Weekend Devo — Talk Like the Animals

As my daughter and I were driving to the dog park, she told me a cute story. See, one day a while back, her dad had taken her and Shasta, her poochy, to the dog park. She said the most interesting thing happened. The dogs were drawn to my hubby. According to my daughter, they all surrounded him, sniffing and curious, and several even stayed near him while they were there.

This is the part I love. To her this showed God's love. She firmly believes God used those dogs that day to show her dad how much God loves him. And based on how I've seen God use our dog in my daughter's struggles with depression and recovery from brain surgery, I believe it.

I could totally picture this scene, too. These humble beasts standing around my dear hubby, "talking" of God's love with wags of tails and licks of tongues. After all, animals know how to love unconditionally best, don't they?

We serve such an awesome God. How has He made his love known to you in the smallest (and even biggest!) of ways lately? I hope you'll share a story of God's love in action through a special pet or unique circumstances.

Blessings and have a wonderful weekend!
Praying and believing,
Dineen

Thankful Thursday - The Voice of God

A few hours ago I spent time with my BFF’s from Bible study. Today was the last day before the summer break. These girls are my “home girls.” They see the good, bad and ugly in me and love me anyway.

I also love them with all of my heart. The study concluded with a powerful video by Priscilla Shirer, Discerning the Voice of God.

Recognizing God’s voice in our life is what we all want. Without the Lord’s direction we would be lost and broken people. However, sometimes I wonder if you are like me? I don’t always hear clearly the voice of the Lord. Why is that?

I have one word: OBEDIENCE

In the years I have walked with the Lord, He has always been faithful and provided direction. He has taken me from one plateau to the next…. Each one, more fantastic and supernatural than the last. So, when I find myself surrounded by silence or stuck, I must turn my eyes inward. There is usually an area of obedience that I have yet to surrender.

Today in Bible study we prayed that THIS DAY would be the day we surrender that one thing, the thing that needs to go so God can move in us and through us this summer. Will you do the same?

Lord, I have held onto this thing. I have heard you say, “Lynn (insert your name), get rid of it. I will wait as long as it takes.” Oh Lord, let today be that day. I want to be part of your plan this summer. I want to see new horizons and the fantastic surprises you have waiting for me. Lord, today, I surrender it to you. Do not let me ever take it back. Bind the enemy who will tempt me and protect me from this sin. When I feel weak, Lord surround me with the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. I ask all this in the powerful name of Jesus, my Redeemer. Amen.

As you think about your Thankful Thursday post, consider your heart. Write about obedience or hearing the voice of God. Be Blessed, Lynn

Also, I must apologize because I did not make it around to visit everyone. Please forgive me. Mr. Linky went crazy and would not work. I think the owner of Mr. Linky has fixed the problem for this week. I am praying over it. So leave your link and I can’t wait to read your posts.

Computer tips to increase speed: •Empty “temp” files •Empty Recycle Bin •Run analyze and/or disk defragmenter •Back up your system

Next week we will all meet up at Laurie's of Women Taking a Stand, for the month of June. See you there.

Our Journey's - Part II

This is Part Two of “Our Journeys” posts. To read the original post, click here.

This week's question is from Julianne: I would love to hear about the growth/changes in your family each of you have seen since your time of starting here. Even though it may not yet be where you hope, what differences have you experienced over time?

Lynn’s Answer:

Julianne, It is difficult to sum up in a few short paragraphs the changes which have occurred over the years. Even in the past three years since the start of SUM, the Lord has done amazing things. I give Jesus Christ all honor and credit because without His life-changing power at work in me, my man, and our marriage, we would not be living the abundant life today.

Jesus is my hope.

I think what I value the most from the changes brought by Christ is the fact that I have grown in my faith. ome of you know that my husband lost his job in January. He is still unemployed today. But, I know my faith has matured because of how I handled the news of my husband’s unemployment.

I didn’t freak!

It is my nature to be crazy and freak-out over financial matters. The former banker in me, I guess. Upon hearing the news, I only felt calmness. In fact, scripture verses rushed into my head and gave me peace. The years of writing God’s word upon my heart came to fruition.

