What in the world ?? !!

When in the world have I been?

Well, it's been a busy couple of weeks. So So sorry I haven't posted in a while. I am hoping to get back on schedule next week.

Please be in prayer for my mom. She fell a little over a week ago and broke her collar bone, and she is in a lot of pain.

Also be in prayer for each other. Another school year is just around the corner. A new school year, a new school (WOOHOO), some new teachers ~~ a lot of things new. But with the new comes changes. So remember each other as you prepare to go back to school.

I can't wait to see all of you again at the starting up of CYC in September.

Much love and prayers,

Dawn

The Mount Carmel Chronicles . . . Part 1

Today begins a very exciting story in Scripture. This particular story has always made me smile in some ways and made me very sad in my heart in others. It is such a contrast.



I would just like to begin by saying thank you for reading these posts. God has so been doing a work in my heart this summer and this study has been a great thing for me. It has caused me to slow down a bit and spend some time with God through Elijah's eyes. It is my prayer that God will speak to you through the Scriptures. He so longs to have a relationship with you dear child. It is the best use of your time ~~ ever!! So let's open God's Word today and let it speak to the deep places in our lives; Thank you Jesus!!



So please read (aloud :) I Kings 18:15-19. We backed up to verse 15 that we read last time because I'd like to point something out: Elijah kept his word. He'd told Obadiah that he'd be there to meet Ahab, in fact he says "As the LORD Almighty lives, whom I serve, I will surely present myself to Ahab today." (vs 15). Elijah was a man of his word.



Let's park here a moment. Integrity is an issue of great importance. The definition of integrity according to wordnet is: an undivided or unbroken completeness or totality with nothing wanting; so what is this definition saying? I really like this particular definition because of the picture that it paints. An undivided or unbroken completeness; a person with integrity is undivided in what they know is right; they stand. Listen it is not always easy to be a person of integrity, but we are absolutely called to a life of truth. Merriam Webster puts integrity this way : 1: firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values : 2 : an unimpaired condition : 3 : the quality or state of being complete or undivided : Elijah was a man who was undivided in his stand. He knew what God had told him to do and he was moving on with it. He was a man of action ~~ I like that!!



So In verses 16-19 we see a very interesting dialogue between Ahab and Elijah. Ahab calls Elijah "troubler of Israel". That word "troubler" or in the KJV "troubleth" means to stir. Ahab was telling Elijah that he was stirring up trouble. He was stirring the waters. But Elijah is quick to point out that he is not the one causing trouble for Israel. In verse 18 we see that Ahab had abandoned the LORD's commands and had started following the Baals.



Baal was a false god that the Israelites were lured into worshipping. Why idol worship? Why when they had the One True God who loved them and had proved Himself to them many times over their history would they stray from Him to follow a false god? One commentary puts it this way: "Many knew that the Lord was God, but they enjoyed the sinful pleasures and other benefits that came with following Ahab in his idolatrous worship." They knew who God was, but they didn't like His rules, they wanted to do their own thing and idol worship let them do this. Sound familiar?

In the world we live in today we may not bow down to images made of gold or wood, but anything that we let take priority over God in our lives becomes an idol. This issue of idol worship is of very great importance in the society that we live. We must be very careful in how we spend our time and also what we allow ourselves to think about. God loves us so much and He does not want to see us get stuck in a pattern of destruction, and putting anything above Him in our lives is destructive. God must be first in all that we think and do.



What is this saying to us? In verse 19 we see Elijah give Ahab a call to action. Bring the prophets of your so-called gods (900 in all); let's see what they can do when they go up against the One True God of Israel. So this is our call to action today. There is nothing that God cannot do, but He wants to be first in your life; He must be your priority. If He isn't, start today putting Him first in all that you do and think. He is so faithful my dear one, He will show Himself faithful to you. He loves you with an everlasting love. There is no one or nothing that is like our God!!



Have a Blessed Monday,

Dawn

Obadiah the Faithful

Isn't it interesting how often in scripture we find men and women willing to put themselves out there; willing to do things that might get them in big trouble or even killed. We find ourselves face to face with one of those people today, Obadiah.

As a side note, you might be wondering if this Obadiah was the same one that wrote the book Obadiah. Well, I was wondering that myself - and no, it does not appear to the be same man. Obadiah was a common name in the region at that time.

So who was this Obadiah? Good question; so glad you asked :) Let's go to the Word for our answer. Please read I Kings 18:1-15. Obadiah, we find out in verse 3, was a "devout believer in the LORD". While Jezebel was killing the LORD's prophets, Obadiah was hiding them ~~ a hundred of them in fact and hiding them in caves and supplying them with food and water. If Obadiah would have been found out they would have most assuredly killed him. But it is obvious from this passage that he loved the God, and was willing to try and protect those called by Him. Obadiah shows great bravery and courage in this passage. This would have been difficult to achieve, but he did.

Remember there is still a devastating famine going on in the land, so Ahab tells Obadiah that they are going to go looking for a patch of land that maybe still has some grass on it among the springs and valleys. So Ahab goes in one direction and Obadiah in the other. Obadiah ends up meeting Elijah. Obadiah knows immediately who it is (vs 7).

Now to me in verse 8 Elijah has a pretty simple request of Obadiah; "Go tell your master, 'Elijah is here.'" But Obadiah's response is not what might be expected from a man of God. He wants to know what he's done wrong that Elijah would request this of him. You see Obadiah had been sent by Ahab to look for Elijah many times, and each time when he could not be found, Ahab made that nation swear that they could not find him. So if Obadiah went to Ahab and told him he found Elijah and then he didn't show up, well lights out for Obadiah.

Well in verse 15 Elijah puts Obadiah's fears to rest by telling him that he would present himself to Ahab that very day.

