Christian Paradigm Shifts

  The New Year brings about New Year goals.   I have several goals for 2013.   Here they are: Read the entire Bible using the ESV One Year Bible . Journal my discoveries using the something old, something new, and something to do format . Do 3 Bible studies. The first one is The Fine Art of Female Friendships . Memorize Scripture with the 2013 Siesta Bible Memory Team . Spiritual journey of discovery of who I am in relationship to God and others. Spend more time connecting with family and friends. Read two new  books per month and blog about it. Try one new recipe per week and blog about it. Keep my house more organized. I am a slob and I need to come clean . LOL. What are your goals for the new year? Please share - either here or on my facebook page . Iron sharpens iron, so we sharpen one another. Blessings, Regina  

Wishing all my blog readers a very Merry Christmas!! It's the birthday of our King!!   

    Christmas Eve....   Anticipation....   Waiting for the arrival....   Of the Prince of Peace...   He gives us His peace....   A peace which surpasses all understanding guards our hearts and minds...   He keeps us in perfect peace when our minds are on him....   We have peace with God.....   Because of Him we can live peaceably with all.....   He Himself is our peace...   He gives us peace at all times and in everyway....     

Photo Credit     This week we rejoice because of all that God has done for us in sending His Son.   We are told in Scripture that we are to rejoice in the Lord always. And again we are told to rejoice.   While this is a season on joy, we as a nation have experienced tragedy.   Many lives were lost last Friday.   Lives of full of future and promise.   Such sorrow for the parents, the community, New England, and the nation at large.   How can we have joy amidst such tragedy?   Only in Christ can we find the answer.   The following is from Concordia Lutheran Church  [listen here ] -   I am with you when you suffer, for I suffer for you. I am with you when you die, for I died for you. I am with you in the grave, for I lay in the grave for you. I am with you when you weep, for I weep for you. I am with you when mourn, for I mourn for you. I am with you for I am one of you. I speak to you a better word than justice, a better word tha

    Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow. Jeremiah 31:13   During the middle of advent season tragedy has struck one again.   In stead of love, hope and joy there has been hate, despair and sadness.   But in the midst of all of this tragedy, we have an anchor we can hold onto.   That anchor is Jesus Christ.   In him we find refuge, comfort, peace, and strength.   He understand our sufferings for He too suffered.   He will bind up our wounds.   He will shelter us under his might wings.   He will give us peace which passes understanding.   His joy will be our strength.   He is all you need.     

Photo Credit  Love...self sacrificing love....   God gave the ultimate sacrifice of love by sending his One and Only Son.   But Mary and Joseph also showed self sacrificing love. Mary, a young unmarried woman, called to carry and give birth to the Messiah. She must have considered the cost to herself,  her relationship with Joseph, and her community's reaction.When Gabriel appeared to Mary, she willingly gave herself to the service of the Lord. In Luke 1:38 Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Joseph, engaged to marry Mary, hears that she is pregnant. The thoughts that must have run through his mind. He even contemplated to divorce her secretly. But again an angel intervened and told him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife [Matthew 1:20]. His fears subsided and he marries her but had no relations with Mary until her Son was born. Are we willing to offer self sacrificing love? Are we willing to lov

Photo Credit  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son.....[John 3:16 ESV]   This week of  Advent is about love. The focus is the love that God has for us.   We must remember that this was the plan from before the foundation of the world. [Ephesians 1:4]   He has loved us with an everlasting love because he has continued his faithfulness to us. [Jeremiah 31:3]   By God's love and grace he has given us eternal encouragement and good hope. [2nd Thessalonians 2:16]   God showed his love among us by sending His Son that we might live through Him. [1 John 4:9]   Ultimately, this is love - not that we loved God - but that God loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. [ 1John 4:10]   Love has come....    

