Listening to God Speak

It finally happened to me. After years of praying to God I finally had it happen to me. I finally heard him speak to me. I was so happy to hear him. I thanked him for finally speaking to me. I think that the reason that he finally spoke to me is that I was finally listening to what he had to say to me.

That is the thing. We talk to God and then we get so caught up with life that we forget to take time to listen to see if God is going to speak to us. Failing to listen for God's voice means that we are going to miss out on a wonderful blessing. God has great things in store for us. We just need to pay attention and find out what they are. 

I have learned that the key to listening for God to speak is patience. We need to have patience and faith in order to hear from God. In this day and age most people want instant results. However, God has his own timing and he will speak to you when he is good and ready too. We need to wait on him.

So when God finally spoke to me I was ready to hear and receive what he had to say to me. What a blessing it was. I know that he has big plans in store for me. I have received his promise and I am ready for God to act. 

The first step to hearing from God is to pray. Prayer is talking to God and telling him what you need. Then once that is done you need to step back and listen for him to answer you. You need to have faith that he will do it when he feels that it is right for it. Once he speaks to you then you either need to act or let him do his thing. It is that simple.

Open up your ears more to hear from God. You might hear him when you least expected it. 

Pull The Log Out Of Your Eye

There are people that judge me all the time. They make comments about how I dress, do my hair, my lifestyle, and so on. It is just what these people do. They live for it. Strive to see how far they can go to push mine or anyone else's buttons. I have learned over the years to just laugh and walk away. I don't give in to it. Why?

Well, here is the reason. These type of people are covering for a deeper issue in life. They have something deeper going on that they don't want others to know about. So they will find someone to pick on or belittle so that they can deflect the problem off of them.

For example a person in your church pulls you aside each week after service to berate you about one thing or another. Everything going wrong at church is your fault. You can't do anything right in their eyes. What do you do? Pray about it. God shows you that this person is having problems. Their house is up for sale. You knew that already that this person has plans to move to the beach with their spouse. What is new you ask God. He shows you that once this person's house sells that their spouse is planning on divorcing them and moving to the beach on their own. You feel for them. You ask God to help them see what is going to happen before it is too late. 

I like to say that in this situation it would seem that one would need to pull the log out of their own eye before pulling the speck out of yours. They need to clean up their own house before coming to clean yours. 

Some people have the nerve to come and tell you how to live your life when their life is not perfect either. No one's life is perfect by any means. So if we have problems in our life we need to take it to God instead of taking it our on others. 

We end up not only hurting ourselves worse, but also hurting someone else in the end. Not a good thing.

Pull the log out of your eye before you go trying to pull the speck out of someone else's. It will do you good.

Christian Dress Code

Some time ago I was told that how I dressed to come to church was not following what the bible says about how we should dress to come to church.  I was puzzled by that statement. I was told that women should not wear pants and also should keep their heads covered at all times. I had to shake my head a bit at this interpretation of the bible.  

Part of this is true. In the bible it does say that women need to keep their heads covered. However, there is nothing in the bible that mentions how women should other wise dress. Back in bible times everyone (men and women) wore long robes or dresses. Pants didn't come along till much later. So how could the bible talk about not wearing them if they did not exist at that time?

The bible does say that you should come in your best to see Jesus. That means if your best is jeans or nice looking pants then wear them. God wants to see our hearts. We need to be concerned with how we dress our hearts than ourselves. 

Yes we need to wear nice clothes to church. We need to be neat and orderly. That does not mean that you have to come dressed in a ball gown to church. It means that you come dressed in what you have. Not everyone can afford to dress to the 9s. 

Some denominations have dress codes. I can remember my Grandpa Rittenour talking about when he was a child how the Mennonites dressed. It was and still is similar to the Amish. I have a friend who is old order Mennonite and she makes her own dresses. Very beautiful at that. I admire people who have such a strong faith that they can stick to something like that. 

There are some other denominations like the Brethren that have women to wear prayer coverings. I can remember my Aunt Virginia wearing one each time we went to church. My dad called it her sin sifter. I think he was trying to poke fun at her.

I know in the Middle East the dress code for Women in that they show nothing but their eyes. Everything is covered all the time. I think that would have to get hot.  

I don't think that how you are dressed matters. I think that it is what is in your heart that matters. God looks at the heart. If your heart is not right with him then he is not pleased. 

So the next time you go to church think about how not only are you dressed, but your heart as well. You need to wear what you feel is your best dress not only on  your body, but also your heart.

Extreme Cold

I am one to shout it from the roof tops that I don't like winter. I am not a fan of the snow and ice that is associated with winter, but more so I hate the cold temps. Recently here in West Virginia we have had a spell where the weather has been extremely cold.  That is to say that the wind has been wild, temps fall into the teens, and it feels like in the minus numbers. Not something that I like a whole lot.

So when the extreme cold hits you need to be safe. First if you have to go outside bundle up. Heavy coat, hat, gloves, thick socks, heavy pants, etc. This will keep you warm. Also if you have to go some place you need to give your car time to warm up. Check make sure to check your decks and steps for water and clear it off. That way ice will not form.

