I Am Thine, O Lord

Calvary, Calvary
Calvary, Calvary
Calvary, Calvary
Surely he died on Calvary

The alters were stripped on Maundy Thursday as Jesus prayed “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Luke 22:39).  Then came Friday...
Good Friday...Death on the Cross...For me...It is finished...I am now justified...JUST AS IF I'D NEVER SINNED.  THANK YOU JESUS...

And today, we wait.  The eggs will get colored, hidden and found, the remaining speeches will be practiced and recited, hams will be ordered and picked up and baskets will be made.  It's a day of reflection.

My most painful experience to date was childbirth and yet, I remember it and don't remember it.  Out of that pain came the best and most love I've ever felt.  I was able to bring life into this world.  I don't doubt that it's like that for Jesus.  In that pain he felt on the cross that day, he was able to give us...ME...life.  He redeemed a world.  He paid the price for me because I AM HIS.

Lord, today, may I be reminded of the sacrifice you made for me.  May I continue to love you and others as you first loved me.

I belong to you and am grateful for what you did for me.  THANK YOU JESUS.

May I bear my cross with the same intent and conviction as you, fully knowing that I am but a person who has been saved.

The "Busy" Doesn't Stop...Finding a Mary Moment in A Marth World

She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.  But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.  Luke 10: 39-40

This week has been BUSY.  I don't say that with pride.  I do say it with the realization that some days are just more hectic than others, and even in that, we all have to find the spirit of Mary in a Martha world.  
I have been volunteering with Junior Achievement this week to teach one of their classes on Entrepreneurship and Leadership.  It's a 5 session class for 45 minutes per session.  I've been at Prince Street Elementary in Ms. Kemp's 4th grade class.  It's been fun and enlightening and rewarding and hard and challenging and....did I say enlightening.  The kids today are different but the same.  They want to know that they are loved and they want someone to care for them and help them with the things they can't do themselves.  It was an experience, and I look forward to doing it again.

Also this week, I've been going to our noon day prayer/devotional hour at church.  Granted, with my work schedule, I've been getting there in time for the devotion at 12:45 and then having my own prayer/preparation time after that. 

Upon leaving the church and school, I've been going to the YMCA because of my "big bones" :o).  I so wish i wasn't plagued with them, but I am and will forever have to entertain exercising for a healthier life.  OK..." woe is me" moment is done :o)  My point is that going to work out is and has to be a consistent part of my day/life until such time that they find a skinny pill that works.  #please God help scientists find a skinny pill that works :o)

Of course by the time I leave the Y, it's time to go get my favorite girl, Grace, from school.  We get home, do homework, practice violin if she and daddy haven't practiced that morning, cook dinner, eat, take baths and get ready for the reset button to activate.  It's life happening all around me.  

⁴¹ “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴² but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Sometimes it doesn't stop.  The world is not waiting for Nita to catch up or get on or be "in a good place" for it to happen.   We have to create Mary moments; maybe it's at the stop light or your lunch break (if you take it, because many of us work right through it) or maybe it's a quick 5-10 minute break while Grace is in the tub.  It may be a simple "thank you Jesus for this day and all it's involved.  I'm grateful to be able to get through it without breaking down and falling apart."  

I was called a "mighty woman of God" this week.  I smiled after I read the email and said..."yeah, I am a MIGHTY WOMAN OF GOD".  Sometimes we get off purpose and caught up and overwhelmed and because of that, we busy ourselves seeking the things that are not needed.  It's difficult to find Mary time in this Martha world, but the reality is that many of the things that we "busy" ourselves with are not needed.  Find the time to sit at the feet of Jesus even if that means forsaking some of the things of this world that pull us from pillar to post.  Jesus said it best..."Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."  Choose the better thing...even if that means saying no to something that is good.  The busy will always be there.  God has the better thing in mind for you!  YAY GOD!

Side note:  Went to a meeting this morning at church about a Kingdom trip to Kenya.  Thinking, praying and figuring it out.  Even being at this place with it is a God thing.  #YAYGOD!

Expect More Than You Could Ever Think Or Imagine