TAKEN BY LOVE

SUNDAY IN THE SON

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NOTE: Today, I celebrate 40 years since my first date with Steve on 11-7-1970. I fell in love with Steve primarily because of the way I saw Jesus' love through him. In view of the riches of that LOVE and GRACE, I sing this song to Jesus!
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TAKEN BY LOVE

as sung by Kutless

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The world will fade away
As I lift my hands.
A King that’s worthy of praise
Is the Great I AM.
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The joy You’ve given rings out
As I lift my voice
I’m captivated by Your ways
so I will worship You
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You’ve taken me by LOVE
You’ve taken me by GRACE
You’ve taken me away
I can’t resist because
You’ve taken my heart
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All creation will bow to the risen King
All of heaven will shout
And the earth will sing
The joy You’ve given rings out
As I lift my voice.
I’m captivated by Your ways
so I will worship You
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You’ve taken me by LOVE

You’ve taken me by GRACE

You’ve taken me away

I can’t resist because
You’ve taken my heart.

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You’ve taken me by LOVE.

You’ve taken me by GRACE.

You’ve taken me away

I can’t resist because
You’ve taken my heart.

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You've taken my heart...
my heart...
my heart...
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You’ve taken me by LOVE.

You’ve taken me by GRACE.

You’ve taken me away

I can’t resist because
You’ve taken my heart.

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You’ve taken me by LOVE.

You’ve taken me by GRACE.

You’ve taken me away

I can’t resist because
You’ve taken my heart.

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You've taken my heart...

You've taken my heart...

You've taken my heart...

taken my heart...

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PRAISE YOU IN THIS STORM... FOR MY HUBBY...

KETCHUP AND MUSTARD SATURDAY

Catch up and Must Do

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Life IS hard, but God is good all the time!

The storms may rage, but God is good all the time!

Our enemy is NOT our God - of GRACE and TRUTH!

Our enemy is NOT our children!

Our enemy is NOT our spouse!

Our enemy is the devil!

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When life beats us down, the devil would love for us to turn and blame God or others. We need to turn our challenges, our struggles, our battles into praise and thanksgiving to the ONE who made us, loves us, and has extended us much GRACE.

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This weekend Steve and I are celebrating the 40th anniversary of our first date - 11/7/1970. This weekend, we are speaking at a marriage enrichment in PA. We come away from these types of weekends refreshed and encouraged. We have been through many storms together in the last 40 years. I praise You God for giving me Steve to share this journey with! God, You did good when You created Steve Sikes!

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PRAISE YOU IN THIS STORM... THROUGH PREGNANCY AND BEYOND...

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Get a bunch of moms together and you can be guaranteed that at some point you will hear stories of pregnancy, birth, and/or motherhood. Of course! This year, just among my own physical family and church family:

• Brenda's twins came six weeks early in February - they stayed in the NICU for weeks..


• Debbie gave birth to Jonathan in May by c-section.


• Kristy came close to death giving birth to C.J. in May.


• Our grandson, Perry, was born naturally (at home) in June.


• Mandy gave birth to Libby naturally in July after struggling with gestational diabetes.


• Our grandaughter, Kaleah, was born naturally and quickly in October.


• On Wednesday, Kristi gave birth to Caleb by c-section after an extremely rough, iron deficient pregnancy.

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It doesn't always work out as we desire... among those in my extended family...

• Jennifer has prayed and waited for five years to get pregnant. Praise God, she finally is!


• Stacia had a baby die in birth last year. Last week, Stacia lost twins at 8 weeks of pregnancy.


• There are others, including some of you who are where Jennifer had been... trying... trying again...

It really doesn't work out as we plan.... Just by looking at both lists above, you certainly can tell that there were some storms to ride. The emotions are high and the battle is tough. Yet, at some point each of these women have had to face head on:

"It’s not about what happens.

It’s about perspective.

I may not be able to change what takes place,

but I can always choose to change my thinking."

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God's perspective on this matter is clear. Proverbs, written with female pronouns, says it simply in 23:7:

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"For as she thinks within herself, so she is."

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What a challenge! The storms of life hit us, one right after the other, and we are tempted to raise our fist at God, to be negative, to run over people (often those who we love the most). We have to re-calibrate our thinking daily... hour by hour.... minute by minute...

