Christmas Focus

It's Christmas, and althought there is a great deal of hype and commercialism attached to this season, I want to encourage you to look past the glitz and into the truth of Jesus. His birth is marked by Old Testament prophecies, New Testament realities, and life lessons that are as applicable today as they were then. I love to study the events leading up to the Birth and I marvel at the character of the common people God chose to work through.

Luke 1:39 - 45 is an example of many powerful lessons. Here we find pregnant Elizabeth, old and well past child-bearing age, greeting Mary, her teenager cousin who is also pregnant. Elizabeth had believed a Word spoken to her by an angel many years ago, and finally saw the fulfillment of the promise when she thought the possibility was, well, impossible!

Lesson #1: Never give up. If God promises you something, stand on it. Write it down and review it often. He is faithful in His time to complete what He said He would do.

And let's not forget Mary. She was engaged, still a virgin, and so young! Many scholars put her at around age 12 or 13 without the advantage of education, modern medicine, and all the knowledge of science that we have. She must have been a bit frightened with the changes in her body and the feelings she was experiencing...not to mention the fact that as an unwed mother she could have been stoned! Nevertheless, like Elizabeth, she also was visited by an angel, but unlike having to endure a long wait, her promise happened immediately. She simply said "May it be to me as you have said." In other words, she said "yes".

Lesson #2: How God works with one person isn't necessarily how He will work with another. He is God, and His ways are His ways. We simply say "Yes" and trust Him.

As I marvel at these two strong women with such different personalities, it's verse 45 that wraps it all up for me: "Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" This is a promise for us today. We are "blessed" when we choose to believe that God is faithful to His word. It will be accomplished...perhaps not when we think it should, but He will accomplish His word in His time. It's all defined by Lesson #3:

Lesson #3: Focus On Him! When we keep our eyes on the goal (His promises), we can trust that He will do what He's said regardless of circumstances or the seasons we are seeing around us.

What has God promised you? What words has He whispered to your heart? Have you let them drop to the ground or are you still standing, believing, and focusing on His faithfulness?
Remember and say like Elizabeth: "Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

Stay Focused On Him!
Ann

Trust

All week long I've had the words of this old hymn running through my mind:

"Jesus, Jesus, how I trust You,
How I've proved You o're and o're.
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus,
Oh for grace to trust You more!"

Trust. It's almost a frightening word, isn't it? Frightening because it becomes active in the midst of challenges. And yet, Trust is what preceeds Peace.
Isaiah 26:3 says "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trustsTRUSTS in You."

Do you want peace? Then trust. Sounds simple, but it's a minute by minute Focus On Him!

Verse 4 continues the promise: "Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal."

Stay Focused On Him, Princess Warriors. We can trust Him.
Ann

Question & Answer

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Psalm 23:6 NIV)

Question: How do you know you're healed of the trauma, hurt and wounds of your past?
Answer: When you can look at your past and see the goodness and love of God following you, instead of the anger, hurt, and pain.

You get to the goodness and love by keeping your eyes on Jesus.
Stay focused!
Ann

Where You go I'll go, what You say, I'll say.....

In pondering the lessons we can learn from the Woman with the Issue of Blood (Mark 5:25), my eye went back to Mark 5:21. I wanted to see where Jesus had been before He encountered her, and where He was going. Turns out, He was in a big hurry! He was teaching when Jairus came to Him about his sick daughter, but Jesus' reaction is a remarkable glimpse into His focus.

Jesus didn't go anywhere by coincidence. Even though many times He avoided the crowds of people, He chose to walk into the crowds in His journey to Jairus' home. Now, Jesus was always mindful of His mission. John 12 tells us He only said what He heard the Father say. He only went where He knew the Father told Him to go. His timing was always the Father's. So, it's not an accident that He chose to walk into the crowds. He knew there was a reason. He knew!

Even though it was urgent that He get to the home of Jairus as quickly as possible, He still took the time to walk through the crowds....to position Himself and give opportunity for an ill woman to reach Him...and to touch the Hem of His garment.

