"Occupy Till I Come"

Jesus tells us a parable in Luke 19: 12...

"He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, 
-Occupy till I come.-

But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.

Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.

And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.

And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.

And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? 

And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.)

For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him."

In this story, the master of the house gave his servants a gift that they were supposed to grow. They were supposed to use it.  Whatever it was, they were supposed to take and use it to grow the master's wealth/kingdom.
 

We see that several of the servants did this, but we also see that one servant took his pound and hid it.  He didn't even try to grow it at all, didn't even take it to the bank to get interest. 

Let's back up a little bit.  Notice at the beginning of the story, the master tells the servants one thing.  "OCCUPY"  This word means to do business, to trade "to bear much fruit." 

Does this sound familiar at all?

As Christians we are to occupy this world. We are to be in this world but not OF this World. This is our living area but this is not our home. 

"If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." - John 15:19

What kind of occupying should we be doing?

What do you think the master would have done if that servant had taken that pound and used it for himself, to better himself? 

Well, that pound was not for the servant--it was for the master and so I believe that the master would have been angry. That gift that the master gave the servant was to grow the kingdom. It was to enlarge the wealth of the Master. 

My dear sister in Christ, God has given us each talents and gifts. Some of us he has given physical strength.  For some it's wealth, others musical or teaching ability. There are A LOT OF GIFTS.

He has given you a gift as well as me. What are you doing with that gift? 

Are you bettering the kingdom? Are you growing the kingdom? Are you enlarging the Master's kingdom?

He didn't give that gift for me to make my life more comfortable. He didn't give you that gift to hide in a napkin until He comes back. He gave us gifts to grow His kingdom.

It is for His glory and His honor and His kingdom. 

Are we bearing fruit?

Are you enjoying the fruits of other saints who have gone before you?

What am I doing for Christ and His Kingdom?
Are we "occupying"? 

 - Rejoicing in the Present

Luke 18:1

One of the best things that happened to me, this year, was getting a team of ladies together to study the Bible and pray. We all were friends and we all desired to go further in our walk. We also needed encouragement and accountability. We came from all walks of life. We ALL had unique situations and trials of which we were apart.  It started as a group to encourage us to study the Word, but it has turned into something beautiful. It has become oxygen to my life. It is the place where I can go pour our my burdens and where my dear friends will grab my hand and pray over me.

We have some huge burdens in that group, from serious health issues to serious relationship abuse.  We lift our prayers to the heavens, where He is listening. There is not a more precious time than our prayer time. Before we end our time together, we come together in a circle, holding each others' hands, and we pray. Sometimes we pray for the person next to us. Sometimes, we pray for ourselves. 

We cry, we laugh, we talk and we pour out our hearts to the only One that can do something about our burdens. What a blessing it has been to my life!

I woke up on Monday and my life-struggles seemed so overwhelming. I felt I could not bear up under the burden. I was so stressed. During my quiet time, I opened the Word to study and this BEAUTIFUL scripture was the first verse in my Bible study for the day. 

Men ought always to pray and not to faint.”

– Luke 18:1

God knew exactly what I needed for the day! It was oxygen to my life and medicine to my stressed self. 

I Peter 5:7 " Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."

So thankful for the One who cares. - Rejoicing

The Crisis of Pregnancy

Years ago, when I was living in Tennessee, I volunteered at a pregnancy crisis center.  While I was there I had the opportunity to train to be a counselor.  However, I was only there a year before I married and moved a thousand miles away.

When I moved to Florida, I tried to get involved with one in the new area, but it was more or less a donation center.  It's always been on my heart but I haven't had a real opportunity to get involved with a Christ-honoring program.

So, I was blessed to able to hear the speaker of the former crisis center, where I volunteered, speak in a church service recently when I was back in TN.  It brought up those same feelings and frustrations.  As I sat there I thought again about those poor ladies.  I never truly understood them until I become a mother myself.

After a year of marriage, my husband and I felt like we were ready to grow our family.  Soon after that, when I found out I was expecting, I remember being so excited yet so nervous. The nervousness quickly went away and turned into nausea.  Which in turn, turned into other "fun stages" of pregnancy.  It was really hard at times. There were many times that I wanted to turn back the clock, wishing I had not started this journey.

I was a Christian and married, very secure in both of those relationships. My husband had a job that supported our family and we were able to afford this baby. This was my first child and I was being encouraged by my family and friends in this journey, and yet, I had fears, doubts and frustrations.

So then take a woman that has a few children already with no husband who finds out that she is again pregnant.

...Or even the church-going woman that surprised by an unplanned pregnancy.

...Or that single woman or teenager whose family and/or friends will disown her if she doesn't rid herself of the baby.

...Or the one-night-stand that results in a pregnancy.

...Or maybe just the career woman ( or any other woman) who doesn't want her life to change.

There are many excuses and the world will always support them with a "morning-after pill."

My heart hurts for these women. These women are in a quandary and they feel stuck.

