Renewing My Mind

Dear friends and sisters-in-Christ,

In early February 2001 we left the mainland to come to Hawaii. It is now the end of May 2006 and during that time much, much has happened. There have been two marriages, 3 births, 1 secret revealed, and 1 death. With these, have come the emotions of elation, anger and doubt, and grief. Wow, all packed into 5 years time. In reflecting back on the reason for moving and living in Hawaii, we thought that it was ours, but the Lord has planned and purposed for His Glory. I continually become more and more dependent on Him, surrendering to Him my life. In my walking with Him he has taken me to a new area completely and I find that it is the very hardest for me, maybe that is why I have always got this far and then have drawn back in previous times.

He is asking me to allow Him to control my thoughts. I am absorbing a book by Larry Christenson, "The Renewed Mind".
My devotional, "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young, also has been leading me daily into allowing the Lord to renew my mind.

Scripture: Isaiah 55:8-9 As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.

Amazing Glorious Abba Father, how wonderful thou art. At the beginning of the day until the end You are There, You never change nor do You Forsake. Thank You my Precious Lord for Your Saving Grace which You so Richly have poured out into our lives. Oh, most Sovereign God, may I Be Still in Your Presence and allow You to renew my mind. Lord I pray for each dear sister-in-Christ this day and this week that they would welcome Your Presence into their minds and hearts. For You are gentle and your mercies are tender and new every morning. In Jesus Name, Amen.


Missing all of you.

Your dear friend and sister-in-Christ

Being Stretched

Greetings dear friends and sisters-in-Christ,

A woman in church announced that she was going to start a T.E.M.P.L.E. Ministry. She would teach Pilates and Yoga on weeknights. I asked a friend from work to come to the yoga with me and she wanted to start the Pilates course first, so I agreed to do the Pilates first and then the yoga. I have been doing it for 4 weeks - Pilates. My goal was to become more flexible and Pilates and yoga (in my mind) were considered good stretching exercises. As I do each exercise I have to concentrate so hard on trying to get my body to stretch that I begin to feel absolutely inadequate to move. It is at that point that the instructor, seeing my dilemma comes to me and gently touching me guides me through the exercise. I was thinking of that this morning. What a beautiful picture of how our Lord seeing, gently guides us through. Yes, my physical body is being stretched but even more so is my spiritual body - it is my Sovereign Father in Heaven who sees and gently touches me and guides me through.

Abba Father, Glorious and Praiseworthy. Thank you, oh my Father for all things. I love thee Lord and desire to be stretched in the asking, in the seeking and in the knocking. May I stretch for my Faith, my Belief, my Passion to lean not on my own understanding but to know the wisdom of God. Lord I pray for each dear sister-in-Christ who reads this - may they begin this hour and this day to be stretched by You, our most glorious and gracious God. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Until next week may Your day be blessed

Your dear friend and sister-in- Christ

Trusting God

Wednesday Morning Greetings to All:


How utterly impossible it must have been for Paul to trust God when He told him that His Grace was sufficient. This is the thought which went through my head when I read my morning devotional about God Is Enough. Actually the statement read, "As you sit quietly in My Presence, remember that I am a God of abundance." and "It is impossible for you to comprehend the lavishness of My provisions: the fullness of My glorious riches." (from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young). Then this got me to thinking about how people of biblical times, both old and new handled walking by faith and not by sight.

Glorious Father, Sovereign God, Jehovah Jirrah, Jehovah Nissi, How Mighty and Magnificent are You. Thank you that You alone Draw Us Unto You. Yes it is impossible for our finite minds to comprehend-Holy Spirit Come Abide in Us. We are sisters-in-Christ who need Your Love in Abundance Today to believe in the Impossible, to desire for Your Sufficiency in Today.

We are weak and You are our Strength,
We are poor and You are our Riches,
We are hungry and You are our Manna
We are thirsty and You are our Living Water

With utterings and groanings we come before Your Throne of Grace and TRUST, BELIEVE and take hold of glimpses that You reveal of Your Great Love for us and we choose to Rejoice. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Until Next Week, May Your Joy be in the Lord

Your dear friend and sister-in-Christ

My Journey Through Galatians

Good Morning and Greetings to all of you dear sisters-in-Christ,

I completed my 10 week course in Galatians last night. Amazing feat to say the least. Honestly, I still have the burn spots on the back of my heels because the Lord had to literally drag me into each lesson. Why, I ask myself when it is over. I still am not able to recognize contrasts or comparisons in passages. In trying to analyze it - maybe its because I am a casserole type of person?! In thinking about it this morning, what came to mind was the book of Ruth. When Ruth is in the field and is gleaning from the fields, Boaz sees her and instructs his workers to not harm her and to let her glean from anywhere in the field. How marvelous is our Master.

I think that I will just go today and get whatever I can find because I am hungry and my Master sees me and gives me, in abundance, safety and plenty.

I sometimes skip over the safety part and recognize the plenty. But today I need to thank You Father for blessing me with the security to be. I was asked by my facilitator (she's really my teacher - but don't tell her that, okay!) to make a copy of the poem that I wrote in response to one of our exercises.

This is what I learned in the study of Galatians:

A gospel not of human origin. (Chapter 1)
A freedom we have in Christ Jesus. (Chapter 2)
A blessing we have been promised. (Chapter 3)
No longer a slave but a child. (Chapter 4)
Living by the Spirit and not by the flesh, (Chapter 5)
A new creation is our desire. (Chapter 6)

Heavenly Father, Abba, How excellent is Your Name in all the Earth, Most Gracious Abba, Holy art thou.
Thank You for Your Beauty and Blessings. Lord as we come into Your Presence,
each with our: needs, wants, desires, hurts, pains, difficulties, and concerns,
May we Stand Still. Lord You are all we desire. You alone are our Provision, Our Hope, Our Joy,
we are only Complete in thee. Lord help each dear sister-in-Christ to see, to understand, to
comprehend the depth and breath and height and width or Your Love. In Jesus Name, Amen

May Your Week be filled with Hope,

Your dear friend and sister-in-Christ

Seeing and Smelling - Two Important Senses

Greetings my dear sisters-in-Christ,

I wanted to pray for all of you this morning that you would be surrounded by the Beauty of the Lord and that Your whole being would be permeated with the Fragrance of Christ. As I was thinking about this prayer, the thoughts that were going through my mind was the importance of these two senses - seeing - to actually see the beauty of anything you must look very deeply and intimately into something. If you just look upon it, at first glance, the mind has a way of seeing everything; but to assimilate that whole big picture in my mind and process every minute detail at that single glance I can't do it. I need multiple times of seeing, I need to examine. Our precious Lord allows this of me - Thank you Lord.

The other sense is smelling. Fragrance, you whiff a flower and sigh or you walk by a deli and the aroma causes your stomach to begin its grumbling for food. But sometimes repugnant smells appear and how do you not breathe in this caustic aroma. The CDC states that the most dangerous of threats are airborne diseaseses - there is no fragrance.

Our Lord is Beautiful beyond description and our Lord promises that His fragrance will bring life to some and death to others.

Our Great is our Lord.

Abba Father, how Great Thou Art. I come before thee in Thanksgiving. Praising thee and Worshipping thee alone. Lord I pray for each dear sister-in-Christ today and this week that she would see Your Beauty in all things and at all times; that she would be permeated with the Fragrance of Christ and bring life to all those that are in her life. Lord may we continue this journey with You. Protect us from evil (the unseen and the scentless). In Jesus Name, Amen.

May Your Journey Be Beautiful and Sweet This Week