How did David deal with " Difficult Sheep"????

Have you been faced with difficult people in your life and feel like your not getting any better at dealing with them?
Do not be afraid! Romans 8:31 ...If God is for us who can stand against us?
Avoiding confrontation and difficult people is not what we are called to do. If Jesus avoided confrontation and difficult people where would we be now?
We are called to protect truth , show grace by encouraging difficult people to see the truth for themselves.
Have you ever had someone say "I told you so?"
Isaiah 40:3 "In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Make a way for the Lord!!!! Not people.
You cant go around telling everyone do this don't do that to protect them. If you do , what happens? It falls on deaf ears and you end up saying I told you so. We all have to WANT to see truth. Difficult people want truth too ,that's why there fighting . They just need a hint not the answer.
What did Jesus do?  After all God knew we all needed a hint so He sent Jesus for  an  example of How to love Him and others.
John 8.7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them.,"Let any one of you who is without sin be the first t throw a stone at her."
Jesus did not lash back at them! He waited and listened to them with His heart .  Did they really want him to answer, NO! Did they need Him to answer? YES!
What I learned was just because I can see the truth does not  mean others are ready to hear it. What they are willing to see is compassion , they let the guard down and its easier to help them .
Jesus did not avoid them, he did not walk away either .
He realized they needed a hint . He showed compassion!!!!He didn't teach a lesson on compassion. He saw a lack of something and showed it to  them . He showed compassion and helped them all  see right from wrong.
He basically asked them a question that led them to think for themselves..
Luke 5:23 Which is easier to say,"Your sins are forgiven,"or say"Get up and walk?"
Jesus again asked an honest question that  made people think for themselves.
We can simply motivate people in the right direction by asking questions that lead to the truth.
Did God ever let Jesus look like a fool? He made him look like the Prince of Peace.
Like David we are  called to be shepherds of our own flock of sheep. Did David get to choose his sheep?Who ever God brings in and out ,and in and out of our lives are our  very own sheep.
Do you think David ever had a stubborn sheep that wanted to stray off? Well , I'm going to say yes otherwise they would not need a shepherd.
David knew he was watching his fathers sheep.
God chooses who and why each person passes through our lives, basically He is calling you to be their shepherd.
David knew each one. God picked your sheep for you. He trusted them with you to know , protect and shepherd.
David was a good shepherd . He did not go around picking sheep up and putting them in a cage to protect them. He did not   go out in the field and play on his phone and wait till it was time to go home.
He fought a bear and a lion to protect them. He knew the sheep  were important to his father and he was willing to risk his life for the sheep that strayed.
Sound familiar? It should !!
 What did Jesus do for us?
I cant stress enough how crucial  and fulfilling it is to let God teach you how to deal with difficult people.
Jesus gave his life for difficult people. We are all have our moments.
When Jesus left us He passed on a gift.  The Holy Spirit.
So we can have him with us always . So we can deal with difficulties.
How can we really be appreciate and know the holy spirit if we do not in faith let  Him lead us from temptation and deliver us from evil.
If God is for us  ,Jesus is in us,  and the holy spirit is leading us ?!?! Who can stand against us????
David was first a BOY shepherd then a KING shepherd.
 How did a boy eventually become the king ?He knew his shepherd and his shepherd knew him. They had an unbreakable relationship .They spent Davids whole life on earth together.
Jesus spent His whole life on earth together with God .They have an unbreakable relationship. We must spend time with God building an unbreakable relationship in order to LOVE.
When I was learning this lesson it was difficult for me. I was a stubborn sheep. I tended to stay off looking for a purpose. It was difficult because there was no purpose.God  had no motive for creating me except to share love.God created man in His image. We are the only thing He created with a soul able to love Him back. Agape! No motives behinds your love for each other.Agape is the cup overflowing .Its so much love it flows over to humanity.
Take( I) out of everything you do for others and people are no longer difficult.