Now what does this say to us today. To be scared or fearful? No I don't believe that is what it is saying at all. This was a very real situation to Obadiah. We read these things sometimes and because we know what happens, tend to think "What's up Obadiah? This is Elijah. If he says he'll be there he'll be there." But put yourself there for a moment. Obadiah knew that it would be lights out, sianara, if he said Elijah would be there and wasn't. So what's a guy to do? Trust God, and that is exactly what Obadiah did. We will find out next time how this turns out (unless you want to read ahead, which is soooooooo okay with me :)

So give it a try ~~ trust God with that problem; that thing that you just can't get out of your head or off of your heart. God has asked me to do that very thing this summer, trust Him with something that I've been trying to do on my own. So that is what I'm doing, trusting Him with it. No it has not been easy, in fact it has been very difficult, but when I decided to surrender this to Him He has so guided and helped me with it. So go ahead give that thing to Him and trust Him. He'll guide you dear one, He loves you so much.

Have a terrific weekend. Enjoy those city fireworks and be safe.

Dawn

Oh Where Oh Where is the Wednesday Post. . .

Well, let me just start with, I'm Sorry. I haven't gotten it done today. It will be back on Friday though. We had a refridgerator mishap - okay breakdown, and so I had to go get a new one today. Yes it is an excuse I know, but please know that I'll be back on Friday and so will Elijah.

Thanks for your understanding ~~ Have an Awesome Wed afternoon and Thursday,
Dawn

Taking a walk on the Obedience Side!!

I know the last post was a long one. There was no good place to break so I carried on through. Today, however, we will be looking at just two verses of scripture. Let's pray first:

Father, You are God alone. In the secret and the quiet you are there. And I thank you. Be with us, your children today. May you find us always faithfully serving you in the whole of our lives and not just one part. You are God. Help us to be all that you have created us to be. Now, open our hearts as we study Your Word. May we glean truth from every word written in Your Holy Writ. Thank you for the opportunity to serve You, Praise Your Holy Name. . .Amen

So let's look at our text for today. I Kings 18:1-2:
"After a long time, in the third year, the Word of the LORD came to Elijah: 'Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land. 2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab."

Well, in these verses we find Elijah in the third year of a "few" years drought on the land (I Kings 17:1-2). Now let's think about this for a minute. Where were you three years ago? Now fast forward your brain to today as you sit and read this post, what if for the last three years there had been no rain. How would your life be different today because of that?

Rain is a huge need for us in this world that we now live. Before Noah and the Ark the earth was watered from springs beneath. There was no rain from the heavens, because there was no need. But when God destroyed the earth with the flood saving only Noah and his wife, sons, daughters-in-law, and animals the earth was changed and rain was how the earth was watered. So to be without it is devastating to the land. Nothing can grow without rain, and if nothing grows we don't eat. Even in this technology driven world we live in, it is crucial that we grow food. Droughts leave the land desolate and empty, cracked and dried up. No life can grow in drought stricken lands.

This is where we find Elijah in this text today. Sometimes it is easy to think that since he is who God used to bring these miracles to fruition that somehow he didn't hurt or suffer in the midst, but that is not true. If you look back over the text we have read, he had a very hard time and I believe that if we will put ourselves in Elijah's shoes for a moment, we might better understand his predicament. So let's put Elijah's sandals on for a moment shall we? :)

Elijah was a man of God, that is certainly apparent from the moment he steps onto the scene in Chapter 17, but look at what happens. He goes to the king tells him no rain for the next few years, so yep he has to leave in a hurry, so the Lord leads him to a ravine where he is fed by the birds and given drink by the brook; the Lord takes care of him. Well, the brook dries up as a result of the drought, so he must move on. Drought brings consequences, but the Lord takes care of his us.

Then he goes to the widow of Zarephath via the Lord's instructions and the miraculous happens again and he is taken care of as well as the widow and her son with the steady supply of flour and oil. But then just when all is well and he's surviving the drought, the widow's son dies. Are you in his shoes? Uncomfortable huh?!! But God, (love that) raises this child from the dead. Are you still in his shoes? Can you imagine the joy and relief? Amazing!!

So now we find him three years into this drought and God tells him to go and present himself to Ahab. Can you imagine what might have been going through his mind? ~~ Back to Ahab? Lord if I go back he's going to dry me up!! Lord Ahab is one bad dude are you sure I need to go back there? Lord just let me pray here for the rain to start that would work right?

Listen God had a plan here and He has a plan for us, we must trust him as Elijah does here. So after verse 1 is verse 2 Hallelujah!! God told Elijah what to do and what would happen. Present yourself to Ahab and I will send rain. So Elijah goes. No hesitation. No relunctancy on his part; nope just obedience.

I love that!! Elijah's story screams obedience to us. God wants us to know the fullness of living in Him, and we can only know that through obedient living. If you are wondering what that looks like, you can find it in God's Word. We are studying the life of Elijah this summer, but I do hope that you will take this example in God's Word and run with it. Let me challenge you this summer to really study His Word. A great way to do that even while we study Elijah is to look at the references for the verses in the margin and then look up those references. If you don't have a cross referencing Bible it is well worth it to have one. When you do this, one verse lends itself to another, because all of God's Word is true, you will find yourself on a wonderful journey of truth which will help lead you to obedience in your life. It is a great way to study His Word.

Have a Beautiful Monday.

In Christ Alone,
Dawn

Desperate Hope

We saw last time how the widow had hope beyond her circumstances. She was in a hopeless situation, from a human standpoint, but with God All things are possible!! She believed, she had hope, she was obedient, she kept the faith, and her and her son was saved.

So that brings us to today. There are moments in life when you might be tempted to think; "Everythings good ~~ I'm doing what God has asked of me ~~ I'm in the center of His will ~~ no bad only good can come from this." But as we will see in this passage today, that is not always the case, but we will be reminded again that God's ways are not ours.

Let's look at today's passage of scripture: I Kings 17:17-24. So in verse 17 the writer tells us right off that this is "some time later." Now what do we know about the time they were living in at that moment? We know a great miracle was still being performed every day in their midst. You see there was still no rain. But in the midst of this drought season, the widow, her son and Elijah were being taken care of; oil and flour every day in the jar when she went in to make a meal. Amazing!! God was working and moving; they saw it every day.

