When We Just Don't Understand

Jehovah-Shammah, so often we don't understand Your plan.  There are circumstances when we don't see You, but You are there.  There are times when we don't feel Your Presence, but You are there.  There are times when "the plan" really doesn't make sense, but You are there.  Let us praise You anyway because You are the God that is there with us - Jehovah-Shammah.
We also praise You for being the Jehovah-Jireh - the God who provides.  As it says in Philippians 4:19, "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."  We are placing full trust that You will provide our needs.  We are in need of You providing because we cannot do this alone.  In Christ's name we pray, Amen.

We should cling to this prayer daily.  We never know what is around the corner - a friend will disappoint us, people will let us down, we'll hear a devastating diagnosis, we'll lose a loved one.  So often, we don't understand why, but we can cling to the One that does.  He does have a plan, and we'll understand in the Sweet By and By.

Enjoying Grace

Why did I name my blog Enjoying Grace?  After all, for the first few years of its existence it was called Ponderings.  That was its name without a vision or purpose when I first discovered I enjoy writing and needed a place to put these writings.  Over the past few years I’ve started feeling more of a calling to turn it into something more...a place to share my faith, so I found the need to rename it to reflect more of where I am on my spiritual walk.  Therefore, the blog became Enjoying Grace.

But still why the name Enjoying Grace?  When you look up grace, it has several definitions.  The first one is “elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action.”  Well I can tell you, that definitely is not a descriptor of me or my blog, but let’s jump to definitions 4: “a manifestation of favor, especially by a superior” and 5: “mercy, clemency, pardon”.  Now that’s what I’m enjoying!  I am finally enjoying the favor, mercy, clemency, and pardon of My Lord!

I finally learned not to let Satan drag me down with guilt of my past sins.  God does not want that for me or any Christian.  In fact, Psalm 103:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgression from us.”  That is amazing to think about!  God removed my sin as far from me as the east is from the west.  Now, that is far!  It proves that He wants us free from our past, and if we sin now, He sends the Holy Spirit to convict our hearts to repentance.  Even with that, it’s not guilt, its conviction.  They are two completely different things.  Conviction leads to repentance.  Guilt leads nowhere.  2 Corinthians explains it well.  It says in chapter 7, verse 10, “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”

So my message to every Christian is to enjoy the Grace that has been bestowed to you by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ!  Psalm 13:5 tells us, “But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.”  That is what we should do!  When you lose the guilt, it leaves you free to completely love Christ for who He is.  It puts you in a place to truly appreciate what God did for you.  It opens your heart and mind to hear the Holy Spirit’s quiet voice.   It truly is a beautiful place to be!

So if you are a Christian, pray in Christ’s name for the devil’s influence of guilt over past sins to be removed from your life today.  Pray asking for the fruits of the Spirit so you can truly enjoy grace!

If you are not a Christian and feel conviction in your heart to repent and receive Christ as Lord and Savior of your life, pray the following prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness.  I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead.  I trust and follow you as Lord and Savior.  Guide my life and help me to do your will.  In your name, Amen.

If you accepted Christ, please let us know so we can pray for your new walk as a Christian.  Also, make sure to find a home church so you have support of other Christians in your life.  The Christian walk is not easy, but it is blessed!

Encourage to be an Enoch

There is a children's lesson plan entitled "Dare to be a Daniel" that teaches them to stand strong for their faith.  It made me think of perhaps what adults need now to strengthen their faith...encouraged to be an Enoch.

I heard in the sermon yesterday that the average Christian spends only 90 seconds a day in dedicated devotional time.  This made my heart very sad because I know how defeated I feel when I only get a few minutes of devotional time a day.  I cannot imagine having less than 2 minutes.  I think the Church needs a "promotion" if you will of encouraging their congregation to be Enochs.  Why you ask?

In two different verses in Genesis 5 it says, "And Enoch walked with God".  In Hebrews 11:5 it says, "By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, 'and was not found, because God had taken him'; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God."

Enoch was Methuselah's father.  Beside that fact and the above verses, that's about all we know about Enoch.  But, wow, do we really need to know more?  He walked with God, and he pleased God. What a powerful testimony!  That's why I'm saying we need to encourage Christians to be Enochs. That long after we're gone, our testimony will be that we pleased God & walked with Him!  Afterall, isn't that all that matters anyway?

So start today - become an Enoch!