This week has been about hope. Not a wishy-washy kind of hope. Hope that is full of expectation that God keeps his promises. For many, many years He foretold through the prophets that a Savior would come. The book of Hebrews says it like this - "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,  but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world." It is in the Son that we have hope. 1 Timothy 1:1 says that Christ Jesus is our hope. It is Christ in us, the hope of glory [Colossians 1:27]. There are many things that Christ has given us hope for: We have forgiveness of sins [Ephesians 1:7] We are put in right relationship to the Father [2nd Corinthians 5:18-20] We have the power to do what is right and good [Philippians 4:13] We are delivered from the fear of death [Hebrews 2:14-15] I've always loved this song by Michael Card. It is from his alb

  In response to Elizabeth's praise of her, Mary begins to praise the One who is most worthy of praise. She place her hope in the One who provides mercy to those who see their need. During this week of hope, let us worship and praise God for all that he has done for us. I am thankful for all that he has done for me. He took me out of the miry clay and set my feet on a rock.   The Magnificat   “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.   He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good

  Today's post is on Jesus being the Desire of  All Nations. The book of Haggai says:   "For thus says the Lord of hosts: 'Once more, it is a little while, I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations , and I will fill this temple with glory,' says the Lord of hosts. 'The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,' says the Lord of hosts.'The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,' says the Lord of hosts. 'And in this place I will give peace,' says the Lord of hosts ."( Haggai 2:6-9 )   The Blue Letter Bible commentary on this verse:   This portion of scripture makes several specific predictions. The Lord is going to shake heaven and earth. All the nations will come to the "Desire of All Nations," an idiom for the Messiah. God would fill "this temple," i.e. the Second Temple with glory. The

Tuesday       Romans 15:12-13 And again Isaiah says, “ The root of Jesse will come , and the one who rises to rule over the Gentiles , in him will the Gentiles hope .”   Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in him,   so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Hope, Hope, Hope.... Three times this verse mentions hope. On Monday I mentioned that this kind of hope is the expectation that God fulfills His promises. On Tuesday, I mentioned the genealogical fulfillment of those promises. Today I want to discuss that the Gentiles now have hope in God because of the birth of Jesus Christ. Gentiles were strangers to the covenants of Israel. Ephesians 2:12 states, "... remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world." The covenants of Israel are the Abrahamic, Mosaic

Monday I have done genealogical work on my family line. It is interesting to find out where my ancestors lived, there occupation, and special events in their lives. It gives me a connection to them. I understand who I am and where I come from. Today's post is all about genealogy and its importance in regards to God keeping his promises. Biblical genealogies are sometimes skipped over because they seem boring. Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23 - 38 seem to be unimportant to the grand scheme of the Bible. Why do I need to know who was the son of so and so? What impact will it have on my life by knowing this information? In both of the passages mentioned above, Jesus genealogy is given to prove that he is a descendant of King David. The King who was promised that a Son of his would sit on hit throne forever. The genealogy also mentioned that Jesus is a descendant of Abraham who was promised that all nations would be blessed through his Seed. According to the ESV study Bible note

  Today is the First Sunday of Advent.   This week's focus is hope.   We are given the first promise of hope in Genesis 3:15 -   And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.   This is the first announcement of the coming Savior.   What does it mean to have hope?   The  biblical definition of hope is quite different from the modern definition of hope. The modern definition of hope is “a feeling that what is wanted will happen.” [Holman Bible Dictionary]. The biblical definition is "trustful expectation, particularly with reference to the fulfillment of God's promises." [Holman Bible Dictionary]   The season we are expecting the fulfillment of God's promise of the Messiah who will rescue us from our sins. The one who was born to be a sacrifice. The One who is the Light of the world. Come, Thou long expected Jesus.    

Next Sunday begins the season to remember that a Child is born to us and that a Son is given. A time to reflect on all that God has done for us by sending His Son to take on flesh and dwell among us. He is our Redeemer, Savior and Lord.     There are many ways to prepare for the season. One is to set up an Advent wreath like the one pictured. The candles have various significance as follows:   First Candle: Color: Purple Theme: Hope First Sunday in Advent   Second Candle" Color: Purple Theme: Love Second Sunday in Advent   Third Candle: Color:Pink Theme: Joy Third Sunday in Advent Fourth Candle: Color: Purple Theme: Peace Fourth Sunday in Advent Optional Center Candle: Color: White Theme: Christmas Christmas Day Other ways to prepare are reading devotionals to keep one's thoughts focused on Jesus the real reason for the season. Here are a few recommendations: This is a devotional by Paula Whidden. It   includes short readings, Bible verses, and activitie

Photo Credit I cam across this great idea from the blogger over at Walking in High Cotton . Fro everyday in November, I’ll be listing one thing that I’m grateful for over in the sidebar. I'll try to keep a running list for the whole month of November. If you are not a blogger than Tweet, Facebook, or Pin your blessings each day as well. What are you thankful for today?  