And then the unthinkable happens. Verse 17 tells us that the widow's son became ill to the point that he stopped breathing. Now right here I'd like to stop just a minute. Just become still for a moment, get all other thoughts out of your mind and put yourself in this little house. Picture the scene.

A little house but neatly kept, everything where it belongs, a small fire pit for cooking, a small wooden block to mix and knead her bread, sitting on the block the everyday miracle of oil and flour, and then go to the bedroom and lying on a simple bed is her son, sick, really sick and now he has stopped breathing.

Elijah must have been right there with her. Scripture doesn't tell us that she had to go get him. Now hear the desperation in the widow's voice in verse 18: "She said to Elijah, 'What do you have against me man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?'"

These are two very interesting questions that she asks Elijah. First she automatically thinks that this is some how her fault. Why would Elijah have anything against her? She was obedient, she did all that was asked of her, and they were living in the result of that by being able to eat every day. And yet she asks this question, does he have something against me? In times of desperation one of the first things that hit our minds is doubt. She calls him a "man of God" and yet she is thinking she must have done something wrong. Because she has seen what God does through him, and yet her son has just died.

Now look at the next question, "Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?" It always comes back to that in our flesh doesn't it? Sin. You can just hear desperation in her question; she is heartsick. This makes no sense. God is making no sense to her in this moment. Why provide for her son just to turn around and take him from her in the middle of the miracle? She thinks it must be her fault because of her sin.

Now let's look at Elijah's response. Verse 19: "'Give me your son,' Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed."
Notice that Elijah doesn't argue with the woman and tell her all these great theological truths, no he just simply tells her to give him her son, and again this faithful woman was obedient. You see, faith and obedience go hand in hand.

Elijah is carrying this boy to the upper room, his room. Notice he doesn't take him just anywhere, no he takes him to his room. The place where he talks to God, his place and lays the boy on his bed (vs 19). Again get into this scene: The boy has died, the mother is beside herself, and Elijah has the dead boy in his arms; Elijah could feel his lifeless body, this situation was dire. He lays him on his bed and cries out to God. He asks God why this has happened and then he stretches out on the boy three times and cries to God and pleads with Him to let the boy live.

So in verse 22: "The LORD heard Elijah's cry, and the boy's life returned to him and he lived." WOW!! God is AWESOME!! This is the first recorded raised from death to life miracle that we see in the Bible. So think of this a moment, if this is the first time anyone in scripture is raised from the dead then Elijah would have had no past experiences to draw from. But what he had was faith!! A living, breathing, all-encompassing faith in God to do the undoable. And God sees the heart, He knew Elijah believed this way. There is no getting past God. If you struggle in this area of faith; Trust Him. Cry out to Him to increase your faith. He is God ~~ He is altogether good and He will do it!!

Now I do love a happy ending :) Vs 23 "Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, 'Look, your son is alive!'" Can you imagine the look on the widow's face. She must have been beside herself. I would've been. I do believe that this lady had GREAT faith. I think that while Elijah was praying in the upper room she was praying in the lower. I don't think that for a moment she had started planning the funeral. No I believe she was at least doing her best to believe in the midst of a seemingly impossible situation.

Vs 24 (I love this!!) "Then the woman said to Elijah, 'Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth.'" All doubt is gone!! Don't you just love that. God sees us right where we're at. He knows that we are human and that we have doubts especially in dire situations. He sees that but He knows us and He knows our heart, and He loves us even in our moments of doubt and confusion.

Let me ask you a question. When faced with an impossible situation, one so far out of your control it's ridiculous, what do you do? I've been faced with a hard situation lately, not impossible but difficult. I've done all that has been asked of me and still the answer has not come. I've been told now that for this area all has been done. So what do I do? Crumble (uhh I've wanted to at times), give up (no way, God is God), Believe (Bingo!!) Believe!! I love God He is altogether good and He is always God. I know this full well and I'm believing!! So let me encourage you today: Believe God!! Believe him for that situation in your life that you cannot fix. You've done all you can do, but it isn't working: Believe Him!! And then listen for His voice and be obedient!!

Have a GREAT weekend.
Much love to each of you,
Dawn

Hope beyond Circumstance . . .

I don't know about you, but my heart is full from the example of the Widow at Zarephath and her faith. Today I'd like to look a little closer at the faith this lady had. It was no ordinary faith!!

So let's open the treasure that is God's Word to I Kings 17 and read aloud (if possible) vs 7-16, and reacquaint yourself with all that was going on. And then let's land, if you will, in vs 11-14.

"11 As she was going to get it, he called, 'And bring me, please, a piece of bread. 12As surely as the LORD your God lives, she replied, 'I don't have any bread - only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it - and die.' 13 Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.'"

Elijah had told the widow to bring him a piece of bread (vs 11). She didn't have bread; she had all the components of bread, albeit in very small amounts, but not actual bread. So just a side note here; sometimes we have all the components of bread in our lives. We have some flour and oil, but if we don't use it; if we don't actually put it together in the proper increments it will never be bread; it will simply remain ingredients. So what ingredients do you have lying around in the cupboard of your heart that God is asking you to make bread out of? Do you have all the components, but not the bread? Bake the bread child, go on bake that bread :) !! And see how God will provide in your obedience!!

So let's land in vs 13 a minute. Elijah tells the widow to "Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me. . .and then make something for yourself and your son." She was to go home and do as she had said which would have been bake the bread and die, but first there was a stipulation, before she did that she was to make some for him.