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How wonderful to have the spiritual support of fellow believers to encourage, exhort, and support each other. Our church family offers a class for women every Tuesday morning, with babysitting provided. This past Tuesday, some who cannot attend on a regular basis because of jobs, were there because they were off for election day.

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A huge blessing was having Brenda (in light pink) and Matthew show up with their 3 little ones all the way from Japan.

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We all got to see her twins for the first time since they were born in February. .

Maggie and Lexi were thrilled to see each other again.



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Five of us went to lunch together (with 8 kiddoes in tow) and caught up as Mandy and Brenda shared stories of pregnancy, birth, and motherhood. Carla had plenty to share with three little ones still at home. Annette was getting ready to celebrate her 25th wedding anniversary with Dave the next day; she had words of wisdom!

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As Brenda held the twins, like an old pro, she talked about the challenges.... the storms... and the importance in how she keeps her perspective.

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It was a time most BLESSED! We all love it that because of Jesus, we are family!

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Yep! The next day, Kristi gave birth to Caleb Jeremiah! Thank You, God! Steve dropped by the hospital yesterday with this bear. Big brother Jason exclaimed that the bear was bigger than the baby! Let's get a different perspective in a few months.

Romans 5:1-8

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"Therefore,

since we have been justified through faith,

we have peace with God

through our Lord Jesus Christ,

2 through whom we have gained access

by faith into this GRACE

in which we now stand.

And we rejoice in the hope

of the glory of God."

PRAISE YOU IN THE STORM... EVEN WHEN WE FEEL POWERLESS...

TRANSFORMING THURSDAY
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This week, I've been thinking of the different storms I've been in throughout my life. My mind can take me as far back as the age of three. There are storms... and then there are STORMS. Here are a few huge storms that I have been in.

• AGE 3: I was on a ship with my mom from the USA to France. We were in the dining hall when the ship hit extremely rough waters. Dishes, glasses, and silverware all began to fly as people screamed. I CAN STILL SEE THE TERROR ON THEIR FACES as some crawled and others held on to tables. We inched our way back to our cabins in the darkness.
• MIDDLE SCHOOL: I was sitting in class, in Okinawa. It had been storming a lot. The lights began to sway back and forth; flicker on and off. As the class looked on with horror, books and papers began to slide; the teacher lost her balance. WE WERE TERRIFIED! The fact was that we were feeling the aftershocks of the earthquakes in Alaska and tidal waves in the Pacific.
• 1974 - HONEYMOON: On our way back from Colorado to Arkansas in early January, Steve and I went through some really rough weather in the Midwest: snow, sleet, rain, high winds... Eastern Oklahoma and Arkansas had been hit with ice storms. Many places were shut down and powerless. We were poor college students who had just spent our wad on our honeymoon. We inched our way toward Harding College, but after seeing hundreds of cars and trucks off in ditches, we determined to pull off at the next exit. Steve drove into a motel parking lot - full of vehicles. The car began to slip and slide. Steve knew he couldn't put on the brakes or we'd probably hit something. As Steve guided the wheel, I WAS TERRIFIED! We slid around until we stopped at the edge of the empty swimming pool. Once in the lobby, there was literally "no room in the inn". There were people sleeping on the couches, chairs, floors, and even in the stalls in the bathrooms.
• 1976 - STORM ONE: It was March of 1976. Steve was teaching at York College in York, NE. He had been accepted into graduate school at Indiana University for the fall. We'd been watching the Indiana Hoosiers advance in the NCAA basketball tournament since March 13. In Nebraska, on the evening of March 29, 1976, with blizzard conditions outside our house, we watched Indiana play Michigan (in Philadelphia) for the national championship. We never saw the end of the game because the blizzard knocked out the power and we ended up powerless for a week!!! We lived across the street from the girls dorm, where we later heard STORIES OF TERRIFIED YOUNG WOMEN with no flashlights, trying to find their way down the halls and to the restrooms. There has been a book written about the storm that took out Nebraska's power for a week. One of the links I found was HERE .
• 1976 - STORM TWO: It was the summer of 1976, when we went to work in Oklahoma as relief houseparents at Westview Boys' Home. On this particular day, Steve was driving a water truck out through farmlands and I was at his parents' house helping his sisters with cleaning. The storm outside was intense! The winds howled and the rain was heavy. It became eerily dark; there was stillness. We could feel the pressure. In the quiet, water began to pour in around the caulking of the windows. WE HUDDLED, TERRIFIED, in the center of the house. We could only imagine what might be happening outside. Suddenly, the sun came out and the rain stopped. The storm had passed! Stepping out the front door, we found that the huge, decades old tree had been uprooted! There, roaming around the yard, was a herd of cattle that had been across the highway (in a pasture) before the storm. We had just lived through a tornado powerful enough to uproot a giant tree and pick up a herd of cattle!