In Memory

Forty years ago today, my husband, when he was only three, lost his Dad in a plane crash.  Losing a parent at all is a terrible thing.  However, I've seen that when you lose one so young, it seems it leaves a hole that can never be filled.  Good news is that his Dad was a Christ follower!  In the meantime, Aaron will look forward to seeing his Dad again someday, and I look forward to meeting him for the first time when we all get to Heaven.

In the weeks to follow after Don's death, many injustices were performed that affected his family to this day.  I try to not focus on that but rather a verse that my dear friend, Becky, showed me recently. I'll quote it from the NLT as it had the most eloquent and simple wording.   It truly is perfect for this day, and a hopefully a way to bring peace to those who have also lost someone early.

Good people pass away; the godly often die before their time.  But no one seems to care or wonder why.  No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come.  For those who follow godly paths will rest in peace when they die.               ~Isaiah 57:1-2 

Eating Clean and Loving It!

Over the past four weeks, I’ve embarked on the “Strike Out Sugar Challenge”.  It is a 30 day process to purge your body of sugar and simple carbohydrates in order to “reset” your glucose levels and rebuild good flora in your gut.  I have to admit that I was skeptical, but with continually reading about how terrible sugar and simple carbs are for you, I decided to give it a try.  After all, it’s only 30 days…if it doesn’t do anything for me; I can always go back to how I ate before.

Well, I am now 23 days into this endeavor, and I can tell you that I will never go back to my old way of eating!  The first 7-10 days are not for the faint of heart, I’ll tell you!  Depending on how dependent you are on sugar, you will go through some serious withdraw…not to mention the “cleansing” process that takes place flushing your body of everything bad and rebuilding good flora.  This all occurred with still having some minimal flour.  The plan I followed wants you cooking items from either almond flour or coconut flour…neither of which are cheap.  I still had a lot of regular flour at home, so I split the recipes with ½ regular flour and ½ almond/coconut flour.  This makes the almond/coconut flour last longer and uses up the regular flour as well.  I found online how to make your own almond flour, so I plan on trying that once my bag runs out.  How you feel, though, makes it so worth it!

Let me tell you to date what it has done for me in just 23 days:

• I've lost 6 pounds without any additional exercise (my current normal activity is light walking 2-3x a week and mowing 1-2x per week since it’s spring).  This is not water loss because the plan has you drinking 64 ounces of water a day!  I’m adding weight training and running this week because I do have about 20 more pounds I need to lose.
• I sleep better at night
• Overall, I feel better and have more energy
• PMDD symptoms are now only normal PMS
• Menstrual flow is lighter (it had been extremely heavy when the PMDD symptoms started about a year ago)
• Better regularity
• My skin is clearer
• Mid-day sluggishness – GONE!
• Hypoglycemia – GONE!
• Middle age brain fog – GONE!
• No more need to count calories/fat/carbs

If you have been thinking about trying something like this, I would highly encourage you to do so!  Initially you will notice your grocery bill is more expensive because you need to get items I can almost guarantee you don’t have in your pantry like almond flour, pumpkin seeds, and chia seeds, not to mention all the fresh vegetables.  However, after a couple of weeks, it evens out because you only have to then replace what you’ve used.  Plus, I noticed that with eating this way, I am eating far less volume at each meal because it fills me up quick.  Because of this, I think long term you will actually save money eating clean.  I also found a site called www.abesmarket.com that has many of these items like the almond flour for far less than I could find it at the grocery (even with paying shipping).  If you order through the Ebates link to the right, you can also earn cash back for each purchase you make through Abe’s Market.

If you do want to do this, I recommend going with the eBook Strike Sugar 4 Week Challenge by Tosca Reno #strikesugarchallenge.  You can find it at www.toscareno.com.  She has a great weight loss testimony herself, and provides not just do how to do this, but explains why certain foods are good for you and others are not.  She also has cook books for eating clean and recipes on her site if you do want to continue after the 30 day challenge.

I know this is an odd post for me because I normally write about inspirational topics, but felt in my heart this is important to share as well.

You see, last month I turned 40, and any age milestone makes you reflect on your life.  I can recognize that true youth and the natural stamina that comes with it are starting to wane, so if I want to be able to continue strong to do the things at home I need to do and continue strong serving the Lord, I need to take better care of the body He has given me.  1 Corinthians 6:19 tells me, “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”  I need to take care of my body because it belongs to God too!  So, here I am 40 and turning over a new leaf of eating clean & bumping up the exercise.  Hope you will join me too!

