​24 October 2016
Don’t Live With Disappointment Anymore
Romans 5:5
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.

Last week, when Rob was teaching on Sunday, he said, “Our unmet expectations are actually misplaced expectations.” We often put our hope and joy in the wrong people.

And this hope will not lead to disappointment... I must place all of my hopes and expectations for my relationships on God. People will disappoint me, but God never will. What does that even look like?

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. Philippians 4:6-7

Tell God what I need rather than tell the person I expect to get my need from. Let there be time for the other party to listen to the Holy Spirit rather then forcing them to listen to me and my demands. Rob also said that when we put all of our expectations on God, who is miraculous and amazing by the way, it takes all the pressure off of our loved ones too! How kind is that?

God want me to just enjoy my husband, for example. If we don’t see eye to eye on a matter, it’s ok. God will talk to me about it; I can allow God to talk to him about it, and I can allow God to sustain me rather then forcing my expectations on Rob and doing whatever it takes to get my way. God’s way sounds much more enjoyable for both of us, doesn’t it?

My job is to not see God as such a small aspect in my life. He is HUGE! He is capable of more than I can ask for, think of, or even imagine (Ephesians 3:20). My success and self-worth should not be coming from my relationships but from the One, True, Living God who has already given me these things through his generous love and amazing Son, Jesus.

​Dear God,
Thank you so much for the TRUTH in your Word and in who you are in my life. Thank you for the relationships you have given to me and the freedom to enjoy them because I depend upon you to meet my needs. I depend upon you to never let me down, and I depend upon you to never leave me alone, to not be disappointed in me or wish I were different. You are my Dad, and I thank you for loving me exactly as I am and giving me everything I need for my life. I love you and thank you and pray in Jesus’ name, amen.

17 October 2016
My Friend
Psalm 25:14
The Lord is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant.


In John 15:12-17 Jesus said, This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.  There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.  I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.  You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.  This is my command: Love each other.

People with mutual bonds of affections are called friends. God’s friendship with us is special because he befriended us by making a way for us to be saved in every way a person needs to be saved. Jesus invites us to be his friend by simply following one particular order... love.

It’s not irrational for Jesus to have a stipulation for friendship either. People do it all the time. We make friends all the time with people we share ideology with. I do not approve of abortion or modern irrational feminism, therefore, I do not form friendships with people who live by that kind of ideology. People who disagree on essential matters are not known as friends. So, if we don’t want to love others, we don’t want to be friends with Jesus.

Why is love his requirement for friendship anyway?

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.  This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. (1 John 4:9-12)

God loved us first. He sent the invitation out for us to be friends with him – not the other way around. Since I received love from him in this way, it is logical for him to expect me to extend love to others. And it is this mutual bond of God’s love that makes us friends.
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Dear Lord Jesus,
I am so glad that you know me and that you invited me to be your friend. I know full well what it feels like to be left out and un-friended, so I am especially thankful that friendship with you exists by your never failing & never ending love not mine. Thank you for showering me with love and friendship, joy and peace, wisdom and insight and, most of all, knowing that I am never ever alone. You are so good to me, and I love you very much and pray in your name, amen.

​5 October 2016
I’m High Maintenance
Psalm 118:24
This is the day the Lord has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it.

​A lot of people look at this verse and think, Oh, I will find things to be thankful for today. That is a good idea; find things to be thankful for today. But we also know that God, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, made today. And he made today for joy. I am positive that if someone else were given the capability to make a day that it would be for their own personal gain and satisfaction. But God is the one who created us, he created today, and in his Word he tells us what his purpose for today is – joy!

In fact, his purposes are always good! Last Sunday while my husband was teaching he said, “When we go deeper into God’s presence, we go deeper into the goodness of his presence, and our lives are made good... He is where blessings are... Don’t stand and live in a place where God is hard to see and know.” God doesn’t mind when I choose to dwell on all that he has done, examine what is said and done in the world with his Word, and talk to him about it. It’s a high maintenance relationship, but he doesn’t mind.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 tells me what I was meant for... Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong in Christ Jesus.

My husband says this all the time: We were not meant for hospital beds, grave sides, or cubicles. We get a glimpse of what we were intended for when we have a relationship with the One, True Living God through his Son, Jesus. Where Jesus is, we find huge portions of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. And these are the things God always intended for the people he created. It’s easy to focus on the corruption, disasters, diseases, and disappointments that surrounds us, but those are not the things people were created to endure. We were created to be in God’s presence, and his presence is full things to rejoice about!

​Dear God,
Thank you for intending me for rejoicing and giving me today to do just that. Thank you that the kind of joy you generously give is not ever dependent upon my circumstances. Thank you for making a way for to live my purpose by inviting me to be with you. I love you and thank you and pray in Jesus’ name, amen.