He knew she was there. He knew she had need. He knew He would heal her if she would reach out and touch Him. So He made Himself available. He took the time.

This is a beautiful picture of the love, grace, and mercy of Jesus. He makes time for you and I! He positions Himself so that when we seek Him, when we reach for Him...He's there!

Touch Him! He has time for you!

Focused On Him,
Ann

Thoughts

Here are a couple of thoughts for you to ponder this week....

We are called to be influencers not the influenced. If we are so well adjusted to our culture that we fit in without even thinking about it, our eyes are focused horizontally. If our culture accepts us without any challenges, our eyes are on the culture around us rather than on the Kingdom of God.

What you fix your eyes on is what you are drawn to. What you think about is what you become. Focus on Jesus. Fix your eyes on Him and be transformed to be like Him.

It requires a choice and a response. It results in peace.

Focused On Him,
Ann

The Knots Prayer

THE KNOTS PRAYER
Dear God:
Please untie the knots
That are in my mind,
My heart and my life.
Remove the have nots,
The can nots and the do nots
That I have in my mind.

Erase the will nots,
May nots,
Might nots that may find a home in my heart

Release me from the could nots,
Would nots and
Should nots that obstruct my life.

And most of all,
Dear God,
I ask that you remove from my mind,
My heart and my life all of the ‘am nots’
That I have allowed to hold me back,
Especially the thought
That I am not good enough.

In Jesus Name,
Amen
-Author known to God

Wow!

This morning as I was starting my day I discovered my wallet was missing. Talk about a panic. Ray and I searched the car, my purse...ok, purses...and everywhere in the house. I retraced my steps from yesterday and realized I had lost my wallet either at church, or at Wal-Mart. I hadn't used it at church, so I decided to start looking at Wal-Mart. I really thought this was a useless attempt, but I needed to cover all my bases. Who would find a wallet at Wal-Mart and return it? I thought about digging through the trash bins, etc. Not a pleasant thought.
I went to the Customer Service desk and told the lady I'd lost my wallet. She asked me to describe it, and when I did she perked up. "A wallet like that was turned and I think it's in the manager's podium." So she called the manager and I held my breath.
Sure enough, there was my wallet with driver's license, cash, social security card, debit card, credit card...everything in tact! Can you imagine!!!
I yelled, "Thank You, Jesus!" and we had a mini revival in the Kerrville Wal-Mart.

Now we could just chalk this up to luck, or marvel at the honesty of the person who returned it. But I praise God for His protection. Only He did this. Only He is worthy to be praised.

I'm so amazed, but I shouldn't be....afterall, this is Who He Is!

Stay Focused!
Ann

Disturb us, Lord!

I have decided that some prayers are dangerous! For example, when you tell God, "Whatever it takes," that's a dangerous prayer. Yet, even when I understand that God really does hear me and He really does know my heart, I still find that dangerous prayer to be on my lips.
Recently, I came across a prayer by Sir Francis Drake. Even though it was written many years ago during the Elizabethan period, it is still so powerful for today.

I dare you to pray this and mean it!!!

"Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrive safely because we have sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity; and in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes; and to push us into the future in strength, courage, hope, and love."

Focus on Him!
Ann

My husband and I have a habit of drinking our morning coffee and watching the birds in our backyard sanctuary. Last night, we had read the story of creation in Genesis, and had talked about vs. 21 - 22 in which He made every living thing, and the 'winged creatures.' Vs. 22 says "And God blessed them..." This is the first blessing recorded. How interesting.
Anyway, as I was watching and listening and remembering our conversation, I noticed certain birds calling out, then listening; calling, then listening. They would repeat the call, then listen until they heard the same call back. Then a beautiful conversation would fill the air: the bird in our back yard carrying on a conversation with the bird in the distance until that bird returned home. It knew the way because it focused on one voice calling.
The bird didn't respond to all the other birds calling. It knew it's own kind, and the bird in the distance recognized it's call, responded and let the sound lead it.
These blessed winged creatures reminded me of Zephaniah 3:17: "The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."
I have always marveled at the thought that God was singing over me. But this morning it took a new twist.

