Day 31

“Love the Lord, all you his saints!
The Lord preserves the faithful
but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.
Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the Lord!” Psalm 31:23-24

I do not enjoy waiting but over the years I really thing I have learnt how amazing it is to see life in God’s timing and to realize that I am not God and I have no reason to think that I should have a say in when and what happens in the life and the world he has created!

Day 30

“Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.” Psalm 30:4-5

JOY COMES IN THE MORNING!!!!

Day 29

 “Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.

The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over many waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.

The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth
and strips the forests bare,
and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace!” Psalm 29:1-11

Usually it is one verse but today it was the whole chapter and all I can say is WOW with a smile on my face, I love my God he is so amazing!

Day 28

“To you, O Lord, I call;
my rock, be not deaf to me,
lest, if you be silent to me,
I become like those who go down to the pit.

Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,
when I cry to you for help,
when I lift up my hands
toward your most holy sanctuary.” Psalm 28:1-2

J

Day 27

“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living!
Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!” Psalm 27:13-14

I love the outcome of waiting but I am not always a fan of the wait…But God has shown me that it is all in his perfect timing.

Day 26

“But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;
redeem me, and be gracious to me.
My foot stands on level ground;
in the great assembly I will bless the Lord.” Psalm 26:11-12

I am loving this study...

Day 25

“Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.

Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!” Psalm 25:4-7

Josh and I been working on memory verses and this is one of  them J I just love that God really does remember his love and mercy and our sins are forgiven!!

Day 24

“He will receive blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob.  Selah” Psalm 24:5-6

I pray that we are a generation seeking the face of God!!

Day 23

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever” Psalm 23:6

 

I love this verse, it does not say ONLY goodness and mercy, I think the first time I read it I assumed that meant as a Christian life would be super easy and rainbow and butterflies but it never says only…but I really thing the important part is the I shall dwell in the house of the lord forever. And I do I want to dwell there and in that the goodness and mercy of Christ will follow me.

Day 22

 “Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
you made me trust you at my mother's breasts.
On you was I cast from my birth,
and from my mother's womb you have been my God.” Psalm 22:9-10

This is very cool so many of our friends are expecting babies or have recently had a child, and to just reflect on the fact that God controls and teaches us at every moment of our being is pretty cool

Day 21

“Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength!
We will sing and praise your power.” Psalm 21:13

God is so strong, I really think about how in so many circumstances I crumble and fail but when I rely on Christ and his power I can really do all things in him who strengths me.

Day 20

“May he grant you your heart's desire
and fulfill all your plans!
May we shout for joy over your salvation,
and in the name of our God set up our banners!
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!” Psalm 20:4-5

The really cool thing about today has been looking back over the last year or so and seeing how God has truly granted my heart’s desire, but not in my timing in his and not necessarily in the ways that I thought best but in his perfect plan.

Day 19

“Cease to hear instruction, my son,

and you will stray from the words of knowledge.” Proverbs 19:27

When we think we know enough that is when we lose knowledge. There are times that I really feel like I know it all, example last year I worked on this project with the Ohio Revised Code…sadly I could tell you most things that were part of this particular area of code I was working on. Today someone asked me a question about the code and I was clueless. It has not even been a year and I could not even grasp the question without looking at the code.  Oh how easy we forget what we have learnt and we need to be constantly reminding ourselves, this is so applicable with the Gospel and our relationship with Christ.

Happy Friday

Day 18

“A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” Proverbs 18:24

I love Chirst and he is always there!!

Day 17

“Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;
when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.” Proverbs 17:28

 Ever had those days where you wish you would have stopped talking 20 minutes ago. Well that is pretty much today. We are on the topic of politics; don’t get me wrong the presidential debate/election is very important to the future of our country. But all the extra media drama and mudslinging is just not necessary. I really don’t think either one is perfect but I know that without God in our country were are not going to do so hot. I don’t support either man, my confidence is in Christ and I pray that theirs is too. Now off that rant. I like to talk and do it often but I need to learn to be silent and be ok with that at time.

Day 16

“Commit your work to the LORD,
and your plans will be established.” Proverbs 16:3

Commit you work…not just your thoughts or your request but your work. Everything that you do, do for the LORD and commit it to him.

Day 15

^“Without counsel plans fail,
but with many advisers they succeed.” Proverbs 15:22

I am a planner, yes yes indeed. You can pretty much ask anyone; I plan weddings (for real I have coordinated a few), I plan parties (thanks mom you trained me well) and I plan every other aspect of my daily life. I make list for fun. But there are times I don’t share these lists with really anyone because I want to be in complete control of everything. (Possibly a control freak at times)But over the years I have begun to learn and still am learning that I need to take my plans to the LORD and often times to others so they can be examined and improved. There have even been times when once the plan was examined it was completely thrown out because what I had thought was great was really not all the great. But that is how we learn.

Day 14

“The wisest of women builds her house,
but folly with her own hands tears it down.” Proverbs 14:1

 

This is pretty cool and scary at the same time, with wisdom we can build out house (and wisdom comes from the LORD) but even those who are wise can destroy/tear down what has been built. No one is free from sin except Christ and we need him to prevent us from tearing down and destroying, what wisdom has built.

Day 13

 “Whoever spares the rod hates his son,
but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.” Proverbs 13:24-25

It is interesting to see the language here, usually when I hear this passage I hear “spare the rod spoil the child” but this is a more drastic image that if you are disciplining your children then you are saying/showing that you hate them. Not that we have children yet this is so important to learn and act out.