So picture this:
Okay so you have only 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of oil and your going to make your meager bread and die!! And in walks this stranger. He tells you okay go home do what you said, but oh yeah first before you even make your own bread make me some. What? Okay now this would have sounded crazy to her. Make his bread first, but what about herself, what about her son, would there be enough? She could have asked lots of questions. Listen if this obedient widow had decided to do the "logical" thing; the thing that made the most sense, her and her son would have starved to death. Literally. Sometimes God asks us to do things that really make no sense to us. That may even make us look foolish ~~ listen to the world what this woman did would have looked foolish. She didn't know this man and she was giving him bread that she needed. But what she did know was her God. He had prepared her heart (vs 9), and she had listened and obeyed (vs 15).

Isaiah 55:8 says: "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways."

The simple truth is that God's ways are just not our ways. Left up to us we will do things different than God and we'll mess things up; we will. But if we will listen to the heart of God speaking to us, we will bake bread for total strangers and God will be glorified. Or maybe we'll make bread for someone close to us; someone we think can make their own bread, but God asks us to go the extra mile for this person, when really we'd rather not. God is God and His ways are not ours; but His ways are always best!! Always!!

Please remember though, that it is very important that we can hear the voice of God clearly in our own lives, and sometimes it is difficult to distinguish from God's voice and our desires. It is very important to spend time in His Word and in prayer and receive Godly counsel from people you know are close to God. God wants to speak to us and He wants us to be obedient to Him, but in order to do that we have to really know God. So I encourage you today to really get in His Word and let Him speak to you through it, and take time to talk to God. He wants to hear from you!!

What comes to mind is Matthew 25:34-40 where Jesus is talking about the sheep and the goats and the judgement that is coming, and He tells the righteous people that He was hungry and they gave Him something to eat, and a stranger and they took Him in etc., and the people wanted to know when they had done this. They didn't remember doing these things for Him, but Jesus tells them in vs 40 "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me."

This widow had very little, but a really bad circumstance and little hope of recovery from it, but God had another plan for her. He gave her hope in this dire circumstance. The hope and ability she had to be obedient came from God. She reached out and grabbed it. Logically speaking there was no hope that her circumstance would get any better, but in God she had hope beyond her circumstance and He provided.

Thank you for bearing with me for one more lesson on the faith of the widow in regard to provision. Next time we are going to go deeper into the faith of this widow as she is confronted with the biggest heartbreak and challenge of her life . . . so hold on for this one . . .

Not Beyond God . . .

If anyone had a situation that was dire it was the widow from Zarephath. When we meet her in I Kings 17 she is gathering sticks to build a fire, to bake the last of her bread for son and herself "that we may eat it - and die." I Kings 17:12.

There is no more helpless a feeling than not being able to provide for your child. In my days as an early mom I found myself in a serious situation. I had very little with which to provide for my child, but God helped us at every turn. I am here today, because God moves on behalf of His kids and this kid was away from Him at the time. But He still loved us and watched over us and God has given us quite a testimony of His faithfulness to us because of that trial.

The widow at Zarephath was about to have quite a testimony of the faithfulness of God. It tells us in the text just how dire this situation was. She was making the rest of what she had and that was it. She had no more. There was no more to be had. You can be sure that this weighed heavy on this mom; she could not take care of her child; she was going to make this bread and then they would eat it and die; what a helpless feeling.

Now grab your Bible and read I Kings 17:7-16. If you don't have a Bible or can't get to yours you can go here and read it in several different translations. Just pick a transation from the list to your left and put in the book you wish to read. This is a great way to read the Word; you can even pick the KJV with Strong's and it will give you the Hebrew (OT) or Greek (NT) rendering of the word you are looking at.

So I'd like to draw your attention to verses 13-16. Elijah tells the widow first to not be afraid. He knew that she was very afraid. If they were down to the last of their flour and oil I'm sure there had been rationing going on of this oil and flour for sometime, and she knew that it would be running out, so look at what Elijah tells her, "Don't be afraid." I love that. He sets her heart at ease from the beginning.

Now remember back in vs 8 that the LORD tells Elijah to go to Zarephath and stay there because He has commanded (appointed) a widow to supply him with food. The widows heart was already being prepared. And look what she does.

Elijah tells her "the Lord the God of Israel says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.'"

So look at what the widow does in verse 15, she obeys. She believed what Elijah was telling her was truth and she acts on it and obeys the word and in verse 16 we see that, "the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the Word of hte LORD spoken by Elijah."

So what is this saying to us today? God prepared this widow to receive from Him. He sent His prophet to her to save her and her son. This woman had faith and thus received what God had for her.

So how is your faith today? Has God called you to do something that you haven't stepped out and done yet? Let me encourage you today; take that step of faith. God loves you.

Remember nothing is beyond God. He is God alone and He moves on behalf of His children!! I'm so thankful!!

Have a GREAT Monday!!

Dawn

Obedience Revisited . . .

Well, hello all!! Ahh yes I do realize it is not Wednesday; it is in fact Friday and where is Wednesday's post? Hmmm . . . yep still in my head. But lets get it down on the Internet-superhighway shall we?

I think that perhaps you are sensing a theme with Elijah . . . yep you guessed it obedience. But it is not just Elijah that was asked to be obedient, but also the people whose lives Elijah touched. You see we do not live in a bubble. We were meant for living our lives with others. (Comes as a shock to all introverts everywhere . . . you know who you are:).

So let's open up the Word and see what in the world I'm talking about!! I Kings 17:7 is where we pick up our story and Elijah is now at a dried up brook. Remember God led him to this place after the whole, it's not going to rain for years, announcement to King Ahab. So the very place that God led Elijah for food, water and safety is now empty and he must move on. A very good point to interject here is that circumstances change. We are not meant to be changeless in our lives. We are an ever-changing people who serve a never-changing God. We can change when He leads us to, with confidence, because He never changes ~~ He's got it all in control!!

So we find Elijah staring (okay my interrupretation :) at a dried up brook and wondering (again my interp) what to do. So God tells Elijah to go "at once" to Zarephath to stay. He told Elijah He'd commanded a widow in that place to supply him with food. So I looked up the word commanded and in the Hebrew it means appoint. So God appointed this widow to help Elijah.