Could it be that as God is rejoicing over us with singing, He is also waiting for us to respond? We will hear His song when we sing the duet with Him?

Like the winged creatures He created, He calls and listens intently for our answer. As He calls and we answer, He leads us. As we tune our ears to His voice alone, we are quieted with His love and led in His ways. He listens for our voice since we are made in His image and our hearts are His...we are His own 'kind.' He longs for our conversation, desires our song back to Him.
The Lord takes great delight in you and I. He quiets us with His love, and He rejoices over us with singing. What an amazing God we serve. Oh, how He loves us!
Tune your ears to His voice alone, focus your eyes on Him. And keep the conversation going as He leads you.

Focused On Him,
Ann

The Call

God has always had a Remnant...those people who were willing to lay down their individual doctrines and their personal tastes, preferences, and agendas (read this as selfish egos) and seek out what God wants. Only God. They are willing to join together regardless of the opinions of other people and actively, passionately pursue God. They live life on purpose and not by accident. They are not tossed about by fads or manipulation, but are focused on the Word of God and led by His Holy Spirit .
This remnant have their eyes open to see the hand of God in every event: personal, local, city-wide, and in their nation.
Some may call them the "fringe". The Bible calls them the "Sons of Issachar". (1 Chronicles 12:32)These are "men...meaning people, not gender...that had an understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do."
Strong's defines "understanding" as to separate mentally, to distinguish, deal wisely, be prudent, and be cunning.
"Times" means an event, occurrence, incident, happenings, circumstances.
"Know" means to ascertain by seeing. The Hebrew word in this verse is yada which is a word that means God gives the personal understanding and revelation. In other words, this knowing comes from relationship with God, and not from reading a book.
Now, more than ever, we must determine to be in close relationship with God, listen to His Holy Spirit, and focus our eyes like a dove on our Jesus. There can be no compromise, no blending of idols or other "gods". Only Jesus. Only the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The world is rapidly changing. Our nation is on very shaky ground. Who are you listening to? Where are you looking for help? Who or what formulates your beliefs?
God is raising up His remnant. "Let us be as the sons of Issachar".

Get Focused! Stay Focused!
Focus on Him!
Ann

Ray and I have spent a great deal of time praising God for His protection and marveling at His grace. To intercede for us and keep our home from burning is such a move of His Mighty Hand and His Unfailing Love.
The morning after we found the unburned skillet of grease sitting on the red hot burner, God asked Ray a question: "Are you surprised that I protected you?" Ray, in his honest way, said "Well, yes." God then said, "You shouldn't be! That's Who I Am!"
How many times do we take His love and protection for granted? I am convinced that there are many opportunities for destruction that He intercepts as the Holy Spirit is interceding for us.
Our 6th Definition of the Holy Spirit deals with just this truth:

#6. He is our Intercessor. This is probably one of the greatest miracles of grace. The Spirit who lives inside of us "intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words" (Rom. 8:26). Even when we don't know how to pray, the Spirit prays the perfect will of God. No matter what kind of dark difficulty we face, the Spirit travails for us until we emerge on the other side. (Lee Grady)

The Holy Spirit intercedes for us! How amazing, how awesome, how loving! No matter what you are facing, stay focused on Him. Let Him pray through you and intercede for you. God knows the plans He has for you, and they are the best! (Jer. 29:11) Only He is worthy of all our attention and praise!
Focused On Him,
Ann

Friday Night Miracle

I must share what God did for us last night! I'll get back to my Holy Spirit Definitions later, but this is just too awesome to keep quiet!

Yesterday evening, Ray and I had a couple over for TexMex, and then we drove the 45 minutes to the RockBox Theater to enjoy the good music and fun. I had fixed the spicey meat in my cast-iron skillet, served it in a bowl, cleaned up the kitchen, and off we went. By the time we got home, it was 10:45pm and we went straight to bed. I awoke at 4:30am and went to the kitchen to get a drink of water. To my surprise, I found the ceramic, electric stove top burner on high, red hot and with the skillet of grease on it, still sitting where I had left it. What a shock!

