Happy Spring!
O how wonderful it is to feel the warmth of the sun on your face again.
I love spring because it is the visible reminder of the cycle of life -
and spring, to me represents new life or a new beginning.

In case you missed church the first Sunday of Spring Break - Michael Criner gave a message on being "Sifted Like Wheat." He took it from two verses in Luke 22 where Jesus is talking (v.31-32), "Simon, Simon, behold, satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."

Four points and two side notes:

Point1 - satan has to go to God for permission to "sift us like wheat" - sifting involves violent shaking - so it infers we will be shaken, even violently, but God Knows!



Sidenote 1 - the you in this verse is plural -meaning satan has demanded permission to sift all of us like wheat. Christians are not exempt - in fact they are a primary target.

Point 2 - But Christ Himself has prayed for us...can you even imagine? The God of all creation is praying for our faith not to fail.

Sidenote 2 - The you in this phrase is singular...Jesus Christ has prayed for YOU- Kim, Melle, Laura, Kathy, Melissa, Pam, etc....

Point 3 - even though He is praying for our faith not to fail, He already knows it will --> "and when you have turned again" (back to me after denying me)...He knows we will fail and yet he has provided a way for us to get back to Him, back home.

Point 4 - We are not useless when we fail..."when we have turned again, strengthen your brothers (or sisters)" - we have a job to do...and with His power, His forgiveness, His restoration, we shall strengthen each other.

So, those are my verses: Luke 22:30-31

March 1 Verse Post

Good March Morning to you! I am so proud of you girls who are being purposeful in hiding God's word in your heart this year ! As with anything worthwhile, it takes discipline -- oh but the rewards are so great ! So it is now time to post your Mar. 1 verse and place GOd's words in your heart.

The Bible study I am invovled in right now is "Revelation" , by Beth Moore. I have thought about posting weekly all the info. that we are receiving weekly through this study, but the "weeklys" have gone by and I have not posted ... so today I wanted to share a little bit of what God is teaching me through the study of Revelation.

I have always been a huge Mickey Mouse fan. Growing up in Florida, it may just come naturally, but the "otter"in my personality loves a party , and let me tell you-- Mickey knows how to throw one! So, what does this have to do with Revelation -- well, I'm getting there! I have come to the conclusion that the "Magic Kingdom" can not hold a candle to the "Heavenly Kingdom" that our GOd lives in . I have been blown away by the description of the throne room and by all that surrounds it. My eyes have been opened to a new level of wonderment, and my heart to a new level of awe for the Majestic God that I serve. I am truly amazed at His majesty, astounded by His glory and blown away that He has any patience with us here on earth .

I guess above all, I have felt an incredible love from a God who does not need to love us, yet He chooses to love us. Even though He is surrounded by riches beyond measure, praises beyond comprehension and power beyond human understanding... He loves you ! Wow- if that doesn't bring you to tears, well, you know it brought me to tears :) , maybe this will.

The part of the story that I have been struggling with is our part. The other week, I came home after Bible study and while tucking my 11yr. old son in bed had a conversation with him that just left my heart torn. He has asked me to "update" him on Revelation as i am learning new things each week. So I started to share with him all the amazing new descriptions about Heaven I had learned about that night. Then we started to talk about our world -- or his world that he is living in as an 11 yr. old. In came the names of some popular music artists. We talked about the vulgar and sick words that are being used as "lyrics". We talked about the slimy ways the enemy uses to get any piece of us he can. We talked about why we need to make choices to guard our hearts and minds against this stuff -- and i just cried with my son to know, that this is just the beginning of the many battles that he will face in life. Before I left he asked me to pray over him for courage and strength to stand up for what he believes .

As I left his room , I just wept before the Lord. A God so full of majesty, love and amazing grace , who created us in HIs image to live here on earth in order to glorify him , must be so heartbroken over His creation. I felt such a sense of sadness in His heart as He watches His creation "team up" with the enemy and find much monetary success here on earth while corrupting kids at the same time. I went to bed and felt a strong need to pray for this particular music artist. I prayed that he would fall on his face before a God that still loves him, that he too would understand the depth of mercy our God has for him.

All that to say, Revelation has given me a new perspective into the majesty and holiness of the GOd. It has given me a greater sense of humility to realize that He has absolutly no need for me, yet I have every need for HIm -- and to know that He chooses us-- shows that He has lavished love on us. So know that by memorizing His word, you are honoring a God who deserves your

honor. Hoping today you fall more in love with a God who is crazy over you!