So we are going to stop at verse 9 and park a moment in these verses. (At this rate we'll be through Elijah's life by the time some of you graduate :)!! God has a plan for our lives. We were not just put on this planet to live unto ourselves. This widow had a son and they were in a dire situation which we will find out more about next time, but she had no husband, living in a drought stricken land, and yet God was about to use her in a mighty way, but she must trust Him. So do you? Trust Him I mean. If He says go here, talk to that person there, buy their lunch (a total stranger), do you get involved in what God is saying to you in your life or are you content to sit on the side lines and let others "more equipped" do the work?

God called this widow to obedience. He placed Elijah in her life and it seemingly saved her and her sons life, but she had to trust what God was saying through Elijah. No where in this story does it say that the Word of the Lord came to the widow, no it came through Elijah. Sometimes God will speak through our circumstances and sometimes through someone in our lives. It is very important that we stay close to God; reading His Word, praying, getting into a real relationship with Jesus the Author and Perfecter of our Faith is crucial to our growth and being able to hear God's voice clearly in our lives.

Let me encourage you today to spend sometime alone with Jesus. Tell Him all that is on your heart. He can take it, in fact He took it, all of it and nailed it to the cross He bore for you. You are not going to shock or surprise Him. He loves you; He gave all He had for you; you are safe with Him.

I love you all and encourage you to share the love of Christ with someone this weekend. Walk in obedience to the One who died for you.

In Christ Alone,
Dawn

Uncomfortable Obedience

The truth of the matter is that obedience a lot of times will cost you something. And very often it costs you comfort. If obedience was always comfortable would we ever get off of our Spiritual couches? Probably not!!

We are all about comfort in the instant society that we live in. One of my favorite places to visit is the library. I love going there and being amongst all of those books. But it takes a little savvy to be able to navigate the library. Now granted not as much as it used to, because now we do have the computerized Dewey Decimal system, but I remember when I was in college when it was time to go the library and research a paper, I'd have to go to a card file and look up the name of the book and write down the card # and go find the book on the shelf according to that file.

Now a days, in such an instant society, I go to the computer, plug in what I'm searching for and a whole list of possibilities come into view. A trip to the library in my college days literally was hours, and most of that time was spent trying to find all the books I needed on a particular subject to do my report. Now if I've spent hours at the library (which I do :), most of my time has been spent in the really cool cafe drinking a lovely glass of ice tea and looking at the books that took me all of 5 minutes to find (if no browsing was involved). Very little effort or discomfort is involved! But back in the college days a trip to the library involved hours of research, lots of time trying to figure out which book would be best for my particular subject and then when I found it I'd have to read a little bit of it to see if it would work. There were no reviews written on the side of my DD card.

Was it more difficult back then to find what I needed? Yes. Was it time wasted? No way. I learned discipline and patience from my time spent studying and researching in the college library. Was it comfortable? Not always ~~ trust me there was no ice tea at the library in those days, and you really had to be quiet!! :) So why do I tell you this story? Because as we open the Word today to search for truth we need to leave the instant gratification society at the door and delve into God's Word with no time limit. Let's not limit our self to a few moments with God today just to be able to say we had our devotions. No let's really dig in and spend time getting to know this God who loves us so much. Let's see through Elijah's eyes the way that God provides for His own and let's take the time to love Him for it.

So let's open the Word . . .

In I Kings 17:6 Elijah has found himself in an uncomfortable position, and why? Because he followed God. Listen sometimes we will follow God just like He's told us to and do everything right and end up in the ravine. Elijah didn't end up here out of disobedience, but rather out of obedience.

Let's look at it: Vs 5-6 "So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook."

Elijah was asked to do a difficult thing. Go to the King (the wicked King; the one that has the power to kill you on the spot), and tell him that the water spout of heaven is being turned off - for years!! Talk about uncomfortable. But Elijah went; he did what God asked of him, and then what? Did he get to sleep in the palace that night and eat from the king's table, I mean after all he did what God, the Maker of the Universe, asked him to do? Nope instead he had to go hide.

What? Hide are you kidding? He was obedient; he did exactly what God told him to do! What in the world is going on? Listen it is true that obedience comes with a cost, but it also comes with GREAT blessing. It is true that Elijah had to hide, and it is also true that he didn't get to pick out what was for supper, but God took care of Elijah personally. He made sure that the birds brought him bread and meat in the morning and evening and he made sure that Elijah parked himself next to the brook in this ravine, and God made sure that the brook had water. God had everything under control.

There have been times in my life that I have been uncomfortable because of obedience. I am in a particular season of obedience and uncomfortableness even as I write this. God has asked me to do something way out on the limb of my comfortable tree. And I said yes. So here I am out on a limb, hoping it doesn't break, knowing that God is in control and even if it does break He will catch me. Does it make for some uncomfortable moments?. . . absolutely. Am I scared? . . . At times, but God is in control. He is feeding me while I'm in this ravine of His leading. He's lead me to the brook to drink of the living water that is always supplied. I know that He is in control even as I've stepped out of the comfortable confines of my sturdy tree and have started climbing out onto the ever tenuous branches, but He's asked and I've complied, and now ? I'm climbing to the top where I know the view will be beautiful!!

Have a GREAT Monday,

In Christ Alone,

Dawn

The Obedience Factor!!

So have you read 1 Kings 17: 1-6? If not, grab the Bible off the shelf and open it with me. Can I just interject right here? (yep just bear with me :), but the Bible is the best book ever written. I know I know you hear that all the time, you see all the "my fav's" on different sites all the time and you'll see its the fav of a lot of people. But what about you? If you don't know take a little time this summer and get to know it. Treat it like an old friend, one that will never leave you, one that always sees you right where you're at, and one that loves at all times. Now your probably thinking that sounds a lot like Jesus, well your right, because when you hold that book in your hands you are truly holding the story of life; True life; Abundant life; Everlasting life sacrificed for you and me. It truly is the greatest story ever told!! God desires to know us and for us to know Him and through the Bible we can know the intricacies of life and the simple; the grand and the common; life and death; it is all in there. So pull up a chair, grab that beautiful Bible and let's begin a great journey through the pages of Holy writ!!

