Clarkston

Please pray as the kids and I head to Clarkston this afternnon to meet with a Congolese mom. She has been here for only 2 weeks (in the US) and we are going over to her house today. Pray that we will help in some small way!

My reading today is from John 6 where Jesus feeds the 5000. No matter what small gift of faith we can offer...it is Him who does the miracles! And...of course...it is ALWAYS enough. Take special notice how Jesus gave them all they could eat...and when they had enough there were leftovers!!! He doesn't waste a thing!

I need to know that He will work His miracles in the lives of those around me and in my own life and it will be MORE than enough!

Thank you Jesus!!! I have MORE than I could think or imagine. Now, may a small step of faith be in your hands.

Lent Day #3...The Fall

Today we read Genesis 3 and it was such a wonderful discussion with the girls. In Genesis three we see the Gospel right before our eyes. So many people feel that Jesus is only found in the New Testament...but as John 1:1 tells us...He was with God in the beginning. This is His story of redeption. The Gospel IS the story!

So, tonight we walked through the Gospel story of sin and the precious way we see God cover Adam and Eve with animal skins. We see the first blood sacrifice covering the first sin. God Himself is the one to cover sin and to make the precedent of sacrafice for sin...because the wages of their sin and our sin is death.

We are loving this 40 days through the Bible, because it is reminding us ALL to see Jesus in every single part of history. It is centering our readings on the Gospel and seeing Jesus in every single part.

What about you? Have you recognizes your sin against God? Have you confessed that to Him? Have you, by faith, believed that Jesus is the Son of God and the only Way to be reconciled with God? Will you accept His sacrifice on the Cross, the shedding of His blood in your place, His ressurection and victory over the grave and live your life with Him as not only your Savior but Lord?

If you have questions about these things, email me (frances@desertflowerministries.com)! I would love to talk to you!! Be blessed...

Thrive 365~
Frances

John 5:30

Read over this verse and meditate on what God wants to say to you personally through it.

What a beautiful verse! Jesus shares that even HE does nothing on His own...but that He listens and hears from God and then does His will. He doesn't seek His own will...even being in nature God Himself. But somehow WE get the idea that we can operate just fine on our own will. We go about our days relying on self and our own wisdom and judgements. I know many times throughout my day as a mom, I go about giving out judgements based on my own thoughts, opinions, emotions, mood, and my own will.

Today, I want to again (it's a moment by moment surrender!!!) deny my own agenda for today and listen only to my Father. When I listen and HEAR His Words...then the things I do and words I say will not be because of what want and think...they will be led by God!

We were watching the men's skating and there was A young teen who was skating. They interviewed him about his coach who had passed away. The young skater said that his coach was involved in everything he did...and even corrected his table manners when they went out to eat. He had a coach who was concerned about him as a whole and he learned more than just skating from him.

That is the way with our relationship with God. Many times we just want instruction in our "spiritual" lives and when God's Word challenges us to give up our rights in our friendships and marriages, tells us to have complete Truth in our workplace, to lead our children, share our stuff with those who don't have any stuff...we just don't want to do it. We don't want to submit and surrender our own lives...all to Him. We want to still keep our will. We want Him to leave our table manners out of it and just worry about the skating.

Jesus challenges us to follow His example of listening only to God for ALL things...and then following. Surrendering our will...all of it...and realize we can do NOTHING on our own! What freedom and release!!

Easter Tree

Today begins the first day of our Easter Tree. My mom always had an Easter Tree and I just loved it! I'm sure it is up in her house as I write this. So, since we all have so enjoyed turning our pantry door into our family celebration center...I began to ponder how to approach Easter. Then, upon reading about the kind of Easter Tree celebration Noel Piper used...and then seeing another crafty friend Andrea's ideas...I got to work creating something of our own.

When I began to think about what kind of tree to have...I could only think of the Cross. So, we bought some burlap (think sackcloth and ashes for grieving and for Ash Wednesday which begins Lent). Then, we cut "an old rugged cross" out of brown felt. This one is not meant to be fancy, pretty, or glamorous. This one is to remind us of the upcoming death of Jesus on the cross. This one is to cause us to reflect. The girls and I talked about how different this one looked than our valentine's one. Two displays of love.

Then, because I liked the daily devotions and yet wanted the feel of the Jesse tree we had, I used daily readings and symbols from Andrea's blog for her Easter Tree. But, I wanted to use pictures and attach them with a pin to the Cross. They are sharp and remind us the nails. Each day as we pierce the cloth with those pins...it is tangible reminder of the piercing nails and the rugged cross. This one is somber.

I simply used the daily suggested pictures and hopped on Google to print out photos of the symbol or Bible story that goes along with the reading. The readings walk us all the way through the Bible to remember the entire story of the Bible is about Jesus!!! I laminated them with contact paper and then cut them out. I printed out the readings and we began the first one today. The mustard seed...to remind us it all begins with FAITH!

Lastly, we hung our seed of faith at the bottom...the foundation. We will hang our pictures from the bottom up in order to show how the Old Testament lays a foundation! We will end at the top on Good Friday...with a crown of thorns and a cross filled with fulfilled prophesy! Then, the cross will hang there until early Sunday morning. It will be GONE...and we will celebrate that He is RISEN!!!

We will be using Noel Piper's 7 candles of Easter...much like we used our Advent candles. I posted about earlier today about her article and book that outline all about it. So, you can read it there:)

For the next 40 days all I will be posting are daily thoughts on the readings for the day and photos of the Cross. I need to focus on the Cross and less on self. I need this break to bring the Cross and Resurrection to the forefront. I need to decrease and let HIM increase.


