HE IS

Since I finally found the song HE IS, by Aaron and Jeoffrey - the father son duo, I wanted to post about it. I have pasted the words to their song here as well as the youtube video.

Please be sure your sound is on if you are going to listen. Or you may play the video linked here; either way, I promise you will be blessed.





In Genesis, He's the breath of life
In Exodus, the Passover Lamb
In Leviticus, He's our High Priest
Numbers, The fire by night
Deuteronomy, He's Moses' voice
In Joshua, He is salvation's choice
Judges, law giver
In Ruth, the kinsmen-redeemer
First and second Samuel, our trusted prophet
In Kings and Chronicles, He's sovereign
Ezra, true and faithful scribe
Nehemiah, He's the rebuilder of broken walls and lives
In Esther, He's Mordecai's courage
In Job, the timeless redeemer
In Psalms, He is our morning song
In Proverbs, wisdom's cry
Ecclesiastes, the time and season
In the Song of Solomon, He is the lover's dream

He is, He is, HE IS!

In Isaiah, He's Prince of Peace
Jeremiah, the weeping prophet
In Lamentations, the cry for Israel
Ezekiel, He's the call from sin
In Daniel, the stranger in the fire
In Hosea, He is forever faithful
In Joel, He's the Spirits power
In Amos, the arms that carry us
In Obadiah, He's the Lord our Savior
In Jonah, He's the great missionary
In Micah, the promise of peace
In Nahum, He is our strength and our shield
In Habakkuk and Zephaniah, He's pleading for revival
In Haggai, He restores a lost heritage
In Zechariah, our fountain
In Malachi, He is the son of righteousness rising with healing in His wings

He is, He is, HE IS!

In Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, He is God, Man, Messiah
In the book of Acts, He is fire from heaven
In Romans, He's the grace of God
In Corinthians, the power of love
In Galatians, He is freedom from the curse of sin
Ephesians, our glorious treasure
Philippians, the servants heart
In Colossians, He's the Godhead Trinity
Thessalonians, our coming King
In Timothy, Titus, Philemon He's our mediator and our faithful Pastor
In Hebrews, the everlasting covenant
In James, the one who heals the sick.
In First and Second Peter, he is our Shepherd
In John and in Jude, He is the lover coming for His bride
In the Revelation, He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords

He is, He is, HE IS!

The prince of peace
The Son of man The Lamb of God The great I AM
He's the alpha and omega
Our God and our Savior He is Jesus Christ the Lord
and when time is no more He is, HE IS!

Words by Jeoffrey Benward & Jeff Silvey©1994 Star Song(All rights reserved.)

God Who Restores! My Restorer!

Continued from Abiding Branch!!!



But the biggest thing ever, did I say ever? I meant EVER!!!!!!RRRRR!!!!!
My hubby and I attended the Family Life Conference called A Weekend to Remember!!!

No, as so many have asked...I did not drag him there! It was HIS idea!! Yep! (heart string strung! ***insert harps and violins***) tee hee

It was Valentines Weekend!! And we stayed at the Gaylord Texan! Beautiful and wonderful!
The best way I can describe any of this is that when you choose to love your husband in the same way Christ loves you it means more than you can imagine.

(side note: If you are in a relationship where your life is being threatened please understand that Christ took that so you would not have to. When the world and its evil ways are taking your life and trying to steal your very soul that is another thing all together.)

God has called me to this man and this is where I will find my joy and peace. When you are abused there is no peace in that home but you can have peace within. Hang in there. You can seek help and even safety without divorce if you can't bring yourself to divorce. God did not intened for you to be a punching bag or piece of merchandise. He loves you so much! And God is the best husband you could ever have!!

1. You trust God in all things!
2. You learn to love with the Love of the Lord - unconditional.
3. You forgive! (FUDGE Forgiveness Under Divine Guidance Everyday)
4. You learn grace!
5. You die to self!
(not necessarily in that order.)

A couple of things I noticed about myself: I had begun to protect myself from being hurt, which led to isolation. You know the story, "I am so lonely yet I am married." God showed me I was not dying to self in the Name of the Lord! I was so focused on forgiving him and protecting myself that I kept my heart to myself. He could have my forgiveness but not my heart? That won't do;

I was not fully trusting God!

I withheld a natural tendency toward affection, not even knowingly most of the time. I was not living to love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength! Not to mention squelching the Holy Spirit!