In I Kings 17 we find Elijah and the beginning of a fascinating life; at least in the sense of where it starts in the Bible. This is not the birth story of Elijah, no we are not told the situation surrounding that or his growing up years or even his years before Ahab stepped into the picture, but of this you can be sure, God had His eye on this one. Yep Elijah was going to be used by God in a mighty way. Now I don't know about you, but this is my hearts cry: "God use me!!"

So when you check out verse 1 Elijah is having a conversation with Ahab. Ahab was a very wicked king. This dude? Yeah not a nice guy. Elijah is informing him that God, The God of Israel, The Only God (the One whom Elijah served faithfully) was going to withhold rain and dew from their land until further notice.

A drought is devastating to the land. Where there is no rain, nothing grows; and when nothing grows, your animals do not eat off the land because it is all dried up, and if the animals don't eat they die and if the animals die there goes your food and if the land is all barren there goes more food and if it doesn't rain the streams and rivers dry up; droughts are devastating and Ahab of course knew this, so as you can imagine this was NOT good news, and it was NOT received well!!

So you can see in verse 2 that God tells Elijah to get out of town (Dawn paraphase :). But He didn't just say leave and go anywhere you want, no God told him exactly where he needed to go and even how He was going to provide for Elijah.

So look in verse 5 ~~ look at the argument that Elijah has with God ~~ go on look close ~~ okay seriously you could look all day and you're not going to find one; Elijah didn't argue; he obeyed. Just like that~~ God said leave the comfortable, go to this ravine. He didn't say go to the Hilton and hang out and dial room service, nope go to the ravine, and the Word tells us in verse 5 "So He did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there." Now how amazing is that?!! God said go and Elijah went ~~ love that!!

So we're actually going to look at verse 6 in our next lesson. I'd like to stop here and just ponder a minute. So what has God told you to do? Which ravine is He asking you to go to? And how obedient are you in going? Let me just say that God has asked something specific of me, and Praise His Name I'm trusting Him and He's working it out. I love that about God ~~ you trust, He works. Now granted this is something I've prayed about for a loooooonnnnnnnnnnnggggggg time, and to see it coming to fruition in my life is amazing, but it is not how I imagined it would be, but having said that WOW it is GREAT!! God is teaching me so much, but I would not be learning these things if I did not have the obedient factor. I'm sure Elijah had his human doubt moments, but he chose to trust God in this. God said go and Elijah did.

So let me encourage you today to be in the Word and in prayer. You cannot possibly know what God is calling you to do in your life if you don't know Him. So if your reading this today and you're not sure where you stand with God; if your not sure if your saved, pray to Him ask Him to help you and find someone in your life that you know loves God and can open the Word with you and show you the way to life. . .don't delay it is the most important decision you will ever make!!

Thanks for reading today, spend sometime alone with God every day. Don't let the busyness of summer get in your way of time with God. Your summer will go much better if you let God lead you to the ravine instead of the Hilton, if that's His plan!! He is God and He is good!!

In Christ alone,
Dawn

Short Week . . . Lots to do!!!

Just wanted to jump on and apologize for not getting a lesson posted yesterday. The short week has left me with a long do-to list. So please bear with me. I will try to post our Elijah study tomorrow and then start afresh and anew next week.

Thank you for your patience,
And have a restful day ~~ don't get to hot out there,
Dawn

Glad to Meet ya Elijah!!!

In this post we're going to meet Elijah. We'll find out a little bit about him by way of intro and then we'll be off and running on our summer study session for CYC. SSS for CYC if you will ~~ hey I think I like that ~~ Okay anyway.



So a little background on Elijah. He was a prophet in the northern kingdom during the reigns of Ahab and his son Ahaziah. His name means "The LORD is my God", representing the unshakable conviction of the life Elijah led. Elijah's life was centered on God and the conflict between the worship of the Lord and the worship of Baal. Elijah's mission was to help the Israelites find their way back to the God of Israel. Elijah sought to reestablish the covenant.



We're going to find in this study some very practical ways to serve and honor God with our lives. Elijah stood, but it certainly wasn't always easy. He faced many obstacles and opposition, but he was faithful.

I'm really looking forward to our summer together. I plan on posting 3 times a week, Monday (this is Monday's post for this week although it's Tuesday when I'm posting and Sunday when I started this post, hence the tag:), Wednesday and Fridays.

So for tomorrow we'll be looking at I Kings 17:1-6 where we'll look at the service of Elijah and the provision of God. So until then. . .

Have a GREAT Tuesday!!
In Christ alone,

Dawn

Introducing Our Summer Study!!

Well, hello all!! I am so excited to announce that our summer study will start on Monday. What a great avenue God has given us through this blog.

I've been considering what we might study and one thing keeps coming up in my heart: the life of Elijah. Even this morning as I'm getting ready to study, God is impressing this upon my heart. There are so many lessons we can learn from the dedication and devotion Elijah exemplified in his life. So open up your Bibles with me this summer; it's going to be a great study and time to walk ever-increasingly towards God.

Hope your summer is going great so far. Thank you for letting CYC be a part of it!!

In Christ Alone,
Dawn

Let the Summer Begin. . .

Well, it's official school for this year is done ~~ Congrats!! Thank you to everyone who came over for the end-of-school party!! We had so much fun hanging out and sharing a meal with you.

As summer begins let's think about some things:


1. What will I do over the summer that will help me get closer to God? My Answer: Read my Bible and pray daily. Spend time every day waiting on God and meditating on scripture.


2. How can I strengthen my relationship with my family? Spend time with them; quality time. Listening and sharing. Thank them for their help.


3. How can I be a better friend? Listen to them and be willing to tell them the hard things if necessary, but remember all things need to be done with love.