Still today after five, almost six months, I am peaceful and I absolutely trust God - He is our provider. I can say this with true authenticity, I could live in a two room shack today and be happy. If you knew me ten years ago, you would never have thought those words could escape my lips.

The Lord has brought peace to our home. He relentlessly pursues my husband’s heart and soul. Why should I fear? My prayers for his salvation will be answered. I never doubt that because Jesus is my hope.

My husband has changed in that he is no longer hostile about my faith and is on his own slow journey to understanding. A miracle in my eyes.

I look at that guy today from across the room and I can’t wait to grow old with him. I smile and walk over to the couch, snuggle down on his chest, hold his hand and I rejoice in the knowledge that I serve an all-powerful, almighty, miracle delivering God.

I am deeply humbled and will worship Him for all eternity. Be Blessed, Lynn

Chronicles - Oh ye, of Little Faith

I have prayed for my husband’s salvation now going on 18 years. Wow, 18. There are times, day, weeks, dare I say months that I just feel like my daily prayer, “Lord, I ask for the salvation of my husband. I ask for the Holy Spirit to indwell in his heart. Jesus, save my husband today. Amen.” I just feel like they bounce off the ceiling.

“God, are you too busy to listen today?”

“God, why is it taking so long?”

"God, why don’t I see you doing anything in his life to draw my husband closer to you?”

I wonder if some of you have felt like this.

Today, I heard that still small voice in my spirit, “Oh ye, of little faith.”

I realized that God is very active in a constant way in the life of my husband. Things happen around him that I am not always privileged to see. However, today the Lord showed me that He does not remain silent. My husband’s salvation is not dependent on what I do or say. God often uses other people and Jesus is capable of saving my man without my help…. thank you very much.

Today my husband forwarded an email he received from a friend. I can’t impress enough about how this particular email has more power than 10 sermons my husband might hear. It was an email from a close friend who took a chance and shared his faith. God is not silent.

Oh forgive me Father for ever thinking you are.

Here is a portion of the email which stirred my heart.

GOD’S GREATEST COMMANDMENT

God gives us peace and joy when our focus is truly loving God first and loving others second (instead of focusing on our perceived needs). When we obey this great commandment, God takes care of our needs for us. Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22:37-40

As believers we are good about obeying the “Great Commission” of sharing the gospel, and yet Jesus’ “Great Commandment” is often overlooked. You see, God did not say "think about yourself, get that now, take care of this, worry about that.......", but He did command us to love Him above all, and love others like ourselves. When we obey His “Great Commandment” fully, we can then trust Him to provide for our needs according to His abundant grace and perfect will! When we accept God's provisions for us with thanksgiving and praise, we are freed from the cares of this world. ~Aurelio F. Barreto III, January 2009

My husband's friend sent a portion of Aurelio's testimony. It is fantastic. Have a wonderful week. Be Blessed, Lynn

Weekend Devotion — How can they believe?

"But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?" — John 5:47

Oddly, reading this gave me great comfort recently. In Jesus' words, I hear my own dilemma with my spouse. Since he doesn't believe in God or the Bible as his Word, how can he believe what I say when I share my faith?

Perhaps herein lies the truth of "actions speak louder than words." Regardless, my spirit is comforted in knowing Jesus understands because he lived it too.

This reassurance spurs me on to keep persevering in my marriage, to keep believing God is working even when I see nothing change. Jesus continued to do what his Father sent him to accomplish, even when those he was sent to save rejected him.

With Christ as our example, we can draw strength and courage to persevere, because he showed us the way.

May God bless you richly this Memorial Day weekend with much love and joy with your families.

Praying and believing,
Dineen

Chronicles with a Twist - American Idol

The strangest things happen.

Wednesday morning, I hit the play button on the answering machine upon arriving home from dropping my daughter at school. “Call me… Call me… As soon as you can…. Call me!” Okay? Call me.”

Ring, ring.