Then it hit me! That skillet sat on the hot burner from 5:30pm to 4:30am. With the grease and meat remains, it should have erupted into flames...at least heavy smoke. Everyone knows a grease fire is the worst! But wait! There was no evidence of smoke or flames! The skillet wasn't even damaged! How did this happen? Was the stove working properly? Absolutely! The stove and skillet were extremely hot, but there was no damage!

Now, we could walk away and say, "Whew, we were sure lucky!" But I KNOW without a doubt, our ever-present God protected us! We should have come home last night to a house engulfed in flames, BUT GOD! Our Most High, Loving God who is Emmanuel...God WITH us...delivered us from destruction as surely as I'm sitting here typing! We have been thanking Him all morning and never want to forget His amazing love,mercy, and protection.

To HIM who is WORTHY, be all GLORY, HONOR, AND PRAISE! We thank YOU, Jesus!

Wow. What an awesome, REAL God we serve!
Focused On Him,
Ann

The Holy Spirit Defined: #5

For the past couple of months I've had the great honor and pleasure of teaching the Bible to a group of 14 ladies enrolled in the Christian Women's Job Corp. What a joy! These are women ranging from age 20 to 50 something, from various ethnic and cultural situations who have decided to turn their lives around. The have recognized their decisions in the past failed them, and they are courageous enough to change their direction. I am so thankful that all 14 have accepted Jesus as Savior AND Lord. Seeing the Holy Spirit work in them, teach them, and transform them is truly evidence of His Deity. Only God can do these miracles in lives. The Holy Spirit is the counselor we can trust! Here is definition #5.

#5. He is our Counselor. This word is also translated "Advocate," "Comforter" or "Helper." The Greek word, parakletos, means "one called alongside to help." It implies that the Spirit comes to our legal defense when we are accused or troubled; it also means He is a close friend who offers encouragement, consolation and direction when we face any difficulty. He is truly a friend who "sticks closer than a brother" (Prov. 18:24). (Lee Grady)

I am so very thankful for the Truth of the Holy Spirit. His counsel, encouragement, direction, and friendship are not only life-giving, He is life changing! Focus on Him in all situations. Only He is God.

Focused on Him,
Ann

The Holy Spirit #4

Here is Day 4 of our definitions of the Holy Spirit and His functions, originally written by Lee Grady in Charisma magazine.

#4. He is the Spirit of Truth. The Spirit has access to all the wisdom and knowledge of God. When we abide in Him, He leads us continually into truth—causing us to grow and mature spiritually. He wants to fill us with the treasures of heavenly revelation. We can fully trust Him because He never does anything to violate the Word of God. As our teacher (1 John 2:27), He knows the difference between truth and error, and those who depend on Him will walk in discernment and avoid deception, pride and carnality.

I am so thankful to have the Truth of God as a guide in every day life. He promises it is knowing His Truth that will set us free. So many times we grab onto the lies of our old habits and hurts rather than walk in the freedom of His Truth. Somehow we think it's easier to maintain the status quo. Remember, surviving isn't our goal...thriving is! Grab hold of the Truth of God and let the Holy Spirit lead you!

Focus on Him and Thrive!
Ann

Holy Spirit #3

I marvel at the realization that God wants to use me in spite of me, and He desires to use you, too. He created us in His image for His Kingdom. The only way He can accomplish the good plans He has for us (Jer. 29:11) is through the love and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Meditate on Day 3 of Lee Grady's definition:

3. He is our Empowerer. When we are baptized in the Holy Spirit we are "clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:49, NASB). The Spirit who already indwells us fills us to the point of overflowing. Jesus said the Holy Spirit's power would flow out of us like "rivers of living water" from our innermost being (John 7:38). This overflow releases supernatural boldness (Acts 4:31) as well as the anointing for various gifts of the Spirit including prophecy, speaking in tongues and healing.

