The unknown path ahead of you is known to God.

"Though unknown to us, our future is not hidden from God. He is already there. He has prepared fresh mercies to touch us and bless us for all of our tomorrows. His grace is sufficient for us. His power is perfected in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). He has taken it upon Himself to cover us, care for us, lead us, and strengthen us.

Over and over again He instructs us to be anxious for nothing, be strong and courageous, let not our hearts be troubled, and to trust Him in all things. All of these directives imply that we have a choice in the matter. He supplies. We lay hold of His supply. He is. We decide to become.

Thank Him for His wisdom in the way He leads you. Thank Him - by faith - for the beautiful unknown path ahead of you. He is always good; always acting in love; always offering support; always supplying; constantly present, and completely engaged."

-Susie Larson

Redeeming the Time.

I am trying to dig out some of my old notes right now, looking for times when God spoke a good word to my heart so I can thank Him for those times. Today I ran across some great encouragement from Pastor Mark Spencer, about redeeming our time. This stuff is GOOD!!! I thought I might share it. Check out what Pastor Mark Spencer had to say about the things that hinder us from living life to the fullest in an interview he did with Susie Larson in Live the Promise on Faith Radio:

The Shepherd boy, David, was out there all alone with the sheep when the lions and the bears came out. You can frame that two ways:
1. Where is God that he allowed them to be out there?
-or-
2. Here's a challenge, but God's with me. Let's do this!

Either you can look at Goliath like he's too big to fight or too big to miss.

Isaiah 8:13 "Do not fear anything except the Lord Almighty, for He is God, the Holy One. If you fear Him you have need for nothing else."

When we struggle in the present moment either the past or the future are not taken care of.
If your past is nagging you...
Pray for redemption from the things in your past that need to be worked for the good.

If the future is haunting you...
Remind yourself that God is up to something good, and that you have a story worth telling. Remind yourself that there is no place that you can go and be away from the Spirit. Reconcile the truth that God is always with you and always will be with you.

Ephesians 5:15-21
"Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."

"Your life is meant to be ever growing in its influence and impact. May your heart sing and your life explode with the joys of living in the fullness that lies potentially before you." -Susie Larson

Faith, hope, and love, but the most challenging of the three is...

faith...
I think.

"When the train goes through a tunnel and the world gets dark, do you jump out? Of course not, you sit still and trust the engineer to get you through."
-Corrie Ten Boom

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end."
(Ecclesiastes 3:11)

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose."
(Romans 8:28)

Susie Larson blasted out a great post a while back on her blog that shares some of the things she learned about standing in faith while waiting for a breakthrough. She gave seven key things to remember when seeking God's best will for your life. Here they are:

1.) Humble yourself before the Living God. Then make time and space to hear from Him. He will speak to you about His desires for you.

2.) Pray and believe that His Word is true and that His promises are backed by the honor of His name. How often do we pray without engaging any of our faith muscles? You know the difference between rote prayers and faith-powered prayers! Once God has revealed His promise to you, be bold like David and lay hold of it through prayer!

3.) Give thanks and embrace contentment for your current lot and your daily blessings. There's much to thank Him for today! He has blessed you today! Stay in the moment while believing Him for the future.

4.) Stay in the Word and trust Him to confirm His way for you through His Word.

5.) Refuse an unbelieving heart or a striving spirit. When you catch yourself living in reaction to these things, get back to that place of peace. Be still and know that HE is God! (Ps. 46:10).

6.) Trust His timing and process in this matter. He knows best and works all things together for the good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28).

7.) Remember that every promise He makes has eternity written all over it. In other words, His blessings to us are for more than just us. His promises to us are meant to spill over onto others and to create a ripple effect that we will carry with into eternity. No matter how we choose to view our hearts' desires, there will always be a broader perspective to gain and a bigger picture to see, because when we fully lay hold of His promises for us, our breakthrough will deeply impact and bless others. That's why things take time. And it's always worth it to wait for God's best.