Okay, this is not by any means an exhaustive list, so be creative. Think of some things you can do to get closer to God this summer, and closer to your family and friends and think beyond the normal box.

Thanks for reading the blog and being a part of CYC.

Check back often as this will be our outlet for CYC this summer.

In Christ Alone,

Dawn

Congrats . . . Dear Seniors!!!

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

____________________________________________________________________

Okay I know I know, I haven't posted in a while. Been busy with uh. . .uh. . . okay I'm thinkin' here. . . uh. . . stuff!! You know mom's day, company, gardening, studying, parties ~~ did I mention parties?!! Yep Ashley's to be exact. We (Dakota and I) went to her grad party on Saturday, and what fun that was!! She had a ton (okay a lot) of people there; probably like 50 or something, all just wanting to honor and love on her. Because Ashley my girl, seriously YOU ROCK!! and Congrats!!!

Now to our other Senior Brian ~~ YOU ROCK TOO!! It has been so nice getting to know you this year. I look forward to see God work in your life.

We are soooooooooooooooooooo proud of our senior's and their accomplishments. God has so much in store for your lives. Stay close to Him; He will direct, lead, and love you through all of lives moments ~~ big and small ~~ Hold on for the ride of your life!! You will be thrown lots of curve balls, and you may fumble (like my football terminology), but God is faithful. He will help you; just call on Him ~~ He's always, always, always there for you!! He loves you!!

So here are a couple of pics from Saturday. Ashley you are a beautiful girl!!

Thanks for letting me post these pics!!

Ray and Ashley ~~ Too cute ~~ Seriously Too Cute you two!!

So are you ready for Friday? Yep of course it is the last day of school for this year, but it's also our CYC party!! So plan on coming right after you get out of school.

It's going to be fun, Fun, FUN!!

God bless and love you all,

Dawn

And remember:

Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Seniors and Finals . . .

Here are just some thoughts as you prepare for finals next week.

For some of you this will be the last finals you take in High School. You will find there are many finals in life. They are a closing of sorts - the closing of that semester or year of school - or for seniors they mark a closing on a big chapter of your life.

And in life you will find it is the same. You do not stay in one chapter in your life - that is not the way God designed it. In order for there to be growth in your life, there must be change; and only God brings about the lasting change that we so desperately need in our lives.

So as the seasons of your life come and go, and you take another final to close that chapter remember, the next season is at hand ready to get started, ready for exploration, ready for you. Let God lead you in all you do through every season and every final.

Jesus said in Matt 28:20 "And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age."

I love you all so much!! And can't wait to see you in CYC on Friday.

In Christ Alone,
Dawn

National Day of Prayer!!

Good Morning All!! Today is the 57th annual National Day of Prayer. A day when we gather as a nation in unity to pray: pray for our nation, our leaders and the salvation of the lost around the world.

The scripture this year is:
Psalm 28:7 "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy, and I will give thanks to Him in song."

God is our strength and shield. He is our ever-present help in time of need. I don't know what you're facing today, but our great and mighty God knows. He is your help; your strength; your shield. Let His unfailing love wrap you into Him today.

In Christ Alone,

Dawn

An Evening under the Stars!!

Creation Science Club

presents

An Evening Under the Stars!!

You and your family are invited to this year's grand finale night!!

DATE: SATURDAY, MAY 3rd, 2008

TIME: 6:30 PM

PLACE: CMS CAFETERIA

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands."

Psalm 19:1

There will be a video from the Creation Museum planetarium, Praise and Worship time, and a time to expore God's handiwork through telescopes.

We'd love to have you!!

RSVP: Please let Kevin or Brian Auberry know if you are planning to attend.

Flex your spiritual muscles through Prayer!!

Prayer is essential if you really want to be close to God. If you desire to have that deep, abiding relationship, you must pray, if you want to see God work in your life you must pray.

Thursday is the 57th annual National Day of Prayer. I had no idea that this has been an annual event for 57 years now. The chairman for the National Day of Prayer is Shirley Dobson, wife of James Dobson. This year's speaker is Ravi Zachirias (one of my husband's favoites!!). So why do I tell you this? Well this Thursday, May 1st we will meet in front of the Middle School flag pole for prayer; prayer for our nation and the many obstacles we face, prayer for our military and their family, prayer for each other. This is a very important day for our nation, but let this cultivate within us an attitude of prayer not just a moment of prayer. May our hearts be so moved to action by an ongoing relationship with Father God that we are never the same.

You see this attitude of prayer is what I believe Paul was saying when he told us to "pray without ceasing". He wasn't meaning to just be in your prayer closet all day every day and never venture any further, but I believe that he was saying stay in an attitude of prayer and worship to God. Be ready for any opportunity that arises to share the Good News with others; be ready to offer hope to the hopeless and peace to the troubled; be ready to stretch out your hand and heart to another; be ready to lift the broken by a kind word or deed. But if you and I are going to be this kind of ready, we must be people of prayer.

So let me just encourage you to pray today. Find a quiet place to get alone with God and pour your heart out to Him, and then take time to sit in His presence and listen for guidance and help. He loves you so much!!

Have a terrific week!!

In Christ Alone,

Dawn

For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power and the Glory. . .

What a great lesson on Friday!! You Rock Carrie!! (I say that a lot and it's always true:)

Prayer is a topic that people have a lot of opinions on and a lot of guilt over. Some try to rationalize why they don't pray and still others think that prayers are necessary when you have a problem, but when things are going good, well isn't that when we can handle it?!! OH boy now that can get us into trouble ~~ can I get an Amen!! :)

In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Paul tells us to pray continually or to pray without ceasing. So what does that mean? I'm going to wait to give you my understanding of this verse, because I'd like to hear what you think this means, and ways that we can go about doing this. So let me know what you think.

Also, since we're on the topic of prayer what do you think is the biggest obstacle to having an effective prayer life? What holds you back? Or what is it that maybe you don't understand or that is hard when it comes to prayer?

