Mary Did You Know?

Hello everyone! After a long hiatus of no blogging, I am happy to return in time before Christmas to share with you what special meaning Christmas truly holds for me as a woman. If you have noticed, I love the topic of femininity and it's just a beautiful God-given gift to every woman that should be exclaimed over!
As Christmas approaches with all it's splendor and excitement, I go back to the story of Mary and her amazing example that she left on the pages of the Bible for us ladies to read and put into practice.
Here's an excerpt from Elizabeth Elliot's book The Essence of Femininity: A Personal Perspective. comparing two opposite women Eve and Mary. One was lured with a selfish idea that she can be happiest being like a god, while the other humbly and faithfully accepted her calling to be the mother of Christ. While Eve brought sin into the world, Mary was the bearer of Christ our Saviour who came into this world to save us from sin.

The gospel story begins with the Mystery of Charity. A young woman is visited by an angel, given a stunning piece of news about becoming the mother of the Son of God. Unlike Eve, whose response to God was calculating and self-serving, the virgin Mary’s answer holds no hesitation about risks or losses or the interruption of her own plans. It is an utter and unconditional self-giving: “I am the Lord’s servant. . . . May it be to me as you have said” (Luke 1:38). This is what I understand to be the essence of femininity. It means surrender. The gentle and quiet spirit of which Peter speaks, calling it “of great worth in God’s sight” (1 Peter 3:4), is the true femininity, which found its epitome in Mary, the willingness to be only a vessel, hidden, unknown, except as Somebody’s mother. This is the true mother-spirit, true maternity, so absent, it seems to me, in all the annals of feminism. “The holier a woman is,” wrote Leon Bloy, “the more she is a woman.” Femininity receives. It says, “May it be to me as you have said.” It takes what God gives—a special place, a special honor, a special function and glory, different from that of masculinity, meant to be a help. In other words, it is for us women to receive the given as Mary did, not to insist on the not-given, as Eve did. (Elizabeth Elliot "The Essence of Femininity A Personal Perspective Ch. 25)

It is hard to humbly and obediently say yes to a decision which will change your life. It is scary to not know what lies ahead of you. Neverthelss, with a full faith in God and a “May it be to me as you have said” on our lips, we will know that God is in control and He knows what He is doing. As a woman, remember Christmas as a special time to surrender to God what is unknown and use your feminine beauty for Christ's glory. With an obedient, humble and meek spirit, remember Mary's example and most of all glorify Christ as the true meaning of Christmas! May you and your family have a Merry Christmas!!! God bless!

{FEAR THE LORD}

Today God showed me that He wants me to TRUST Him...without questions, challenges, requests of clarification, explanation, reasons...or anything! God searches for my unconditional obedience and dependence on Him alone. When the Bible says "fear the Lord" (i heard on the radio) it means submitting yourself unconditionally to the Will of God.

I want to be able to Love Him to the point that I can trust Him alone and Obey Him all the way. No one else but HIM 100%...so that I may fear Him as He wants me to..through my obedience.

"Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of israel. There was no one like him among al lthe kings of Judah,either before or after his time. He remained faithful to the Lordin everythin gand he carefully obeyed all the commands the Lord has given..."2 Kings, 18: 5

Praise Him

12-11-09

Today was especially challenging at work but God helped me get through it all...and my patients were doing better. I prayed for them...and feel that God is healing them, both inside and out.

From ACTS 20:24
My Life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus--The work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.

That should be every believers 'purpose in life'! That is what I want to feel and do! I want to be that committed and excited to spread His word and do the work He has prepared, or even assigned to me...

also in the 33rd verse quotes Jesus "It is more blessed to give than to receive"
a motto I want to add to my daily life.I want to Give joy, blessings, love and that which God provided so I can be a vessel, a tool in His hands.

"Praise the Lord!" shouts David in verse 14 chapter 148. and my heart does just that. For He alone is worthy of all praise.

Temptation Temptation

In this popular test, several kids wrestle with waiting to eat a marshmallow in hopes of a bigger prize. This video is a good illustration of temptation and the hope in future rewards.

"A Blessing In Disguise"

After the car accident I was in 10 days ago, my friends, relatives, church family, and even people I wasn't really close to- all wished me their blessings and prayed that God would bless me through this difficult time. Many sent get well cards, text messages, picture messages, called, or brought flowers to encourage and lift up my spirits. One thing that was common in a lot of those messages was the content. No, I'm not talking about the "Get Well!" part of the message or the "Hope you feel better soon!" (although that was very encouraging!) many used phrases such as; "God is trying to do His will in your life", "God is Sovereign", "God is Good", "God uses sickness and accidents as Blessings in disguise", and many others along the same lines.
...I'm not sure if the people who wrote that-did it because it sounded good, because that's what you usually write on a card to a sick person, or because they really truly understood the deep meaning behind those words and meant it. (I hope it's the last one, but in no way do I judge the other reasons).

