TESTIFY TO LOVE...BECAUSE OF GRACE...

WOMEN IN THE WORD WEDNESDAY

Ephesians 2:4-8

"But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved. .

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

...in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-

The above scripture just gives me another reason to TESTIFY TO LOVE!

TESTIFY TO LOVE... I'M TREASURING!!!!

There is something incredibly precious about the love of a mother. I became a mother first in 1981, then again in 1983, then 1985, and finally, in 1987. Our children are now all young adults, yet I felt my "mother love" in different ways the last few days as it was topped with the icing on the cake... the love of a grandmother (in my case, "the love of a Gigi")...

• Jessica lives at home with us and battles chronic pain, especially when there is a storm front (which seems to be most of the time the last year). God gave her a reprieve for a few days while Jordan, Jacqueline and Chloe were visiting this weekend. My heart jumped in my throat and I treasured each time I saw Chloe crawl a beeline for Jessica. She would crawl up on Jess's lap and they would "read" together.


• What a precious memory we were given to have Jordan, Jacqueline, and Chloe with us. I'm so thankful for this Godly couple who choose to put God first in their marriage and child raising! My heart is full of thanksgiving for having them here with us! I have stored the memory as a precious treasure!
• On their way home they headed into stormy weather and I tried not to worry and give it to God. Krista called later to say that Caleb was very sick... flu-like symptoms... I tried not to worry and give it to God. Crystal was on a weekend roadtrip with a friend from Michigan to Kentucky... an ice / snow storm has them currently stuck in Ohio. I'm trying not to worry and just give it to God!
• I can't think about the 3 of our kids who live so far away without my "mother love" trying to turn to worry.... I refuse to go there... I choose to pray and pray some more and count the wonderful blessings! I'm so thankful for phone calls, texting, emails, blogs, facebook, and airlines to keep us connected! And now there's Skype! And, when I get a chance to touch, hug, kiss, and be with my kids and grandkids that is icing on the cake! Thank you, Jesus!
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I love the scripture in Luke 2:51-52 that says about Mary when Jesus was 12 years old,
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"...His mother treasured all these things in her heart..."

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Yep! We have Jessica with us daily! We had Crystal home over Christmas! Caleb was home the first week of the year! Jordan, Jacqueline, and Chloe were just here! I'm treasuring! Krista is the only one we missed!
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I find the following scripture very interesting,

• Luke 11:27-28 "As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, "Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you." He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."

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Jesus, I love You! I love Your heavenly perspective! I treasure being with You and having You in my life - as we live together IN HEAVENLY REALMS!





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I pray that I continue to pass on to our children and our children's children what a treasure it is to yearn for Jesus as much as we yearn for food, drink, and to do the things we love to do!

"For where your treasure is,

there your heart will be also."

TESTIFY TO LOVE...RICHLY BUILT WITH KINDNESS...

MEDITATION MONDAY
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Yesterday was a very special day for this transformed wife, mom, grandmother, and child of LOVE. We were blessed with a short few day visit from our oldest son, Jordan, his wife-Jacqueline, and our grandbaby-Chloe. Yesterday, my hubby led us in communion and the teaching of scripture and my son led the worship in song as Jacqueline, Chloe, and I joined in together. I felt as if I were in the throne room as we all sat at the feet of Jesus. Rich!

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As our church family builds a new building, we've been spending a lot of time focusing on us as a church family, "the body of Christ", building ourselves up into "the spiritual building" that God intends for us to be. Yesterday Steve took us to 1 Corinthians 3:3-12. Here are a few things, in this scripture, that I would like us to meditate on today as we continue to look at living in "the heavenly realms":

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• if we're still experiencing jealousy and quarreling, then we are still worldly...
• we should all be fellow laborers... some planting.... some watering... as God's fellow workers... "the Lord has assigned to each his task..."
• we are also "God's field"... "God's building"...
• we must be careful how we build... we must start with the foundation of Jesus Christ...
• what are we laying on this foundation? Gold, silver, and costly stones? Wood, hay, and straw that will be burned up?