Agape -Just Because

My kids asked me who my favorite was or who I love more? I remember asking my parents the same question at their age. My answer was the same as my parents ,I love you both the same .I do right? I had to think about that one. The love is the same  I love them both to the max.
I love hunters determination .To Hunter( NO) is just a detour. I love Hunters humility. Hunters pride is in making others feel good. I do not know how God made someone like him come from me.
I love Olivia's inner strength.  Olivia is a young lady of her word. Her yes is yes and no is no. She does not lead you on or beat around the bush . She always seems confident in any choice she makes and it does not matter if you agree  , she knows its her choice and yours is your and respects that. If God said "Angie I am going to let you make your own daughter, you are in charge of hair color, strengths, height, etc." I know if I had all my life on earth and I had access to every personal trait known to human kind there is no way someone like me could have made someone like her. He did it perfectly and beyond what I deserve. Someday  I think I should get both my kids DNA checked. Just kidding!
There are different traits I love in them, but the love I feel is the same.
There are four types of love describes in the bible. I have read, studied and asked God many questions about each one. What I wondered first about was why four?!?! I wanted to know why not just one? All love comes from God , but each is as different as Olivia and Hunter are. To say one is more important than another is like saying you love one quality about God more than another.  He could have just had one but He loves us so much when He made each of us and put so much passion into each cell of our DNA. I mean after all each one of us make up the body of Christ don't you think when He was making His one and only son He was going to do it perfectly? He really had all the time ,not that he needs it . He has access to every trait of human kind and when He made of us he did not make one mistake . "We are fearfully and wonderfully made"he knew His love was a lot to understand so He broke it down into four ways for us to use for order in our life.

 Eros : Husband and wife
 My love for Kel  is different than the love I have for our kids ,but the love comes from the same place .I love Kel as much as i can but our love serves a different purpose and need.
Philia : Friendships
I have friends, I even have different groups of friends. I have casual, close, spiritual, etc. I do not love one friend more than another ,I do not place one friendship higher than another. I love each of my friends equally. They all serve a different purpose, that I need. I do not love my husband more than my best friend.  We can not compare one love to another. It would be like trying to compare my love for my kids.
Storg: Family
This is love you feel for mother, sister ,brother ,father. Again ,I love my mom but not more than my dad. I love and need them differently. There are different types of love, but there are different needs .All love comes from the same place .
Agape: I call this Just Because Love
Agape means selfless, unconditional,sacrificial love.
God says," Love is patient and  love is kind. "Why is it?
Why does God love us? Why does God answer our needs/prayers?
Is He worried about going to heaven or hell? NO! Does God do so much for us because He has to answer to someone some day?Why did He make us? Do you think if God helps us He makes more money or will get a promotion or will have more friends . God does not have motives behind His love for us. Agape is when we do not either.
I spend a lot of time with God, mostly asking questions just because I want to know Him. When I feel closest to God I'm not working for charity or at church I'm usually at home talking to Him while I'm cleaning.
 God shows us This love through Jesus. Jesus showed us how to love God back by giving Him your life.
I already did that .I'm  already His so I do not have to prove anything to Him .I can just be obedient and spend the rest of my life serving Him JUST BECAUSE. There are no motives behind why I love Him. He does not have to make me rich or famous He does not have to  grant me anything .I'm  content with just spending time with Him knowing, I'm not alone in this crazy world.
I want to be a reflection of His love so I love the people in my life just because God made them perfectly and beyond what I deserve.
There are four types of love each for a different purpose. God wants us to understand He can love each of us to the max .Equally , just like I do my kids. But we all serve a different need  and purpose for Him. Our purpose here is just because God needed each of us to love. Not to do great things .He can do great things. (through us)Just because He want to share true love with each of us. That  is why I want to share that love and be obedient now . We are already His !Rejoice!Love God just because through Jesus we can.

Love Is A Cure.....