Let your "river" flow and stay Focused On Him!
Ann

The Holy Spirit #2

Below is the second of Lee Grady's definitions of the Holy Spirit. Meditating and chewing on the greatness of the Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - make me realize how great is His unfailing love for us, that when we were still sinners He died for us...and rose again to give us new life in Him!

2. He is our Regenerator. Jesus told Nicodemus that we are born again by the Holy Spirit (John 3:5). True conversion is the most supernatural thing we will ever experience! When a person puts his faith in Christ for salvation, it is the Spirit who opens the heart and quickens divine life. He then indwells us. While this is an invisible process, it is no less miraculous. When we are converted our hearts cry out, "Abba! Father" because the Holy Spirit is "the Spirit of adoption" (Romans 8:15); He gives us confidence that we are now children of God.

He is worthy of our praise, so stay Focused On Him!
Ann

The Holy Spirit

In my prayer life, I find myself spending a great deal of time praying in tongues. I realize that is a controversial subject for many, but since I have experienced the Holy Spirit in this way, I know it is true and very much a reality. I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit as the third member of the Trinity, and have been enjoying His presence for several years. Recently, I read an article by Lee Grady, who is an editor with Charisma magazine. He identified the Holy Spirit so well, that I thought I'd give you some of his thoughts over the next few days. Here you go!

1. He is the Spirit of the Lord. He is not a force (as in Star Wars), a magical power or an "it." The Holy Spirit is God, and we should revere Him as God. The concept of the Trinity doesn't make sense to the human mind. Yet Scripture reveals God as a triune being. As theologian Norman Geisler writes: "God is one what (nature) with three whos (persons). This is a mystery but not a contradiction."

Stay Focused On Him!
Ann

Definitions...

Ok, so I've come up with some new definitions:

KNOWLEDGE: knowing about Jesus. This includes reading about Him, memorizing scripture, storing Bible facts in your brain. It's all Knowledge.
INTELLIGENCE: Accepting Jesus as your Savior. When presented with the fact, intelligent people accept Heaven as their preferred outcome for eternity. This is called "surviving".
WISDOM: This state of being occurs when you not only accept Jesus as Savior, but build a relationship with Him that makes Him the LORD of your life. This is called "thriving!"

Focus on Him and THRIVE!
Ann

"God's Instead"

Ray and I have been learning a great deal about the "insteads" of God. Our church has been teaching us and we've been working to apply this change of thinking in our lives. It's all about our focus. Human nature, I think, is much more prone to look at the negative and focus on the woes of mankind and our personal lack or dysfunction. After all, when we can tweek someones pity, we are able to gain their full attention. And don't we all love to be the center of the universe?
But God calls us to put on the "mind of Christ". To think like He thinks. In fact, Philippians 2:3 says: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. (4) Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (5) Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus..." Phil. 4:8: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."
That pretty much knocks out all our whining, doesn't it?
I would like to challenge you to start looking for God's "insteads". Whatever our enemy, satan, throws at us is always a lie. God's "instead" is always the truth. A beautiful example is found in Isaiah 61. He promises us: beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning; a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. Then we will be Oaks of Righteousness...a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor!
Turn back a page to Isaiah 60:17: Instead of bronze I will bring you gold, and silver instead of iron. Instead of wood I will bring you bronze, and iron in place of stones. I will make peace your governor and righteousness your ruler!
I'm liking these Insteads! What Instead is God doing in your life? Look past the difficulty and know that it is really a picture of what God is doing Instead.
As Graham Cooke taught us: "Every problem has a promise. Every difficulty has a blessing. Every curse has a prophecy attached to it. Everything that is against you, I (God) will give you something else instead!"
Focus on God's Insteads.
It's all about staying Focused on Him!
Ann

I don't know who wrote the lyrics below, but there is truth in them.

“As time passes they begin to multiply
Adding up secretly like the rings of an old oak tree,
There are wounds in the way.
Some old, some new,
All stifling, debilitating and cruel.
And some are passed down from elder to youth – they don’t belong to you.
As time passes, they begin to accrue a strange sort of value;
Some you don’t think are worth holding on to
But you don’t want to change who you are:
There are wounds in the way”

When we are wounded by life, by our family, by generations long gone, we always have a choice to hold them close or let them go....but think about this today:

Jesus did not allow his wounds to get in the way of the resurrection.