Still on the Potter’s wheel,

Danielle

The Power of a Smile

In 2011 when I started working at the Women’s Health Boutique, a provider of post-mastectomy products and wigs for women going through cancer treatment, I quickly learned that, although a person may look like nothing is going on in their life, you never know.  I met ladies that were enduring their 2^nd or 3^rd time battling cancer, met family members that had lost numerous family members in a short amount of time, and fit ladies with wigs which looked so closely like their hair that you would never know they were in the middle of enduring chemotherapy. 

Because of this revelation, I made a conscience decision.  If I passed someone, anywhere, and made eye contact with them, I would smile at them at a minimum, if not also say “hi”.  I also made a decision to keep my face up to intentionally make eye contact with others.  You see, before, I was a keep-your-head-down-and-plow-along kind of person.  No more!  If my countenance is going to reflect Christ’s love to others, how can I do that by keeping my nose to the grindstone all the time?  I couldn’t, so I don’t any longer.

What happens when you do this?  It opens up the opportunity to meet and even pray with amazing people.  People start talking to you.  They share their stories.  They will ask you to pray for them.  They will grant you the privilege to pray with them.  You see, a smile is an amazingly powerful, yet simple tool we possess.  It shows a person that we acknowledge them as a fellow human…they are not alone in this world.  Also, I believe, that lifting our face to smile must also somehow reveal something deeper than only our smile to them.  If not, then how do they “just know” to ask for prayer?

So as you go along with your day today, smile!  You never know whose day you will bless! 

Seeking

Have you ever lost something and couldn’t find it?  We all have.  When we look for it, do we earnestly seek it out or are we already sure that someone else has done something with it or thrown it away?  If we already have set in our mind that someone put it somewhere else or threw it away, we aren’t truly seeking for it because we have already decided we’re not going to find it.  We go through the motions of searching without sincerely seeking to find it…and we frequently then don’t find it.  When we search for it then later with a clear head and intent on seeking it out, that is when we find what we’ve been looking for before.  It was there the whole time!

Isn’t it the same with our relationship with God?  So often we find ourselves going through the motions but not earnestly seeking Him in our daily lives.  Perhaps we think He is too busy for us or that He moved where we can’t find Him.  It could even be that we really don’t believe what we say we believe.  If we’re just going through the motions then we are not truly looking to see Him.  If we ultimately don’t believe what we say, then we cannot see until we believe.

With regards to the believing, I heard a great quote this week that made me look at this whole topic from a completely different perspective.  I went to a renewal day where I work, and they showed us a short video called “Celebrate What’s Right with the World”.  It was about this man named DeWitt Jones who was a photographer for National Geographic.  I don’t know much else about him, but he said something in this video that made a lot of sense.  “You have to believe to see.” 

For so long, I thought, “Why can’t people see God in nature?”  He gave the answer!  Christ also did in Matthew 7:7-8.  He said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone that asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”  If we believe (ask God for forgiveness of our sins and to be Lord of our life) we will receive.  We can then seek and find as well as knock and have opened spiritual blessings to us.  It all starts with believing!

So I believe, now what?  How do I seek to find?  We seek to find by earnestly and continually looking for Him everywhere.  You can call it seeking with full intent on finding what you’re looking for.  Believe me, I know there are times in your life that it is hard.  I went through a time almost two years ago that was very dark.  I never stopped believing, but I really had to seek to find Him at all because the valley I was travelling through was so dark.  However, with time and some help, I made it through the valley into the marvelous light!  That is why this seeking topic hit a cord with my heartstrings because when you are so intent on seeking in the dark and that level of intensity continues when you finally emerge from the dark – oh my goodness!  You then can see God everywhere!  It is amazing and can at times be overwhelming!  When watching the miracle of everyday nature can bring tears to your eyes, you know you’ve found Him!  Grab Him and don’t let go! 

Jeremiah 29:13 tells us, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”

What happens when we seek Him with all our heart?  Jeremiah says we find Him.  Finding Him is a glorious experience.  When you truly find Him, you feel Him and see Him in everything and everywhere!  Spiritual blinders are removed to see Him:

In the design of a Hosta leaf

In the miracle of a bumble bee in flight

In the nest building process of the birds

In the amusement of a baby as they discover their own hands

In the design of a cat’s tongue to lap water and groom them

In the ability of a human liver to auto-repair

In the dilation of a pupil when there is not enough light

In the sun rise

We really cannot see until we seek.  Once we seek and find, my, what a glorious world we find He has created for us!

Glory in His Holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!  Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face evermore!