While whining about his walls of independence, I was building some of my own called preservation - self preservation! ***see the pattern***I don't know about you, but that to me is the opposite of dying to self. I was hanging on to my own life for dear life.

Jesus said that who ever would seek to save their own lives, would lose it. Whomever lost their lives for His sake would live! I was dying a little each day!!! Not a good place at all!!!



I needed restoration in a big way!!!! I mean huge! Life gets in the way and people just get tired. Now, I know it is not all mental, I have physical reasons for feeling so tired too!! (the health concerns in my previous post)

On Saturday, we were to write a love letter to one another. I wanted to approach the Throne Room first and visit with my DAD. So, I asked Him for the advice I needed as a woman and I opened my Bible to Psalm 86. The Words were the balm of Gilead to my heart and soul!

We needed restoration. Both of us had some repenting to do. I had prayed and prayed for a marriage that would stand the test of time and endure all things. Sometimes you just don't know what you are praying for, and you had better be ready for the answer.

It is a good thing though, because HIS ways are not our ways! If we knew what He would use in and through us for His glory, we might not take that path. Glory to God! We should be joyful in our trials and consider it an honor to die to self even for our spouse! It is a privilege we take too lightly, at least I have.

I knew the God Who Restores could do anything He wanted to!!! But the word restore is a word that implies the re-breaking of a bone to restore it fully! God had been doing some re-breaking!!! But the pain had long passed. As a matter of fact, it was hard to feel.

Bottom line is that all this time I had felt a numbness that I could not explain. But when all the walls had come tumbling down I felt the weight! But I felt!!! I had been in a body cast of sorts and God wanted my husband to remove the bandages like a veil on a wedding day! God healed me and my husband was able to reveal me. My veil was torn!!!

God offered a new path, a new season in our lives together. He provided an unhindered path to approach one another. Choosing to be true always and forever is not what this world would have you do. But this is a choice that you have to make. This choice will change your attitude but more so it will penetrate your heart! Our choices led us to this weekend we will always remember!! And to a vow renewal ceremony we would not forget!

The renewal of our vows seemed sweeter to me than the vows on our wedding day! This time we actually knew each quite well and did it anyway! lol We knew each other 3 months before we wed! SERIOUSLY! But this time we had shared half our lives together and still said, "I do"!!!

I am choosing to act the way I want to feel and not act the way I feel! We have been married almost 17 years and we are fighting to keep what the entire world would destroy!

When was the last time you sat down with the God Who Restores?
Do you need to pray for your marriage to honor God no matter what it takes? Be ready this prayer works!
I promise you one thing you can't do this! This was WAY more than I could handle, alone that is. I said I couldn't do it and God said I was right. I could not and you cannot do it without HIM!!! One thing I have learned the hard way, get-out-of-the-way and let God do HIS job. When you get out of God's way there is no telling what He will restore.

I am praying a restoration for you too in whatever area you need it in your life. If it is God, a friend, a relative, a parent, or a spouse, whomever you need restoration, you have my prayers.

I want to hear how God is revealing Himself to you!! Please share!
In Christ,
Chel

Painter Extraordinaire! Elohim

ELOHIM: CREATOR GOD (HEBREW) The "strong one" who "constructs and forms".

Welcome to the Sweetest Name of All meme. I would love to hear what you have heard from the Lord lately and a name of His that just seemed to stand out more than another. Leave a comment and make your post. If you use Mister Linky below you can share your post with the rest of us. Please copy my button and use it to link back to this post.

God truly is a Painter Extraordinaire! He sets forth on each canvass of our lives and paints the most exciting and beautiful pictures right before our eyes. Take a look at what He painted for me the other day:

This sunset literally took my breath away. I was amazed at the crane sitting perfectly still at the water's edge and the ducks politely parting the waves. The sunlight appeared to kiss the horizon and everything seemed at peace in stillness and confidence. This can only be attributed to the finest artist of all, Elohim, the Creator God. His creation astonishes me so often. From watching the sunrise from the middle of the ocean to this sunset over a golf course, the beauty at His fingertips is marvelous.

When I see the beams of light in this picture above I am captivated. When I was a little girl each time I would see sunbeams pouring out of the clouds I would think that was the way that souls knew how to get to Heaven. And each time I saw those beams I thought God was taking people home to be with Him. Perhaps that thinking came from losing my mother when I was 11 years young. She helped me to see the beauty in things and people that we would normally not see. I know that God was at work in our lives and the one who paints this sky just for me is also creating a perfect place for me in eternity.

