The Wellspring of Life

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"Around the Block"

Please check in with today's daily Boost devotional titled "Around the Block"

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My Day With Tommy

My Day With Tommy

What have we done to help and minister to the homeless?
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WHEN YOU DON'T HEAR FROM GOD

WHEN YOU DON'T HEAR FROM GOD

by Carol Strange

copyright 8-16-2009

When you don't hear from God, sometimes you think your prayers or answers aren't coming. In your frustration you fall to your knees in tears and say, "God, where are You".

Have you ever been through a time where God is silent for weeks or months? You just don't hear Him at all. I went through that for weeks.

I thought maybe my spiritual ears were deaf. I would say quietly "God are You there"? Nothing, no sound at all. You really don't know what to do when you have always heard from God even in small matters.

A few weeks before I felt led of the Lord to download beautiful songs sung by Jeff and Sherri Easter, the Gaithers and David Phelps. So I'm just having a great time doing this for hours. I played the songs so much that I knew them off by heart.

One day a friend and I were in the kitchen just talking and I said "does God ever go silent on you"? She said "yes". "What do you do"? No sooner than I got the words out of my mouth I suddenly just got up and started towards the hallway. Next thing I knew, God spoke these words to me. "When you can't hear Me, Praise Me." I shouted "Yes!"

I understood what the Lord meant.

The songs I downloaded weeks before I was to listen and praise God.

This is what you do in between God's gigs. What I mean by gigs is....

doing God's will.

Between God's gigs we are to be reading His word and praising HIM with a joyful heart. Usually God is preparing you for something that

is coming down the road. Jesus does warn us if we take the time to hear Him speak.

When we are too busy and have a lot on our plate we tend to forget about God. I mean, He is there but way back in our minds somewhere. It's kind of like we put God on a shelf until an emergency pops up.

Father, we need You every second of our lives. We cannot function without You. I thank You for the times You have corrected me in

Your mercy.

I thank you for Your great love and desire to be our Father.

I thank you for being there in the lonely times of our lives when no one else sustains us but YOU. Let us forever hear the voice of the Holy Spirit telling us what to do and say to bring You glory.

I love You my Father and forever I will stand in You.

AMEN.

Defined By God

September 15, 2010

Defined By God

Shari Braendel

"The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord."

Psalm 45:11 (NIV)

Devotion:

One word. Flabbergasted.

That was the emotion I had coursing through my body as I sat at the coffee shop discussing my weight issues with a friend.

I told her I had recently cut out certain foods from my diet, but was continuing to maintain my "happy weight," that number the scale just seems extremely happy to faithfully report whether I have eaten healthy and exercised that week or not. We had a good laugh as she described how sometimes she locks her scale away so she's not tempted to jump on it every day just to find out if she's still her same "happy" self.

As a result of this conversation I realized that if I am not careful I can easily allow the scale, or the mirror, to become a compass that shifts my focus and points me in the wrong direction. It seems illogical, yet at times I look to this digital device, or this earthly reflection to gauge my emotional status and essentially define me.

The Bible tells us that the God of the universe is enthralled with our beauty. Seriously? Yes, indeed! He thinks we are amazing and wonderful. Unfortunately, more often than not, we look in the mirror and only see our flaws; hair that's just a mite too frizzy; a tummy that's a bit too fluffy; and thighs that have a few too many dimples on them. My friend Renee likes to call her cellulite "the fingerprints of God." One time I shared that with a group of women, and one of them said, "Well then He must have REALLY big hands!"

So, what would life look like if we accepted God workmanship? Can you imagine how different we would feel about ourselves if we glanced in the mirror and told God "thank You for making me so wonderfully"? If you listen closely, I bet you would hear Him respond, "All beautiful, you are, my darling; there is no flaw in you" (Song of Solomon 4:7, NIV).

No matter your size or shape, the number on your clothes tag or your scale, you are beautiful! Let's embrace that we are fine just the way we are because if God says so, then it's true!

Dear God, thank You for making me the way I am. Please help me to have more confidence. I will practice defining myself through Your eyes and not my own. I am grateful, and humbled to be Your beautiful daughter, and I can feel Your approving gaze upon me. In Jesus' name, Amen.


Related Resources:

Shari's new book, Good Girls Don't have to Dress Bad: A Style Guide for Every Women is a complete, full-color, style guide with lots of pictures of real women of all shapes and sizes!

Visit Shari's Blog to continue this conversation and to enter a contest to win a signed copy of Good Girls Don't have to Dress Bad: A Style Guide for Every Women along with your own set of personal color swatches to help aid in choosing your best colors when shopping.

Do You Know Him?

Behind Those Eyes: What's Really Going on Inside the Souls of Women by Lisa Whittle

Application Steps:

Make a list of five things you really like about your outer appearance.

When you find yourself in a funk, remember to define yourself through God's eyes.

Accept a compliment with a smile and a thank you.

Reflections:

When was the last time you gave yourself permission to treat yourself to something new? You are valuable to Him, and to those who love you. It is okay to take care of yourself too.

Does my scale define me?

Power Verses:

Psalm 139:14, "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." (NIV)

Song of Solomon 4:1, "How beautiful, you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful!" (NIV)

Ephesians 2:10, "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (NIV)

� 2010 by Shari Braendel. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 31 Ministries

616-G Matthews-Mint Hill Road

Matthews, NC 28105

www.proverbs31.org

Our Country's Christian Foundation

Watch this awesome video of our country's foundation:

A Washington Tour

http://vodpod.com/watch/4279006-u-s-capitol-tour-with-david-barton

Our Country's Christian Foundation

Watch this awesome video of our country's foundation:

A Washington Tour

http://vodpod.com/watch/4279006-u-s-capitol-tour-with-david-barton

Our Country's Christian Foundation

Watch this awesome video of our country's foundation:

A Washington Tour

http://vodpod.com/watch/4279006-u-s-capitol-tour-with-david-barton

Hearing God

Hearing God The young man had lost his job and didn't know which way to turn. So he went to see the old preacher. Pacing about the preacher's study, the young man ranted about his problem. Finally he clenched his fist and shouted, I've begged God to say something to help me. Tell me, Preacher, why doesn't God answer? The old preacher, who sat across the room, spoke something in reply something so hushed it was indistinguishable. The young man stepped across the room. What did you say? he asked. The preacher repeated himself, but again in a tone as soft as a whisper. So the young man moved closer until he was leaning on the preacher's chair. Sorry, he said. I still didn't hear you. With their heads bent together, the old preacher spoke once more. God sometimes whispers, he said, so we will move closer to hear Him. This time the young man heard and he understood. We all want God's voice to thunder through the air with the answer to our problem. But God's is the still, small voice... the gentle whisper. Perhaps there's a reason. Nothing draws human focus quite like a whisper. God's whisper means I must stop my ranting and move close to Him, until my head is bent together with His. And then, as I listen, I will find my answer. Better still, I find myself closer to God.