Transformed Moms: EAST TO WEST...WE SHARED WHAT WE LEARNED BEST...

It is GOD who BLESSES and TRANSFORMS...

This is a blog for women (not just moms) who:

(1) Desire to be transformed by JESUS' LOVE, HOLINESS, AND GRACE;

(2) Believe that GOD'S WORD is the true Spirit food for HIS HOLY SPIRIT who lives within us;

(3) Submit to GOD and walk this journey of life with HIM transforming us more and more into HIS likeness.

It's a blog about the POWER OF TRANSFORMED LIVES. Let's begin with yours and mine and pass it on... 1 + 1 + 1...

Since GOD's HOLY SPIRIT lives inside a christian, let's choose to be nurtured and transformed by feasting daily on HOLY SPIRIT food - GOD's WORD - The Holy Bible..

My regular posts stopped in 2013, with a major move and the chronic illness and eventual death of our oldest daughter. Yes, we grieve daily, yet I am determined to continue to let the LIGHT of my LORD and SAVIOR shine through me. I have tried to start posting again, over the last few years, but have not been consistent. So, I think the biggest blessing for you and me both will be to intersperse some new posts while revisiting some of the former posts. Let's begin with "Oh, the JOY!" as we head into living through Fall 2019; meeting back here 1-2 days a week.

If you need daily encouragement, you will find plenty by clicky on past posts. When reading earlier posts, you will see that I often posted daily, following this format: ...Sunday in the SON, Meditation Monday, GratiTuesday, Women in the WORD Wednesday, Transforming Thursday, Family Fellowship Friday, Ketchup & Mustard Saturday.

There's a whole lot here! Take your time to browse.

Please come back and visit each week. Welcome!

Because of JESUS, we can be family,

Patti

Monday, March 23, 2009

EAST TO WEST...WE SHARED WHAT WE LEARNED BEST...

MEDITATION MONDAY

I so wanted to post earlier in the day but my teaching job needed my focus until now. What a wonderful, inspiring women's retreat I was a part of this weekend at Cape May, NJ. Before we left yesterday, we did two things. One I'll share with you today and one tomorrow.

Our weekend theme was "Too Blessed to Be Stressed ", a study of the Be-attitudes. We each wrote an "Aha! Moment or Thought" at the end of each session and then I collected written ones and many came up to me afterwards and said, "Here's one more AHA!" Since we are also talking about the be-attitudes on this blog, I think it would be appropriate to share some of the "Aha's!" that were given to me. If you were not at the retreat and you would like me to expound on any of these, then just leave a comment as to which one(s). Enjoy meditating on one or all of them:

BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT...

AHA 1: "It's all about Jesus, not about us!"
AHA 2: "My poor in spirit needed force feeding!"
AHA 3: "It takes me pouring myself out at Jesus feet."

BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO MOURN...

AHA 1: "Mourning applies to my sin...my comfort is God's forgiveness..."
AHA 2: "I am guilty of not taking sin seriously. I don't mourn over it like I should. I'm too quick to gloss over or excuse sin in my life and others."
AHA 3: "Never connected mourning to mourning over (ours and others) sin. I love this perspective. Do we really hate sin enough to really mourn over it? Valuable reminder..."

BLESSED ARE THE MEEK...

AHA 1: "The thought of helplessness...not anymore!" (Meek does not mean weak!)
AHA 2: "I am stressed when I focus on the physical and I am blessed when I focus on the spiritual. I need to keep my focus on God and let Him be in control!"
AHA 3: "Even though I always knew that 'God is in control'...It has been made much clearer that 'God IS in control!'"

BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS...

AHA 1: "How long do I go without spiritual food? Can my family tell?"
AHA 2: "If you hunger and thirst...you are looking desperately to be filled."
AHA 3: "I want to crave to be around righteousness...my church family, God's word, Bible study, devotionals..."

BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL...

AHA 1: "Mercy is not sympathy, it's empathy!"
AHA 2: "I need to reach out to our families with special needs more!"
AHA 3: "To be known is to be loved; to be loved is to be known!" (warts and all!)
AHA 4: "Love covers a multitude of sins!"

BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART...