When we accept Him as Savior and LORD, we are to daily put on the mind of Christ. Today, declare that you are growing from surviving with your wounds to thriving in His resurrection!
Stay Focused On Him!
Ann

Saturday's Victory

All weekend I've felt a nudging from the Holy Spirit to mark the time: Thursday night,knowing He had been betrayed, He willingly broke the bread and passed the wine as a mark of covenant with us, went to the Garden and prayed the prayer of submission and then was arrested; Friday when He willingly was judged by the political powers, cruelly tortured and crucified,experiencing every torment possible and then finally died.
Then came Saturday. Saturday. The day in between. In the past it's always been a day between events...almost a day of rest before the big celebration.
But this year I've felt a nudging to pay attention to Saturday. What was happening inside that tomb behind the stone that was sealed to keep His followers out. Was Jesus just laying there, waiting for Sunday? I don't know about you, but I have come to view Saturday with a particular excitement. Saturday is all about FAITH. Saturday is all about staying FOCUSED. Even when every dream appears to be lost, every promise dead and buried, Saturday is the day to keep your eyes on the prize and hope alive. You see, Saturday was when Jesus conquered death, hell, and the grave. Saturday was the day He took the keys and proclaimed He is more than able to fulfill the words of the ancient prophets. Saturday was when the spiritual warfare was won and satan was defeated.
So when Sunday's first light came, the work had been completed, and JESUS ROSE FROM THE GRAVE.
So what's this mean? When every promise appears lost and the situation hopeless, God is still at work. When we can't see His hand or witness His movement, He is still fighting for us and accomplishing all that He said He could and would accomplish.
Saturday's come and gone, and GOD IS ON THE THRONE...FOREVER!
It's Easter Sunday, and HE IS ALIVE!!!!!!
Regardless of your circumstances and situations, JESUS IS ALIVE!
Stay FOCUSED ON HIM! He's the only view worth seeing.
Ann

Making Peace

This weekend, our Pastor taught us from Romans 12. He's been doing an indepth study of Romans, so covering every point would take many blogs. But one scripture in particular stuck out at me. It's verse 18 of chapter 12: "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." It goes on to say not to take revenge (which can also mean don't take offense). I'm learning, ok???
Staying at peace with people is at times difficult, but it is a part of loving your neighbor as your self. Our church calls it "loving the one-anothers." Powerful truth that is too often left in the dust of our emotions and feelings and judgments.

Peace has been a big issue in my life. Many times I've declared that I would guard my peace.

I would submit, however, that there is something with which I endeavor to never "make peace". I will not make peace with bondage! Bondage is that habit or belief which tells us "oh, we're just made this way", or "this is just the way I am", or "my grandmother/grandfather/mother/father/etc. all had this same problem...it's in my genes." Honey, it's time to change genes! When we have Jesus as Savior and LORD of our lives, we are a new creation. We should not allow ourselves to be subject to the 'genes' of our past. It is His blood that has bought and paid for us, and His blood which now covers us and flows in us. We are part of His Kingdom, His Family, His Bloodline.

Ok, I'm strong on not making peace with my bondage because there is an issue in my own life that I am fighting to overcome. All of my family is obese, for many generations. It is something that I can lay down and accept, or fight to put under my feet. I have chosen to fight. It is a long, arduous, difficult journey, and I've discovered through exercise (that dreaded neccessity) that I have muscles I never knew existed.

So why fight? I fight to break the cycle in my immediate bloodline...son, granddaughter, grandson, and on and on. I fight to finish the race and do all that God has called me to do. I fight to be able to represent Him in His victory. I fight to live out all of my days in health.

Romans 12:1 says to "present our bodies as living sacrifices...this is your spiritual act of worship." It's not our song or our writings or even our service. It's our bodies that are the "spiritual act of worship." Ouch! Think of that the next time a bag of chips or a piece of pie calls your name!