I'd be here all day if I were to write of the huge physical storms that I have experienced. In many of those storms, we were rendered powerless... without electricity... without light... for a period of time.

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I'd be here for weeks if I were to write of other types of life storms that I have experienced. In many of those storms, I allowed myself to be rendered powerless because I took my eyes off of Jesus. My eyes were on the storm or the darkness for a period of time.

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Yesterday, on this blog, we started our journey of memorizing Romans 5:1-8 by working on verses 1-2. I've written those two again below and then added some key words in the remainder of the 6 verses for you to see the thought process.

"Therefore,

since we have been justified through faith,

we have PEACE with God

through our Lord Jesus Christ,

2 through whom we have gained access by faith

into this GRACE in which we now stand.

And we REJOICE in the HOPE of the glory of God. .

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rejoice in our sufferings...

produces perseverance...

character...

HOPE...

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at just the right time,

when we were still powerless,

Christ died for the ungodly....

While we were still sinners,

Christ died for us."

Feeling powerless? Jesus is our power source! No need to be terrified! We must persevere through the storms... through the suffering. It is a transformational journey!

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If you did not read my Monday post about when the power went out this past Sunday morning during our church service, I encourage you to scroll down and do that now.

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PRAISE YOU IN THE STORM... LORD JESUS CHRIST...

Romans 5:1-2 tells us that because of LORD Jesus Christ, we have the hope of the glory of God. I read a statement on Facebook the other day that really stuck with me:

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People love Savior Jesus, not so much as LORD Jesus.

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Hmmm! That brings me to our first two verses in our month's scripture memory and I ask myself:

• Do I have complete faith in my LORD Jesus Christ?
• Do I have peace through my LORD Jesus Christ?
• Am I standing in this grace because I have made Jesus Christ my LORD?
• Am I rejoicing in my hope of glory because I have made Jesus Christ my LORD?

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Please join me today as we practice our scripture memory in this format:

1. Read it below!
2. Read it again, noting the bold words.
3. Read only the bold words: justified, faith, peace, faith, grace, rejoice, hope
4. Read verses again, but this time after every line say, "Jesus Christ, You are my LORD!"
5. Scroll down and see if you can fill in the blanks.

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"Therefore,

since we have been justified through faith,

we have peace with God through our LORD Jesus Christ,

2 through whom we have gained access by faith

into this GRACE in which we now stand.

And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. "

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Romans 5:1-2

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Therefore,

since we have been ___________ through __________,

we have _________ with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

2 through whom we have gained access by _______

into this _________ in which we now stand.

And we _________ in the ________ of the glory of God.

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Keep practicing this week! These are the first two verses of our 8 verse November scripture memory! Let's meet back here next Wednesday!

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PRAISE YOU IN THE STORM.... BECAUSE JESUS YOU ARE OUR FIRM FOUNDATION...

God, thank You that Your Word is TRUTH! Thank You, that we can stand... put our whole weight on JESUS CHRIST... The Way... The Truth... and The Life... FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH!

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On Sunday, our church family had an amazing worship service at our local high school (see yesterday's post). Then, we drove out to our new building site. We enjoyed eating lunch together on the grounds. Then, we gathered together for a "family photo". As we stood there waiting to pose, a bald eagle came up out of the trees and began soaring in front of us. What a sight! Another BLESSING from God! Again, our God was in the mix. This magnificent bird symbolizes hope for future generations of God's family here at this place:
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Isaiah 40:30-31

"Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the LORD

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint."

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There is a little fleck on the next two photos that is this magnificent bird. Of course, my cell phone does not do it justice.

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Then, we spread throughout the new building and began covering the "foundation" with scripture. What a project! Yep! That's our church family: an extremely diverse group of people who have come together, as a body of believers, to be THE FAMILY OF GOD.