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Today, as I think about the precious stones that are going into "my building" and the "building up of the body of Christ"... I have to say that I testify to LOVE! Scripture gives me this perspective:

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• "God is LOVE." 1 John 4:16
• "And now these three remain: faith, hope and LOVE. But the greatest of these is LOVE." 1 Corinthians 13:13
• "But because of His great LOVE for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:4-7

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Did you notice the bold words in the Ephesians passage? God's LOVE expressed in kindness shows the riches of His grace!!! Yep! That's what 1 Corinthians 13:4 says, "LOVE IS KIND!" Now, that's rich! I testify to that!

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TESTIFY TO LOVE

SUNDAY IN THE SON

Testify To Love

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All the colors of the rainbow

All of voices of the wind

Every dream that reaches out

That reaches out to find where love begins

Every word of every story

Every star in every sky

Every corner of creation lives to testify

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For as long as I shall live

I will testify to love

I'll be a witness in the silences when words are not enough

With every breath I take I will give thanks to God above

For as long as I shall live

I will testify to love

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From the mountains to the valleys

From the rivers to the sea

Every hand that reaches out

Every hand that reaches out to offer peace

Every simple act of mercy

Every step to kingdom come

All the Hope in every heart will speak what love has done

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O-Oh Ohhh

For as long as I shall live

I will testify to love

I'll be a witness in the silences when words are not enough

With every breath I take I will give thanks to God above

For as long as I shall live

I will testify to love

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Colors of the rainbow

Voices of the wind

Heaven reaches out where love begins

Word of every story

Star in every sky

All creation testify

Mountains to the valleys

Rivers to the sea

Heaven reaches out to offer peace

Simple act of mercy

Kingdom come

Every heart will speak what love has done

Colors of the rainbow

Voices of the wind

Heaven reaches out where love begins

Word of every story

Star in every sky

All creation testify

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For as long as I shall live

I will testify to love

I'll be a witness in the silences when words are not enough

With every breath I take I will give thanks to God above

For as long as I shall live

I will test------------------ify

For as long as I shall liveI will testify to love

I'll be a witness in the silences when words are not enough

With every breath I take I will give thanks to God above

For as long as I shall live

I will testify to love

For as long as I shall live

I will testify to love

I'll be a witness in the silences when words are not enough

With every breath I take I will give thanks to God above

For as long as I shall live

I will testify to love!

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I AM CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST... AS ARE ALL THOSE WHO ARE BEING TRANSFORMED...

KETCHUP AND MUSTARD SATURDAY

Catch Up and Must Do

We could have taken our visiting family from KC, MO to a NJ diner for breakfast or lunch today. Instead, Steve ordered some Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches for pick up. Ketchup? Mustard? Neither? Both? Tonight, we're doing some NJ "fine dining" for "Valentine's Day!

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In spite of our joy of being with Jordan, Jacqueline, and Chloe this weekend... AND watching Chloe's curiousity...

...AND watching Chloe with Jessica...

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This is, in fact, a very serious blog post. For all of those who I mention below, I bring you encouragement with our scripture for the week:

Ephesians 2:4-6

But because of His great love for us,

God, who is rich in mercy,

made us alive with Christ

even when we were dead in transgressions-

it is by grace you have been saved. .

And God raised us up with Christ

and seated us with Him

in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus..."

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Please, please join me in praying, praying, praying for these difficult circumstances today:

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1. Difficult circumstances caused by anger that turned to violence: the school shooting yesterday at the University of Alabama at Huntsville directly impacts many people, some of which I met on our recent Huntsville trip. Remember the picture of Benja with her new friend DeLois. DeLois is VP of that university. She was interviewed last night by news bureaus about the tragedy. Pray for DeLois, her wisdom, and all others connected with the ministry of healing in Huntsville.




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2. Difficult circumstances caused by violence and hatred: LeGrand Strickland, as you know, was critically injured in a roadside bomb in Afghanistan on 2/2/10. LeGrand had to have both legs amputated. He has been in a coma. In spite of it all, there are many amazing stories that have already transpired since this tragedy. Transformed mom, Carrie, is by his side now in San Antonio with a strong worldwide support group of christians. You can click their picture over on the sidebar and link up with the already amazing Caring Bridge website that has been set up for this christian family. Join me in praying for Carrie, LeGrand, and boys.
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3. Difficult circumstances in the ongoing sickness of multiple family members at the same time: Bob and Susan Billingham have a teenage daughter named Grace. Grace, not pictured here with her parents, has had dehbilitating headaches for several years much like our daughter Jessica. They have done many of the same things for their daughter that we have for Jessica. We've compared notes and given each other encouragement over the last few years. Susan's aging parents are in constant need of Susan's support and care. They've been in and out of the hospital a lot recently. Last week a doctor found a small tumor on Grace's pituitary gland. They will operate this coming Wednesday. What a scary place to have a surgery! Will this be the answer? Why wasn't this found before now? Hope! Questions! Fears! Reliance on Jesus! Jesus, we believe... take away our unbelief!!! Please join me in praying for Grace and the whole Billingham family.