With Valentines Day we hear a lot about love.
LOVE-noun-an intense feeling of deep affection
This is Websters definition of love. We all use this word everyday but how many times do we say it with this definition in mind?  I tell my kids I love you 50 times a day and I do mean it with the definition in mind. Every time God writes about His love for us in the bible He meant it too.
When Olivia has a bad day at school and comes home and tells me about it, I give her a hug , I hold her and tell her I love Her. The intense feeling of deep affection (mixed) with touch was healing to her.
Love-1 Corinthians 13:4.Love is patient,Love is kind.
This is Holy Bible definition of Love. Patient and kind are adjectives not nouns.
The world has its definition of love but God uses an adjective to modify a noun or describe it.
1 Corinthians 13 4-7 Love is patient , love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered , it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects,always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
God goes in great detail to explain to us what  He is and what  He is not. Then He gave us Jesus in that love.
Its like God saying I love you and giving us a hug. He's holding us now.
 It became a cure!!!!
I had a stomach ache and went to the doctor, the doctor told me what was wrong and gave me medicine and I took it and I was healed. What if I went to the doctor and he told me what was wrong and sent me home? What if I went to the doctor he told me what was wrong and gave me medicine and I did not take it?
I have to take the medicine to be healed. I have to do something. I have to reconize there is a problem , I have to seek help, I have to physically take the medicine.
Matthew 7:7 Ask and it shall be given unto you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be open to you.
Ask, Seek, Knock are all verbs. They are actions.
The words in the bible are words. They need to be put to action. God want us to know through Jesus we can do the words in the bible we ask Him to do for us in prayer.
Phillipians 3:16 All things are possible through Christ who strengthens me.
All the words in the bible God wrote are possible for us to do through the power of Jesus in us.
Mark 12:30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
Again God describes love is more than a feeling or a word. We have to use our heart ,mind, soul, and strength all of which are possible for us to DO through Jesus.
We all went to the the one and only true doctor because we were sick.(God)
He wrote us a prescription(bible)
We took the medicine(Jesus)
Love was the cure.
John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give you: Love one another .As I have loved you ,so you must love one another . By this everyone will know you are my disciples,if you love one another.
Love one another as I love you. God did more than just say the words I love you , He defined them . He showed us how much when He sent Jesus. Jesus showed us how to love God, But first God loved us. He loved us so much He Gave us His only son. He gave us a way to love others the way He loves us. When we love each other as He loves us, we become a direct vessle of healing . We can show others the medicine (Jesus) and the cure Love.
This may be Valentines weekend but God does not want us to wait to show love. He wants us to spread Love to each other everyday of our life in the things we do for another. God shared love with us for healing, share it with each other. Love is the cure.

Ask, Seek ,Knock, In Order!!!!

I really wanted to clean the garage one day. I knew it was a big job . I woke up one day went to basement and started cleaning. I was right it was a big job . It took twice as long  as I had planned and it was twice as hard as I thought it would be. I was exhausted when I was done. I told my husband what I did and he said,"Why didnt you ask me for help?". Why did I not ask? I did not  want to wait till he could help, and I thought I could just do it myself . We all think like this everyday. We think we can just do something ourselves and we do not need to ask for help. The truth is we can do things ourselves but it does take longer and is harder and in the end there is no enjoyment it feels like a chore. They feel like chores because we do it the hard way, how do we take everyday chores and turn them into enjoying our life as God intended? We need to stop thinking , we can just do something and we do not need to ask for help. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens me but how can He strengthen us if we do not ask?
ASK and you shall receive.......
My son lost his shoe the other day. I heard him yell,"Mom , can you find my shoe?" I could have just stopped washing dishes and went to find his shoe  but, I knew the shoe was in the house and he was capable of doing what he asked me to do. FIND the shoe. So I said,"Hunter, did you look under your bed? By the door? etc. I ran through a few ideas to help him while he was looking himself until I heard,"Found it!" I wanted Hunter to learn to he could get up and do exactly what he depended on me to do, all the while I was helping him in the right direction. We all do this every day in prayer, we ask God for something we need,  God wants us to know in faith get up and go find the answer , he will be there to guide  us in the right direction the whole time but he wants to teach us through him  we can do what we ask him to do.
SEEK and you shall find.....
My daughter is finishing her first year at cheerleading. As you know at times this squad has its ups and downs. We have had girls quit , we have won competitions and lost them. We have had agreements and disagreements. But now at the end of the season these girls have ironed out the wrinkles ,excepted their differences, learned to love each other, and finally are in sink. I wanted to plan a special day for the girls to congratulate them on a big finish. I text some moms and as I am making plans I always have the moms and girls in mind. I am thinking about them and what they would like after all this is for them not me. I am excited and for the next week I will plan food, snacks, drinks etc. All week Ill be preparing for a day to spend with them to celebrate them. I told them Friday after school be at the cabin we rented. So I am expecting to see them at 3 pm at the cabin. I 'll be waiting there getting things ready until I hear the knock at the door .Ill then yell loud with excitement"The door is open" There is a reason God wrote this scripture in this order.
KNOCK and the door will be open.....
If we ask God for help in all we do instead of thinking we can do it on our own, and in faith get up and seek out a way to do what he says to do, and know he is guiding our way until we say Found it, then we get to celebrate with him . He has planned a celebration for each of us, he is expecting us. Our journey through each lesson or season or stronghold we take with him there is a celebration in the end. We just have to ask for help, seek for a way to iron out the wrinkles , and know when its over the door to Christs heart is open and he wants celebrate your journey with you.

