I saw this and had to post it for all our students and single friends who are still waiting!



Apply it to Me Monday

Every month I make a goal to memorize two scriptures.  That's one scripture to work on over a two week period.  I keep them in a little index size spiral notebook and keep them on my kitchen counter since that seems to be the room I live in the most!  To be honest, I've done more reading my scriptures than memorizing in 2011, so I've been playing catch up this morning.  I thought I'd share the most recent one with you today.

"Therefore, my dear brothers (and sisters!), stand firm.  Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."  1 Corinthians 15:58

This scripture encourages us as believers to stand firm in the truths of God's Word against the false teachings of the world.  We know that our labor is not in vain because we believe that our inheritance through Jesus Christ is real.  He died on the cross and was resurrected so that we could have eternal life.  It's more than a sweet story we were told as a child.  It's our heritage.  It's our future.  It's our only hope in life.

I can't talk about this scripture without being reminded of how blessed we have been over the past weeks at Gateway Church to be taught the importance of God's Word, and holding to the truths of it.  If you'd like to listen in on sermons that have been life giving for us, click here to see a comprehensive list of sermons that I promise are worth your time in listening to.

I know today's post hasn't been the funniest or most entertaining.  It's not even the most well-written for that matter.  My prayer, however, is that you will be encouraged through His Word, which is the BEST word ever written, and stand firm in your faith wherever life has you right now.  I want my life to be full of Kingdom purpose and nothing less, and I know I can only achieve that through standing on the truths of God's word, and continually studying that I may abound more and more in those truths with every passing day.

We love you!
~Josh and Jill

Apply it to Me Monday

Good Morning everyone!  We hope you've all had a great weekend!  We were delighted to spend ours with our church family at the zoo on Saturday, and had a great day yesterday in God's presence with His people.  We are so blessed to have such a supportive church family.  We need that so much!

Today I just want to leave you with a favorite chapter of mine in Psalm.  I will type out the whole chapter, and let it speak for itself.  Hope it encourages you today!

Psalm 121
I will lift up my eyes to the hills-
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip-
He who watches over you will not slumber;

indeed, he who watches over Israel will not sleep.

The LORD watches over you-

The LORD is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all harm-

he will watch over your life;

the LORD will watch your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Jam Time

So.   My sweet girls and I have found a love we share.  It dates all the way back to my teen years when D.C. Talk, Jars of Clay, and Audio Adrenaline (my fav) were all the craze.  I'm probably feeling this way because I'll turn 30 (gasp!)  this summer, but when I think of some of those classic songs, today's music doesn't compare.  There.  I said it.  The music in "my day" was just better. 

Driving in the van yesterday, I begged the girls if they would listen to some tunes with mommy instead of our usual veggie tales or baby praise.  I'm so thankful to have DVDs to instill godly principles in my children, but I felt if I had to listen to Larry Boy's voice one more time I'd officially lose all sanity.  To my surprise, they complied fairly quickly to listen to music with mommy.  The radio station was fading in and out, so I switched to some older stuff we have in our van, which just happened to be Audio Adrenaline, Big House.  Classic.  I looked back at the girls and they were jammin' away in their car seats.  When the song ended, they begged to hear it again.  We probably listened to it 20 times yesterday.  I was in heaven.  I can listen to a good song over and over when I'm in the mood for it, and yesterday was a good day for a good song & good drive!  When we got home, they were still singing "Big Big House.."  Adorable.

I tried to find a good You Tube video of Big House, and just didn't see any I liked to post here (for those of you who may be too young to know that song), but I did come across a song that was a huge favorite of mine and my life's motto.  It's called "Hand and Feet" and it's probably more recent than "Big House."  Hope you enjoy it along with today's gorgeous weather! 



Apply it to Me Monday

I'm fascinated by the fact that God has a practice of answering our prayers before we even finish praying them.  Right now in my Bible reading, I'm having fun underlining every instance I find in which a character has not yet finished praying, sometimes even just in their heart, before the answer is already set in motion.  They may not see the fulfillment right away, but it is recorded that while they were still speaking, God was responding.

Listen to the promises in Isaiah 65:22-24:

"No longer will they build houses and others live in them,
or plant and others eat.
For as a the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people;
my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands.
They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune;
for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with them.Before they call I will answer;
while they are still speaking I will hear."

How awesome it would be to see the activity in the heavenlies when we pray.  Daniel chapter nine describes a time when Daniel was praying confessing his sin and the sin of the people, and before he even finished praying Gabriel appeared to him with a word from God.  I would love to just sit back and watch God give angels assignments to meet the needs of those who are still in prayer!  And I would love to see the faces of those people when they saw the fulfillment of that prayer.  I do get to see that part from time to time, and what a beautiful thing!

It was probably a year and a half ago when the story of Daniel became so real to me in a Bible Study we were doing.  It was the first time I took notice that the answer came to Daniel before he could even finish speaking.  That penetrated my heart so deeply that I have never viewed God or prayer the same way.  It deepened my trust and confidence in Him.  The neat thing is I have found similar scriptures throughout the Old Testament where God wanted us to know He was answering from the very moment someone's heart cry went out to Him.  It's repeated so many times that He must want us to know!  When I want to drive a point home with Kylee & Aubrey I tell them over and over and over until I see they've gotten it.  I can be obsessive with it to a point that even drives me crazy, but I have to be sure they understand... I want them to know!  How deep the Father's love is for us.  Some things He intends for us to know, and how precious that over and over in His word is this amazing promise that from the moment our heart cries out, and sometimes even before, He's on it.  We may not see the fulfillment soon.  Sometimes that can take weeks, months, and in some cases years.  But rest assured, from the moment we even begin to pray, He sets the answer in motion, and He'll see that it comes to pass.

You can trust Him today, because He loves you and has your very best interest in mind!  You may even find a quiet moment today just to give Him praise for the unseen fulfillment of your prayers.  I like to call it thanking Him in advance.

Have a blessed Monday and week to follow!
~Josh and Jill