Memory Verse 3

For the next two weeks I am going to memorize two short passages that focus on giving glory to the Lord for faithfulness and success. Many of you know that I have a home business as a jewelry consultant for Premier Designs Jewelry. I am in the process of setting some specific goals for 2010 to build my business into a full-time occupation for me starting this summer. I'm beginning to reach out to other women that could use the hope that the Premier Business Opportunity brings to them and their families. But, not one step of this process has happened without God. As I work hard and strive to build this business, I wanted to implant Scriptures deep into my memory that will help maintain my focus for Who is in control of this business. In that light, I will be meditating on and committing the following to Scriptures to memory between now and February 15th:

"Not to us, O Lord, but to you goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness." Psalm 115:1

"The wall was finally finished. . . . When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they . . . realized that this work had been done with the help of our God." Nehemiah 6:15-16

Comments-oops

Hello friends and readers,

My mom let me know this week that she had been unable to post comments on my blog. Now, I'm sure there are not thousands of you out there just dying to comment and you haven't been able too-but a few of you might have wanted to and found yourself unable to. In addition to comment moderation, I have accidentally checked that you had to be a member of the blog to post comments. That would be the problem. So, I've fixed that. Anyone can leave a comment, but I will still keep comment moderation up and going! So, if you were wanting to join in my Memory Verse commitment feel free to come back and comment now. :) Sorry about the mishap. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Storms of Life

*Prayer and groaning for the life of a loved one living far from God
*Doubt and resistance towards following the will of God
*Hurt and pain caused by fellow Christians
*Poor countries devastated by earthquakes
*Small east Texas towns turned upside down by tornados

Storms take all kinds of forms in our lives. Some storms are not all consuming. They ebb and flow throughout our days, weeks, or months dropping us to our knees for a moment in time crying out to Almighty God. These types of storms don't necessarily rock your entire world 100% of the time. They exist, yes; but they don't cripple. They are still difficult, but they aren't debilitating.

Other storms drop us to our knees and refuse to let us up for some given period of time. Those in Haiti at this time are experiencing this type of a storm right now. There is no escape from the pain and suffering. Those with a faith in God may find themselves constantly crying out to God because if they stop for even a moment the pain will overwhelm them. A tornado hit a small east Texas town yesterday. While the devastation is nothing compared to Haiti, to the people living there it rocked their world.

As Christians we experience times in our lives with both types of storms. Some all-consuming, some not. I am at a point right now where the storm is minimal. There are moments of hurt and crying out to God; but I am not crippled. I am not devastated. I am at a peak not a valley at this point in my walk. However, others around me are in the pit. Their worlds have been rocked, and they are hurting beyond what they thought possible. I find myself today praying for these people-especially for those in Haiti.

The following song is one of my favorites that has carried me through times of devastating storms. I heard it this morning, and couldn't help but praise God for carrying me through times of pain so intense I thought I'd never see the end. I pray for Haiti, those in east Texas, and anyone else experiencing strong storms in life that this song can bring comfort to you!

Praise You In This Storm by Casting Crowns

I was sure by now that You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away; stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say, "Amen;" and it's still raining
But as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain, "I'm with you."
And as Your mercy falls, I raise my hands
And praise the God who gives and takes away.

And I'll praise You in this storm.
and I will lift my hands,
for You are who You are
No matter where I am.
And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side,
and though my heart is torn
I will praise you in this storm.

I remember when I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to you and raised me up again
But my strength is almost gone
How can I carry on if I can't find You?
And as the thunder rolls, I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you."
And as Your mercy falls, I raise my hands
and praise the God who gives and takes away.

And I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your Hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm.

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth!

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth!!

And I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
Cause You are who You are, no matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your Hand
You never left my side
Though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm.

Though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm.

Memory Verse 2

I'm a little late on posting the memory verse for this second half of January. I had an incredibly wonderful, busy weekend; and I'm just now having a moment to write. The verse I chose for this part of January is something that I remembering memorizing in college. It popped up on my phone's Verse of the Day app at just the right moment last week; so, I felt it was worth revisiting and spending time meditating on for these next two weeks. There are some amazing things going on in our lives right now. I can't go into details yet on this public forum, but I can say that God is crafting an amazing story for Taylor and me. As plans for our future have been forming, we have been from one end of emotions to the next all the while speaking truth into this situation knowing God was in control! This verse directly touched my heart and emotions last week, and therefore I could not think of anything better to spend two weeks dwelling on than this.

"And we know that in ALL things GOD works for the GOOD of those who love him, who have been CALLED according to His PURPOSE." Romans 8:28

It's so very, very nice to rest in God's working and His purpose.

What is your verse for the last half of January?