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There were people in every nook and cranny. Transformed Mom, Melody, and daughter, Cassidy, headed for the electrical closet to write scripture on the floor there. Hmmm! I think it may have something to do with what happened that morning at services! (See yesterday's post!)

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I camped out in my hubby's office, writing his favorite scripture(s) and mine.

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Here are two of ours - both from 2 Corinthians: Steve's is in blue and mine's in black.

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To walk over, as Steve enters his office each time will be the Be-attitudes - a reminder of how to live a BLESSED life!

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Members of our family and friends also sent scriptures for us to write. I'll share them throughout the week. Crystal, our daughter, wanted to remind her daddy that she still remembered the scripture she put to memory in the second grade. Her friend, Shane, sent the verses from Philippians.

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Crystal, also sent others for me to write for her daddy. Interesting that the first one is a verse in the same chapter as the eagles' verses:

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"He tends his flock like a shepherd:

He gathers the lambs in his arms

and carries them close to his heart."

Isaiah 40:1

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“These things I have spoken to you,

so that in Me you may have peace.

In the world you have tribulation,

but take courage;

I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33

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"I have set the Lord continually before me;

because He is at my right hand,

I shall not be moved..."

Psalm 16:8

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"God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear,

though the earth should change

and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;

though its waters roar and foam,

though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.

The LORD of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah."

Psalm 46:1-3

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Other people came and went from Steve's office while I continued to write. Glynn wrote in one corner:

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Transformed Mom, Kat , used her artistic skills to encourage Steve:

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Transformed Mom, Noreen, wrote:

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Transformed Mom, Susie, wrote:

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"Mr. Steve" has many young people who are his friends. One wrote:

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I wish I could tell you what was happening in every room. All I know is that I am grateful to the believers who, this week, have chosen to proclaim that THE WORD is the foundation for their lives!

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"For no man can lay a foundation

other than the one which is laid,

which is JESUS CHRIST."

1 Corinthians 3:11-12

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Oh, and BTW, there were other sightings of bald eagles in the state of New Jersey on Sunday!

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PRAISE YOU IN THIS STORM... YOU ARE WHO YOU ARE...

MEDITATION MONDAY

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Yesterday was a day that many from our church family, here in Pitman, will meditate on for many years to come. It began with much preparation paved with years of prayer! We are on a journey to heaven and yesterday there were multiple signs of God's approval. Oh, there have been nay-sayers along the way, who have wondered why we are erecting a building during these economic hard times. From the beginning God was asked to be the pilot of all of it. Yesterday, we saw HIS GLORY AND GRACE manifested in many ways.

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Our services in the local high school auditorium began with the generator going out and leaving us in the dark. Only emergency lights! No microphones! No power point of songs or sermon!

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We sang songs from memory led by Brian K. We prayed. Brian M. led us in communion thoughts via the help of a flashlight. He shared about life being full of struggles... challenges... things we don't understand. He said that we often ask "Why?" like in the case of our daughter, Jessica, and her chronic pain and isolation or the death of Scott McEndree (a righteous man who left behind 4 little children and a wife). He shared that all week he had a scripture on His heart that He believed the Holy Spirit had put there for him to share with us. I began to have goosebumps as he began to read. You see, it was the same scripture that God had put on my heart the day before as I was choosing which one of several scriptures would be our scripture memory for November on this blog. I had posted that scripture Saturday night. Here it was, Sunday morning, and it's the same scripture Brian is reading. Read on down and when you get to the words in bold, note that that was what Brian was reading when the power came back on!

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Romans 5:1-8 .

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Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,

we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

2 through whom we have gained access by faith

into this GRACE in which we now stand.

And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

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3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings,

because we know that suffering produces perseverance;

4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.

5 And hope does not disappoint us,

because God has poured out His love

into our hearts by the Holy Spirit,

whom He has given us.

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6 You see, at just the right time,

when we were still POWERLESS,

Christ died for the ungodly.

7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man,

though for a good man someone

might possibly dare to die.

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8 But God demonstrates His own love for us in this:

While we were still sinners,

Christ died for us."

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My husband, Steve, will tell you that I began to laugh. For someone who doesn't have a great sense of humor, I know that my God does. I know He was smiling! Not necessarily because it was funny, but because we would know He was getting His point across to us in His way and in His timing.

