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Living Fearlessly ~ Part 4 or God Disappointed?

“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” ~ Colossians 1:13-14 (ESV)

Do you feel that you have disappointed God? To be honest I do some days. The way how I treat others; not always in a way He would like me to. Some days I don’t live forgiven even though I am.

Will my actions deny me entrance to heaven. No, of course not. But still…

Before I continue with this week’s look at living fearlessly, let me share a quote from ‘Fearless‘:

“‘Cash in too many mercy checks, and sooner or later one is going to bounce!’ The devil loves this line of logic. If he can convince us that God’s grace has limited funds, we’ll draw the logical conclusion. The account is empty. God has locked the door to his throne room. Pound all you want; pray all you want. No access to God.’ ~ Max Lucado (emphasis mine)

You know, I fear that when (not if) I get to heaven, that our Lord would raise an eyebrow because I didn’t follow the path He has laid out for me. I am afraid that I miss something; I miss being compassionate to someone He has put in my path…Again, what if

In his book, Max Lucado pointed out people that have messed up ‘big-time’ (Peter, David, the Samaritan woman). Guess what? God and Jesus restore them all, forgave their sins. All three of them received grace. And you know what? So are we: forgiven and received grace.

Do I want to mess up? No, I don’t. But in my human state I do. Looking at Peter, David, and the Samaritan women, I have good company. Peter denied Christ three time (Mark 14:66-72), David took another man’s wife (2 Samuel 11), the Samaritan woman had more than one husband (John 4:1-42). Where their sins greater than mine, or visa verse? This is not the point. All sins are the same in God’s eyes. I don’t have to fear to disappoint Him – He already knows that I will slip up. He has provided my way to heaven in Christ.

I think that Casting Crowns have hit the nail right on the head when they penned the song “Who am I”. I want to close my post with the bridge of the song:

“Not because of who I am,
But because of what you’ve done.
Not because of what I’ve done,
But because of who you are.”

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: You are forgiven, so that you can live fearlessly; you will not disappoint God.

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Category: Faith, Fearless, Life  Tags: , , ,  5 Comments

Living Fearlessly ~ Fear of Change

As you remember, Karon had a wonderful guest blog on February 1st. Karon’s new book “Unafraid” so perfectly fits for my 2010 theme “Living Fearlessly”…

Some of the questions Karon posted at the end of her blog:

  • What change are you facing now? What has your response been – to fear or to build?
  • How have you overcome a fear of change in the past, or what have you learned from your fear in the past that helps you now when change happens?
  • Why do you think we fear change so, and how do you think God wants us to respond to it in our lives?

I haven’t handled some of my life chances well; honestly I down right struggled. My dad’s death, my move the US, my son moving out just to name a few. Today, I do not want to share anything from my past, but would like to respond to Karon’s first question. I want to encourage you with my words…

Girls, I am turning 50 this year!?! Standing before a fork in the road I am wondering what I would like to do with the rest of my life…

Several weeks ago I open my Bible to the epistle of James. The following verses the Lord impress upon my heart:

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”” ~ James 4:13-15 (ESV ~ emphasis mine)

James is telling us not to look too far ahead. Hm, interesting…Don’t get me wrong; I still make plans and have dreams for the future…but I am looking now first to get His approval to move ahead. I am not waiting to see a direct sign from heaven, however I know that He has my blue-print of life in His beautiful hands. He will open or close doors.

I am excited to step out in faith, knowing that He will be there all the way. I know that I will still encounter valleys but that does not strike me with fear. He has a pretty good ‘track-record’ in my life. He is always ready to send someone special into my day to encourage me.

Sweet one, I know that this life is not easy. God placed some special women in your life as well. They are more than willing to share your fears, dreams and hopes by praying over you. Don’t be afraid to ask your girl friends to stand by you. I am blessed and thankful that I have these special women in my life…they help me to live life with less fear.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: Live life for the here and now…giving your hopes and dreams to Him; He has your blue-print in His hands.

My series based on Max Lucado’s book “Fearless” will continue on March 8th. I hope you will join me than again for “Living Fearlessly in 2010″…

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Exemplify ~ February 2010 Issue

Check our this month’s Exemplify issue here. The theme is ‘Simplicity’…Don’t I need it ever to simplify my life. Sometimes my job gets in the way :lol:

Have a blessed day in the Lord,

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Thankful Thursday ~ Daily Blessings

“Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!
Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!”
~ Psalm 144:15 (ESV)

One of the most peaceful things is the time I spend in the morning and evening with the Lord. What a blessing to sit down in the morning with a cup of coffee, reading devotions and Bible passages. I think I had mentioned last year that I ordered a German devotional and Bible. Oh, it has been so nice to read the Bible again in my mother-tongue. Believe it or not, but sometimes I have to consult my English Bible to make sure I read it correctly – funny how that changed.

One of the daily things I have also added is praying for others. Although I have always prayed for others (family, friends, strangers), but I make it now a daily intentional activity. That is one of the many little daily blessings I am thankful for.

I really enjoy being back on a almost daily blogging schedule. I didn’t realize how much I have missed being blessed by women around the globe. There is so much love, wisdom, laughter, and sometimes sadness other women share. It is such a blessing to be connected to my sisters in Christ. We all have our challenges so the encouragement we give each other is amazing. Thank you for allowing me part of this beautiful community.

What are you thankful for this week? I would love for you to share with a link below. Hopefully you have time to visit a few others this upcoming week.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: blessings come in large and small sizes, be thankful for either size :)

Thankful Thursday Participants

1. Lynn (Spiritually Unequal Marriage)
2. Debbie @The Way We Are
3. gemini
4. Melanie
5. Pia
6. Mary
7. Joan @ Reflections
8. Bernice @ My Journey
9. bp
10. The Journaling Gina
11. It Feels Like Chaos
12. Serendipity Park
13. jo.attalife
14. debi @ Who Says 8 is Enough?
15. K@ In The Lord’s Path
16. Melonie @ Wandering Quail Road
17. Sharon
18. Yoli ~ Apron Senorita
19. Heather @ Marine Corps Nomads
20. Denise
21. Irene
22. a collection of days
23. SusanD
24. Jen S.
25. Grace (diagnosed w/ big Cancer)
26. Holly
27. Dana
28. It’s All About Him
29. Laurie @ Women Taking a Stand
30. Martianne @ Training Happy Hearts (the gift of reading)
31. annies home –
32. Karen @ Living Life
33. Cora
34. Arlene – Accepting Change
35. Carmen
36. Kimberly
37. becky aka theRAV
38. Erica
39. Michele
40. Wendy @ Faith’s Firm Foundation
41. Nancy @ Homemade Blessings
42. By Grace Alone
43. June
44. skoots1mom(heavy-duty & wisps)
45. Heather @ A Day In My Life
46. Ramblings of Casey
47. Cyndi @ One Day More
48. Jaime
49. Jaime ~ Without Words Blog ~ 1 Peter 3:1-6
50. Susan @ Daily Coping Skills
51. eikcaj
52. Marsha
53. Rocks @ Made To Worship
54. gemini

Learn more about Thankful Thursday here.

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