Born and Raised.....

Up until about 4 years ago I did not truely understand the phrase born again christian. Before I expienced this I counted myself as blessed because I have been a christian all my life .There was never a moment in my life I didnt know God. I was born into a christian family and raised by a woman who truely loves the Lord. My mother did her job, she told us about Jesus, took us to church,and taught us to pray about everything. She gave me the greatest gift a person can give another, a  christian foundation. The foundation is the base and how I go about building my own person relationship was then up to me. My true understanding was when I felt a foundation is not enough, I wanted walls, doors and a roof. I wanted walls to protect me against the enemy ,I wanted doors open to me to find rest in the Lord, I wanted a roof so I knew the Lord was with me and not out of reach. This was when my journey  , and my understanding of born again christian began.

I stood in my kitchen one afternoon, miserable ,upsest, and lost. I was in my every 30s  and had enough of trying to conquer the world. I felt like every step forward I took ,I took four steps backward.I had no idea  on an average afternoon when I was truly at my lowest and most vulnerable  that  afternoon ,that very second was about to become the greatest second of my whole life.That very second my whole life would change and here I was a puddle of tears,kneeling next to my fridge so sad I couldnt even look up to pray so I sat there with my face in my hands and through the crying said ,Jesus,help me. 

2 Corinthians 12:9 "My grace is sufficiant for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

I sat there and said Jesus, help me, I cant do this alone. Everything I thought I needed so badly in this world, nothing compares to how bad I need you. I hate this life and where I see it going, I hate living this life trying not to need you, trying to become a mature adult , a productive member of society, pleasing to all,to be independent , this life is a dead end and I am  at the that end. I want a doover. I want to start over and do this life right, not by the world by you, I want to need you, I want to be dependent  on you, to be pleasing to you. Please Lord , hear me I want you to take this badly broken heart and teach it to love again,take my eyes and show them to see good, take my mind and clear it,let me see truth. Reboot me!Amen.

Job 42:5-6 I have heard of you by hearning of the ear:But now my eyes see you "Therefore I retract, And I repent into dust and ashes.

I had no Idea  that day I would live to understand how Job felt and what he meant but at that moment  I did. I stood up wiped my face and prepared for shift change. It was about 2 pm and I was about to go from homemaker to mom in 1 hour when the kids got off the bus. That day I was born again.
Isaiah 35:8  And a highway will be there;it will be called the Way of Holiness,it will be for those who walk on the Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about it.
Matthew 7:14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few will find it.
Luke 13:24 Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you ,will try to enter and will not be able.
 Matthew .Luke, and Isaiah all encourage us to be born again in Christ. They encourage us to learn to become completely dependent on God.
It was not  easy, for the next 5 years I had to rely on God to help me perservere,. I had to overcome strong hold after stronghold, I had to break link by link of the chain that binds me to the world, each one harder than the last but I was all in. I did not want to quit and never looked back , fear of turning to a pillar of salt. I  was focused and I knew in my heart this was a marathon and I saw His face at the end and kept running.
There will always be more to let go of and more to overcome but eventually you are aware that the holy spirit is the one running beside you,  you are not alone anymore , He and all his powers are now alive and controlling everything  around you , the road, the finish line , the bi- standers , fellow runners etc.
Galatians 5:16 So I say walk by the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
God really wants us to walk by Him.
He wants us to be born to Him and each stronghold ,trial , lesson he leads us through is Him raising us to be like Jesus.
All I can do now is what my mom did through love introduce another to God ,and pray their foundation will be laid.

Eve was enough....

God created Adam and Eve. God loved Eve and she was enough for Him and Adam. There was no other woman  for her to want to be like.
We as woman compare ourselves to each other. We try to be each other , we even make role model of each other. We need to spend more time getting to know the woman God made us to be because we are enough for Him and others. We need to have Him as a role model , he can show us there is only one of you in the world, just like there was one Eve. He can show us we don't need to imitate other woman or compare ourselves. We are the one and only to Him and it's enough.