Commanding them to stop will not stop them. Passing laws won't completely stop them. Even holding up signs won't stop them. However, if we would care about them and give them support and love them through this time, we might be able to rescue a lot more women. Not to mention unborn babies.  This is why places like Choices Resource Center need to be supported.

Find a Christ-honoring center in your area.  Pray for them, find out their needs, donate to them, volunteer your time, and love on these woman. They need a hug and the mercy of Christ, NOT a dirty look. - Rejoicing in the Present

Using your Gifts to Help Each Other

Full House has NOTHING on us.  :-)  My parents have a beautiful house in TN but it's full to capacity right now. 

A few weeks after I got married, my grandma decided to move to TN and move in with them. They sort of made a suite for her.  She has a bedroom, sitting room and full bath so she can have her own privacy.

They wanted to be able to have family visit so they then built a large area above their garage to house guests. There was always room for people to stay; then my sister and her husband decided to build a house.  After selling their old house, they came to live with my parents for a few months and have "filled" that upstairs area.

Then, just this past week, it was determined that I would need to come stay at my parents' home too, due to my daughter's lung issues and the construction being done on our house.

All that being said, 12 in the house is a little full.  :-) ...but what is SO amazing, is that we are able to work together and help out with the gifts we have.

I volunteered to do the cleaning. My sister is doing the cooking and my mom is helping do our laundry. We help watch each other's kids and we all use our gifts to help each other. It's been so neat to just come together for this time and help each other. 

Now, my parents are really the ones who are helping us, but we give back with our talents and work. I personally DO NOT like cooking. So, it's GREAT to have someone else cook. 

I don't mind dusting and cleaning and I know it helps my daughter's health to keep things clean and neat. 

I'm not a huge fan of laundry either and my mom has always had this knack for getting stains out and keeping your clothes looking fresh and clean. So having her throw my clothes in with hers is just an extra blessing.

Now, I'm not suggesting that you sell your house and buy land next to your extended family, creating a big compound.  Though, I am seriously considering it myself ...hahahahaha. :-)   HOWEVER, I am suggesting that we use your talents to help each other. 

Maybe you can trade talents. Maybe you are great at cooking and your friend is great at cleaning. Trade a meal or two for an hour of cleaning.  Or maybe you can babysit your friends' kids so they can go on a date and then vice versa.

Now sometimes we need to help even when we will get nothing back. The Bible teaches us that principle.  

Help each other! 

That's what family does. Aren't we in the family of God? 

Whether you are trading talents or giving without any expectation of return, use your gifts to better each other. You will be blessed in the end. I can promise you that. - Rejoicing in the Present :-)

If you have any suggestions on other ways to help each other, leave a comment below. 

Gifted To Be You

I was sitting in a mom's group meeting this past week when we all started talking about super-moms. My sister's name was brought up.  Now, my sister could be the Super-mom of all Super-moms.  She works a part time job as a teacher, schools her children part time, helps run the Wednesday Night Children's program at her church, heads up their VBS and Christmas program--and does it all with a flare. Her parties look like they are right out of Pinterest and her classroom is a cut above everyone else's.

As her family has grown, she has had to give up some of the things she had done in the past, but she is just such an amazingly giving, yet godly woman. My sister is truly gifted!  We all joked about living up to her, but really we just need to live up to "us".

Yes, my sister is gifted...but so are you. So am I. So are our friends.

Our gifts may all look different, but God has given us talents. Talents that we can use for our own glory or for His.

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH IT -->

Back in the day, every grandma had something she was famous for.  It may have been her quilting skills or her cherry pie. People would talk about that special "thing".

"You have to taste my Granny's pie" OR "Let me show you the quilt my Grandma made".

It was always ONE really special thing. Nowadays we have gotten away from that one really good thing. It has become necessary to be all of the above. You may be really great at being organized but you are also expected to be an amazing cook, throw the most amazing Pinterest-inspired parties, AND your house needs to be spotless.

Oh, and all the decorations need to be homemade.

:-)  However, God did not make us to be Pinterest moms. He created us with different talents and different desires.  We need to find out what we do best, perfect it, and keep doing it.  It's not bad to work on the skills that we are lacking but we should not get upset if someone else does it much better. Be happy with your gift and use it to honor God and better your family. - Rejoicing in the Present

JoAnn's Testimony

My name is JoAnn E and I accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior 28 years ago at the age of 23. I was born in Oklahoma and raised Catholic as a child. My mom had me in church every Sunday, even when we were on vacation.  I had a very happy childhood filled with many blessings.

 In my teen years, I did well in school, always at the top of my class, as well as a state champion tennis player, but still got involved in drugs and alcohol. As I ventured into adulthood, I moved around the country looking for just the right place to settle and start my life. My view of life was one big party and to have as much fun as possible. I lived in Taos, New Mexico; Tarpon Springs, Florida; and Breckinridge, Colorado all for a short time looking for a place to settle that would meet all my needs and make me happy. On the outside, I was a happy- go- lucky young girl that seemed to be having a lot of fun. On the inside, I was missing something. I would call my mom at all hours of the night in tears telling her how unhappy I was. She would always listen attentively. I wasn’t going to church, and even if I had been, that wasn’t going to be the answer. The reason…I believed in God the Father and Jesus Christ, but I did NOT have a personal relationship with him. I didn’t even know that was possible. All those years sitting in church gave me a head knowledge of Jesus, but not a heart knowledge. I just thought if you were basically a good person you went to heaven. After all, God knew I wasn’t any murderer.

