War

Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.”

“Be silent and know that I am God.”

“Cease striving and know that I am God.”

In context, this verse is speaking to anything warring against the Mighty God. In the passage, Psalm 46, the earth is changing, the mountains are quaking and the nations are in uproar. God speaks to everything at war with Him and says, “Be still, be silent, cease striving. I am the Lord of Hosts, behold My works, I make wars to cease, I will be exalted, I am here among you, come and see My glorious works.”

Most days my mind wars with the Lord of Hosts. There is usually a stream of thoughts that criticize, analyze, and basically say that I am not enough, I should be more and I should do more. These thoughts are at war with the Holy Spirit inside me and make little room for God. Another name for the Lord of Hosts is the God of angel armies. It seems pretty prideful of me to think that I can challenge the God of angel armies. As I write this, I am overwhelmed that I would do anything to wage war against the God of the universe!

I have been planted in Ephesians for a while now. I can’t seem to move past chapter 1. It is so full and rich with God’s promises. Promises that should silence this flesh war inside of me. Here are just some of the riches in Ephesians 1: He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing, we belong to Christ, He loved us before He made the world, He knew us and thought about us even before creation, His plan has always been to adopt us- to make us His sons and daughters and Jesus our brother, this plan gives Him great pleasure, we give Him great pleasure! And that is only the first 5 verses!

What a good word, friends! His promises silence anything that battles for our souls. What in your life is warring against God today? What is stealing God’s space in your soul? Whatever it is, it must be still, silent and cease striving when held next to the promises of God.

Psalm 46:11 “Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.” (MSG).

 

 

 

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What’s your word?

Hey friends. My prayer has been that this blog would be a space for words to bless. I was shopping in The Gibson Company last week and ran across these really cool mugs with one word on them. I found the one that resonated with me: rest. 

God has been whispering this word to me for a while now. I reached out to the artist, Angie Chini. I had to know why she chose to use words on her art and how she picked them. She agreed to share a little of her story and how words have impacted her:

“For me, certain words have had a special meaning. When my girls and I moved back to my home town after a difficult season in life, God gave me the word “hope”.  I had hope again and he gave me a special verse Psalm 25:4-5. “Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths…my hope is in you all day long.”

In 2011, I even felt led to name my new business Mountain Hope Pottery.

God definitely fulfilled my hopes as long as I kept my hope in Him first.

More recently, my word has been “trust”.  I’ve been on a journey of learning through all life’s ups and downs, that I can trust the Lord. (I even got this tattooed on my arm with mountains and waves…my two fave places…to signify the mountains and valleys, billowing waves and calm).  It’s harder to live it out than to simply get a tattoo haha!

I started putting words on my pottery and I just sat praying and thinking about what words to use.  People have really responded to these. I think everyone has a special word that resonates just for them, words are powerful, unique to each person, and special.

Some of the most popular have been “worthy” and “rest”.  I’ll never know everyone’s story of why a simple word affects them deeply, but I’m glad to have a part in helping God speak especially to their hearts.:)”

What a good word friends! What word is God whispering to you right now? What word do you need for the Holidays? For 2018? Please share in the comment section below!

You can check out Angie at https://www.thegibsoncoshop.com,

http://mountainhopepottery.com/

and https://www.etsy.com/mountainhopepottery

The Power of Words

Words. Over the years, they have gotten me in a lot of trouble. They were usually too many. They were too loud, too cynical, just too much. In 2016, a wise woman, Kathleen Edelman, challenged me on my words with Ephesians 4:29. “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” After lengthy discussions with her and a good dose of the Holy Spirit, I realized my words were damaging me and those closest to me.

So, I have been on a path of changing my words so they build and benefit others, including myself. This has not been a very easy journey, as I have almost 35 years of words that I have been speaking! A great tool that has helped me has been The 40 Day Word Fast by Tim Cameron.  This book has challenged me to eliminate or fast words that are negative and critical and instead choose a good word that blesses those around me!

This blog is a place to encourage us all to spread a good word! “A good word makes the heart glad!” Proverbs 12:25