How GOD Does Family!
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1. Transforming to really begin living as if GOD is in control...
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...This election has tested our faith. Yet, it is in the testing, the struggle, that we are forged. It is in going through fire that we can come out purified. It is in the searching for the words to articulate to GOD that we are trusting HIM...
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2. Transforming to be so in tune with GOD that He gives us the words to articulate our needs...
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...This is what happened Tuesday night after I listened to Mr. Obama's victory speech and then could not go to sleep. GOD gave me a scripture that spoke to my needs of the moment:
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Psalms 4:3-5 "The LORD hears when I call to Him. Tremble, and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And trust in the LORD. "
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And that is just what I did! Although, I tremble for the future of our world, I am happy that an African American has had the opportunity to become president of these United States. I must daily pray for him, his wisdom, and his family. I must daily live a righteous life in Jesus and trust in the LORD because He is in control.
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Others told me that GOD COMFORTED them with His word and gave them HOPE for tomorrow...
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Mandy, told me that as she lay in bed after the election results that she picked up her Bible and found two scriptures that she had highlighted on previous occassions. They ministered deeply to her. The second one was the one that we had talked about in ladies class on Tuesday morning:
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2 Chronicles 16:9 "For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His."
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3. Transforming from "a child of GOD" to "a child of GOD who is also His friend"...
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...I've thought alot about this since this past Tuesday, when Beth Moore talked about Abraham and Moses being God's friends. We discussed that just like with our own children, it takes a different kind of relationship for children to move from "children" to "friends". What does scripture say about who His friends are?
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Psalms 25:14 "The secret of the LORD is for those who fear Him, And He will make them know His covenant."
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John 15:14 "You are My friends, if you do what I command you."
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James 2:22-23 "And the scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,' and he was called God's friend."
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1 Corinthians 13:4-8 "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails.".
4. Transforming more and more into women who honor the differences in people...starting with family...
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...Last night's class on How GOD Does Family instilled on me once again that He puts us on this planet in families where He wants us to "be all that we can be". As we looked again last night at yet another way to "honor the differences" within a family, we looked at how people have different ways of thinking. We talked about different theories of thinking and then because of time constraints looked at Sternberg's theory that divides thinking into three broad catagories:
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C REATIVE: Try to solve new kinds of problems that require us to think about the problem and its elements in a new way (e.g., inventing, designing). Creative people ask many questions~ “Why? Why Not? What if…?”
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A NALYTICAL: Try to solve familiar problems by using strategies that manipulate the elements of a problem or the relationships among the elements (e.g., comparing, analyzing). Analytical people take things from whole to parts to whole…saying things like, “Let’s make a list of the pros and cons.”.
P RACTICAL: Try to solve problems that apply to what we know to everyday contexts (e.g., applying, using). Practical people often use words like “useful… need… where the rubber meets the road…”.
5. Transforming into Spirit Led physical, intellectual, relational, and emotional people who give glory to GOD in all circumstances...
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...the "hand" analogy, the poem, and our individual license plates were all culminating activities of our class that helped us to see the beauty in all of our diversity.
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As I have shared previously, Steve and I are very different on many counts. Yet, it is through these differences that we have learned and are still learning to let GOD mold, shape, and transform us for His glory:
- Physically, he's a Man...I'm a Woman.
- Physically and Relationally, He's a Middle Child...I'm a First Child who was an Only Child for a good while.
- Intellectually, he's ACP, yet strong in all...I'm CPA, yet strong in all
- Relationally, he's a Golden Retriever...I'm a Lion / Otter...
- Spiritually, God has given him gifts of teacher, shepherd, mercy shower...God has given me gifts of teacher, shepherd, exhorter...
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May GOD be glorified! May He be KING of kings and LORD of lords in our world, our nation, and our homes.
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1 comment:
Patti
I want to be found with a heart that is truly God's.
My gut tells me these next few years are going to be saw-sharpening years. I expect many will grow closer to God and stand up for right. This is my prayer.
My prayer is also for Mr. Obama and his wife and children. Prayers for spirit led lives, safety, a focus on Christ. May it be said that our first African American president was the most Godly president, leaning not on his own understanding but that of our creator.
Finding hope in Almighty God,
Mandy
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