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There was so much more! There are a lot of our church family who are going through some big storms in their lives. They need encouragement! God sent it to us in multiple ways through Steve's sermon:

1. I got an email letter on my Blackberry (right before the power went out) from my friend, Debbie, who is a professor at ACU. When Steve preached in Texas, her parents and brother were part of our congregation. Of all the families that we have ever known, her family is acquainted with suffering. Her email was long, encouraging, and inspiring... Curtis, her brother, who has suffered with Cystic Fibrosis for over 40 years has been taken to hospice. Embedded in the letter were these words, "He and I have had a number of good talks about the meaning of life, about death, and about his moving to hospice. As is usually the case, I began the talks as teacher and quickly moved to the role of humbled student. ...I remain always amazed by and grateful for the varied ways each of you has supported one or all of us, at times in ways I wonder if you realized. It's always breathtaking the ways the LORD uses us as instruments, even when we're not fully aware of our role(s). Thank you for your friendship." Notice the bolded words. Debbie did not know that she was being used as God's instrument at that time... Steve began his sermon encouraging our church family by telling of the lives Curtis and the Jay and Williams families. He then prayed for them. God orchestrated this across the miles.
2. Steve gave more encouragement to our church family about running this race strong to the finish by telling about the life and death of Roger Collins, a devout christian and devoted husband, father, grandfather, teacher, friend, track coach, and elder. I share more here at GIGATTAATTGIG. As Steve introduced his sermon from the book of Luke, he used the "excellent life of Roger Collins" to connect to Luke's beginning statement "Oh, excellent Theophilus" - Luke 1:1-4.
3. Then, came Steve's lesson entitled: IDENTITY vs. IDENTITY THEFT - it seemed evident that the devil did not want Steve's lesson to be preached either. He wanted us left in the dark! But God brought LIGHT back so we could see what Steve had prepared. Here is Steve's lesson handout with my comments interspersed in italics:

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• A. WHO ARE YOU? LUKE 4:1-13 The devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy! He wants to steal our identity! He tried and tries it over and over again with Jesus, too.

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• IDENTITY:
• 1. Lk 1:31-32 JESUS, SON OF _______
  2. Lk 1:35 SON OF GOD
  3. Lk 2:10-11 SAVIOR; CHRIST THE LORD
  4. Lk 2:26 THE LORD’S _______________
  5. Lk 3:21-22 MY BELOVED SON
  6. Lk 3:21-22 JESUS OF NAZARETH; THE HOLY ONE OF GOD
  7. Lk 4:40-41 SON OF GOD; THE CHRIST
  8. Lk 5:5-8 ____________; LORD

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• IDENTITY THEFT: LK 4:3, 9 “IF _________________”

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• B. WHERE DID YOU COME FROM? The devil tried and tries to get people to believe that Jesus was just a man "the son of Joseph" and not the Son of God.

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• IDENTITY: Luke 1:30-35

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• IDENTITY THEFT: LK 4:22 & 3:23 “Is__________?”

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• C. WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Lk 4:18-19 The devil tried and tries to get people to believe that Jesus cast out demons in the name of Beelzebub... instead of by His power, the power of God.

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• IDENTITY: Luke 7:22-23; 4:43-44; 4:38-39

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• IDENTITY THEFT: LK 11:15 “He ________________”

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• IV. WHERE ARE YOU GOING? The devil tried and tries to get people to look at Jesus as a man who just went around stirring up trouble. They did not understand the whole idea of a Spiritual Kingdom and that Jesus is and was, in fact, the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE.

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• IDENTITY = Luke 9:43-45; 18:31-33

• IDENTITY THEFT: LK 23:5 “HE’S JUST GOING AROUND _____________________UP THE PEOPLE!”
  

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We left Sunday morning and headed for an afternoon together as the family of GOD who were NOT having an identity crisis. We are convicted and convinced that:

1. Jesus Christ is God.
2. Jesus Christ came from God.
3. Jesus Christ was and is about God business.
4. Jesus Christ went back to God.

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As CHRISTIANS, we are His family:

1. We are the family of God.
2. We came from God.
3. We have been, are, and will be about God's business.
4. We are going back to God.

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Join me tomorrow as I gratefully share about Sunday afternoon. It will be then that you understand why I have posted the picture above on this post.

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