On Monday morning I had the pleasure of meeting with a teacher who is officially retiring after many, many years of service. She shared with me how she taught her students to look, listen, learn, and love. By doing this they would always succeed. This was a very inspiring message and I quickly thought about how we can apply this with my faith. I am sure these four words could help you recall many different scripture verses. With my word of the year being “Love”, I thought the following scripture verses would be appropriate. 

Look: ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭105‬:‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬ – Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.

Listen: ‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭19‬ ‭NIV – My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.

Learn: ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭9‬ ‭NIV – Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Love:‭‭ 1 Corinthians‬ ‭16‬:‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬ – Do everything in love.

I encourage you to open your paper Bible or go to your Bible app on your phone, or Bible Gateway to find what look, listen, learn, and love mean to you. Like the lighthouse pictured here, we can look to God to find our way through life.

Let’s pray. Dear God, Thank You for these encouraging words to help guide me through Your word. Help me to look to You this week so that I can receive Your strength. Help me to listen before I act or speak. Help me to put into practice all that I have learned from You. Help me to do everything from Your Godly love as I walk my own faith journey. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Genesis 16:13 NIV – She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”

Have you ever felt forgotten about? Have you ever felt unheard or unseen? Have you ever been mistreated or witnessed someone else being mistreated? In times when I have witnessed mistreatment or times when I feel unseen or unheard, I remember that God sees. God knows. Hagar, the mistress to Abram, experienced mistreatment. You can read the full story in Genesis 16: 1-13 NIV. I encourage you to read it. For today we will focus on our key verse. 

Hagar was running away from her journey when an Angel of the Lord came to her and spoke prophetic words to her that only God would know. At that moment she knew that God cared. She knew that God had seen and heard the mistreatment that had taken place. She named God: “You are the God who sees me”. I think it is interesting that in verse seven the Angel found Hagar near a spring in the desert. As we go to God in prayer, envision yourself sitting by the stream of water as pictured here. Feel God surrounding you by His heavenly realm. He knows you. He sees you. He hears you. He’s got you. Now let Him hold you.

Dear God, I come to Your water today to sit at Your feet. Thank you for Your heavenly realm that surrounds me. Thank You for being a Father who knows me, who sees me, and who hears me. Thank You for Your comforting presence. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Genesis 2:1-2 NIV – Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work.

Last week Deborah encouraged us to remember how our journeys began. We are all on different journeys and in different seasons of our lives. I started thinking about the first journey that ever took place and that is when God created the heavens and earth. You can read the full passage in Genesis 1: 1-31; 2: 1-2. For today we will focus on our key verse where God carved out a day for rest on His journey of creation. We may not be able to take a day of rest from cancer, grief, or any other trial but we can surrender those things to God’s time. On Sundays or whatever day you choose to be your sabbath, you can sit in God’s word and worship. You can find rest by taking time for self-care. 

As I am writing to you today it is Friday morning. I am sitting on my back porch and it is a nice 71 degrees. I am drinking my coffee and watching two red birds and one bluebird dance about. Right now the days are long and the weeks seem short. I have a long To Do list ahead but for this moment I am choosing to sit in my sanctuary and share God’s word with you. 

Let’s pray. Dear God, Thank You for my time of rest with You. As I reflect on my past and current journeys may I find both strength and rest in Your faithfulness.You know both the current and future needs. I surrender them all to Your timeline. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV —- Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Do you believe God loves you and will look out for you? Are you trusting God with your future? Watch today’s See You Saturday video as I share some thoughts on trusting God.

Psalm 136:1 NIV — Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.

This week I have shared with you about a time when I was overwhelmed by my circumstances. I pray that you have been able to look back and see times God has shown His overwhelming love for you instead of focusing on the stresses of your current circumstances. Reflect and remember His faithfulness throughout your life. Remember how He is always with you. Remember how He always provides. Stop holding on so desperately to control. Surrender to Him. Have faith. Trust Him. Reach out to Christian friends for support and encouragement. Be overwhelmed by Him and give thanks. His love endures forever!

Let’s pray. Thank You Lord for You are good. Thank you for Your enduring love. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

FYI: I completed the work for my National Board recertification and submitted it on time. Then I had to be patient, have faith, and trust as I awaited results in November. Hallelujah! I passed the recertification process and continue to be a National Board certified teacher. Go God!

Have you ever been overwhelmed by the love of God? Has God ever shown up on your behalf in a mighty way?

Yesterday I shared with you how God showed off and provided the money I needed to begin my National Board recertification process. I was overwhelmed by God’s mighty provision. As I worked on completing the necessary work I was overwhelmed by the circumstances of finishing the process along with being Mama, Wife, Church Member, and Teacher. As I breathed in Jesus, He reminded me of how He is always with me and how He always provides. He reminded me of a story in the Bible where His people were overwhelmed by circumstances. Please take a moment to read 2 Chronicles 20: 1-27 NIV.

In this story, Jehoshaphat is facing an ominous battle and he receives word from God by way of Jahaziel as recorded in 2 Chronicles 20:15 — Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you, “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.”

The next day Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing and praise the Lord for His holiness. The Lord did the rest. He defeated the enemy. Jehoshaphat and his people were once overwhelmed by what they faced, but through their obedience, faith and trust, God defeated the opposition and His people were overwhelmed by His mighty actions and enduring love. That is what God wants for all of us. He wants us to turn over control to Him. He wants us to surrender to Him. He wants us to be overwhelmed, not by circumstances of life, but by Him. We are to be overwhelmed by His mighty love and goodness. 

Being submissive and turning over control to God is hard. Today, listen to “Thy Will” by Hillary Scott and slowly release your worries to God. Trust Him to go to battle on your behalf. 

Let’s pray. Dear God, Give me courage to release control to You. The battle is Yours! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV — Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Yesterday I encouraged you to look back and remember your journey. When I became overwhelmed with life’s circumstances while working on National Board recertification God told me to look back and remember my recertification journey. 

As I looked back, I remembered. It all began one of the last days in January of that year. I knew the time was growing near for me to register for the recertification process so I decided to check the website. When I opened the page I nearly fainted. The last day to sign up and pay the $1200 registration fee was January 31st, less than a week away. My husband and I had planned on using some of our tax refund money for the fee. We hadn’t filed our taxes yet. Where in the world would I come up with that much money so fast? At that moment I was overwhelmed with worry. I immediately sent a text to a pastor friend who sent back, “God’s got this!” Her words of assurance comforted me and gave me peace. At that moment I knew that God would handle the details if this was His will. Later that evening a friend sent a group text to myself and others inviting our families to have dinner at their house in a couple days. I felt led to share with them my news of needing to come up with $1200 in a rush and asked them to pray for guidance. In a few short minutes one of those friends sent me a private message offering to let me borrow the funds until we received our tax refund. OVERWHELMED! Again that is what I felt. Completely overwhelmed! This time I was overwhelmed by God’s awesome power and presence. I knew right then that this text was an answer to prayer. My friend shared with me that accepting the money was an answer to her prayer as she had prayed earlier in the week for an opportunity to use this money to help someone. What an awesome way God had answered both our prayers!

When you look back are you able to see how God has answered your prayers? How has God overwhelmed you with His loving presence? Listen to “Overwhelmed” by Big Daddy Weave. Today may you be overwhelmed by the love and presence of God.

Let’s pray. Dear God, Thank You for Your overwhelming love and presence. May I never forget Your overwhelming love. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.