This last photo caught my eye after I saw it on the computer. I felt it would turn out pretty when I took it, but I did not imagine the use of light the Master Artist, Elohim, would portray. The light, which gently makes itself known from beyond the trees, gave me a sense of warmth and security. There is no way someone less than Thomas Kinkade could capture this moment in time with this lighting and I am not convinced there is a living soul who could. I find myself looking for the majesty of the sun behind the trees and yet I can't quite reach it. All this just instills the wonder within me for Elohim.

Romans 1:20 tells us the intention in creation.

Read the New American Standard Version: "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. "

New Living Translation:

"For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God."

I see this and I know I see Him, at least His hand's work. This creation of just a few moments most assuredly points toward our Creator God. If we can see something this beautiful this side of Heaven, I can't wait until the Carpenter has completed His job on our mansion and returns for us, His Bride!

I beseech each of you to find beauty in your day and praise Elohim that He took the time to share it with you, His most beloved of all creation!

In Jesus Name, Chel

Wise Counselor / Interior Designer

I know if I want this meme to catch on I need to do it earlier, but here I am at the end of the day finally posting. But it was only after reflecting on all God had been saying to me did I realize how He had been my Wise Counselor recently (still looking to redecorate my life though).

Have you ever looked around the walls of your house and wished you could simply redecorate? I know I have. I love to hang pretty groupings of pictures or plates or just plain pretty (the frillier the better!) things. This made me think of God as my Interior Designer, One Who Counsels Wisely at that! The one who will redecorate all the corners in my heart, or around it.

I realized that sometimes you just have to switch out the pictures and even the knick-knacks on the shelves. You definitely have to dust every now then, ho hum. If I had my way everything would be black and white with splashes of red and purple but, alas I do not have my way always. [sigh]

Today, He directed me some blogs that touched me deeply. There is such a sweetness in the fact that He cares what my insides look like and uses this electronic format to reach us right where we are!

He carefully places the right colors and knick-knacks on the shelves in my heart through each blog I read. The things all bloggy sojourners share are helping to take part in making God my "Interior Decorator". I can't wait to see what He does next!

Today He guided me to Psalm 32: 10 & 11

10 Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him. 11 Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!

He is going to Flip This Heart over and over until it is done! How neat is it that HE wants to decorate my life by covering everything, even me, with His Unfailing Love! And He will give us some background music too!

Chel

Extreme Makeover

Is that? No, it couldn't be...Ty Pennington?











...............................NOT!!!!!!!!!!!




It is the Lord thy God! (well could be anyway)




I know I have not written on the names of God for a while now but since we have a conference just around the corner. I must allow the "crew" to come in and demolish every thing so it can be rebuilt better, more beautiful, but hopefully not bigger - seein' as how I'm a woman and all!! yikes!



Have you ever thought of God as a "Home and Garden Expert".

Well that is what He has been to me lately.

First of all, He is the Firm Foundation!

And boy is HE a genius with spackle to fill all our crackles...

ok, so I could not resist that.



He knows how to pull the weeds out of our lives.



When we have been in His presence He enhances our curb-appeal!



He makes our "Old House" mighty clean!



He designed our world in less than a week.

He was the first to "Design on a Dime".

The Ten Commandments.



He was the first to Flip a House for His gain...

one example Paul "Saul of Tarsus".



He already knows what our walls would say if they could talk and loves us still.



Well I could go on but I wanted to share this one last one with you:



God sent His son to "Trade Places" with us.



(I know!) ----top that networks and cable tv.




I felt it was time to pull another name of God or two or three or four, well yes more and remind everyone just how versatile our God is. This is the blog carnival/meme where you are encouraged to name drop. Yes you read that right.

But not just any old name, I want an older one. Let's talk about God and any one of His names. I want to hear what He is to you and what that means to you. How does He reach you? Did you ever think that His reaching was just proving one of His names like Tower, Strength, Everlasting? If you want to participate steal my button loop back over here and make a comment! I can't wait to hear about who and what God is to you.

The LORD God Almighty, God Alone

As I have read HIS word, the Bible, today, I found that God makes His name known when it comes to those He loves, He is the LORD God Almighty, God Alone! It just struck me that no matter what goes on around us He is on His Throne, Unshakeable. I have been singing God Alone all day. You know it was one of those moments that I knew I have known this but it was real and tangible right here, right now. He alone is God, who Was and Is and Is to Come!