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4. Difficult circumstances in the sickness and death of a husband and father: Many of us have prayed unceasingly for Bonita McEndree since Scott went home to be with the Lord. Tomorrow, Valentine's day, would have been Scott's 33rd birthday. Their family is still pictured over on the right sidebar for you to connect with. Oh, Bonita, we love you! We lift you up! We want you and your children to live your lives here on earth "in the heavenly realms". Let us know what we can do for you sister! We are praying for you today, Bonita!


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5. Difficult circumstances in the sickness and death of a child: On February 17th, it will be one year since Connor Deal left this life because of MRSA. I have wrestled in prayer for Ron and Nan and Connor's two brothers who have been left behind. There remain 2 links at the bottom of this blog to connect to this family and their story. Please join me in praying for the Deal family this coming week!

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6. Difficult circumstances in the ongoing 14 years of sickness of a child:
Migraines continue for our daughter, Jessica. Here is her snowed in Mustang that is symbolic of her not driving it for over a year due to 24/7 migraines. Please pray for Jessica's complete healing this year!

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I AM CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST...FOLLOW MY EXAMPLE...

Yesterday there was close to another foot of snow on this sidewalk until Brian worked diligently to clean off our driveway and sidewalk. After all, if the Philly airport could get their runway cleaned off enough for the plane to land with our grandbaby, then we certainly wanted to be prepared for her arrival!

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Chloe spent much of today being curious and exploring. What a wonderful age 10 months is! With a little bit of thinking, she figured out how to get around my feet to get to her destination!

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She loves people and giving a myriad of expressions to different situations.

She is diligent in her perseverance to get where she wants to go. Today, she was learning how to maneuver steps.

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My prayer is that Chloe and all of our future grandchildren use their curiousity, explorations, relationships, expressions, and perseverance to get to know Christ and reach their heavenly destination. I pray that I am always able to say to them the 11:1 principle:

1 Corinthians 11:1

"Follow my example,

as I follow the example of Christ."

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I AM CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST... JUST AS I AM, I SURRENDER ALL...

TRANSFORMING THURSDAY...

And God raised us up

with Christ and seated us with Him

in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus..."

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Transformed people make their home in the Kingdom of Heaven according to Matthew and "...in Heavenly Realms or Places" according to Ephesians. Those are the only scriptures where those two terms are used.

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In Matthew 5, Jesus speaks what we call the BE-ATTITUDES. Yet, these foundational principles of Christianity would be accurately called the BE-JESUS verses.

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I'm going to list them for you in abbreviated form, only noting the promises when He says specifically "Kingdom of Heaven".

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1. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
2. Blessed are those who mourn
3. Blessed are the meek
4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
5. Blessed are the merciful
6. Blessed are the pure in heart
7. Blessed are the peacemakers
8. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
9. "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

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And did you know, my friend, that if you live this way, you will be the flavoring of choice and a light in the dark to those on the earth?

• Verse 13 "You are the salt of the earth.
• Verse 14 "You are the light of the world.

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It's a lot to think about! I've covered the Be-Attitudes on this blog twice since I began in 2008. Our first Be-Attitude discussion began in June of 2008 and then we started again in January of 2009. You can access those posts over on the sidebar. For today, though, here are a few of my favorites that you can link to that will lead you deeper into transformation. The first two are music videos by two of my favorite artists and the last one is the very practical teaching of The Be-attitudes. I really recommend all 3 for the "full effect". If you only have time for only one, go to the last link.

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http://momstransformed.blogspot.com/2009/01/just-as-i-am.html

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http://momstransformed.blogspot.com/2009/01/i-surrender-all.html

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http://momstransformed.blogspot.com/2009/03/too-blessed-to-be-stressed.html