Thoughts On Deuteronomy 8

I was recently reading the book of Deuteronomy and several things in chapter 8 popped out at me. I thought I would share them with you :) 
Now, first off, remember the context in which these verses are written. The Israelites as a nation, are ending their 40 year period of wandering in the desert and are about to cross the Jordan River to take possession of the Promised Land. We will only look at the first 5 verses. 

verse 1: Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers.  
Obedience to God brings rewards from God - the fulfillment of promises. Like a loving Father, He rewards us when we heed His guidelines for our lives. 

verse 2: Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 
This is a caution to the Israelites not to forget what God has done for them in the past. Your past with God can be one of your biggest faith builders!! When I look back over the posts that I have written in the last month, my strength and my faith really amaze me! Honestly they do! You would think that I knew what my faith looks like since I live with it day in and day out, but in the midst of trials, your mind can be clouded by emotions. It has been wonderful for me to have this blog and to be able to go back and see how God has kept me in His care and in His safety!! 

verse 3: He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. 
God creates in you a need - a hunger - that only He can fulfill. And then when we come before Him and acknowledge that need, then He fills it. And all this is done to teach us something. It may be to teach us something about ourselves or something about God and His character. God uses our physical world to teach us Spiritual lessons. 

verse 4: Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.  Ok, that is just amazing, isn't it??
God provides for our every need - our material needs, our physical needs and our Spiritual needs! I think this verse is also a reminder for the Israelites not to forget how God had provided for them in the past and to assure them of His future provisions. 

verse 5: Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you. 
God allows circumstances to come into our lives to mold us to better reflect His character. This is part of how He cleanses us from our 'junk' - our sin. 

I pray that you are each reading your Bible on your own. You cannot expect to have a real relationship with God if your aren't reading His Word. I encourage each of you to get into the Word for yourselves and see what kind of treasures you discover there! And be sure to come back and share them with me!!

The Week In Review - A Photo Blog

Here are some highlights from this past week :)

This is me with Oreo.

We had a bonfire over the holiday week-end - complete with S'mores!! I did not have a s'more this time. I had birthday cake instead.

These are some random shots that I got in my mother-in-laws backyard. She has the most amazing wild rose bush! If only I could figure out how to bottle that smell!!

Zoe and Colin went to a youth group pool party this week.

 

This little cutie also showed up at the pool party. I couldn't resist getting some pictures of her!

And we had a storm this week. The sky was so amazing. It was literally half blue and half black!! Our house is toward the blue section but it quickly darkened up.

Have a blessed day everyone!!

Skywatch Friday

 

 I found this neat group called Skywatch Friday. To participate, everyone posts a picture of the sky or with the sky in it every Friday. Since I got this great shot this week I thought I would participate. If you want to find out more or see more pics, simply click on their banner at the top of the page!

What Is Your Culture? --Numbers 33 - Part 2

This post is a continuation of the book of Numbers, chapter 33. If you have not yet read part 1, you can do so HERE.

Not only were the Israelites not allowed to have a *comfort zone* during these 40 years of wondering in the desert, I believe that God did not want them to get comfortable in any of the surrounding cultures. They had been very comfortable in Egyptian culture. They were so comfortable in it, in fact, that while Moses was on Mount Sinai, they, along with Aaron, their priest, melted down all of their gold and molded it into a golden calf and worshiped it! (See Exodus 32). This part of the story is always so fascinating to me!! They knew that they were God's chosen people. They had had front row seats to the miracles of God, including the parting of the Red Sea!! Can you even imagine crossing on the sea floor and having it be dry?! And then Pharaoh and his men, with all their horses and chariots, are washed over with the water and you have made it safe to the other side?? This must've been amazing to be a part of!! But not long after these events, they started back in with Egyptian culture - the customs and religious practices. I just feel like screaming at them 'WHY?? Why would you do that??' I think that that is one of those mysteries in the Bible that I may never know the answer to. Or maybe, every day, I have the opportunity to see the Hand of God at work and still everyday, I choose to worship something else. We all do it. It is part of being human. But I don't have to accept that. I can get up each morning when His mercies are new, and get a fresh start to try again. What an awesome God we serve!!

A while back at our youth group, we watched a video series about 6 or 8 teenagers. These teens traveled around the country and met different people who are doing big things for God. One of the places that they went was Atlanta. While there, they learned alot about Martin Luther King Jr. and his work and his belief that we could all be one people - without segregation. They met a man in Atlanta (sorry, I do not know his name) who asked them what their culture was. Some of the teens could answer very easily while others struggled to know how to define that. He explained that your culture is different than your nationality. Within America, we may all be the same nationality but we have many different cultures. I grew up in New England but I have friends from the South and they have a different way of viewing life. Someone from New York City would obviously have a very different culture than a farmer from Kansas or someone from Texas. So, at the end of challenging these teens to answer the question for themselves, he told them this: I am a Christian who happens to be a black man. I am not a black man who happens to be a Christian. Do you see the difference?? The culture he most closely identified himself with was The Kingdom of God. (Not to mention, that he didn't say anything about his nationality!) He said that we should all have a mindset of Kingdom Culture. Philippians 3:20 says that our citizenship is in heaven and we are eagerly awaiting a Savior from there. Are we acting like we are just visitors here? Do we view ourselves as having a citizenship in heaven and having a Kingdom culture?

So, let me ask you today? Who's culture are you following? Who's culture are you choosing to participate in?

Thank you for reading! If you enjoy the blog or know of someone who might, then please pass this on to them. And may the Lord bless you all as you seek to know Him better!

Some Random Blah Blah Blah

First off, hot summer weather has finally arrived here in Maine and I am LOVING it! Winters are so long and the summers are so short that I want to take full advantage of all the hot weather that I can.

I have been attached to my camera lately. I think I have taken over 1,000 pictures so far this month!! If it's a day that I'm not working, I can average 300 - 400 pics in a day. I think I will do a photo blog in a day or so. I have really gotten some good ones lately :)

I LOVE hearing feedback from you! If you have any thoughts or comments, then post them! Let's get some chatter going on here!

I think I have finally gotten the look of the blog to where I like it. Of course it has to be pink! I like other colors too but I am always drawn back to the pink. And that flower picture at the top? I took that out on my rose bush! I was very happy with it!

I would like to share with you my sister's blog. She claims that God laid on her heart to do a blog but she was very hesitant. Then, out of the blue, I started mine and she felt like God was really telling her to do it. So she did. Here is the link to her blog, called Treasures of Faith.
 http://treasuresoffaith.blogspot.com/

I have lots of blog posts on the back burner but just haven't had time to write them. Some of them are started while others are just notes in a notebook or an idea in the back of my mind. I am officially on vacation for the next ten days so hopefully I will have time to do some writing.

I found this new song on the radio that I really enjoy. I feel like it speaks very well with what I am going through with Zoe and Colin's birth-father right now. (No, that's not over yet.We have one more court appearance on Monday morning and then hopefully that will be the end for a while! If you feel lead to pray for us about that, I would very much appreciate it.) The song is called Strong Enough by Matthew West.

Lastly, I will leave you with this picture of Matt and I. It was taken last Saturday, on our 4th Wedding Anniversary!

May God bless you all as you seek to know Him better!