AHA 1: "Purity is so important to God!"
AHA 2: "How do we become pure? I think of struggling with food related health issues. I had to go back to whole foods...foods that were (as my son says) 'the way God made them.' He's 8 and he can explain purity!"
AHA 3: "What comes out of the mouth comes from the heart...understanding the unity of the two helps me understand the awesomeness of Jesus!"
AHA 4: "I need a heart transplant! Jesus' heart...not mine!"

BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS...

AHA 1: "I've never thought of the different sides of peacemaking!"
AHA 2: "Give a cup of water or a bowl of chicken soup in Jesus' name!"
AHA 3: "Just like Jesus was the wounded healer, we can help people make their peace..."

BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO ARE PERSECUTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS SAKE...

AHA 1: "Without testing, there is no testimony!"
AHA 2: "We are the body of Christ but often the persecution comes from inside the body just like a cancer."
AHA 3: "Wisdom to know whether or not it's the right thing that I am standing for OR to know to say, "It's not right! It's not wrong! It's just different!"

BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO REJOICE WHEN PERSECUTED AND LIED ABOUT...

AHA 1: "Without testing, there is no testimony!"
AHA 2: "I thought that I was a spiritual person until I realized that when my life doesn't go my way I curse before I count my blessings!" (What do you do when you get squeezed?)
AHA 3: "Smiling, singing, suffering servant slave!"
AHA 4: "2 Chronicles 20 - God told the people to sing and He would fight the battle."

OTHER AHA'S OVER ALL THE BEATTITUDES AND "SALT" AND "LIGHT" VERSES FOLLOWING:

AHA 1: "I have not been seeing the 'big brother Jesus' traits in my family members. I am going to start looking for them and claiming those qualities about them."
AHA 2: "I need to listen to God more. After I do that, everything will be better...seek the kingdom first..."
AHA 3: "Continue to allow Jesus to transform me through the be-attitudes...then I will be salt and light..."
AHA 4: "Christians don't grow fruit...the Holy Spirit does!"
AHA 5: "Although we are different with different needs, we each have something to contribute that can be beneficial spiritually."
AHA 6: "I must keep praying and never give up!"
AHA 7: "We have to keep working through our stresses, keep putting one foot before the other."
AHA 8: "Count your blessings, not your troubles!"

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A Little History of this Blog:

A group of moms in Pitman, New Jersey began meeting every Tuesday morning in June 2008 to learn how to be Master-Full Moms. Although that class only lasted that summer, we have continued to have other classes for moms offered at the Pitman church of Christ. This blog will remain like an ongoing class. So, come back each day and join us as we discuss being God's women as we encourage transformation in each other.
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3 POINTERS TO NAVIGATE THIS BLOG:

1. Just below, you'll find a series of questions and answers about who Transformed Moms are.

2. Options for getting started...after those questions and answers... YOU COULD click on the June 2008 Archive, scroll down to the first post called MASTER-FULL MOMS and start from the beginning with our 14 day devotional challenge, or.... YOU COULD start with our summary of our original summer class and blog on the 8-31-08 post: SUMMER SUMMARY - SPIRITUAL, or... YOU COULD browse through the archive and click what looks interesting to you...and/or...
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3. You're invited to read recent posts and come back daily to join us as we are led by the Holy Spirit down the road to healing and / or transformation.

Thanks for joining us, Patti

2. WHAT DOES A MOM DO WHO HAS THE SPIRIT OF GOD LIVING IN HER?

… those who live in accordance with the SPIRIT have their minds set on what the SPIRIT desires …life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to GOD. It does not submit to GOD’S law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please GOD. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the SPIRIT, if the SPIRIT OF GOD lives in you…Therefore, sisters, we have an obligation… by the SPIRIT you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live… Romans 8:5-13

6. MOM, DAUGHTER OF GOD, HOW DO YOU GET THE POWER TO LIVE AND NOT LOSE HEART?

For GOD, WHO said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made HIS light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of GOD in the face of CHRIST.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from GOD and not from us.

We are:

· hard pressed on every side, but not crushed

· perplexed, but not in despair

· persecuted, but not abandoned

· struck down, but not destroyed.

2 Corinthians 4:5-12