You've been CHALLENGED!!

We've all done or heard of various challenges, like the ALS ice bucket challenge, that help raise awareness for a good cause and/or help save lives.

What if I challenged you to do something that would contribute to an even greater cause, one that SAVES lives in an even more powerful way than those mentioned previously?

I'm talking about a BIBLE VERSE CHALLENGE. Some of you are thinking: "seriously? I already did this when I was a child in VBS." But hear me out. 

We all have our favorite verses that we cling to and can quote at the drop of a hat. When a friend loses a family member - we often remind them of the 23rd Psalm. When a co-worker goes through a hard time, we quickly quote Jeremiah 29:11; and then when we struggle, we immediately turn to the Philippians 4:13. 

I have my favorite verses, and I'm sure you do to -- and there is nothing wrong with that. However, if you are anything like me, I have found that most of the verses I have memorized are those encouraging/feel good/prosperity type verses. Yet, when a nonbeliever or even the questioning believer asks me what I believe, I can quickly tell them....but, when they ask me why or where it comes from in the Bible, I ashamedly admit that I am often at a loss for words. 

That's real good witness right there, huh? Now, I'm not saying you have to memorize the books of Bible in order or know the answers to everyone's concerns, but I do think that it is vital for us to truly hide God words in our heart and truly be able to give an account for the hope that we have. 

If we do not know the Word and cannot provide scriptural evidence to others, then we merely have an opinion. Opinions alone do not win court cases, and they sure are not going to win over nonbelievers, many of whom are very knowledgeable and have their rebuttal ready.

Therefore, I am challenging myself to memorize one Bible verse a week that helps tell the good news of Christ. These are verses that help lay the foundation for living abundantly in Christ. I've even made a template that you can print off and put on a note card ring to keep with you. It's time we memorize these verses, study their context, hide God's word in our hearts,  and have the resources readily available to tell others about Christ rather than just saying: "Well, trust me, it says it somewhere in there." Instead, we'll be able to say: "Let me show you." 

Imagine the difference it will make in our lives and in others when we allow God to do the talking through His word, instead of our jumbled, opinionated ramblings!

Click the link below to print/download your own copy!

Core BIBLE Verses - Challenge

If you stick with me and go through this challenge together, over the course of the next 75 weeks, we will learn 75+ verses. What a resources that will be to have! Won't you join me?! Even if you do not feel the need or find this to be a struggle, this is still a great resource to print out, keep on hand, or simply download to your device. Let's grow together and give God the glory! Enjoy!

Until next time...

more BLESSING and less STRESSING

We are now into a NEW year! There's just something about having things that are NEW, isn't there?!

Like many of you, I, too, made my new year's resolutions. I saw my social media sites filled with people declaring to become a NEW self. There's only one problem with that: Jesus is the only source by which people are made NEW, yet many make their resolutions for their NEW self without any mention or recognition of Christ's help. (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:22-24; Revelation 21:5) 

In year's past I made quite a lengthy list of goals for myself, but you see that was the problem. The goals were for myself, not God. There's an interesting little tidbit about my God - he is not willing to share His glory with anyone.   

"I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give [or share] to no other." -Isaiah 42:8

Therefore, when we make our goals about us and not him, we shouldn't be surprised when we once again bomb out and fail miserably. So, whatever your resolutions/goals are for 2015, make sure that ultimately those goals can be used to bring the glory to the Father. 

For me, there was only one way to do that: forget my checklist of goals. You see, I am a confessed perfectionist, and I love nothing more than to check off my to-do lists with satisfaction while that little voice inside of me says "booyah!" But you see, that checklist is only for my benefit, not others and definitely not for God. Then, when I don't check things off fast enough, I begin to get down on myself, frazzled, stressed out, anxious, and the list goes on. So, this year I came up with one resolution:

This will be a year of
more BLESSING  and less STRESSING.

Whatever God allows into my life - the good, the bad, and the ugly - I want to use it as a source of blessing to others rather than a stressing on myself and those around me. If I come across a rough situation, how can I bless others and glorify God through it all? Instead of stressing about my weight and fitness, how can I use those occasional gym times to help bless others instead of making it about me? When I receive those countless undeserved blessings from God, how can I make sure not to gloat but use those blessings to bless others?

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Just a side note: It really does work. I actually started on my resolution a few weeks ago, just to get a jumpstart. That's the perfectionist OCD part of me. However, I have been BLOWN away by just how much it works when we focus our attention on how God gets the glory instead of stressing about our details. Below are a few examples, and I am by no means trying to toot my own horn - I am praising God for it! 

This Christmas, we decided to not really focus on extravagant presents for each other and rather focus our attention on others in need. They will never know who we are, and I'd like to keep it that way. That's not important. However, I received more joy in allowing God's blessings to be used through us, and that was more of a blessing than any money or gift from each other could have bought.

Then, we were blessed time and time again with people delivering lovely homemade goodies to us at Christmas. While we both have a lot on our plate right now, I remembered this blessing and pushed off the stresses of my schedule to make homemade treats for those waiting on loved ones in the ICU waiting room. It was so enjoyable to just bless instead of stress.

Today, as I was gearing up to hit the gym (a place that hasn't seen me in awhile) after complaining all last year about how much weight I had gained or how my figure wasn't what I wanted, I decided to put my resolution to the test. How can I use my gym time/weight concerns as more of a blessing that a stressing? Instead of focusing on myself, the scale, and how my jeans fit, I'd rather get fit with the higher goal of helping others, whether it's through running for a cause or simply witnessing to people at the gym.

Finally, God has allowed so many doors and given abundant blessings to us in 2014, and to list them all here would be more than this blog is meant. However, I pray that we use them all for His glory and His glory alone. Just a couple huge examples: God blessed us with being able to make two major purchases at VERY good prices that we hope and pray He will use to help us reach out to others. We now have a new truck and 20+ acres of land that we acquired last year. More immediately, we hope we can use the truck to help those around us, whether it's helping people move, delivering items, etc. In the long run, we hope to be able to build on the land and host fellowship events for friends, church and community groups, and those less fortunate.

We have been blessed beyond measure, and I do not say all that to brag. I say it show just a few examples of what we can do when we choose to bless instead of stress. Of the examples I gave, among all the other undeserved blessings and opportunities God has afforded Paul and I, my prayer is simple: Let it always be about God. If these blessings ever become more about us than God, may he completely strip us of those things and humble us under His glory.

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We've all heard the PAY IT FORWARD saying, right? When someone does something nice for us, go ahead and do something nice for someone else -- then, the cycle hopefully continues. We all love to be on the receiving end of one of those "pay-it-forward" times, don't we? Guess what, we already are. Jesus already PAID IT FORWARD nearly 2,000 years ago, and we could never give enough to make up for such a generous offer -- but, you better bet that we should be trying. We have no excuse not to be a blessing to others. So, let me ask you the question I asked myself:

Are you more of a blessing or a stressing to those around you?

Let's devote this year to doing less stressing and more blessing!

Remember, though, we sure won't make it without Christ's help.

Show God to the world in whatever you do. After all, He does not exist for us and to fit our plans, rather we exist for Him and to fit His plans. As Jennie Allen said in her book Restless, often "we love being great more than making God great." It's time we get over ourselves and get after God.

Here's to a year of less stressing and more blessing!!

photo credit: taken by London Lane Studios

Until next time...