Living Our Glory Days

September 28, 2015September 29, 2015 - Amy Leave a comment

Our pastor has been preaching on the book of Exodus for quite a while. It’s been a 13-week message covering many different lessons learned through the story of the Israelites.

I find that I can relate to so many parts of the Exodus story. One of the greatest biblical figures of all time, Moses for instance. Moses argued with God about his inadequacy. Sounds like me…

But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.” – Exodus 4:10

Ahem, hello. Hi, yes me too. Not a good speaker. That’s me.

I relate to the fact that Moses didn’t consider himself good enough for the job God was calling him to do.

What I love about this story most is what God says next…

Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? ¹²Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”- Exodus 4:11-12

God says that HE made his very mouth! He didn’t intend to make Moses do it alone. He said that he would tell him everything he needed to say. Even still, there was a”but”…

But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.” – Exodus 4:13

God doesn’t care about our “buts”. God turns our “buts” into “yes sirs”. He takes our discouragements and turns them into courage.

He told Moses that He would be there the whole way, even giving him help from his brother, Aaron.

I can also relate to the Israelites. They worried constantly, didn’t they?

Will there be enough food?
Can we trust that we’ll find our way?
Even though God has done miracles for us before, can He really do more?

At the end of our pastor’s sermon series, the big question of why was answered. Why did the Israelites go through all they went through? Why did God choose a people that would rebel and continuously lead them back to Himself even though they worshiped other gods?

I couldn’t help but think it was a simple answer. But it’s the answer to anything and everything that God does. And the answer why we should do everything that we do.

For God’s GLORY.

When we live our lives like Christ.
When we stop feeling inadequate, as if God can’t use us.
When we stop our worry and simply trust.
When we leave Egypt and the wilderness in the dust.

Only then can we enter our Promised Land where our exodus will finally end.

These are our Glory Days.

This is where we live to glorify God.

________________________________________________________________________________

How the review of this book and the end of our pastor’s sermon lined up so well is beyond me. God had this planned the whole time. Family Christian gave me a chance to read Max Lucado’s newest book, Glory Days. You know I’m a Max fanatic. This book didn’t disappoint. (It’s pretty too!)

Glory Days is full of subject matter for the very things that I mentioned above. If you find yourself as a wandering, worrying Israelite, you will find encouragement among the pages of this book.

Ever studied the book of Joshua before? No worries if you haven’t. Just read this book! Max Lucado breaks down the many stories of Joshua and the leading of his people with God’s help. My favorite chapter of this one is Chapter 13- You Be You. The entire book is jam-packed with wisdom. It’s all about learning to live out our inheritance!

Win A $10 Family Christian Appreciation Certificate

This giveaway will end on October 12th, at 11:59pm CT. I will contact the winner and they will have 24 hours to respond. If I have not heard from them, I will name a new winner.

This book was provided for review purposes by Family Christian. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.

Out of the Heart the Mouth Speaks

February 6, 2015February 6, 2015 - Amy 5 Comments

I’m a fantastic listener. It’s a good thing that people like to talk to me. I can sit for hours and let folks unload their verbal baggage on me. That’s an imperative part of being a friend, sibling, spouse, and even parent. People like be heard. It’s a good thing that I like to listen.

The problem that I have isn’t with listening. No, my problem is speaking.

I’ll admit that it’s an issue of mine mostly around those that I’m closest to. My family.

Let me be real honest with you. My husband, bless him, tends to get the brunt of my words. And when you live with someone, your filter can wear a little thin. I won’t lie to you, there are times when I say things to my husband and almost immediately I think why did I have to say that? Perhaps my honesty with him is less filtered because I know he isn’t going anywhere. Even still, our spouses deserve the same respect that we show others.

God has really been ministering to me about my speaking the last few months. I read an article recently that said that every day we say enough words to write 50-60 pages in a book. In an entire year, we could author 264 books with at least 200 pages. If your books went on sale right now at Barnes and Noble, would you stand behind the words written in them?

I would burn some of mine.

Words are powerful. What you say and what you don’t say matters.

Matthew 6:45 says …for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. If within our hearts we only want to build others up, our words will reflect that. If we say unkind things, we may have a heart issue. The point is to fight the urge to let our hearts become hard and say those things that do build others up. It’s not easy every time. Our flesh and inherent sinful nature will always be resistance, but we can choose to hit the override button and say only things in truth.

Jesus was all about relationships. Relationships depend heavily on words. Make them good ones. Make them count. Make them uplifting, inspiring, cheerful, heartfelt, motivating, encouraging, truthful words.

Lord I pray for the hearts reading this right now. I pray for you to wash over our hearts and to refresh our spirits with truth. Help us to say only what is good for building others up like you have said in Ephesians 4:29. Give us guidance for when we should speak and when we should be silent. For when we should talk and when we should listen. We pray that you would shine through what we say and that it would bring you glory.

In Jesus name,

Amen

I told you that God has been working on me and my words? He sent the book Keep It Shut to my door. God isn’t always subtle, is he?!

Family Christian sent me this book written by Karen Ehman to review. I gotta say, this one had me reviewing myself more than the book. It challenged me. It really did.

Karen covers pretty much every aspect surrounding the tongue in Keep It Shut: gossip, people-pleasing, truth-telling, social-sharing, manners, motives, lying, listening, and love. It’s all there!

She is funny! She uses the Bible as a model for which to go by. And she addresses such common issues that life throws our way and also how to react with our words. It’s divided into chapters that cover all the different things that I’ve talked about.

In this book, you will find lots of great tips and many great Bible verses.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to work on their words.

You can find Keep It Shut by Karen Ehman at Family Christian….OR you can win it below!

Keep It Shut Giveaway

This giveaway will end on Monday, February 15th at 11:59pm CT. I will randomly select and winner and I will contact them on Monday the 16th and they will have 24 hours to respond. If I have not heard from them, I will randomly select a new winner.

I was provided with Keep It Shut by Family Christian for review purposes. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.