Exodus 20

The Ten Commandments

20 And God spoke all these words:

² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

³ “You shall have no other gods before^[a] me.

⁴ “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ⁵ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,⁶ but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

⁷ “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

⁸ “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lordyour God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. ¹¹ For in six days the Lordmade the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

¹² “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

¹³ “You shall not murder.

¹⁴ “You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁵ “You shall not steal.

¹⁶ “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

¹⁷ “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

¹⁸ When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpetand saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance ¹⁹ and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”

²⁰ Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”

²¹ The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

Idols and Altars

²² Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: ²³ Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.

²⁴ “‘Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you. ²⁵ If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it. ²⁶ And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private parts may be exposed.’

Alpha Omega

Genesis: 1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

² And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

³ And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Lord, Thank you for being our creator, maker of Heaven and of Earth, of ALL things that we can see, and all things that we cannot. 

You were the beginning and you will be the end. Our human bodies are here only a blip, but knowing that we will live an eternity with you in Heaven is such an amazing and glorious fact! 

99

My God you are my everything. My love My life my everything. 99days. 33 devoted to you. 33 devoted to your son Jesus and 33 to Sarayu. Amen

How can you deny a God that whispers in your ear

I woke up last night at 3:38 a.m. to a whisper, Proverbs 16:11
woah. what a way to wake up, i mean really, think about who's trying to communicate... not trying, who HAS JUST communicated with you! GOD, Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth just SPOKE to you, you heard it, there is NO denying it.  Open your Bible, read what it says, so naturally:
Proverbs 16:11
Honest scales and balances are from the Lord: all the weights in the bag are of his making.

Which didn't quite register with me right away, so i went to Proverbs 11 (thinking i would look up 11:16 in case my morning brain had some sort of hearing dyslexia or something)
But before I could get to Proverbs 11:16, Proverbs 11:1 leapt off the page:
The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight!

WOW!! How COOL is that.  He just reiterated what he was trying to tell me in the first place!
AH-MA-ZING!

Now just applying it to pretty much every aspect of my life and see how the Lord moves!
amen!!

Colossians 2: 2-7

² My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ³ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ⁴ I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. ⁵ For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.

Spiritual Fullness in Christ

⁶ So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, ⁷ rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Continue to Live your Lives in Him, Rooted and Built Up in Him, Strengthened in the Faith as you were taught and OverFlowing with Thankfulness.

This is a beautiful and powerful verse to remember.

ABC's

April and Andy - That they begin to put their sincere Hope in you and your plans for their family
Alex and Aliyah - That they continue to be nurtured and loved so much by both parents even through this break-up
Aurora, CO - For all of the victims and friends and family and witnesses to this tragedy.
Ben and Rachel - Peace and Understanding
Brandon - continued faith that can move mountains. patience.
Brett - Peace
Chelsea and Michaela - That their growing Love for God is a continued good example for my daughter
Corin - That I might have even half of the Faith and Love that she has for our Lord.
Doreen - That she continues to grow in Love and Understanding for our Lord and spreads that Love to all she meets with her brilliant smile and beautiful Joy.
Eve and Ethan
Florence - Lord I pray that she is doing well as her baby continues to grow (who must be 3-4 years old now!)
Grace and Gabe - that their relationship continues to grow in a healthy and loving way
Heath Lanctot and all former and current members of the armed forces.
I
Jim and Josie - Lord I pray that your guiding them every step of the way these days, that they truly are turning to you in their times of struggle. Lord, I pray that this disease is something we can all begin to handle with the appropriate care and love. Lord, I pray for DAILY renewal of all of our minds, bodies, spirits and souls.
Kjerste and Rachel - I pray Lord that you continue to bless Kjerste with friends and a strong church family. I pray that Rachel continues to move closer into your loving arms and away from her "crutch"/addiction.
Love
Matt, Melissa and Mike - Their relationships with their significant others as well as their relationships with you, that they might all be strengthened and nourished.
Nash - Harlan and Connie and their son and grandson.
O
Philip and His Family - Lord I pray that you guide them to the perfect job that glorifies you and provides for their family
Q
R
Scott and Joni and Alyssa and Amy - Lord I pray you move in the hardened hearts of your daughters esepcially
Tracy, Thad - for peace
Uncle John, Uncle Gene, Uncle Bill, Uncle Joe and Uncle Larry - Lord, thank you for the blessing of amazing Uncles in my life. I pray that your Peace and Strength wash over them all today and every day as they all face aging and it's difficulties.

