January 30,2013

Good morning all-

I couldn't sleep and so I just praised God for a couple of hours.  Do you ever wake up around 3 am and wonder what do you want from me today Lord?  That's what I was thinking.  I have been woken out of a sound sleep before with someone on my heart and I have prayed.  It doesn't happen often but when it does, I pray.  The problem with this morning is that I really didn't wake up with anyone in mind, so I decided just to thank God for the stripes He took for me, for the plans He has for me and my family and for the blessing His life has been to me.

I can't believe how wonderful it felt just to praise Him.  I wasn't asking for anything or praying on behalf of someone else's needs.  I was just thanking Him for dying for me.  How often do we miss opportunities to do that?  I'm sure I have, luckily, I decided to praise Him even though I would have loved a few more hours of sleep.

In a matter of days and weeks our lives will be up.  We may live for 80 years or we may just have tomorrow.  If we can do anything with the time we have left on this earth, it should be to praise our Lord for the beating and the crucifixion He took for us.  I think in our daily struggles we become self-absorbed, we pout, we get depressed and we wallow in our own pit of despair.  We're human, I get that, but at the same time we should be looking up.  He's the only one that knows what it's like to be imprisoned, beaten and crucified for our sins, not His.  To be crucified meant you had to be a horrible criminal and yet an innocent man was put upon that cross for you and me.  I think that's worth thanking Him every day, don't you?

I know that it's a struggle to get out from under our mess to reach out and say, "Thank You Jesus for dying for me."  But it shouldn't be.  We should praise Him morning and night.  Many times throughout the Bible men moaned and groaned and asked for ways out of their circumstances but in the end, they found that praising God through them, helped them weather the storm.  Even the disciples experienced it when they were in the boat and a storm of hurricane proportions came up, do you remember what did they do?  They panicked one moment and were praising Jesus in the next.  Do you remember their words?  We should all remember with humbleness and awe how great our Father is.  From Old Testament to New, God promised His people a place by His side and He sent His son to earth to proclaim what was His.  One God,One Father, One Son and One Holy Spirit, joined as one to take the lost, the lonely and the destitute and make them great warriors for His cause.

Jesus is not some figment of our imagination; He is God!  People can twist the Bible and twist History but it always comes back to the same question.  Why would an innocent man be beaten, bruised and hang on a cross if He wasn't much more than a man?  I rely on that and know that as humans it is very hard for us to sacrifice our lives for anyone else, let alone nations.

So this morning, I am reminded of how very lucky I am to be apart of this crusade for Jesus.  I was once lost, lonely and broken and although I am forever a work in progress, I am the daughter of God.  I take comfort in that and so this morning is dedicated to praising Jesus for saving my life, for bringing my sons and husband closer to Him and for the ability to write and praise Him all day long!  In all honesty, He is the reason I get up every morning and live a productive life.  I'm not perfect and will never claim to be, mainly because my faults show how much I need a Savior.  If I was self-sufficient then I would lose all meaning of what it is to be in Christ's army.  I alone can do nothing but with Him I can do anything.

If you haven't taken time to praise Jesus in awhile, sit down today and thank Him for everything you can think of.  I praised Him for several hours this morning but just a few minutes a day thanking Him for His sacrifice will bring you closer to knowing Him.  As always, I hope this day finds you well and I hope when you're done reading this all you want to do is praise our Lord and Savior!

Leviticus 22:29 NKJV:

     And when you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, offer it of your own free will.

Amos 4:5 NKJV:

     Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, proclaim and announce the freewill offerings; for this your love, you children of Israel."  Says the Lord God.

Revelation 7:12 NKJV:

     saying, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. AMEN."

My prayer today:

O, Lord, as I laid in my bed this morning it was so wonderful to praise You for saving me.  I praised You for taking my iniquities, for the stripes You wore for me and for the sacrifice of Your life for many.  I praised You for my family, for the plans You have for all of us and for the blessings You have bestowed on my house.  I come before You again this morning and praise You for every single thing You do for me and for this entire world.  There are women that are looking for answers in their pain and I know that You are near.  Please reveal Yourself to the world and bring up women that sing Your praises.  If we are to lead the next generations I pray that we would share our thanks among every people and in every nation.  We seek You Lord and offer our thanksgiving.  We are humbled to be in Your presence today and I am humbled to be Your mighty servant.  Please help me today to be the woman You want me to be.  My goal in life is to love You more, show me how to do that Lord.  I leave this blog with one thought on my mind, THANK YOU JESUS FOR SAVING US FROM OUR OWN INIQUITIES!  You are mighty and I am loved.  In Jesus name, AMEN

Until tomorrow...