Rocks ~ Part 3 ~ Its all about the Friction

There are those earth-shattering things that happen to us that bring us to our knees. Divorce, abuse, death, loss of job, the list could go on and on, right? Sometimes we put the real weight of what changes our life on those things but I want us to look at something small that changes us quiety, slowly and profoundly.

Its Friction ~
Webster Defines Friction as:

1.	surface resistance to relative motion, as of a body sliding or rolling.

2.	the rubbing of the surface of one body against that of another.

3.	dissension or conflict between persons, nations, etc., because of differing ideas, wishes, etc.

Today is Sunday and I started this post (what you see above) on Thursday and couldn't get direction on how to finish. I had so many things in my head to say but I really knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God would show me when and how to continue.

Well he has. My heart was really on definition #2 The rubbing of the surface of one body against another. It reminds me of when you stop and put your feet in a cold stream and those smooth stones are beneath your feet. God didn't create them smooth but allowed them to be smooth by the friction of one rubbing against the other and rubbing against the current and rubbing against the feet of youngsters playing in the water. God puts things in our lives to smooth our edges. To enable us to be able to move into the next level of what he has for us.

I say this a lot, but each life situation we face helps shape us for the next one IF, if being the word, we learn something and put that to work in our life.

My family is facing a huge change, good change but huge which I will write more about as time and wisdom and God allows but I look back on the last three years and know that the people and places and lives that I have rubbed against is what will enable me to make this next step in my life and in the life of my family.

I love the Lord so much and am so amazed by His timing. My timing is never right, but his is always right. If we set our clocks to 'jesus time' we will never be too early or too late. . .

Blessings

Shelly

Rocks ~ Part 2 ~ Upon this Rock

I take my salvation very seriously and one of my favorite scripture readings is as follows:

Matthew 16:18-19
Jesus Speaking "And I say also to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven."

When we fast forward to after Jesus' ascension we see the believers praying in one mind and one accord in the book of Acts waiting for the comforter that Jesus promised would come.

Acts 2:2-4 says:
"And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them cloven tongues as of fire, and sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance"

As the promised comforter began to dwell in these believers the people around them knew that God was working because there were many travelers in the city that day for the Feast of Pentecost and as the believers spoke in tongues, they understood it in their native languages. They knew that these Jews did not speak their language and that something supernatural was taking place.

Acts 2:37-38
"Now when they had heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what should we do? Then Peter said unto them "Repent, and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and your shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."

Now these are the keys that Jesus told Peter about. The keys to salvation: Repentance, Baptism and infilling of the Holy Ghost

Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever so this is not some idea that is come and gone.

Recently someone told me that to believe is enough ~ well the Bible tells me that the demons believe that Jesus is Lord and I am pretty sure that they are not saved.

I want everything that God had for me and I want to continue to read and pray and study His Words so that I can continue to Build my life Upon this Rock

Rocks ~ Part 1

Rocks. Deep subject, those rocks. Really, think about it.

Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee ~ that stanza is one that almost anyone can quote ~ but do they know what that means?

Jesus is the foundation of what we need in life ~ He is the author and finisher of our faith. Hebrews 12:2 "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." If he has authored our faith then He knew when it was going to begin and as the finisher of our faith, He sees us as we complete our journey in life. It is so reassuring to know that He sees it all, front to back, beginning to end.

• He was there when as a small child my mother was killed.
• He was there when I laughed as a child.
• He was there when my grandfather molested me.
• He was there when I met my best friend.
• He was there when I was betrayed by the one I loved the most.
• He was there when I nursed my babies.
• He was there when I went through the motions and thought I was really serving Him.
• He was there when I was on top of the world.
• He was there when I was lonely.
• He was there when I met my true love.
• He was there when I fought from Hell and Back for my kids.
• He was there when I went back to school.
• He was there when I cried myself to sleep.
• He was there when I let someone else cry on my shoulder.
• He was there when my car was repossessed.
• He was there when I got engaged.
• He was there when I got fired for the first time.
• He was there at the wedding of TeamDeason.
• He was there when I really fell in love with Him for the first time.
• He was there when I found my life's calling
• He was there when I started to seek his face for my life.
• He was there when I needed encouragement.
• He was there when I wanted to give up.
• He was there when I fell down and laid there for a while.
• He was there when I dusted off my knees.
• He was there when I started to lean on Him, really lean on Him.
• He is here with me now.
• He will be with me tomorrow.

See, a rock can do a lot of things for us ~ the bible says in Psalm 61:2 "From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I."
That is the person I want to be, the person who leans on the Rock. . . I have more to come about rocks ~ but I can't post it all at one time, now can I?