1 Chronicles 16:10-11

Observations

I enjoy learning through observation.  Hope these are helpful to you today!

·       You can be nice & compassionate and strong at the same time.  This makes for a very good working relationship between you and your associates because they know you will be supportive of them and kind, but that you also expect the work to get done.

·       Plan, Plan, Plan.  A few minutes of planning can save hours of re-working.  Planning at the beginning and end of each day can also mean the difference between a good day and a bad day.  This quote from Albert Einstein sums it up:

·       Plan Specifically.  Task sheets & project lists with specific priorities and time lines make the difference between making gains and not.

·       What is the root cause?  Don’t be satisfied with putting a band aid on the problem.  Look for the root cause so that you can find a solution.  This is not only important in solving work related problems, but can be used with any situation.

·       Don’t be afraid to learn new things and expand your horizons.  As you continue to be open to learn new things, doors will open that you never imagined.  Fifteen years ago when I took a job of Office Assistant, I would have never imagined that I would learn to do the things I have done and do

.

·       Implement office hours and enforce them.  I can so tell a difference when I enforce my office hours and when I do not.  It works, though.  It gives you time to focus and really get stuff done.

·       Don’t wait too long to fire someone.  The situation just drags down morale and productivity in the department and wipes you out as well.

·       When you don’t feel like praying for someone at all, pray for them the most.  God works in wonderful and mighty ways!

·       Find the peace in the middle of your storm.  Don’t just wait out the storm, but learn to dance in the rain.  This can be really hard to do, but if we listen closely enough, we can hear a sweet song playing.

Emma Hope

Emma Hope was born on March 3, 2005 by emergency caesarian section.  If her doctor check up had been one day later, she would have died.  God was right on time to make sure that did not happen.

At birth, she was diagnosed with fetal hydrops, which would heal on its own.  She was also diagnosed with both atrial and ventricular septal defects that were surgically repaired at 12 weeks and Down Syndrome.

To be quite honest, my first thoughts when finding this out were, “Down Syndrome!  Dear Lord, why are you doing this to my sister and her husband!  They are both young.  This is not supposed to happen!”

The awesome thing about God is that He can speak Truth straight into your heart:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways my ways”, says the Lord.  “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  Isaiah 55:8-9

He also said, “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield for all who trust in Him.”  2 Samuel 22:31

These thoughts rung in my head as I entered my prayer closet to repent for my doubting and earnestly pray for Emma, my sister, and her husband.  Then…grace and peace.  The most overflowing peace enveloped me.  The feeling of merciful love was so overwhelming that all I could do was sob.  God is in control and Emma is in God’s hands.  God’s will is perfect, and He has a perfect plan for Emma…

 Today Emma celebrates her 10^th birthday!  I can honestly say she is the best event to have happened to our family (Those that know Emma know that meeting her is an event!  She has a gift of making you feel welcome!).  She has drawn my sister and me closer for which I praise God.  She has also taught us that God alone is in control of our lives and the importance of trusting completely in Him.  Emma exudes joy and Christ-like love!  She is an example for all of us, and I praise God for allowing us to have her in our lives.  I don’t know what all God has in store for Emma, but I know surely it is something great to bring Him glory.  These first 10 years have been such a blessing that it is exciting to see what He has in store going forward!  Love you and bless you, Girlie!

            For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace

            and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon Me

            and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  And you will seek Me and

            find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

            Jeremiah 29:11-13

Why I Have Dedicated Devotional Time

A few years ago I read a book by Nancy Leigh DeMoss called

A Place of Quiet Rest: Finding Intimacy with God Through a Daily Devotional Life.  It completely changed the way I viewed my time alone with God, and showed me why I don’t have time to not take time to spend with God daily.  Here is a short summary of what I took away from that book, and I encourage you to read it for yourself as well!

First off, I had a misconception that the quality of my daily alone time was a function of the quantity of that time.  That is simply not true and quite honestly unattainable.  The quality of time spent with God is directly correlated to the condition of my heart during that time.  Am I open to sincerely receive instruction from the Lord or are you performing out of duty?  If my heart is sincerely open, it can receive more in a few minutes than if when I perform out of duty can receive in hours, so I now always search my heart prior to entering into time with Him.

This time is to have intimate union and communion with God.  Communion can also be seen as face to face friendship with God.  If I earnestly seek Him, I desire that friendship with Him. Searching my heart to see if I am earnestly seeking Him is the litmus test I can perform to see if I am in communion with someone or not.  If there is trouble in any relationship, face to face communication is not desired.  It is the same with my relationship with God, so I then pray for reconciliation in order to pursue communion with Him.  Psalm 139:23-24 tells us:

            Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxieties;

            And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.