Day 12

 “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband,
but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones.” Proverbs 12:4
 

Wow, pretty much sums it up. I really love this imagery, I mean it is a lot to think about but really cool too! In my position as a wife I can be a crown, a symbol of royalty or I can be the rottenness in his bones. Well I would much rather be a lovely crown, but how often do I actually at like the rottenness of his bones? How often am I building him up and encouraging him, I don’t think I cause him shame but I know I could be more excellent in how I react and respond. I can be more caring in my actions and more understanding in my demands. Oh how wonderful it is to be a wife.

Day 11

One gives freely, yet grows all the richer;
another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.” Proverbs 11:24

The possessions of this earth are not and never will be our, everything we have comes from the Lord and when we hold tight to the he cannot/will not give us more. I once heard the illustration of the money in the hand (I think from Dave Ramsey) when you have money held tightly in a fist you will not lose it but you will not gain anymore because it cannot leave or enter you hand. But when you hold your hand open you may lose some but you can receive some too.

Day 10

“The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;
the heart of the wicked is of little worth.
The lips of the righteous feed many,
but fools die for lack of sense.” Proverbs 10:20-21

I just love how this reminds me that our tongue is the outpouring of our heart and when we have wickedness in our heart we will express that through our words and action.

Day 9

“Do not reprove a scoffer or he will hate you; reprove a wise man and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man and he will still be wiser; teach a righteous man and he will increase in learning. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” Proverbs 9:8-10

This is a great reminder of how we should act and react to discipline. It is also a strong “check yourself” when we look at how we currently react to people reproving us.

Let the Fund Raising begin!

We are sending out Fund Raising Packets very soon. If you are interested in receiving one please let us know. We do not ask that you support Josh and Amanda’s work in Oxford; we ask that you partner with us and support Christ’s work in Oxford. Check out the Support Page for more information on how , what and why.

Day 8

 “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work,
the first of his acts of old.
Ages ago I was set up,
at the first, before the beginning of the earth” Proverbs 8:22-23

God has it all and has always had it. This is such a great reminder of how he has a plan for our lives from the moment he began his work he had us.

The Great Escape

Well it has come and gone pretty crazy how quick these things go! We had an amazing weekend with the kids, it was nice and relaxed. All the food went great and now I am ready for my day off!!

Day 7

“My son, keep my words
and treasure up my commandments with you;
keep my commandments and live;
keep my teaching as the apple of your eye;
bind them on your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
and call insight your intimate friend,
to keep you from the forbidden woman,
from the adulteress with her smooth words.” Proverbs 7:1-5

We must constantly be teaching and reminding ourselves how to live and how to guard our hearts from evil if we fail to us we stumble and be defeated.

Day 6

“There are six things that the Lord hates,
seven that are an abomination to him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that make haste to run to evil,
a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers.” Proverbs 6:16-19

This is such a true reminder of how murder and the evil thoughts of our heart and even lying are equally sin, and God despises all of them!

Day 5

^“and you say, “How I hated discipline,
and my heart despised reproof!
I did not listen to the voice of my teachers
or incline my ear to my instructors.
I am at the brink of utter ruin
in the assembled congregation.” Proverbs 5:12-14

The opposite of wisdom is utter ruin; oh wow I just got a chill. When we chose to be apathetic in our faith we hate discipline, we neglect to listen to the teachers around us and so often we don’t even realize how close we are for utter ruin.

Day 4

 “Get wisdom; get insight;
do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
Do not forsake her, and she will keep you;
love her, and she will guard you.
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom,
and whatever you get, get insight.” Proverbs 4:5-7
 

So Simple ‘Get Wisdom’ yet very complicated because of how we make things much more complex than necessary. This chapter brings it back to the basics; if you want wisdom then start with wisdom because that is the beginning of wisdom…to get it. I think I just made my head hurt lol.

Baking Gone Crazy

This week I am preparing for the Great Escape (our fall weekend retreat) by preparing I mean planning and prepping food for 40ish people. Which really is not all that bad until I get to the point that where we will be this weekend does not have a kitchen that we can access (no oven, no sink, no microwave, nothing) So I am planning to cook with the grill, griddle and crockpot and I am up for the challenge!

So since I have plenty to worry about during the weekend I figured I would pre-make the desserts and rolls. So that was what I did last night; baked approx. 100 rolls, 3 kinds of cookies (3 dozen molasses, 4 dozen Monster, 6 dozen chocolate chip) and tons of muffins probably about 6 or so dozen, with more that needs to be done today!

But here is the menu: I am pretty excited
Friday – Hamburgers and hot dogs with Cheesy potatoes (cook and bring with) and Rice and pie.
Saturday – Breakfast – pancakes and bacon
Lunch- Soup Soup and Grilled Cheese with cookies
Dinner BBQ Chicken with stuffing and green beans with brownies
Sunday – Breakfast – Muffins and fruit

 YUM!!

Day 3

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Pretty common knowledge verse, well at least we know the words to it. But when you look deeper at the actual meaning, don’t lean on your understanding, acknowledge Christ in all ways and he will make you path straight. Lean on Christ, acknowledge Christ and Christ will make a straight path.

Day 2

“For the Lord gives wisdom from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.” Proverbs 2:6-8

This just reminds me that knowledge comes from the mouth of the LORD and by reading his word I am able to receive that knowledge and grasp the understanding. Then also knowing that walking in integrity though it is a daily challenge and struggle it is what God requires and he will guard and protect his people.

Welcome to October and My Very Own Proverbs Challenge

This month Megan and I are going through the book of Proverbs, One chapter each day. I am super excited to see what the LORD has to teach us through this journey. Each day I will post a verse that stood out to me. J

Day 1 “The fear of the Lord is the Beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” Proverbs 1:7

This is super cool reading through today was a lot about fearing the LORD and I have had tons of conversations with the girls I am disciplining about what it means to fear the LORD and how that look and such. To be reminded that when we fear the LORD we are on the track of knowledge is just plain encouraging!