this joy is due to being in an eternal relationship with God.  This is they type of heart we should have when we enter into His presence.

Maybe your not feeling so joyful today and that’s ok.  Ask God to fill your heart again with the joy of your salvation.  We are in relationship with Him not because we have to but because we get to. How awesome is that!

I’m linking up with Mentoring Moments for Christian Women today.

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“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed: to proclaim the acceptable heart of the LORD.”  Luke 4:18-19 NKJV 

I love how Jesus quotes this passage from Isaiah 61:1-2 to set the tone for His ministry while here on earth.  Let’s face it. We all have been hurt and wounded in life but having a brokenhearted spirit just doesn’t leave.  When others are bouncing back from trials in life a brokenhearted person may still be focusing on their disappointments.

I was one of the brokenhearted that has been healed.  How?  I was healed in small steps.  As I read the word and participated in Bible studies I learned about who God is and why He came to die for me.  I learned that without Him I’m a sinner and yet I was still battling all the negative emotions connected to being brokenhearted.  The true healing began once I trusted Him and poured out my soul in the secret place.

When I spent times in prayer I would cry out to Him and ask Him to remove my broken heart.  Little by little He revealed situations, faces and words that had wounded my spirit while growing up.  Prayer and supplication in His presence is the only way I could have moved forward to forgive and experience the healing He meant for me.

For me this process took time.  If you are experiencing a need for a broken heart be encouraged.

Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land. Exodus 23: 30 NKJV 

As you spend time in His presence you too can experience healing little by little.

I’m linking up with Mentoring Moments for Christian Women today.

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We had an exciting week in our home this week.  One of my children was baptized.  We have been discussing the importance of obeying God’s word and what it means to be baptized. In our discussions I received all the text book answers that you would expect until a sweet confession was uttered.  What tumbled out of was “and I just want more of Him.  I want more of His presence.”

I have to say the sincerity in the voice made me heart leap for the child.  This conversation made me think about myself.

Is my passion to be in His presence like that of this child?  

In my years of walking with the Lord my relationship has gone through ebbs and flows.  There are times I can answer the question as a “Yes” and then there are times when I have let life get in the way of my pursuit of Him.  When I realize that my time with Him has become artificial and mundane I search my heart for the things that have quenched my passion.

A dry season I once experienced was due to a severe hurt I suffered.  I was not angry with the Lord but just angry at those who mistreated me.  As a result I couldn’t bring myself to the point of a true conversation with Him about my feelings.  My time spent with Him became superficial and just a laundry list of needs.  I cut things short by not allowing myself to be still long enough to hear Him because I didn’t want to hear the words “forgive them”.  In the end,  I truly became desperate for Him and humbled myself.  Once I acknowledged my sin of unforgiveness and repented the dam broke.  Forgiveness flowed and my communication was reestablished again.

“Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.  Mark 10:14-15 NKJV

 Lord help us to be more like children.  Ignite a passion in us that craves more of You every day.  You are the one we desire.  Thank you for being our savior and continual peace.

I’m linking up with Mentoring Moments for Christian Women today.

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