May 31, 2012 Journal Entry

Alright Lord, I know I need to continue to be bold in My Faith in you, My Faith in your abundant Love for me, My Faith in your perfect plan and in your perfect timing. Lord, I know that you've gotten me this far and you haven't failed me yet, I'm sorry that I've tried so many years to run ahead, and I'm sorry Lord that my mind still drifts into dreamland of the future and sometimes dwells on the past. Lord, Help Me to live each day in it's full presence. You know my greatest hearts desires, you know my longings, Lord, I give them all to you.
You Have My Faith.
You Have My Heart.
You Have My Trust.

Grace and Faith want a play date

While this title is literal, that two little girls named, Grace and Faith want to have a play date together, I can't help but dig deeper into it as my growing in Love and Trust for our Lord continues.
Grace and Faith want a play date.
I've recognized, been humbled by, marveled at, and rejoiced over the Grace of God in the past 5 years, and it truly has been growing my Faith... but, I still fall back on my human shortcomings of the ugly "d" words, doubt or distrust more often than I should.  I want my Faith to be daily evident in everything I do. I want to Love the Lord more each and every day. I want that Love to be so inspiring, so encouraging that others won't be able to resist His Love either. I want my Faith to be solid.
I want to be as Faithful to Him as He is to me.
My God, You Are My Everything, My Love, My Life, My Everything!
Amena

ABCs

Aurora, CO, April and Andy, Alex and Aliyah (Ben and Rachel), Brandon, Brett, Chelsea and Michaela, Corin, Doreen, Eve, Ethan and Peyton, Florence, Grace, Gabe, Heath Lanctot and all of the soldiers who experience extreme burdens from their military service, Jim and Josie, Jill H. and Family,  Kjerste and Rachel, Krissy K., Laura Lu, Matt, Melissa, Mike and Lori, Aaron and Cindy, Noreens, O, Philip M., Russell, Scott and Joni, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z

If it WERE a competition...

Which it is not.  But if it were a competition for cramming the most goodness into your life (and specifically one weekend) i think i had a good shot at finishing front of the pack this past couple of days.

We left my place at 6:30 a.m. to head to Bemidji to support my b.f.f.'s first year as a captain of a Relay for Life team.  We were Team B Awesome and she had the brilliant idea of a Dr. Seuss theme! It was wonderful to experience the day and share it with her and her mom and her moms friend Doreen! We were recognized for our creativity in booth decorations and fun costumes... pictures to follow.

Spent the night at my brothers and a brief period of time with him before heading to my parents about an hour away.  Went to church with them and the sermon was about "GO"ing  which of course warmed my heart... as the best advice I was ever given was recently by Bill Verebly when he told me that the first 2 letters of GOd are GO for a reason!!! ;)  Thanks Bill and Thank you Lord for your perfect timing and placement of Anne and Bill in my life. :)  All your ways are good.

My parents, Grace and I got home from church and picked some fresh raspberries and had an amazing home grown meal of fresh green beans, fresh cucumbers and fresh peas, of course the raspberries too!

From there we soldiered on to the Polk County Fair where I was able to ride on and represent our 1999 float in the parade :)  It was quite the ordeal really with flying and falling building boxes, one of which we ran over and dragged for a portion of the trail.  After the parade I found Grace having a BALL with Gramma and Grandpa spoiling her and putting her on every ride that met her height!
We were gifted a unlimited band and gramma proceeded to take Grace around AGAIN, while Grandpa and I went to get an oof-da taco.... soooo good.  AND, by the Grace of God Deb Mjelde sat down right beside me and we talked and smiled and hugged and it was good.

Thank you Lord for a family and friends filled weekend and for our safe travels.  Thank you for blessing Grace with an abundance of family who showers her with Love. Thank you for returning her safely from her 3 week adventure with her dad.  All of your ways are good, Oh Lord My God.

Gifts

No material gift has ever meant more to me than the gift of someones time. Of their presence and their conversation. Of their laughter and their grace.

Redemption in all it's glory

What a gift. Redemption. Not just from yesterday's sins but every. Single. Day. Lord, all your ways are good and surely it is All for Your Glory ANC Honor. Thank you for guiding me to life everlasting with you. Thank you using my most recent misstep to turn around and share your good news with someone who seems a bit lost.Your mercies truly are new each morning and I am humbled and in Awe of your abundant incredible Love.

Death through Adam, life through Christ

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned— To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone's account where there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! (Romans 5:12-17 NIV)

Romans 12:12

Be Joyful in Hope, Patient in Affliction and Faithful in Prayer.