Fear is a four letter word and we where taught the four letter word are bad. When you are fearful or afraid take a walk with Jesus in Matthew 6:28-34(NIV) he says 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. 

Just replace clothes with what you are afraid of. There is only one thing the you should be fearful of and that is God. But he is a loving God and he will help you through you fear just take a walk with him.  This should help.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGDOMCGichU

Courage

If you would have told me that I would fast for seven days. I would have said that you are crazy. If you would have told me that I would give the guy I like a letter saying that I like him and want to go out with him. I would have said that you are out of your mind. But all of these things are true. I know that what you are thinking that these things are not that big but to me they are huge. The things that scare us might seem small to the next person but to you it is the biggest thing in the world. I am in the middle of my seven day fast and the Lord has done so much in my life already and I know that he will do more.  I would not say that I found my courage or that God gave me courage to do these things.  I say that I faith in God and that is all the courage that I need. I do not know what God is planning for the rest of my fast but I faith that it will be good.

Lord, I need a New Attitude!

So I was listening to Patti Labelle "New Attitude" and something clicked that living my life with an attitude like christ, will lead me to focus on fighting my own mind and the evil in and around me. I am spiritual mental boxer who is always learning to duck, tuck and roll! Laila Ali ain't got nothing on me!  

Philippians 2:5-8

5-8 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.

Runnin' hot, runnin' coldI was runnin' into overload, it was extremeI took it so high, so lowSo low, there was nowhere to go like a bad dreamSomehow the wires uncrossed, my tables were turnedNever knew I had such a lesson to learn

I'm feelin' good from my head to my shoesKnow where I'm goin' and I know what to doI tied it up my point of viewI got a new attitude!
I'm in control, my worries are few'Cause I've got love like I never knewOoo, ooo, ooo, ooo, oooI got a new attitude!
I'm wearing a new dress, new hairBrand new ideas, as a matter of fact I've changed for goodIt must have been the cool night, new moon, slight changeMore than to figure oh but I feel like I should, yes
Somehow the wires uncrossed, my tables were turnedNever knew I had such a lesson to learn
I'm feelin' good from my head to my shoesKnow where I'm goin' and I know what to doI tied it up my point of viewI got a new attitude
I'm in control, my worries are few'Cause I've got love like I never knewOoo, ooo, ooo, ooo, oooI got a new attitudeOoo, ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo
Somehow the wires uncrossed, my tables were turnedNever knew I had such a lesson to learn
I'm feelin' good from my head to my shoesKnow where I'm goin' and I know what to doI tied it up my point of viewI got a new attitude
I'm in control, my worries are few'Cause I've got love like I never knewOoo, ooo, ooo, ooo, oooI got a new attitude
Feelin', feelin'(Ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo)(Ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo)From my head to my shoes(Ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo)I'm loving you(I got a new attitude)
I got a new, new attitude!(Ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo)Everything about be has changed(Ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo)Baby I ain't the same(I got a new attitude!)
Oh I got a new, I got a new(Ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo)I got a brand new, brand new(Ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo)I got a new

What A Friend We Have...

So in our women's worship tonight the theme was friendship:

Proverbs 18:24

New International Version (NIV)

24 One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
    but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Proverbs 27:2-10

New International Version (NIV)

2 Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth;
    an outsider, and not your own lips.

3 Stone is heavy and sand a burden,
    but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.

4 Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming,
    but who can stand before jealousy?

5 Better is open rebuke
    than hidden love.

6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
    but an enemy multiplies kisses.

7 One who is full loathes honey from the comb,
    but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.

8 Like a bird that flees its nest
    is anyone who flees from home.

9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,
    and the pleasantness of a friend
    springs from their heartfelt advice.

10 Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family,
    and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes you—
    better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.

Song - 

What a Friend we have in Jesus, 
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry 
everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, 
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry 
everything to God in prayer. 

Have we trials and temptations? 
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; 
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful 
who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; 
take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden, 
cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge, 
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do your friends despise, forsake you? 
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield you; 
you will find a solace there.

Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised 
Thou wilt all our burdens bear
May we ever, Lord, be bringing all to 
Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright unclouded there 
will be no need for prayer
Rapture, praise and endless worship 
will be our sweet portion there.

Words: Joseph Scriven (1857)

Life 4 Rent?

There is this song called "Life for Rent" by Dido and there is the chorus that always touches some place within me.  

"If my life is for rent and I don't learn to buy

                                       Well I deserve nothing more than I get
                                           Cos nothing I have is truly mine
                                 While my heart is a shield and I won't let it down                                   While I am so afraid to fail so I won't even try                                             Well how can I say I'm alive"


To me this part makes me think about how important it is for a person to invest in their own lives. And how trying, even with the possibility of failing IS part of living! 

It says in John 12:23-28 about letting go of the life we had and making that investment in following christ to have a REAL chance at living a life worth LIVING!

John 12:23-28

The Message

23 Jesus answered, “Time’s up. The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

24-25 “Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you'll have it forever, real and eternal.

26 “If any of you wants to serve me, then follow me. Then you’ll be where I am, ready to serve at a moment’s notice. The Father will honor and reward anyone who serves me.

27-28 “Right now I am storm-tossed. And what am I going to say? ‘Father, get me out of this’? No, this is why I came in the first place. I’ll say, ‘Father, put your glory on display.’”

A voice came out of the sky: “I have glorified it, and I'll glorify it again.”

I no longer live as a rental property because I own my condo with Jesus! as christ stated : 

John 14:1-4
The Road

The Message (MSG)

14 1-4 “Don’t let this throw you. You trust God, don’t you? Trust me. There is plenty of room for you in my Father’s home. If that weren't so, would I have told you that I’m on my way to get a room ready for you? And if I’m on my way to get your room ready, I’ll come back and get you so you can live where I live. And you already know the road I’m taking.”