Throughout these past 10 days, I can't even begin to explain all the thoughts that went through my mind or all the feeling that I felt. One thing that I want to confirm is this, those phrases written on those cards are true indeed. God is Absolutely Sovereign, Good, Merciful, Kind, Loving, and He IS doing His will in my life. This accident has truly been "a blessing in disguise".

Words can't describe those blessings I've received, and how much lessons God is teaching me. My life has changed. I'll never be the same, that person whom I once was. Through this event, God's speaking to my soul. Continuously, day by day... He's molding me and shaping me to be more like the light that I'm supposed to be- one that reflects His image...my character, my attitude, my pride, my dignity and my self ego- all this the Lord is breaking down so there'd be room for humbleness, respect, more love, and kindness. I can't image how much more the Lord's prepared for me, those little simple lessons- the one's we tend to skip right through each day- until of course were faced with them directly.

My heart is filled with joy and happiness yet more and more throughout this time of painful trials...I know that this has truly been...a blessing in disguise!

And I would never take back time to make a different turn on that dark intersection...for this has been a right turn in my life, one that has lead me to the greener pastures.

*Thanks to everyone who took part in the prayers and support! I do believe that they are what keep me going day by day, knowing that God hears our prayers. And may God deeply bless you in return for blessing me with your encouragements along the way. May God bless you, your families, your futures, and may He shower you with those "blessings in disguise" that can effect your life forever.

Breaking the Mold or Shattering the Mirror

I remember when I was just a little kid I had such a fun experience making mud cakes! I would grab one of my grandma's old pots (that she never uses!) and stuff it with wet mud (not too runny, but wet enough). Then, I would carefully turn the pot upside down and dump out the mud, now shaped in a circular form as the pot. I would then proceed to "decorate" the muddy mold with grass and other colorful flowers to make my beautiful "cake". Oh wow! I had so much fun!

I did run into a problem though. I noticed that if the mud dried up just a little, the mold would not come out all the way or it would come out halfway, resulting in a pile of mess inside and outside of the pot. Therefore, the mold had to be taken out of the pot before it had a chance to dry even a little and stick to the pot. These were my days filled with experimenting and exploring as a young child.

It is interesting to find, that the bible also talks about "molds" in it's pages. In Romans chapter 12 v. 2, Paul says, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

Webster's 1828 dictionary defines conform as "To make like, in external appearance; to reduce to a like shape, or form, with something else..."

Transform is defined as "To change the form of; to change the shape or appearance; to metamorphose; as a caterpillar transformed into a butterfly."

I find that in my personal walk with God, I tend to at times stray away from Him and find myself conforming into the "mold" of this world. When I find myself in love with the world's glitz and glam, whether it would be the world's catchy fashions, risque movies, infatuation in self-image, idolization of wealth, etc I find myself being outlined and molded more and more into an image of the world. It reaches the point where the line between the world and me as a Christian is worn off into a mere gray speck in the dust. The plans of the devil is to offer these things on a fake gold platter, in high hopes that we will soon be in a messy pile of mud decorated with lifeless grass and dead flowers. But it is not to say that we weren't warned!

It is clear that the Bible teaches us to be set apart from the world, but what is more special, is that the Bible is the resource that offers us the ability to examine ourselves to determine where we are spiritually. Is it one foot in the world's door, and one foot into the church treshold?

Doug Phillips, the president of Vision Forum Ministries(http://www.visionforumministries.org/) speaks often of the Desert Island Challenge in which he gives a scenario that if we were on a desert island with only the Bible to guide us, how would our views be shaped? What will we be like?

Obviously being on a lonely desert island, with nothing to distract us, or lead us to wander, we will look to the Bible as our reference and guidebook. Therefore, we will be built up and shaped into God's mold according to His word.

In 2 Corinthians 13:5 Paul writes "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith...". In James chapter 1, v. 22-25 we are told to not only hear what the Word tells us but also be doers of the Word. These verses reiterate the point that the Bible is our mirror. This mirror shows us the "mold" we are in and it is up to us to break the worldly mold, or to shatter the mirror of God's Word in our defiance...the choice is after you dear reader.

Do You Know???

This is a must see for everyone. What children are being "taught" in public school doesn't even cross the minds of the parents! This video is the first in several parts. To continue viewing, just click part 2, 3, etc.