My next door neighbor picks up, “Get dressed. Let’s go to the American Idol Finale. I have tickets.”

“What?...... Say What?”

“American Idol.”

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT! NO WAY!"

“I just received my tickets online. We have to be ready in less than an hour and get to Los Angeles.”

That started my most unusual day! And what a day it was.

Most of you know that I am not a fan of Hollywood. But I like the show. There is something about a rags to riches story. Reminds me of my own journey with God.

Anyhoo, My friend Lynley, her two kids and I hit the southern California Freeways. We traversed to LA by-passing a car fire- typical when you are in a hurry, sheesh! We sped down the carpool lanes to arrive at the Nokia Theater at 11:30 am. Lynley said, “The earlier you arrive, better the seats.”

We drove around the corner and the scary line began. Hundreds of people wearing black, dressy clothes. The dress code is strict – evening wear- as if attending an upscale dinner party. Here is a picture of the line that stretched out in front of us… 

And then behind us.

This is Lynley, her kids and me as we waited.

Admittance also requires a search. No cameras (that bugged me) no cell phones (no texting). So I left my camera in the car along with the cell. I was only able to snap off a few photos.

I am not a fan of Hollywood. Most of you know this. But, perhaps I am destine to be part of this weird and scary world. My daughter is bent on becoming an actress. In fact, I am taking her to an open call audition for the movie Eclipse soon. (don’t send hate mail if you don’t like this movie *grin*)

My daughter said, “Mom, there has to be a few Christians who work in this business.”

She is right and so Wednesday I screamed my head off for Kris Allen and I am a big fan of Danny Gokey. Christian bruthas!

We had great seats, Orchestra – center. They were going for $1,000 each on eBay that day. Who knew! I learned a lot while waiting in line.

Walking into the theater for the first time was surreal. In fact, from that moment on…. SURREAL!

The sound quality of the music can’t be described. It is so very different than what you hear through the television. The lighting, pyrotechnics, the film crews and the set direction. Fantastic! I sat mesmerized not only by the show but by the stuff that happens in the two minutes and 30 seconds of commercial breaks.

Some of my favorite moments:

David Cook and his new song – Permanent. Wow!

Watching one of the stars from iCarly, Jennette McCurdy, stop and sign autographs for the kids while walking to her seat.

I am also not star struck by any means but there were stars… All over the place. It was fun to guess who was who.

Blackeyed Eyed Peas – all I can say is… freaky!

Watching the top 13 sing together was great.

Watching them sing along with the stars, awesome. Each time during a commercial break the set crew would move a new band into place and Lynley would look at me and say, “Shut-up!”

“Shut up – it’s Lionel Richie”

“Shut up – Fergie.”

“Shut up - Queen Latifah, Keith Urban, Cyndi Lauper and Carlos Santana.”

"Shut up, shut up, shut up… Kiss. Shut up – Queen!"

We had a blast. A once in a life time experience to be sure.

And for me…. For you, for me….. The very best moment was when Kris pulled his wife into his arms and wept. This young couple held each other and although the camera cut away early, what we saw was a man and his young wife, who turned their heads away from the camera, cheek-to-cheek, and cried together for a long while.

I will be praying for them!

What a blast. I will never forget it. Thank you my friend, Lynley. I can’t begin to repay this adventure. I can only be thankful. Be blessed, Lynn

PS. I will be posting my journey story next week and we will also continue our series then. Have a fantastic weekend.

Thankful Thursday - Nature

Do you ever walk out your door and are overwhelmed with creation? For me, spending time in nature draws me closer to God. In the summer months I take my Bible, a hot cup of coffee and my prayer journal and head out to the back yard. I talk with Jesus there. It is my favorite place to meet with Him.

I see the brilliance of the blue sky – I am undone! I look around my small back yard at the garden growing fruits and vegetables and I lift my hands toward heaven and give thanks.

I see the very face of God in His creation and my heart soars.

Our God is a God of great beauty, majesty, wonder and miracles. The earth shouts His glory and so do I.

Share some of your pictures of nature that inspire you to worship. I am looking forward to visiting you this week and I promise I will get around to everyone even if it takes me all week.

