Brrrrrr - we are back to winter weather! It's a wonderful 19 degrees outside right now. But irregardless of what the weather is like - we are praising God! My husband's mother is doing great! They were able to remove all the cancer and the surgery went just as expected. Recovery is her only obstacle now and she is pumped and ready for it! Our God is faithful - Our God is good!

In our Bible study, last night, we were discussing what we can learn from listening to our parents. We are finishing up "The purpose driven life" by Rick Warren and read about saving those who are lost. The Holy Spirit put a thought in my mind that I hadn't considered before:

If one of my children were lost, how would I feel?

Even just the thought of it brought panic and tears to my eyes. I would do whatever I needed to, to find them. My heart would ache. My mind would race. I would ask countless people to look for them. I would want those people to do their best at bringing my child back to me.

Then I considered this from God's perspective. His own creations are lost. The people He formed and designed are running from Him. His heart aches wanting a relationship with them. He asks us to share Him with them. He asks us to do our best at sharing what He has done in each of our lives.

Are we responding to God's request as we would want someone to respond to us in finding our lost child or does half-hearted better describe our response?

What are you doing to make a difference in the life of someone who is lost??

Living fearlessly in Christ
Christie

I forgot to ask for additional prayers. My husband's mother is going in for surgery tomorrow to remove a kidney filled with cancer. We will be spending the day in the hospital with her so I won't be blogging. Our hope is that when the kidney is removed there will be no traces of cancer in her body. We ask for God's strength, hope and healing during this uncertain time.

Thank you
Christie

2 Corinthians 5:18-19 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.



Because we have been reconciled to God, we now must encourage others to do the same.



Reconciling with God is #1 - next, we must reconcile with others.

Matthew 5:23-24 "Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering."

Back in January, when we visited a church with some friends, God began convicting me of a bitterness in my heart. A bitterness that I thought was gone because I had pushed it down so deep that it only reared its ugly head very rarely.

I felt the conviction and said I was sorry, but honestly, really didn't have any intention of fixing it. It just seemed too hard. God didn't leave it at that, though. He continued to speak to my heart through situations happening around me, through His Word, and through the mouths of other Christians.

I had negative feelings toward and spoke badly of a previous church I had attended. I felt hurt and didn't want to forgive or ask for forgiveness. God showed me how my unforgiveness was hindering my relationship with Him. It was sin. I needed to repent and reconcile.

Would it be hard? Yep

Would it be humbling? Yep

Would it please God? Yep

Problem solved.

I am meeting with some of the leadership tonight to reconcile. I will ask for their forgiveness for my actions, words and feelings. I ask for your prayers. My pride stands in the way alot of times, I pray that this will not be one of those times. I want to be obedient to God and I no longer want this to be a hindrance in our relationship.

What is hindering your relationship with God? Is there bitterness in your heart? Does your pride hold you back from reconciliation? Whatever it may be - I encourage you - listen to the calling of our Lord and obey.

Have a great day

Living fearlessly in Christ

Christie

Good morning and happy Monday, my bloggy friends! After Saturday, I'm trying to recover from a numb back side. Our son, Nathan had a basketball tournament in McLean. He played at 10, 11, 2, and 4. This meant us leaving Chenoa at 8:45 am and returning at 6 pm and sitting all the time in between! I felt like I'd been hit by a mack truck by the time we got home but on the positive side of things, they won 2 games out of the 4. Go Hawks!!

Yesterday, we visited my friend, Jill Savage at Crosswinds Community Church (www.crosswindscommunity.cc) . Her husband, Mark, is the pastor there. What a great time of worship and fellowship we had. He spoke on "Diagnosis Temptation"

When temptation comes it does so with a purpose. We can often confuse testing with temptation. They are different. They work differently and pursue different results. Our responses, both good and bad, will reveal and lead us to where and how we must pursue maturity.

Luke 4:1-13 Satan tempts Jesus in the wilderness
-Jesus was tested and tempted. Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit and it was the Spirit that lead Jesus in the wilderness to be tempted by satan.

1 Peter 4:12-19 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the suffering of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers a s a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner? Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.

-Our faith WILL be tested

-Be ready for the testing is coming

-Testing is individualized to our strengths and weaknesses

-When we participate in the sufferings we will be overjoyed when His glory is revealed (Hebrews 10:35-36) (1Corinthians 9-10)

-Accept the blessing of the trial

-God rewards and is pleased with our willingness to engage the test

-When things get hard, don’t go back to the comfortable (old life before Christ)

-Take a risk – ASK FOR HELP (1 Peter 4:16)


Are you rejoicing in who God is and what He is capable of doing - irregardless of what's happening around you? I know, I know, it's not an easy thing to do but when we choose to stay focused on God instead of our circumstances, we are bringing glory and honor to our Lord.

Have a great day!

Living fearlessly in Christ
Christie

Hi everybody this is liz todd ( christie's daughter)It's finally Friday!! Yeah!! We went to look at a house last night.It was ok. The up stairs was just me and my brothers room and a huge bathroom! The best part about the upstairs was the bathroom was big and pink! Wahoo!! Anyway, your probally wondering why im writing this well my mom was but i asked her if I could do it ! Well now we got that out of the way!
Look at it isn't it awesome!

Well thats so cool! well i have to go eat a poptart! See Ya ! Hope u have a awesome day!

liz

Good morning my bloggy friends! We are back to February weather today, at least for the craziness of Illinois. Our puppies really enjoyed the nice weather. They had lots of fun playing in the mud, especially yesterday, when it was raining all day.

The pictures don't do the mess justice, but let's just say they were closer to looking like a chocolate lab instead of yellow.

Oh, the joys of owning two puppies! Not only did they have fun in the mud, but also found 2 cases of my husband's clay targets and broke them into pieces. As if that wasn't enough, we also found two boxes of shot gun shells that had been chewed up. You just can't take your eyes off of them for a moment!! Just what I needed - more kids to keep an eye on!

Have a great day!

Living fearlessly in Christ

Christie

Good morning and welcome! The weather has been so beautiful for the past few days, I'm getting spoiled. Unfortunately, I think today is the day that it is going to go back to winter weather. Bummer - it's a good thing I soaked up what sunshine I could.

We need to learn to be thankful in what God gives and what God takes away.

I'm learning this lesson, once again. We have lived in this beautiful country house since May 2008. My family and I have LOVED living in the country! Nature and creation bring my heart closer to God. I have soaked up every moment that we have lived here. The quiet tranquility brings inspiration and peace. Due to some zoning issues, we started out renting our house with the intent of purchasing it when the re-zoning was complete. It is now for sale and because of some issues beyond our control, we will not be able to purchase our home.

I have to admit, that my heart hurts. This was a blessing that I really didn't want God to take away. After the initial shock, the worry of where we are going to live, and much prayer - I am making the choice to praise God for giving us this wonderful home for a short time - I will praise Him for taking it away - I will praise Him for what He has next for us. It is a choice - I will choose to praise.

The process of looking for a new home, has also been a prime opportunity for me to get better at submitting to my husband. In different decisions we've had to make in our search, God's answer has been to me, "submit to your husband, I am leading him". In each instance, Mike has felt God's leading and we feel at peace. I will praise God for His answer to prayer.

We continue to wait patiently for God to show us the home where He wants us to be. The patient part doesn't come easy to me, but the Holy Spirit reminds me each day of God's love for me, that He wants what's best for me, and that He is in control.

We ask for your prayers, not only that He will provide a home that is right for us, but that once again, we will learn to praise and trust in the One who is trustworthy.

What choice are you making??

Have a great day!
Living fearlessly in Christ
Christie