This is a topic that I have struggled with in my Christian walk, and yet it is absolutely crucial to living a victorious Christian life!! God has really helped me to overcome the sin of praylessness. He so wonderfully has guided me and taught me the importance of this discipline in my life. When you pray you are building a relationship with the One who gave it all for you. . .how absolutely cool is that?!!!

So this is a great subject to really dig in and discuss ~~ so let me know what you think.

You guys are so terrific and yes YOU ROCK TOO!!
Thank you for reading and I look forward to your responses,

In Christ Alone,
Dawn

Amazing Truth!!

In our lesson on Friday, we talked about Paul being chained to the Roman soldier, or as Paul saw it, the Roman soldier being chained to him. What an unlikely opportunity to witness for Christ. Listen to Colossians 4:5, "Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity." Those are Paul's words and in Ephesians 6 Paul is living them out in color!! Amazing!!

You see, it is the truth of Jesus Christ that transforms a person. And we see this being lived out in Paul's life, and it cost him everything.

When we first read about Paul in Acts his name is Saul and he is a persecutor of the church. Yep, he was one bad dude!! He persecuted Christians because they believed that Jesus Christ was the only way to God, but Saul was a (self-proclaimed) Hebrew of Hebrews, he didn't believe that Jesus was who the Christians said He was. Paul was legalistic to the core, but then. . . Yep Damascus and everything changed!!

He was blinded by the light of Christ and His heart captured by the One who would capture Him for eternity ~~ He no longer was Saul, but Paul. He was blinded for three days and then studied in relative obscurity for three years, and then he set out to evangelize; to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified as the only way to God for Jews and Gentiles. And that is good news for us!!!!!

Paul understood heartache and pain. He knew persecution and abandonment, and yet he was willing to endure it all for the cause of Christ. He knew that Jesus was The Way, The Truth, and The Life, just as He had taught when He walked the earth. Paul was a follower of Christ and led many to Him.

Most people if chained to a Roman soldier would not have responded as Paul did. So what do you think made him different? He was an extraordinary man.

So what is our response to such a call as Paul's to make the most of every opportunity? I would love to hear some of your thoughts on this verse.

In Christ Alone,

Dawn

In the Secret. . .In the Quiet. . .

Psalm 131:2 "But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me."

Since we have been talking about testimonies, I'd like to interject another thought. Testimonies are brought forth out of the experiences we've had with God. When God gives us a testimony it is because He has done something for us. We heard testimonies Friday on salvation, the beginning of our lives in Christ, but we also heard a testimony about how God was using Jabez to further build relationship with Him, because of time spent learning more about the Savior. That is what this post is about; spending time with the Savior.

Growing and walking with God takes discipline, but it also takes sacrifice. In a lot of instances that sacrifice involves time. We have our day planned out, we go here and there doing, most of the time, what we "need"/want to get done, but have we considered God in our day?

For a very long time I struggled with the issue of prayer. I know that probably seems odd, but it was just hard for me to quiet myself down. There were constant to-do lists in my head, there was also this feeling of inferiority constantly on me, and then there was just me - my flesh wanting to do other things. But in more recent times, prayer has become key to hearing from God and living a victorious life in Him. I certainly do not always get it right, but when I pray God helps me. He helps me be the child of His, He created in His image to fulfill the unique plan that only He could have designed for my life.

I want to encourage you today to take time alone with God. Get somewhere that is quiet, without any distractions and just still yourself before Him for a few minutes. And then just begin to praise Him and let your prayers flow from the place of peace and security that you find in moments with your Savior.

In Christ alone,

Dawn

Testimony of Truth . . . Let the Record Show . . .

So, what is your testimony? Maybe today your thinking "I don't really have a testimony, my life is just kind of okay." Be encouraged, if the only testimony you can ever give is that He saved you, oh my goodness, that is the best. You have a testimony to give, no one can take it from you, be bold to stand and give it, because our testimonies help us overcome. (Revelation 12:11)

When we give a testimony about the goodness and the faithfulness of our Lord, He is praised and honored. When we live our lives in such a way that they are a testimony of the grace and presence of our God, He is praised and glorified.

So here is something for you to think about and comment on if you'd like:

• So we know that when we speak of the goodness of God in our lives it helps us to overcome the things of this world. With that being the case, then why is it so hard at times to give our testimonies?

I know for myself that sometimes it is just hard to say what is on my heart. Sometimes I am concerned about what others will think. So how do we overcome that tendency?

To all who were there this morning ~~ thank you so much for sharing your heart. I can't wait to hear more of what the Lord is doing in your life in the weeks to come. Please let this blog be yours. Comment, let us know what you think.

You Guys are Awesome!! And we love you,

C & D

~~ Our Maiden Voyage ~~

Welcome to Belief of My Heart!! It is the desire of my heart for you to be strengthened, encouraged and helped as you live the life that Christ has for you in Him. He is The (only) Way, The (only) Truth and The (only) Life. I have never regretted a day of my life in Christ. He teaches me more and more everyday what it is to be His. I cannot tell you the transformation that has happened to me because of the drawing of the Holy Spirit to become a child of the King.


I am a journaler (is that a word? :), and in my journals I write about many different things, but one of my favorite things to journal is what God speaks to my heart through the Holy Spirit. I have found it very important to write it down. On Easter this year God spoke to my heart with encouragement, peace and celebration. He told me that I was on the winning team, but He also spoke this to my heart that has captured me and I'd like to share it with you:


"Grab hold to that which has grabbed ahold of you. I will never let you go my child. You are mine!!"


So why are those words so meaningful to me? I have struggled all my life with feelings of doubt and insecurities. I have never felt good enough or worthy enough, and this encouragement spoke volumes to me, because He has grabbed ahold of me and He's not letting me go. Be encouraged today, Christ loves you and He's grabbing ahold of you; grab back!! Grab onto Him and watch where He will take you, it will be the best ride of your life!!

John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing."

In Christ Alone,

Dawn