Blessings,

Shelly

Ouiser Boudreaux

This is proof that God has a sense of humor. . . I don't take a lot of facebook surveys and I can see why! I took the "which steel magnolia actress are you?" quiz and you guessed it, I am Ouiser. Here is what the survey said:

You are Ouiser. You are confident, self-reliant, and comfortable speaking your mind. You may have cared what other people thought of you in the past, but you're over that now. As you say, you're "not as sweet" as you used to be. (Perhaps you've been hurt in the past, so you have told yourself it's better to protect yourself than be hurt again?) You're comfortable in your own skin, and often say what everyone else is thinking, although they'd never dream of saying it aloud! You're witty and can be brash and sarcastic, but deep down you're a real softy! You are used to showing a hard outer shell, but sometimes you don't know what to do when life crumbles around you. It's during these times, you need to lean on those girlfriends to get you through. And once you're feeling better...you can bounce back to your rare form we all know and love! (P.S., we all secretly admire your confidence!).

This is, me in a nutshell ~ scary huh? I guess my friends know what I will be like when I am 60 ~ poor them. What is the spiritual application of this ~ what kind of growth can be gleaned from knowing you can identify easily with someone that people 'love to hate' but those who love you 'love you for who you are'?

Much like Ouiser, I will be tough and when my close friends and family call me to vent or to just need a friend, I will be bound and determined to find something funny about their situation. Laughter is medicine and last night I had such an incident. A friend called about how an old 'friend' was dating again and she was sure the girl was nice. I convinced her this girl had black roots and platinum blonde highlights, buck teeth with one missing right in the middle (which of course she never brushes), this girl never shaves her legs or has matching shoes let alone socks. My friend laughed and laughed at me but now when she thinks on this girl, I know she is not envisioning Jessica Simpson on the arm of her man.. More like Amy Winehouse~ That my friend, is what friends are for~

I think this ~ The bible says we are fitfully and wonderfully made so the Lord knew there would be these aspects of my personality and that he would find a way to work through them despite my humanity. I am slowly coming to the realization that if God loves me then I should love and embrace me too. Maybe I should learn to talk softer and carry a much smaller stick but still be who God made me. I am thankful everyday that God is putting more and more people in my life who are striving to be who HE wants them to be so we can glean from each other.

Let's glean all we can from each other ~ blessings!

Shelly

Makes me Want to Shout

If anyone knows me well, they know I cannot sing. At all! But the Lord gave me a love for singing. Last night in our bible devotion the question was "What helps you fellowship with God the most?" and my quick answer was song ~ there is a connection with the spirit in song is just so intense I can't quite describe it.

There is a great little song by Francesca Battistelli called "Free to be Me" and I love to sing that song! Logan asked me to quit singing in the car the other day but as I told him, the lyrics of the song say ~ I'm Free to be Me, You're Free to be You ~ that is the joy of serving God.



We can still be us and be Christian's too! So many of us try to change the DNA God gave us to 'fit' into someone elses view of what makes you a Christian. I have a friend who I love dearly but she cracks me up because she is always asking me about situations and then she inevitably ends with this question ~ Do you think that is a sin? My favorite answer is that we need to draw nigh to the Lord and let him lead our hearts. One of my friends put on their facebook today "Those who lead well(in business, home, ministry, w/God) are those who are led well. I want to be led so I can lead!". That is what I want, my life to be a life of leading in the Lord. Leading others to the knowledge that life through Him is always worth it. I wish it were through song but that was not in the cards for me, I do believe my worship is contagious and when I am in service I put my all into the worship. But realistically, I can't outwardly worship the Lord all day, every day. I have to work, and eat and shop (sometimes thats a necessity) and do the day to day things of this life. So how can lead people with the Spirit of the Lord? I am discovering I can always be singing and praising in my heart even if I am not belting out a song in the middle of Wal-Mart. God forbid, I am sure the police would be called because people, the voice is not pretty.

Don't feel sorry for me, I'm okay with the fact my voice is really bad ~ I am tone deaf, I can't hear it. If you want to feel sorry for anyone, feel sorry for my car. . . it gets the brunt of my unwavering singing at the top of my lungs. I belt those words out to the Lord as if I were Carrie Underwood singing "Jesus Take the Wheel" ~ this morning was a great time of fellowship for me and Jesus. Right now (being the last two days) my favorite worship song is "When I Think About the Lord" which is on the playlist for church this Sunday. . . man I can get some praise on with this ditty.
Here is one of my favorite versions:



I hope you have a praise filled day and that you let the Lord lead you in His way.

Blessings,

Shelly