The Old Rugged Cross...

Our small little seed...

The pin to remind us of the nails that pierced his hands and feet on that Cross...

The seed is hung at the foot of the Cross to lay the foundation of faith...

May this 40 days be amazing! May we boast in the Cross and celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ! May our lives radiate the Gospel!!!

Thrive 365~

Frances

Lent...

Today begins Lent. This article by Noel Piper (John Piper's wife) and her book which is online for free explains much better than I can about the meaning behind Lent. It is like Advent in that it is a season of reflection and waiting. It is a time when we focus our hearts and our lives on the Cross and the empty tomb. For 40 days many fast in order to focus themselves on Christ and his life, death, and Resurrection. Each of us will be praying about what God would want us to fast from in order to have more pockets of time to focus on Him.

We are beginning the daily devotions (in addition to the weekly ones found in the article above...I'll post the link on my first Lent post tonight) and also do a unique Easter Tree for our pantry door this year. I am excited that Noel Piper has shared some wonderful ideas with us and we can all take a few and maybe incorporate them into our family traditions in our own unique way!

I pray that I will embrace the Cross this year more than ever. I pray that I will boast in Christ alone! I pray that this blog will be a place where grace and the Gospel are shown and proclaimed. I pray that I will decrease and HE will increase.

I will post about our Easter Tree and how we can take these 40 days to focus on the Cross and the empty tomb!!! I can't wait!!!

For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. John 5:26

I just LOVE this verse!!! Life itself comes from the Father...both physically and spiritually. I began thinking about how flippantly I view life. I breathe in. I breathe out. I go about my day as if it's not a MIRACLE!! Ask any nurse or doctor who believes in the Lord and they will totally agree that for us to just go about daily life is amazing!!!

Yet, I don't live as if it is a miracle most days. For the past several days our family has been watching the Olympics together. I do NOT have a competitive bone in my whole body. I hate to win because I hate for someone to loose. So, the Olympics fascinate and yet confuse me. I can't FATHOM the pressure or the drive to do what these amazing athletes do. These people push their lives to the total brink of what is physically and mentally possible...and they will say it over and over again in almost every interview...it makes me feel alive.

It makes me a nervous WRECK!!! I am on the couch holding my breath as men throw tiny women way up into the air and they land on something as wide as my FINGER! I am a ball of nerves seeing men fly downhill on two planks of wood on the edge of control and a trip to the ER. But, they tell us that they feel alive.

I thought about that today as I read these verses. How often do I feel that alive either physically or...spiritually?

Our LIFE is from the Father...the fact that a sinful human can be in a relationship with Him is a MIRACLE!!! Yet, many times we just take it so casual. We never experience the LIFE to the FULL that Jesus promised us. We are walking on the sidewalk when we are able to mount up on wings of eagles...to walk and never be faint...to never thirst or hunger again. Now there aren't any gold medal Olympians who can boast that!!!

How are you going about life today? Are you running all out and hard after God and what He wants to do in your life? Are you like Peter walking on the water by faith? Are you thriving instead of just surviving? Our walk with God is meant to be filled to overflowing with LIFE!!! Our passion and desire and commitment should but Olympians to shame!!!

May we all embrace the wild ride of faith today!

Fast Forward in John

Well, I had a "great" idea that I would go back and write my precious thoughts on the passages I had already studied in John. I thought that would help me to stay ahead of the game and post more consecutively on the book of John. But, the problem is that as I am going back over my notes in my journal for that day...I am more excited about what I studied THIS morning that I'm wanting to share it instead of what I learned a few weeks ago.

So...I think we are going to fast forward in John. I am in chapter 5 right now and when I sit to write...I want to share about what is on my heart TODAY...what is freshly gathered in my basket from this morning.

It's kind of like going to the Farmer's Market! All of that fresh picked produce fresh for that day...I just want to eat and cook it all to enjoy right then while it is ripe and fresh. That is the way I feel about God's Word...it is fresh for each day!

I will be picking up in John 5:21-24 today. And the thoughts I had this morning turned to the beauty of the Trinity. Take a moment to read over these few verses.

I just LOVE the way Jesus describes His relationship with the Father. It is seamless, intertwined, complete, personal, powerful, beautiful, complex, confusing at times (to me!!!), and ageless. When we honor the words of Jesus...we honor God. When we neglect His words each day and go about our day in our own strength and power...neglect to honor God.

Today, God challenged me to not only gather each day, but to savor it and make it a moment-by-moment part of my life. It's like if we went to that same Farmer's Market and spent time gathering the most delicious, ripe, beautiful, delectable fruits and veggies. We brought them home, placed them in a bucket in our pantry and went about our day. We never ate them, never enjoyed their delicious taste, and never felt the energy from eating them. Yes, you gathered. Yes, you took time to find tasty fruits and veggies. But, you never ATE them!!

It is so vital that we spend time reading God's Word and praying every single day of our lives. I strongly believe that starting each morning in His Word is like gathering the food and provision we need specific for that day. But, without actually walking in it, believing it, doing it, understanding it, and applying it to every moment each day...it's just sitting in a bucket in the back of our pantry.

I pray today that you and I will FEAST!!! God provides EVERY single thing we need for life and godliness...everything!!! Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father. We lack nothing of value in Christ. But, we must honor His Word, believe His Word, and apply His Word!

When we truly believe the Words of Jesus, not only are we able to have eternal life, we are going to experience LIFE to the FULL!!!

Let's feast on His Word today...and walk in the power of it every moment.

Thrive 365~
Frances