I have recently been having green tea. I use the tea pictured. I have it 2-3 times per day. Due to its antioxidant properties, it has been beneficial to me while getting over the symptoms of a viral ear infection. I highly recommend it for those feeling under the weather. Each day seems to be better. It is a slow and steady process. I am motivated and active to get better. I appreciate all the support from family and friends. The Lord is my strength. By Him I will overcome. I put my trust in Him and rely on Him to see me through. Have a blessed and wonderful day!

Greg Olsen The story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman has always fascinated me. It is one of my favorite Bible passages. It fascinates me for several reasons.   Jesus met this woman where she was. (John 4:6). He will meet us where we are, too. Jesus was a Jewish rabbi who was not supposed to speak with a Samaritan, let alone a woman (v.9). Jesus is a friend of sinners who will speak to us and call us to Himself. As women, we can trust that he wants us to know Him. He wants us to know theology.   Jesus met her need for salvation (v. 10-15). He will save us when we call upon Him.   Jesus knew "all about" this woman (v.17-18). He knows all about us as well. There is nothing hidden from his sight (Hebrews 4:13). If we have repented and put our trust in God this should not make us fear. It should comfort us. We serve a God who notices us and cares for us through all of life's joys and trials.   Jesus answered her questions about worship (v. 20-24). We

www.sdwsc.com Yesterday I attended a teaching seminar. One of the speakers was Elisa Morgan, former president of  MOPS and currently editor of the online magazine for women called Fulfill. The seminar was based on her book, "She Did What She Could" based on Mark 14:1-8 After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death . But they said , Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people. And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat , there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said , Why was this waste of the ointment made ?   For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence

Dear Blog Readers, Many of you know that I have not been feeling well since August. I have only recently begun to get back into the swing of things. At the beginning of the month of August I had the feeling of a stuffed up ear and difficulty hearing. I went to my doctor's office twice within a week. I finally saw an ENT ten days after my problem began. Diagnosis - sudden hearing loss with vestibular neuritis. Some of my hearing has returned. My balance is getting better each day. Needless to say, the recovery for my condition has been long. Hopefully, I am coming to the end of the recovery time which is estimated to be three months. I covet your prayers as I continue to heal. Please pray for continued hearing restoration, balance improvement, and the tinnitus to go away. I look forward to blogging on a regular basis. I trust in the Lord and I do not lean on my own understanding. I acknowledge him and he will direct my paths. While this has not been a bowl of cherries to d

In this section of Colossians there are a lot of "In Him" phrases such as: By Him all things were created - in heaven and earth, visible and invisible For Him - He made them so they exist for Him In Him all things hold together In Him the fullness of the Godhead dwells Through Him we have peace because of the blood he shed on the cross Before Him we will be presented holy, blameless and beyond reproach Jesus should be our focus. For it is in Him that we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28).

1:1-8 Paul writes to the church as Colossae. He offers prayers for them and reminds them of the fruit  they are bearing. 1:9-14 Because of the gospel they have heard, they are now in a new kingdom with new ideals. 1:15-23 He reminds them of who Christ is and what he has done for them. 1:24-2:5 Paul tells them his purpose - to minister the mystery of the gospel which is Christ 2:6-2:15 Beware of false teaching. They are complete in Christ. They were once dead but have now been made alive 2:16-23 Don't rely on external observances. Trust in what Christ has done. 3:1-11 Set your mind on things above. Live a life which reflects a heavenly mindset. 3:12-4:1 How to live out the Christian life day to day. 4:2-18 Focus on prayer. Paul gives closing remarks of who has helped him in ministry.      