"He is always good and He puts certain desires in our hearts that we might pray them into fruition. Of course I'm not talking about 'name it claim it' theology, but I am saying that God sets eternity into the heart of man. He drops desires into our hearts because He intends to fulfill them. We must pay attention to the longings of our hearts. Sure, at first they may be unrefined or misdirected, but as we dare to place our hearts' desires before the Living God, He will shape, fill, and bring clarity to His desires for us." -Susie Larson

Isn't that great news? For somebody today that is great news! Has God given you a promise in your life? Don't give up. Keep your faith strong by bringing that thing back to him and thanking him for it. Do not be side-tracked by lesser things in your waiting. He is a good God. This is the verse Susie ended her post with- Isaiah 64:4. I just love this statement that presents itself as one of God's faith-building promises...

Isaiah 64:4 ~ For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like You, who works for those who wait for Him!

Thank you Lord, for this promise! We put our hope and faith in you, trusting that you are a good God who works all things together for the good of those who are called according to your purpose.

Bow down.

"Bow low when you'd rather exalt yourself,
and bow lower still when in the presence of God."
-Susie Larson

LOVE that! :)

heh. Susie, you rock my world! God has given you so many reasons to be proud, and yet you remain humble! :) Thanks for teaching with all your life.

My letter of blessing to you.

Dear fellow believer,
You are loved, called, and chosen. You are anointed, appointed, equipped, and enabled by the power of God that works mightily within you! No weapon formed against you will prosper and no enemy scheme against you will succeed. May you be blessed in all that you set out to do today!

Sincerely,

Your Sister in Christ

(inspired by Susie Larson's "End of the Day" blessings on facebook...Thank you Susie Larson!!!)

How do you know when God has a promise for you that you are supposed to pray over, and when you are supposed to be still and wait on him?

Susie Larson blasted out a great post today on her blog that shares some of the things she learned about standing in faith while waiting for a breakthrough. She gives seven key things to remember when seeking God's best will for your life. Here they are:

1.) Humble yourself before the Living God. Then make time and space to hear from Him. He will speak to you about His desires for you.

2.) Pray and believe that His Word is true and that His promises are backed by the honor of His name. How often do we pray without engaging any of our faith muscles? You know the difference between rote prayers and faith-powered prayers! Once God has revealed His promise to you, be bold like David and lay hold of it through prayer!

3.) Give thanks and embrace contentment for your current lot and your daily blessings. There's much to thank Him for today! He has blessed you today! Stay in the moment while believing Him for the future.

4.) Stay in the Word and trust Him to confirm His way for you through His Word.

5.) Refuse an unbelieving heart or a striving spirit. When you catch yourself living in reaction to these things, get back to that place of peace. Be still and know that HE is God! (Ps. 46:10).

6.) Trust His timing and process in this matter. He knows best and works all things together for the good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28).

7.) Remember that every promise He makes has eternity written all over it. In other words, His blessings to us are for more than just us. His promises to us are meant to spill over onto others and to create a ripple effect that we will carry with into eternity. No matter how we choose to view our hearts' desires, there will always be a broader perspective to gain and a bigger picture to see, because when we fully lay hold of His promises for us, our breakthrough will deeply impact and bless others. That's why things take time. And it's always worth it to wait for God's best.

"He is always good and He puts certain desires in our hearts that we might pray them into fruition. Of course I'm not talking about 'name it claim it' theology, but I am saying that God sets eternity into the heart of man. He drops desires into our hearts because He intends to fulfill them. We must pay attention to the longings of our hearts. Sure, at first they may be unrefined or misdirected, but as we dare to place our hearts' desires before the Living God, He will shape, fill, and bring clarity to His desires for us." -Susie Larson

Isn't that great news? For somebody today that is great news! Has God given you a promise in your life? Don't give up. Keep your faith strong by bringing that thing back to him and thanking him for it. Do not be side-tracked by lesser things in your waiting. He is a good God. This is the verse Susie ended her post with- Isaiah 64:4. I just love this statement that presents itself as one of God's faith-building promises...

Isaiah 64:4 ~ For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like You, who works for those who wait for Him!

Thank you Lord, for this promise! We put our hope and faith in you, trusting that you are a good God who works all things together for the good of those who are called according to your purpose. Amen? I feel like I have said that before. :) That's right. Every day I remind myself. God, you are working all things together for the good in my life, even when I don't feel like it.

I put my trust in you being who you say you are. Amen.

Trusting God to be at work in your life.

I would like to encourage you to jump on over at Susie Larson's blog post for the week. I am quite certain that you will agree with me that she is marvelous. Her words are uplifting and strength-building. I hope you love this one as much as I do. Here is a little tidbit of her blog entry...