Rafeki , Lion King

Do you remember that feeling when the doctor hands you your first child.
I remember one second being in extreme pain and telling God I cant do this ,its to much pain to bare. A split second later ,I was crying in joy . When the doctor handed me Olivia I honest felt like the monkey on Lion King , (Rafeki)  I just wanted to hold her up and show the world Gods newest daughter. I honestly felt the the doctor and nurses should have been honored and cheering . It never dawned on me they do this multiple times a day year after year and this was just another baby to them. Well, I felt that same way all over again when I had my son. The pride and joy that second is undiscribable ,you just have to experience it to understand
I remember being so thankful to God and telling Him Ill cherish this gift,this child. It quickly realized there was no way I could raise her without Him, and I never wanted to. From the second I held her it was so important for me to hold her up to Him for every decision. I wanted to teach her how amazing God was and teach her how to build her own relationship with God. Getting her dedicated was mandatory,and when she turned 12 I explained baptism to her. I not only took her to get baptized ,but I did it with her. She is 13 now and I have had the greatest pleasure a mom could have by watching her build her relationship with God .I get to see her unique unbreakable bond with our King grow with each new day. I really believe in what God says when He  said do not hinder the children .I wanted to raise my children from day 1 to be dependent on God first, not me. Everything I learned from God I taught them,I am in awe how much farther ahead they are than I was at that age. I think teaching them, I learned far more from them than they did me. I got to learn pure hope and pure child like faith .
Gal.6 ;2 Bear one another's burdons and so fulfill the law of Jesus . I started fasting months ago and now I fast weekly and its a way of life for me. Just like going to church on Sunday morning or doing daily devotions , it just becomes part of your new lifestyle.Psalms 69:10 When I wept and humbled my soul to fasting , it became my reproach. I have always held others in prayer when I fast. With each week of fasting it was like being pregnant and all those months you become mentally prepared for the job that you will soon take. Well, Finally now when I fast and God lets me know who Ill be fasting for I feel like I'm back in the hospital as the monkey on Lion King holding the newest child of God up to Him. That same feeling I had when I held Olivia for the first time is how I feel when God tells me who to fast for. I feel that love ,I see this person as a child of God ,his son or daughter. I see there innocents and helplessness it all come rushing out of me as I hold this child up high in prayer and present them to the King. I just ask God to search there heart and breathe a new life in with His own perfect breathe. I ask Him to guard them and protect them and adopt them as His own. I believe God lets us feel that emotion of child birth and love and protectiveness and all the other feeling that come together to for an overwhelming joyful experience, so we can use that feeling ,that same love for another as we hold them in prayer. Unlike the world and doctors and nurses I believe God and angels do cheer and get excited a new child is presented. After the fast its like raising a child you always pray for them , you continue to be confident that God has control now and you wait in confidence for the day they begin to build their own unique relationship with Christ.
The reward God give me for fasting is compassion. He really does make your cup overflow. I feel like I have a active volcano inside me that erupts compassion all the time.God has so much compassion for us , and although we only experience a fraction of it , its more than enough .This compassion is the greatest gift I have ever been given and All I can ask God is, Who Am I ?Who am I ,that I get to be the monkey that holds these people up to Him. I feel like I did nothing to deserve such an honor yet He trust me with it.
Dear Jesus, thank you for this tool you have given me. Thank you for sharpening it with each fast. Thank you for letting the Holy Spirit take over because I know this would be to much for me to bare with out you. I may not see each person grow in faith and build there relationship with you like I got to see Olivia do ,but  I don't need to . I know you will, and I'm thankful for you and I'm thankful you put them in my life . Because of each other we grow closer to you. Amen. I hope this encourages someone to fast for another. I hope this encourage someone to let yourself love another as Gods child. If God came to you and said ,this person is my new child ,pray for them , wouldn't you?  He does, we just have listen. If Hunter comes home from school and says his teacher is mean to him, I fast for her. If someone is not showing compassion , they are starving spiritually, I know to fast. When I see another mom at the kids school showing little compassion if any ,compassion , I fast.where these is a lack of compassion there is a need for God. Matt 4:4 Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from God. Gal.6:2 Bare one another's burdons and fulfill the Law of Jesus.Phil 3:16   Yes, sometimes I feel like its to much to bare , always seeing a lack of compassion , its feels like my family is a magnet for negative , mean people, but when I feel like that, I remind myself of what Christ had to bare for me. That helps humble me, then I'm right where He wants me ready to  do what He taught us to do by example. What He made a commandment. Love another.Matt 12 .28-31 Law of Jesus . 1.Love God the most. 2.Love one another.
Dear Jesus , keep me humble and keep me strong as I honor your Law. Amen.