Backyard Missionary, who me!

The lord placed it in my heart years ago that I could speak of his love and guidance as a missionary without ever leaving home. I had thought that this was crazy, cause in my mind, a missionary was someone who went off to another country to speak the message about the lord. He has placed it in my heart again to explain what it means to my understanding of a "backyard missionary" 

Webster's define a missionary as a person undertaking a mission and especially a religious mission. Well what is a mission it is a body of persons sent to perform a service or carry on an activity: a specific task with which a person or a group is charged. Now Jesus gave his disciples including us in:

Mark 16:15

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁵ And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.

When the lord says the world, he did not mean I have to go across the world from my own country to spread his message. There are many people that we meet everyday that don't know the wonderful and mighty words of our lord, right in my neighborhood. 

Every time we speak his name to someone we are obeying his command and doing his mission for us. 

Hallelujah praise the lord! So when you think you are not a missionary for the lord think again, cause as long as you preach his word, do activities in your community to the world of people around you are! 

Sheerah, the City Builder

1 Chronicles 7:24

The Message (MSG)

The Family of Ephraim

^20-24 The sons of Ephraim were Shuthelah, Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son, Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead, cattle-rustlers, killed on one of their raids by the natives of Gath. Their father Ephraim grieved a long time and his family gathered to give him comfort. Then he slept with his wife again. She conceived and produced a son. He named him Beriah (Unlucky), because of the bad luck that had come to his family. His daughter was Sheerah. She built Lower and Upper Beth Horon and Uzzen Sheerah.

She built... This is so unheard of in ancient Israel. Not only did she get her name listed in the bible but in history books as well. The cities she built were prime locations for a major battle. She had the presence of mind to build where she did, mostly likely from the family she descends from that it was faith lead decision. I can not begin to tell you what she must have thought in the world she was raised and lived in; but we can gain some insight by looking at the name of the cities she built. 

BETH-HORON - beth-ho'-ron (beth-choron (other Hebrew forms occur); Bethoron, probably the "place of the hollow"; compare Hauran, "the hollow"): 1. The Ancient Towns: The name of two towns, Beth-horon the Upper (Josh 16:5) and Beth-horon the Lower (Josh 16:3), said to have been built (1 Ch 7:24) by Sheerah, the daughter of Beriah. The border line between Benjamin and Ephraim passed by the Beth-horons (Josh 16:5; 21:22), the cities belonging to the latter tribe and therefore, later on, to the Northern Kingdom. Solomon "built Beth-horon the upper, and Beth-horon the nether, fortified cities, with walls, gates, and bars" (2 Ch 8:5; 1 Ki 9:17). From Egyptian sources (Muller, As. und Europa, etc.) it appears that Beth-horon was one of the places conquered by Shishak of Egypt from Rehoboam. Again, many centuries later, Bacchides repaired Beth-horon, "with high walls, with gates and with bars and in them he set a garrison, that they might work malice upon ("vex") Israel" (1 Macc 9:50,51), and at another time the Jews fortified it against Holofernes (Judith 4:4,5).
2. The Modern Beit Ur el foqa and el tachta: These two towns are now known as Beit Ur el foqa (i.e. "the upper") and Beit Ur el tachta (i.e. "the lower"), two villages crowning hill tops, less than 2 miles apart; the former is some 800 ft. higher than the latter. Today these villages are sunk into insignificance and are off any important lines of communication, but for many centuries the towns occupying their sites dominated one of the most historic roads in history. 3. The Pass of the Beth-horons: When (Josh 10:10) Joshua discomfited the kings of the Amorites "he slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them by the way of the `Ascent of Beth-horon.' " When the Philistines were opposing King Saul at Michmash they sent a company of their men to hold "the way of Beth-horon." This pass ascends from the plain of Ajalon (now Yalo) and climbs in about 3/4 hr. to Beit Ur el tachta (1,210 ft.); it then ascends along the ridge, with valleys lying to north and south, and reaches Beit Ur el foqa (2,022 ft.), and pursuing the same ridge arrives in another 4 1/2 miles at the plateau to the North of el Jib (Gibeon). At intervals along this historic route traces of the ancient Roman paving are visible. It was the great highroad into the heart of the land from the earliest times until about three or four centuries ago. Along this route came Canaanites, Israelites, Philistines, Egyptians, Syrians, Romans, Saracens and Crusaders. Since the days of Joshua (Josh 10:10) it has frequently been the scene of a rout. Here the Syrian general Seron was defeated by Judas Maccabeus (1 Macc 3:13-24), and six years later Nicanor, retreating from Jerusalem, was here defeated and slain (1 Macc 7:39 ff; Josephus, Ant, XII, x, 5). Along this pass in 66 AD the Roman general Cestius Gallus was driven in headlong flight before the Jews. Now the changed direction of the high road to Jerusalem has left the route forsaken and almost forgotten. See PEF, III, 86, Sh XVII. E. W. G. Masterman  http://classic.net.bible.org/dictionary.php?word=Beth%20Horon

Definition of hollow - A hole or depression in something.

Uzzen-sherah was a town that was believed to be located close to Beth-horon. It was named for its builder, Sherah, daughter of Ephraim. Defined named is the ear of the flesh( Sheerah ).

As I read the definitions of the cities, a look at the woman herself came to me, that we can HEAR her thoughts even between the emptiness! 

Even though there is not written about her life directly, what we do know is enough to value the woman as she was! 

So for all women, no matter how little is know about you by the world you make a difference just by living!