We need time for our faith to grow. When we plant seeds, we can't repeatedly dig them up and pull them out of the ground to see if they are growing. We have to leave them in the ground. Those planted seeds (that we can no longer see) need to be watered by our faith. During the process we must learn to be content with seeing nothing while knowing that God holds everything in His hands, and that He moves on every act prompted by our faith, as the Scripture says.

Don't you love that!?! I know, me too. Click here to read more on this topic.

Permission to speak about God, in a society that is less than supportive.

If you ever felt like you needed permission from God to go out and boldly speak your testimony, trusting Him to be at work through you, here it is...

2 Timothy 4:1-5

"In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry."

There ya go. Speak boldly, and humbly God's truth in your life. Build up your faith and speak it over the people around you. Once you decide to put yourself out there, and you see God at work it will stir up an excitement in you, and will renew your energy so you can go out and do more work for Him. Empower your spiritual muscles. Share the love of God, share your faith. Don't wait for 2 or 3 degrees before you impart the good news to those around you. "You keep your head, and go out and be an evangelist!" Permission granted.


Another one of many amazing lessons I learned from Susie Larson that has empowered me and put me into a new frame of mind spiritually. Hope this does for you what it does for me. I needed permission. How about you?

And a little more on this topic of seeking God's will.

Holy crazy cow!! Susie Larson just took on the very topic I tried to make some sense of last night, and she tackled it in a mighty powerful way. Check out her post today...

http://susielarsonblog.typepad.com/susie_larsons_blog/2011/04/an-atmosphere-for-answered-prayer.html

This is why I love her! Seriously...wow. In fewer words, and making way more sense than my last post...I'm always blown away by the way God speaks to me through her. Okay, who is joining the Susie Larson fan club with me? :)

I didn't get to listen to her interview yesterday on Praying Big, but it sounds like I am going to need to.

My strength comes from the Lord.

Have you ever met someone who totally changed who you were, just by being who they were? I am blessed with inspiring and motivating mentors lately, close and far. I always have, actually. I just didn't always know to call them mentors. It isn't that they are all sitting down with me for coffee once a week. Some of them I sit down with and I ask them questions, and others I learn from by simply observing and listening closely when they talk. Some of them I sought out, and others I just happened to bump into along the way. Most of them don't even know how much they are influencing me just by being who God is calling them to be. I guess they cannot know unless I tell them. Lately, God has given me eyes to see who some of them are, and the desire to give a handful of them an extra thanks.

One of them is Susie Larson. She is an author, speaker, and a radio host. I just cannot say enough good about her. I mean, REALLY, I cannot. From miles away, she spreads wisdom and encouragement to anyone who wants to listen. Having said that, I read a clip on her blog today that I thought would strike a chord with many, many moms..."tapping into the strength God gives, and that is readily available to us all". Please read a little blurb about a dream she once had. If you are interested in reading the post, in its entirety, click here.

"Lord, I don't know what just happened at this event, but I do know this: I want more! More of You! More of Your power and Your presence in my life!"

I fell asleep with those words on my tongue. And I had a very vivid dream.

In the dream people were busy with their daily lives, rushing to and fro - totally unaware of the power that hung overhead, completely within their reach. The 'power' looked like rolling colorful clouds with bolts of lightning shooting through them. Every once in a while, someone had the presence of mind to pause and look up. Then they'd reach up and grab hold of the 'power' and place it on their children or their wallet, or their own heart. But then they'd go along their way and not look up for a long time after that. But in my dream there was one woman who camped in the presence of God. She lived there. She reached up with great regularity and accessed what God made available to her. And the result? Her life glowed with the power made available from on high.

I woke up from my nap absolutely stunned. As I snuggled in my bed for just a while longer, I pondered this vivid dream, and the Lord whispered this across my heart, 'Most of My people only scratch the surface of what I've made available to them.'

Isn't Susie wonderful? Of course, she would probably prefer that I say, "Isn't God, working through Susie, wonderful?" ;) She is always quick to give God credit for the good she is able to accomplish. Either way, I hope her words inspire you, like they do me. For the rest of her post, go here.

God's blessings on you, mommies, as you continue to daily muster the energy to serve your families. :) Moms, May you not grow weary in doing what is right, for at the proper time, your family will reap a harvest. Love you all. Thank you for visiting our site today.