God bless you. You bring great honor to the Lord by sharing your thankful heart every Thankful Thursday.

Psalm 121:2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

I took these photos Tuesday morning. My tiny back yard will yield much when it's blessed by the Maker. God bless, Lynn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Computer Tip: Maintain a high quality security program on your computer. Your security software should receive daily updates at a minimum. Also, my system scans my computer daily. My scan runs at noon when I leave my computer on and head off to lunch. My security program has caught several Trojan viruses and removes tracking programs that are placed on my machine as the result of searching the internet.

I am not sure what happened to Mr. Linky. I cannot access their main website. Please leave your link to your Thankful Thursday post in the comments. I will add it in when Mr. Linky is up and running again. Thanks. 

Our Journeys

Welcome to week four of our Open Forum. We've tackled some tough questions the last three weeks, and though difficult, we are honored to be a part of these discussions and to share in any way we can. This week delves a more into our personal journeys, which we are glad to share in the hopes they uplift and encourage. Lynn and I by no means have all the answers to living in a successful SUM, but we have no doubt that God has called us to share what we've learned thanks to our compassionate and merciful King.

This week's question is from Julianne:

I would love to hear about the growth/changes in your family each of you have seen since your time of starting here. Even though it may not yet be where you hope, what differences have you experienced over time?

Lynn's Answer: Julianne, I appreciate your question. God has been so amazing and His love absolutely transforming that I have too much to say. In order to keep this post shorter, I will add my story on Friday. I pray it honors the Lord Jesus because without Him, I would not have a story to tell nor a wonderful marriage today. See you Friday.

Dineen's Answer: Wow, Julianne, what a great question, girl. I could write an entire book to answer this one, but let's see if I can keep it to a few paragraphs.

If I answer this question based upon the changes I've seen in my husband, I'd have to say nothing has changed. In some ways, our faith differences have become more difficult. But that could be due to all the prayers being said for him and the enemy trying to stop the inevitable. :-)

Yes, I do believe my husband's salvation is inevitable and maybe that's one area of change or growth for me. I've firmly believed in what was spoken to me regarding my husband's salvation for eight years. Though I thought the timing would have been a year ago based upon how I interpreted it, I still believe it will happen.

Since starting to write with Lynn here at SUM, my calling to this ministry has been affirmed over and over again. This in and of itself has made me stronger and firmer in my roll in my marriage and my family, because, ladies and gents, I certainly can't preach it if I ain't livin' it. Right? And Lynn will tell you the same, that our rolls here have opened us up to a lot of spiritual warfare. But we care way too much for those in unequally yoked marriages to do anything but persevere and fight back.

And clearly, we can't do this on our own strength. God has equipped us over and over again. There are times when Lynn and I have talked about reader comments, how to pray for individuals and each other, and will express how awestruck we are that God put us together here. Why us? Why not us?

Being here at SUM put purpose into my journey. And meaning and passion. The saying that you learn more when you teach is so true. In the processing of seeking God in his Word and sharing what I sense him teaching me, I learn. I grow. I prosper. I thrive!

But there are times when it's such a struggle that all I can do is hold on to God. And the past has prepared me for the now. The past struggles and difficulties strengthened me to go through the trial of my daughter's brain tumor. And that experience will strengthen me for whatever else comes down the road.

So in the last three years, I've come to learn to trust God on a much deeper level and to live as authentically as I can. My daughters' faiths have grown and have helped them to see the world honestly (sometimes too honestly), to have compassion, and to think through their choices, especially in their relationships.

And most importantly, we have loved. Through each trial, through each difficulty, I've learned to keep loving, to not give up and walk away. And I'm learning to live in the moment. To enjoy my family and cherish those special times that transcend the hardships and tears. God is teaching me a tenacious belief—the kind you do at all cost. As you can see the changes have been in me, because that's where it had to start and where it will continue if I'm to be God's tool of change in my marriage.
Praying and believing,
Dineen

Are You Thriving?