 My search for peace continued and I found myself back in Florida at the age of 23. I met a man, by the name of David Edson, who would share with me this idea that people could have a personal relationship with the God of the Universe. At first I was skeptical, but I thought he was gorgeous so I continued to listen. He was persistent and I became increasingly receptive to all this “God talk.” I thought to myself, “Wow, I can talk to God and he is going to listen to me. How can I resist a deal like this.”  David took me to a church where the Bible was taught and I cried like a waterfall because I felt the love of God for me, personally. During this time, I also read a book about famous people who had accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior and how it had transformed their lives.

 It was at this point, I truly realized what a sinner I was and how my prior thinking about me being good enough wasn’t going to get me in to heaven. Through David (who would soon become my husband) and solid Bible teaching I learned about the one true way to get to heaven and that was to ask Jesus to be Lord of my life, to cleanse me from my sin and to vow to do my best to live my life for him. I told David I wanted to say the sinner’s prayer and accept Jesus. David and I sat on the floor in my teeny, tiny apartment and he guided me through the very simple prayer. In a matter of seconds, I had accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior.  I had never done anything in my life that felt more right. Praise God!!  

My Testimony

I was raised in church. In fact, I started attending 9 months before I was even born. So it’s not surprising that I realized at a young age of my need of a Savior. If we are honest, most of us would admit that we are sinners but not all of us always understand the separation between ourselves and God because of it.

So there I was at 5 years old, sitting in Sunday School one morning, when I realized that because of my sin and because God did not have any sin, I would not be able to go to Heaven.

Romans 6:23 says “For the wages of sin is death;”

But then if you keep reading that verse, you learn something what I learned that day, and that is this“ …but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

I learned that day that my sin earned me a place in Hell, a place that God created for the devil and his angels, not a place for me. …but due to my sin and God’s holiness, I would have to go there.

As a remedy, God, in His grace and love toward us, sent Jesus.

John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

If I believe in Jesus and put my faith and trust in HIM, I will receive the gift of eternal life. Heaven will be my home.

That day, I went home and told my dad what I learned. He took me into the spare bedroom and talked to me about my sin.

In Matthew 9:13 Jesus says “for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."  … He goes on to say many times “Repent and be ye baptized”

I knew that I had to confess my sin and turn away from it.  I had to choose God over my sin.

So that day, kneeling at the edge of the bed, I got down and told God what he already knew, that I was a sinner. I confessed to him my short past, and asked Him for His gift of Jesus.

________________

Part 2

Over the years I struggled with trusting God to actually save me. I would slip in and out of different sins which would make me doubt my salvation even more.

I prayed to accept Jesus many times over those next years, just thinking that “this next time would do the trick.”  I had trust in the words that I was speaking, rather than in the Savior Who was saving.

I would confess every sin I ever sinned and then would re-ask Him into my heart. This happened until about 9 years ago. That last time, I sat crying on the porch of a friend.  I told the friend my struggle and said I just didn’t know if I was truly saved. I poured out my heart to God and asked him to save me. I knew that day that I had to trust Him and not the words I had been saying for all those years.

For those of you that are struggling with truly knowing that you are saved, here are a few tips:

First, trust Jesus.  John 3:16 says “whosoever believeth in Him” You have to believe that He will save you. Faith is about believing in Him.

You know, He has always kept His promises. He is faithful and true. In fact did you know that “faithful” is a word that describes him Deuteronomy 7:9 says “Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;”

He is trustworthy, you can trust Him to save you. Don’t put stock in your own words or in the time it happened or where it took place. Put stock in the Savior who is doing the saving.

Second, if you are struggling, get in the Word.

John 5:21-14 says

“ He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; This is you.  that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.  And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

Going back to that phrase “These things have I written” …these “written” things are the Bible. Most of the time, the reason we are struggling is because of one of two things.

1.     There is sin and so we feel a disconnect from God OR

2.    We don’t really know the God who loves us, the God who sent Jesus to save us.

Just like any other relationship, communication IS KEY, so when we feel disconnected or “not saved”, it’s usually because we haven’t communicated with God in a while or allowed Him to speak to us through the WORD of God, the Bible.

LASTLY, if you are really just not sure, read the book of I John.  Pray through it and ask God to show you if you have ever repented and trusted in Him. He will show you. 

One thing that I have definitely learned, is that GOD LOVES ME and HE WANTS ME. He wants you, too.  So much that He sent Jesus to rescue you from Hell. He is waiting with open arms, the arms that love you so much that they were stretched out on a cross for you.

Trust HIM today.