Dress in layers. You can take clothes off and on if needed. Make sure that your home is air tight so that you don't loose heat in the winter. In extreme cold it will take more to heat your home. Make sure you have lots of blankets on your bed and even invest in an electric blanket. 

Make sure to bring outdoor pets inside. Also if you have children make sure to bundle them up when they go outside. Not being properly dressed can cause you to get sick very quickly. Hypothermia and Frost bite can also happen.

So as I head off to bed I will be dressed warm, two pairs of socks on my feet, 3 blankets on the bed, my electric blanket turned on, and I will sleep well. When I go out I will be dressed in layers, 2 pairs of socks on me feet, hat, gloves, heavy coat, and let the car warm up before I head out. Not taking any chances.

Can't wait for winter to be over.

New Years Resolutions

It is that time of year again. New Years Eve and we begin to make New Years Resolutions. You know those things that we have the best of intention of doing in the new year and after about a few days totally forget about. Sure, I like a lot of you have made New Years Resolutions that I have not stuck to in the past. This year I feel that I can stick with the resolutions that I have made.

So here are the resolutions that I hope to stick with in 2017,

1. Reading my bible more
2. Spending more time in prayer
3. Snacking less
4. Instead of snacking drink water
5. No eating after 7pm
6. Drink more water
7. Go to bed at a decent hour
8. Less technology and more time with family and friends
9. Exercise More
10. Write in a journal

I hope that in 2017 that I can stick to these resolutions for myself. I know that it will not be easy, but it will be a challenge that I am up for.

What are your New Years Resolutions? Do you have any? Do you chose not to make any? 

Prayer Journal

So one of my New Years Resolutions is to make a prayer journal. This came after watching the movie War Room (for like the 10th time). I thought that this would be a way to encourage myself. There are lots of ideas on the Internet of how to do one. You need to do one that fits you.

You can chose to do it in a journal, notebook, or binder. You can decorate the cover if you choose. Then you can get started. 

On the first page of my journal I have written some inspirations that will encourage me to keep with this and encourage my faith at the same time.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. James 4:7-8

My God is faithful,

My God is powerful,

My Gd is in charge,

You can't fire him, 

And he will never retire,

Thank you Jesus

Glory Hallelujah

Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight O, Lord my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14

Then starting on January 1 I plan to write a prayer a day about an area of my life that I need God the most. Things like family, finances, church, job, health, and so on. I will pray that prayer during the day. As part of my prayer I plan to submit that area to God and tell him that I have faith that he has already done what he needs to do in that area. I also plan to write in the prayer that I believe that God is going to do what only he can do for me no matter what.

I also plan to write one way that I have saw God at work in that area of my life that day. Kinda like a praise report if you will.

I also want to write the name of one person that has been put on my heart for that day that needs God in someway. I will also pray for that person  during the day submitting them to God and his will. Telling God that I know he is already doing what only he can do for that person or persons. 

I will also include a bible verse on the page that I feel will give me encouragement for the day. 

Now again you don't have to do it this way. This is just how I plan to do it. You do it however you see fit to do it. It is yours to do with. 

Prayer is the most powerful weapon that we have to fight the battles of this life. A prayer journal to me is like having a book of plans and stratages that will help you fight the battle. Almost like a bible for prayer. 

I encourage you to make time in your day for prayer. Prayer has a purpose and it is powerful. I hope that once I get going good with this prayer journal that I will be able to share it with you in my blog so that you can have an idea of what to do. 

Also check out: http://arabahjoy.com/how-to-make-a-simple-prayer-journal/ for another idea of what to do.

Faith and Blessings Jars

I recently saw online a suggestion of taking an empty jar and filling it each week with a note about one good thing that happened that week. Then at the end of the year reading the notes to see what kind of year you have had. 

That got me to thinking. What about instead of good notes each week how about writing a bible verse a day and putting them in the jar. At the end of the year you could give the jar to someone that you knew might need some encouragement. 

Another thought that I had was that you could write daily messages of encouragement or blessings to put in your jar. Then you could really bless someone at the end of the year that you knew needed a little encouragement or blessing. 

The jars could be passed on when the person is finished so that more people are blessed. It is a great way to share the word of God and God's love with others. 

You could even encourage your church to do this. Have a jar in your church were each member writes down a bible verse, encouragement, or blessing (whatever jar you are choosing to do) and adds it each week. At the end of the year your could give it to someone in your church that is shut in or even do it as a surprise gift for your pastor (if you feel they need it).

Also another thing that you could do with the jar at church is make it a prayer request jar. Have people place their prayer requests in the jar at the beginning of service and then at the end of service have each person take out one request to pray over for the week. Those that are left in the jar the pastor and his family can pray over for the week.

Here is an idea for teachers. Have a jar filled with encouragements. At the end of each day have each student take one out. You never know how that will brighten the day of a child. You could even have the students each write an encouragement note at the beginning of each day and then each student pull one out at the end of the day.

These are just some ideas of things that you can do with the jar. It is up to you. You decide. I know I am going to do one or more this year so that at the end of the year I can bless someone else. I know that I am going to do the bible verse jar. I am going to make sure to write on a calendar the bible verse that I put in each day so that I don't put the same one in twice.