To read last week’s post and pray for your marriage journey this summer, read Thriving Despite (click here).

Before we start to understand how we thrive in a spiritually unequal marriage or any marriage we need to ask a few questions first. Okay, one specific question. Why is marriage so hard? Why is it that when we marry, it isn’t happily ever after?

In the book, Thriving Despite a Difficult Marriage, the author’s describe a myriad of difficulties in a relationship. Communication, religious differences (yep, we know that one), sex, *needs in marriage, etc, but they go on to say something profound.

In the core of almost all couples they believe the difficulties in their marriages are caused by their spouse. Hmmmmm, what do you think about this?

The authors continue; If you focus on your spouse’s defects you will only become more self-righteous and miserable. OUCH! Is this statement directed at me, Lord?

I can tell you in my early years of marriage I was confused. I was disappointed and I experienced pain. And, I will not minimize that we experience pain. Pain comes with disappointment because we need to receive something from our spouse he/she cannot give. Pain because we desperately want to give something they are unable to give. So how can we move past this pain and the disappointment? What do we do with the thought that the decades loom ahead of us with little hope of change?

The author’s have penned the answer very simply: We must understand that unfulfilled desire results in disappointment. But with God’s grace, healthy desires can be embraced and the heart can be kept alive and thriving despite disappointment.

We are going to learn how to take our disappointment and desires and change them, re-craft them into a healthy future. I think this book exactly mirrors what the Lord, God, Himself, did for me over the years. He worked to tear down my unmet desires and replaced them with new, Godly, desires. He wiped away my disappointments and then lifted me to new adventures I couldn’t have dreamed up in my wildest dreams.

Do you want your wildest dreams about your marriage surpassed? Do you want to look at your spouse and actually know in your heart honest forgiveness, genuine and authentic love? It sounds impossible to many of you right now. Believe me, I’ve been there. But….. We serve the LORD, GOD, ALMIGHTY! He has brought you here because He wants you to live with joy in your heart. Love in your marriage and to thrive in this life. He wants you to get over your disappointment because He has a ton of work for you to do for the Kingdom! I promise He does and it is a blast to serve the God of the universe.

So next week, Freedom.

There is so much more about living with difficult spouses in this book. I highly recommend it to anyone struggling in marriage. Be Blessed, Lynn

Thriving Despite a Difficult Marriage By Michael Misja & Chuck Misja

 

*To learn about a man and a woman’s basic needs in marriage, please read this series of posts,His Needs, Her Needs (click here).

Weekend Devo — Love God and Love Your Spouse

This weekend's devo is from Purpose Driven Connection by Rick Warren. A great way to look at the two most important commandments...

"'Teacher,' he asked, 'Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?' Jesus answered, ''Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and the most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like it: 'Love your neighbor as you love yourself''" (Matthew 22:36-39 TEV).

Any successful marriage is built upon the biblical truth that God designed each of us with five purposes in mind: worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and missions.

I suppose you'd expect a man who's been married over thirty years to a beautiful, intelligent woman to be able to share with you the intimate secrets to having a perfect marriage.

But I'm going to disappoint you! That's because Kay and I don't have a perfect marriage. She is without a doubt my best friend, and we have a wonderful relationship, but as far as a perfect marriage, well, there's no such thing.

What Kay and I do have is a marriage centered on Christ, specifically focused on glorifying God. We remain committed to each other because we remain committed to Christ and his work within us.

Jesus said the greatest commandment is to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." Then he added, "The second most important commandment is like it: 'Love your [spouse] as you love yourself'" (Matthew 22:37,39 TEV).

In this sense, you worship God when you love and sacrifice for your spouse. That brings pleasure to God, and any time you give pleasure to God, you're worshiping him. Read through Romans 12 with a view of what its applications would mean to your marriage: "Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other" (Romans 12:10 NLT).

Dineen here: I love Rick Warren's authenticity in this article, but what I love most is how he shows so clearly that loving our spouse is a commandment. Not always an easy one to keep but always God-honoring. Have a blessed weekend!

Praying and believing,
Dineen