Photo Credit The fall study has begun. Great resources are available at the Good Morning Girls website . I've been reading Colossians for the past week to get a feel for this letter which was written to the church at Colossae. Doing this helped me to get an overall picture. Here are somethings which maybe helpful to you as you begin this study: Paul's audience was made up of believers They were a young church that was growing and maturing They were facing issues such as deception, worldly philosophies, asceticism (self-denial) as a way to have a relationship with God. Key words to watch for: prayer Gospel wisdom knowledge all (referring to completeness or totality) faith mystery in Him, through Him, before Him, etc Paul's purpose for writing: To remind them what they have in the Gospel  Refute false teaching To live life according the Gospel Key points: Supremacy and sufficiency of Christ as the creator, the sustainer, the image of God, the

I am writing this quick post to let you all know why my blog has been silent for the past several days. Well, last week I had surgery which was routine and planned. Between the surgery, anesthesia, and pain meds, I have not had the energy to blog. I plan on getting back in the swing of things next week. I hope all my readers are still doing the Proverbs 31 study. Keep pressing on my dear friends!!

  Scripture: Luke 6:45 ~ A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. KJV The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. NIV The good person out of the good treasury of his   heart   produces good , and the evil person out of his evil treasury   produces evil , for his mouth speaks from what fills his heart . NET Bible Proverbs 4:23 ~ Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. KJV Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. NIV Guard your heart with all vigilance , for from it are the sources   of life . NET Bible Proverbs 10:19 ~ In the multitude of w

Scripture: Ephesians 4:29 ~ Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. KJV Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. NIV Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. NLT 1 Timothy 3:11 ~ Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. KJV In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. NIV In the same way, their wives must be respected and must not slander others. They must exercise self-control and be faithful in everything they do. NLT Proverbs 15:1 ~ A soft answer turneth away wrath: but g

Scripture: Proverbs 31:26 ~ She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. KJV She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. NIV She has opened her mouth in wisdom and the law of compassion is upon her tongue. Aramaic Bible Proverbs 10:11 ~ The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked. KJV The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked. NIV The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain; the words of the wicked conceal violent intentions. NLT Proverbs 12:18 ~ There is one that speaks like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise brings health. KJV Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. NIV Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing. NLT Observation: Barnes' Notes on the Bible ~ Law of kindness - The words which come from t

Today I want to share with you something that is very close to my heart. This is my story. It's about being an adoptee and finally having my rights restored.  I was born in a state which denied adult adoptees access to their original birth certificate. Since 1944 adoptees in my state have not been allowed to see or have a copy of their original birth certificate. Once an adoption is finalized, the original birth certificate is sealed and a new one replaces it. For the past three years I have been involved in a legislative initiative to change that. My friends and I testified before our state legislators. Our adoptive parents came and tesitifed in support of their children. We told our stories. Each one different but with a common thread. We were people denied access to our original birth certificates based on one fact alone...we were adopted. After a long and hard battle, we won. The legislators of our state listened to us and changed the law. Now adult adoptees, o

Dawn over at Beneath the Surface: Breath of Faith  has nominated me for this award. Liebster means beloved or dearest. Dawn has become a dear friend to me in bloggy world. She intereacts with me on my blog and facebook page. She enourages me to keep pressing on. There are some rules that accompany this "award". I certainly do not want to be ungrateful for such thoughtfulness so I will play by the rules. Here are the rules that accompany this award: 1. If you are nominated and accept it, then you have won! 2. Thank the person who nominated you by linking back to their blog. 3. Nominate 5 blogs with less than 200 Followers. 4. Let the nominees know by leaving a comment on their blog. 5. Add the award image to your site. So I would like to pass this award to these Beloveds:     Julieann at http://ministrymomma.com/  (recently found this blog) Meredith at http://myjourneytoauthenticity.com/  (blogger I "met" at

Scripture: Proverbs 31:21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.KJV When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. NIV She has no fear of winter for her household, for everyone has warm clothes. NLT Proverbs 27:23 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. KJV Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds. NIV Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds. ESV Observation: ESV Study Bible ~ Her careful preparation of necessary clothing in advance means that she is not afraid of sudden changes in weather, for they will not catch her unprepared. Wesley's Notes ~  Not afraid - Of any injuries of the weather. Are clothed - She hath provided enough, not only for their necessity, but also for their delight and ornament. The Lutheran Study Bible ~ Due to her indu

This week we looked at the good works of the Proverbs 31 woman. We saw such works as: Industry Good Will Charity Kindness All of these characteristics are not for ourselves or to bring us glory. If we do our good works in order to be seen by men, then we have our reward already. But if we do our good works in secret, our Heavenly Father who sees in secret, will reward us. Because our goal is to bring Him glory. Today, as you go about your day, think of ways that you can do good works and so glorify your Father.