1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings. Trials and Temptations 2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. 9The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 10But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. 11For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business. 12Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 13When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. 16Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. 17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. Listening and Doing 19My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. 21Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. 22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. 26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. 27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

” When I look back, I realize that for most of my life I had the Cart before the horse. I thought I could persuade God to love me if i Obeyed him enough and did enough good things. Now I understand that grace doesn’t cancel our duty to obey him, but accepting his unconditional sacrifice gives our obedience a new basis of operation. The law of God is no longer just an external set of rules but a law that sets us free.

The Joyful truth is that I have been set free to obey God! Now i can joyfully carry out his plan because I have been accepted as God’s Child and he has given me the power of his Holy Spirit to overcome, even in difficult times. I spent so many years working hard to be perfect. But I couldn’t do it. What freedom to discover that I could turn the reins of my life over to God, and that it is now his job to perfect me from the inside out!

Why is it that we women, in particular, fall so easily into this kind of deception about our relationship with God? That we have to work to present ourselves as acceptable to those arounds us, including our heavenly Father? Perhaps, it’s because we have such a desire to be needed. And we spend much of our lives focusing on others and giving so much to them that we lose our own focus in the process. With that mind-set it’s easy to count on the person who needs us to be the person who also affirms us. I’ve learned the hard way, through a long life journey, that God is the only one who can truly affirm us. After all, he’s the one who created us and designed a plan for our lives in the first place! “

- Betty Robison

Today as I was reading my Bible and Doing my Devotion this was the excerpt that my devotional book fell open to. I couldn’t have needed it more. For about a month now i have wrestled with Knowing and listening to the Holy Spirit and justifying it away by chalking it up to emotions, self preservation, and/or good ol hormones …..Funny thing is I could save myself from a lot of sleepless nights if I would just listen to Him the first time he speaks instead of waiting till he either screams in my ear or I fall on my face. This last week I went on a missions trip with my church High school group to the inter city of Fresno. My prayer going into the week was that God would give me clarity and that i would connect to him in a way that I hadn’t be able to in a while. Well my prayer was answered ten times over…yeah he’s that good …….The thing is  not only did i get the clarity that i had wanted almost in an audible voice from God but I also realized the things I needed to prune out of my life in order to connect to God again in the way i so desperately craved. As great as this was..it really sucked because there were somethings I just didn’t want to get rid of. I struggled with this all week which was exhausting….once i got home I had so much anxiety knowing just what i had to do in all areas of my life and not wanting to do them. Somethings have already been removed these things some by my own doing in Faith and some having been done by the Holy Spirit intervening because i didn’t have the strength or the Faith but Thank the Lord he cared enough to intervene…. and somethings have yet to be removed but are well on there way. The thing is I have learned in the last week and a half have been nothing like i have ever learned. Pruning sucks yes but it is so refreshing at the same time. My intimacy with the Lord has already increased intensely. I learned that the feeling I get when the Holy Spirit is telling me something is not emotions etc and to listen and obey …first because it saves a lot of drama and most importantly interference with my relationship with God and second He knows whats best always for us! My Faith Has increased tremendously and i am now even more before empowered by the Holy Spirit and confident in knowing where my identity lies and knowing that He only wants whats best for me. I have been encouraged by Philippians 3:8 which says “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ. “      so my friends the point to this jumbled heart pouring put onto blog paper is this

” ⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
⁶ Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

May you be blessed…

Today  wasa really rough day and i  needed encouragement and hope. I ran across this verse as i was reading the Bible which i do not believe was coincidence… It was God! I just love how he knows just what we need right when we need it! I hope that it speaks to you as it did to me and if not enjoy anyways

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Romans 5:3-5

http://www.crushcalculator.co.za/index.php?choice=crush&checklove=74296015

I have been reading this book by Blaise Pascal called Pensees….I would never have thought to read a book like this before except for that it came highly recommended by an avid reader friend of mine. Pascal as far as i knew was a math dude..not a philosopher…This book is incredible! By far the most quotable book i have ever read..other than the bible naturally. The other day i was reading it and this  really resonated with me

“Men despise religion; they hate it and fear it is true. To remedy this, we must begin by showing that religion is not contrary to reason; that it is venerable, to inspire respect for it; then we must make it lovable, to make good men hope it is true; finally, we must prove it is true.

Venerable, because it has perfect knowledge of man; lovable because it promises the true good.”

 Makes so much sense and is something I am challenging myself to live more by. Pick up a copy of this book…it will rock your world…well at least i hope so

Cheers

                      
Haiti trip fund raising dinner will provide funds to support the mission work that Dustin Veneman and his wife-to-be Annelies are doing in the region of Pasque de Bois, Haiti. The hurricane brought much destruction to the country. Water and food supply has been low and children have been suffering from malnutrition. Dustin and Annelies are working in the village clinic providing health care to the people suffering from various illnesses ranging from malnutrition to tuberculosis. They are also educating the people on disease prevention and sustainable agriculture. Deforestation is increasing which is leading to poor soil quality and therefore making farming impossible. This is all done while demonstrating the love of Jesus Christ and teaching the Gospel. May all things be done for the glory of God!

For more information on what they are doing please visit: http://haititrip.blogspot.com/

Hope to see you at the dinner! Tell your friends!

OK, Details…

When: Saturday, May 9th
Time: 6:00PM
Where: 2310 El Camino Drive, Turlock
Questions: 209-614-9045

Menu:
Appetizers, Tri-Tip/Chicken, salad, desserts and drinks (courtesy of Heather Seiber)

Silent Auction ending at 8:00PM

Live music

Cost: $20/adult and $10/child

RSVP is appreciated. Either by email (yramos82@yahoo.com or phone 209-614-9045)

Please send checks to:

Yvette Ramos (Haiti Dinner)
228 Parry Ave
Modesto, CA 95354
or
go to http://haititrip.blogspot.com/, 1. donate the cost of dinner 2. print and 3. bring receipt.

Thanks in advance for your support! Blessings!

Yvette Ramos
Amy Spencer
Alex Griepp

 

Father, I am seeking;

I am hesitant and uncertain, but will you,

O God, watch over each step of mine

and guide me.

~ St. Augustine of Hippo

Heres Some Pictures Enjoy….