So, as we Focus on Him this week, think about what bondage you are trying to overcome: food adictions, drugs, alcohol, relationships, depression, self harm, child abuse, negative attitudes or speech...the list goes on. Ask the Holy Spirit for strength, clarity, and battle strategies. Then declare you will not make peace with bondage.

Stay Focused! It's the only way to move past surviving to thriving.
Ann

Happy Month of Love,

I hope all of you had a great Valentine's weekend. I confess that this used to be my most dreaded holiday. I was alone, rejected, and certainly was not "feelin' the love." To top it off, although the many Valentine Banquets and parties hosted by my church advertised that 'singles were also invited', I knew that meant sitting at a table with other singles and watching the couples. It wasn't my idea of affirming fun!
Somewhere along the way, however, my attitude changed. The holiday was still the same, my situation was still the same, but my attitude took a definite about face. I realized I wasn't really alone, but fully covered and loved by the Best, the Lover of my soul. After so many years in ministry, I laid down my wall of rejection, unforgiveness and bitterness, and met the One Who knows me inside out. He is the only Lover who will never leave me or turn His back on me. What an awesome reality, and how beautiful it is to be free.
The amazing thing is that He is available to everyone, all the time. And now that I am happily married, He is still here as the Lover of my Soul.
Yes folks, Valentine's Day takes on an entirely different meaning when you have an earthly love.
But the lasting, eternal Truth is this: Whatever your situation in this life, You have a Lover who meets your deepest needs. I am so blessed to share Him with you!
Happy Valentine's Day.

It's mid-February already, and I'm curious how everyone is doing with the changes in their lives as we progress in 2010. Change still seems to be the issue people are dealing with. Let me encourage you to not allow fear to enter your thoughts. God promises us He has not given us a spirit of fear, but POWER, LOVE, AND A SOUND MIND!
I'm excited about the future! This past weekend I had the privilege of meeting several new ladies at our local Women's Aglow, and I was so blessed by their open hearts and focused eyes.
You are His, and as such, you are a citizen of His Kingdom. All the rights and privileges of the Kingdom of God are yours. Now stay focused and move that Kingdom forward!

Please send me your prayer requests and comments. I look forward to hearing from you.

On a personal note: My son and his wife are expecting their second child! They are such great parents, and Ray and I are so excited to have another grandbaby on the way! God is good!
Focused On Him,
Ann

The following is a New Year's post written by Bob Gas and sent to me by a friend. I thought it was so appropriate to our study of Change that I wanted to start the year off by sending it to you. May you be blessed in 2010 as you FOCUS ON HIM!!


New Year's Resolutions
I keep working towards that day when I will finally be all that Christ… wants me to be.
Philippians 3:12 LB
If your goal is to become all God wants you to be, then more resolutions are not the answer. Based on last year's track record you know just about how long they last. But don't let past performance stand in the way of your future plans.
Here's an important key: don't focus only on the end result or you'll get overwhelmed. Tackle one thing at a time. Start with a specific area - even a difficult one. Arnold Palmer said: "The most rewarding things in life are often ones that look like they cannot be done!" Here's a four-point game plan to get you started:
(1) No more excuses: Stop saying, "That's the way I am," or, "Everybody does it." You're rationalizing disobedience and diminishing conviction.
(2) Set manageable goals: Approach your target with a rifle, not a shotgun. Instead of reaching everything, grasp only those things that are important to your personal growth this year.
(3) Be reasonable: It takes 21 days for a habit to take root. Setbacks are part of the process. If you get off track, just get back on again. Perseverance is the secret!
(4) Be optimistic: Paul says, "We are saved by hope" (Romans 8:24). Keep reminding yourself, "With God's help I can do it," and you'll discover you can!
Change is painful; not changing is even more painful! Remember, Paul didn't say he'd arrived, he said, "I keep working toward that day" (Philippians 3:12 LB). So, what are you waiting for? Get up and get cracking!

Ann