My dedicated time with God each day allows for a time of purification and restoration.  The Word cleans up my heart and life and can restore me as well.  We all come across hard times, and digging into God’s Word can restore our strength and faith.  We should want to be like Peter ultimately was when Jesus washed his feet, he wanted him to wash his hands and face too (John 13:9).  Just give me a complete wash because Psalm 19:12 tells us that I have secret faults – things about my own life I don’t even see!  It makes me think of a car wash here in town.  I don’t want the express, Lord, give me the ultimate.  I need your mercies daily, and God’s Word tells us we have it!  Lamentations 3:22-23 says:

            Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions

            they fail not.  They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

Wow!  That should make our hearts leap for joy!  Mine sure did!

Dedicated devotional time also allows God to instruct me and direct my life.  God loves one-on-one time with us!  It allows me to learn to listen to God and discover the different ways He speaks to me.  Let’s take a look at Psalm 25:4-5

            Show me Your ways O Lord; teach me your paths.  Lead me in Your

            truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You

            I wait all the day.

Giving time daily shows submission to God.  It allows me to regularly relinquish control because it is my tendency sometimes to want to take it back or do it myself.  Bringing myself to God daily reminds me that He is the One that is in control.  My need for God to take the wheel of my life reminds me of Psalm 63:1

            O God, you are my God; early will I seek you; my soul thirsts for you;

            my flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.

This life has no water to quench my thirst, but He is the water that will cause me to never thirst! (John 4:13-15)

Time with God allows for a dedicated time for intercessory prayer.  Have I really prayed about it?  Who do I need to pray for today?  Who is lost and needs found?  Who is hurting and needs His strength right now?  This time allows me not only to focus on God and me, but God and others.

And finally, as I linger in His presence, I am transformed into His likeness.  This is also a litmus test for the condition of my heart toward God.  In my life, am I seeing a metamorphosis or a masquerade?  I should be seeing a metamorphosis.  If not, I start back at step one and search my heart again.  This process is continual.  We all hit stale spots or challenges in our lives that really test our faith to the point where we are masquerading.  The greatness of God, though, is that He is always willing to start the transformation process again.  We need only ask.

As I am transformed into his likeness, others should see this in my life.  I should be like Moses when he came down from Mount Sinai after spending time there with the Lord.  He did not notice it, but others noticed that his face shone with the presence of the Lord!  (Exodus 34:29) 

So, as we strive daily to spend time with Him, take also this little poem with you.  It was written by William D. Longstaff in the 1800’s but is still pertinent today.

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;

Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word…

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;

Much time spend in secret with Jesus alone;

By looking to Jesus, like Him thou wilt be;

Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.

-William D. Longstaff (1822 – 1894)

Happy New Year!

Well, I fully intended on posting weekly following the new year.  Now here it is the 8th, and I have yet to publish.  My struggle has been on what to say.  As an introvert, I always have plenty in my head to write about, but have not had a chance to organize those thoughts into topics as of yet.  So today, I'm only going to post on how very good and faithful God is.

This will not be a long post because quite honestly if I think too long on the goodness, awesomeness, faithfulness of God, my brain short circuits!  My simple mind cannot comprehend the magnitude of it!

The past year and a half, we have had our fair share of struggles in life; however, God really blessed us this Christmastime.  Due to giving us the wisdom to lower expectations of ourselves, our little church deciding not to have an actual Christmas program this year, my new job that allows me to work from home some days, and changing my husband's PTO to "use it or lose it", we had, I would say, the most relaxing, rejuvenating holiday season we have ever had in our 17 years of marriage.  It really was wonderful, and I praise God for it!  It was truly amazing!

Then on to the new year!  Already we have seen answered prayer in a couple different areas.  Most recently in someone that I have been praying diligently for them to find Christ.  We're still a ways a way, but to see little baby steps forward is so encouraging!  I'm looking forward to what God has in store for 2015.  I hope you are too!

Do you have prayer requests for your life in 2015?  I'd love to hear about them and pray for them with you.  Please feel free to leave them in the comments below.  Prayer works, my friends, so I'll leave you with a couple verses to hide in your heart for 2015:

But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, in the acceptable time; O God, in the multitude of your mercy, Hear me in the truth of Your salvation.
Psalm 69:13

Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Philippians 4:6