I happen to read the bold letters on the side of my shampoo bottle this morning. They said, "Be beautiful without paying the price." It struck me: that is exactly what this world and satan want us to believe - that we can be beautiful without paying a price. That we should be able to be comfortable, selfish, inconsiderate, arrogant and beautiful - we deserve it, right?

WRONG!! Jesus paid the ultimate price to make us beautiful in the sight of God. Shouldn't we expect to have to pay a price in order to get rid of our own uglies?

We sang, I Surrender All in our worship service yesterday. In order to surrender my life and myself to God, I have had to pay a price. Some sins have been very difficult to give up and I have to fight each day in order to do so, others haven't been as much of a struggle, but the price still had to be paid.

As I have shared with you many times before, fear is one of my biggest struggles. I have the opportunity to teach 2 break-out sessions at an upcoming women's retreat. I struggled the last time I spoke and wondered if I should ever do it again. I had convinced myself that I'm not good enough - that no one gets anything from what I say. What if I speak and then these women ask for a refund. Talk about an ultimate pity party and satan was having the best time!!!

I almost said no to the request to speak, until God reassured me that it was His will and He would be with me like He always has been before.

I took a break today from our Acts study to share with you about how God spoke so clearly to me through our worship service yesterday. We worshipped at a park in Pontiac - the weather was beautiful - the music was powerful and then God's Word soaked into the depths of my heart.

Here's the message by our pastor, Brian Bill http://www.pontiacbible.org/index.php?/sermons/more/god_uses_ordinary_people_caleb/

I encourage you to read the whole thing, but here's a few snipets:

Whenever you hear yourself saying in response to one of God’s promises, “But…” you are probably being controlled by fear not faith.
I would come to church more, but…
I would give more, but…
I want to go through that open door, but…
I know I should forgive that person, but…
I know God is with me, but…

Instead of going forward, all the people grumble against Moses and Aaron and start weeping aloud. They then talk about wanting to go back to Egypt. Imagine that! They’d rather go back to bondage than to take God at His Word. They chose instant gratification instead of the cultivation of their character. That still happens today. Even though sin and bondage and disobedience is not a place to be, for some it’s comfortable and predictable and they’d rather stay there than move into the unknown.

What great challenge are you facing right now? Is there an open door? What new ministry is God calling you to this fall? What giants are in your land today? What is it that you’re afraid of? You have a choice to make. What conjunction will you choose? Will you choose fear or faith? Will you do what you can do and will you trust Him to do what only He can do? Will you say, “But the problems are powerful” or will you say, “But the Lord is with me?”

AMEN AMEN!! Ashamed of how fear and uncomfortableness has held me back from so much in my life, I was a blubbering fool by the end of the service. Praise God for how He reminds us of His truths - praise Him for never giving up on us - praise Him for loving us even when we are so stubborn and close-minded - praise Him for helping us to overcome satan's lies!

Living fearlessly
Christie