Memory Verse 1

Last July, I began reading Beth Moore's Living Proof Ministries blog. I realized that last January she began a Memory Verse Team with her readers asking them to memorize 2 Scriptures a month. Here is a link to the 2nd Memory Verse post she made for the year. I never did get my act together the last half of 2009 to join up with her and the others readers. But, I committed to doing this on my own for 2010. I wanted to encourage others to do this as well. For the first two weeks of January (which are rapidly approaching an end) I chose a verse that I felt was a great launch point for the rest of my verses. Here is it:

"Since then, you have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." Colossians 2:6-7

In 2010, I want to:
-"continue to live in Him" by being daily in His word, continually reminding myself of His power, grace, and guidance in my life
-be "rooted and built up in Him"-The Bible refers to the power of the Word of God and by daily being in the Word and committing His words to my heart and mind I hope to deepen my roots and grow taller in Him.
-be "strengthened in the faith as you were taught" - Just like so many of us, my faith has peaks and valleys. Too often I find myself praying, "Lord, help my unbelief." I want my faith strengthened. I need the Word of God flowing through me in order for that strengthening to occur.
-"overflow with thankfulness" - despite peaks and valleys that each new year brings, overflowing with thankfulness is key to helping me faith grow through the times of trials and periods of wilderness. I am committing to finding abundance with which I can overflow in thankfulness.

So, my question is, would anyone like to join me? If so, please just post your verses in my comments section so I can see what verses are important to you right now as well. Feel free to comment on your verses if you'd like or to just post your Scriptures. I'm currently praying through what I should choose for the last half of January. Verse #2 will appear this weekend! Until next time, I will pray this verse over each of you!

"Since then, you have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness!"

It's a New Year and a New Decade

Question: do you like resolutions? Do you like starting your year with fresh goals and a "to-do list" of the personal improvement variety?

I've learned something about myself in the last year. I like resolutions and setting goals to improve myself. What I don't like is New Year's resolutions. I like resolutions a few at a time whenever it's time to tackle something new. Even if it's August 5th. I think one of the reasons for this is because a long list of resolutions makes me stressed out. Tackling a few things at a time to incorporate into my daily routine is a much better plan for me! So, having said all that, here's a list of a few things that I am currently resolved to make habits. 2010 is going to be a good year!!!

1) Start the day off with Bible study and quiet time - this is 5:00 am on school days. It's really hard, but it's amazing how much better and more Christ-focused my day is when I do this. I've been doing 5:00 am for awhile now; but am discovering I need to add to this resolution the discipline to do this on the weekends and school holidays when my routine is different.

2) Eat healthy and exercise regularly. Summer of 2009 my nutritionist and I made headway on discovering some sensitivities that I have to food, and I was able to learn how to eat in a way that better managed my IBS and chronic fatigue. During the holidays (really from Thanksgiving until yesterday), I didn't stick with it as well; and I'm ready to get back in the ball game. This resolution isn't about losing weight (although I could stand to lose about 5lbs-we'll see); it's definitely about taking care of myself so that I feel good and have energy throughout my life's activities.

3) Allow a change of activity to bring with it rest. For several years now I have developed a sense that if I'm not doing absolutely nothing then I must not be resting. Of course, there is definitely something to be said for being still and quiet and resting! But, I don't need a resolution for that one-I do that well. :) I am working on accepting the fact that sometimes doing something different than my routine can bring plenty of rest. It's been very freeing, and I'm excited to continue to experiment with this.

That's just a handful of resolutions for me. I spent some time over the break thinking about and visiting with Taylor about a few other things that for the time being are going to stay between my God, my husband, and myself. The Lord is really working on me these days, and I'm excited to see what He has in store for me!

What are you resolving to do/be at this point in your life?

Christmas 2009

It's January 1st, but instead of a post about resolutions and the New Year; I'm going to post about Christmas. I'll get to the resolutions and New Year stuff in a few days! We spent a week in ABQ, NM visiting mom and dad for Christmas this year! My grandmother came up from Corpus Christi, so all five of us were together. We spend most of the week talking, laughing, watching movies, cooking, and eating. It was fabulous! In the Lowery family it's been a tradition to have Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. This year we had another couple over to enjoy it with us. Joe and Anne Rose have known my grandparents since their college days. In fact, Joe and my Papa (Lowery) went to high school together. We sat for 3 1/2 hours on Christmas Eve and listened to Joe tell stories about those days and how my grandfather impacted his life. It was an incredible memory. We got most of it on video tape which will be a treasure always! It snowed for us 2 days before Christmas. It was beautiful, and I loved it! It turned out I would have had a little bit whiter Christmas here in Dallas, but snow is snow and 2 days before Christmas is good enough for me to call it a White Christmas! Though technically not our first Christmas as a married couple, Taylor and I thoroughly enjoyed celebrating the entire Christmas season as a married couple. It was so much fun and incredibly romantic, making me all the more glad we decided to get married at Christmas time. It's such a wonderful time to rejoice in the birth of our Lord and the love He allows us to share with each other all at the same time! I'm attaching a handful of pictures from our Christmas. The complete album is on Facebook! Enjoy!