No matter what goes on around me I can rest assured my God is there. No matter my sins, no matter my backsliding, no matter my circumstances, nothing changes Him. He alone brings the "changes" in me that make a difference in my life. I have been much like the nation of Israel and I have learned much so far and await many many more lessons in my life. This nation had tried God every which way but He shall not be loosed!

In Jeremiah 14 we hear the cries of the rebellious to God: verses 7-8, "Although our sins testify against us, O LORD, do something for the sake of your name. For our backsliding is great; we have sinned against you. O Hope of Israel, its Savior in times of distress..."

WOW ~ I KNOW! (I have also learned that admitting something does not always have remorse and both are different than repentance.)

Then this is what the LORD says about His people, "they greatly love to wander, they do not restrain their feet." Oh my feet grew tired a long time ago but my mind still takes a journey or two.

I have huge nomadic tendencies, but thank Jesus I am unable to escape the LORD God Almighty. I also thank Jesus that nothing can snatch me from the Father's Hands! Thank Him right now for Jesus because much wrath was brought upon this wandering nation that has been spared from us. If you have been redressed by the Blessed One thank Him right now. He is God Alone!

This is all a heart issue and not just for me. You know when your heart tries to wander. Your heart has a hobo bag handy and ready for the next journey. You know the one with spare clothes wrapped in a large hanky tied to a stick? This is why I love to read Jeremiah. There I hear this weeping prophet cry out to the people making known the will of the Father.

Jeremiah 17: 1-4 addresses all the idols of the nation. Verse 5 delivers the curse of those who trust in "man" who depend on flesh for strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. Verse 7 says Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD. Verse 9 reminds us of how our own heart can and will deceive us.

verse 10, "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve."

Chapter 51 verse 5 let's us know that the LORD God Almighty has not forsaken Israel or Judah. And He will not forsake any of us. He will bring healing, he will be the Rebuilder, the Restorer, and KING.

He alone is Healer-in-Chief.
He alone is our HOPE (Heaven's Offering of Peace Eternal).
He alone is Almighty.
He alone is Holy.
He alone is YAHWEH (LORD).
He alone is GOD!

Rewarder of those who seek HIM

First of all let me rephrase that HE is the REWARD! Yes HE IS!


This name is a TREAT because there is tangible evidence and it is a TRAIT of His character because He is simply keeping the promise made in Matthew 6:33 (provided at the end).


Ok, now to the post. The last few years have a been a roller coaster at home and in the workforce and in the midst of all this mess the Lord saw fit to provide a women’s ministry to some very busy ladies.

I had a very demanding, micromanaging, never-pleased boss and my husband was going through the same phase at the time. And while this roller coaster was clinking loudly up the steep climb WOVEN began. WOVEN is the name of our ladies ministry. This post is not about that but about Him. So, just briefly it is Women of the Vine Equipping Nations. We have yet to go outside our nation, but we see that as more than the earthly boundaries. We are all just ordinary women with one extraordinary Savior!! (http://www.woven-ministries.org/)

Back to our Rewarder, I left that one job telling my husband it was him or that boss, I could no longer take both. He jokingly said keep the job! HA. Well God saw fit, as I sought HIM, to give me a job doubling my pay. REALLY! Oh yes He is Provider too!

This company was bought, and in one year I was presented another job opportunity. The notice for this job came out the day before it was announced that the company who purchased my current company was also being acquired. Jesus is the ultimate Inside Trader!!! Lol

So, I work there with a boss of some similarity to a previous one, but I will not describe any further as he has passed away this year, and I will not speak ill of the dead. I will only say that he was also hard to please. I did make some very dear, lifelong friends while there. I went on to another company 2 years later for another double hit on the salary scale. Woo hoo! Then after taking 2 months to decide to interview and 2 months for them to decide they wanted me, I took the job. After one month of working there they changed everything!!! The territory I was to work would not change, but what I would sell did. This ultimately would decrease my salary by 2/3rds! WHOA buddy! Stop the press! What was that name again????

Oh yes Rewarder….. Now the new management was awesome. This lady is wonderful and very inspiring. She provided the best sales conference I had ever been to and having been in this industry for over a decade I have seen some fun. The theme was to “Expect a Miracle”. I do every day. Anyway, The Rewarder was not going to let me down (I learned later). I was told that there were no more guarantees, did I mention I was given a 12 month commission guarantee and I exceeded it monthly but everything was changing…..

Ok, on with the changes…..this wonderful lady announced that there were no guarantees and that this whole thing had been blown up to start over new and fresh and better!! Well after being told this, we still did not know what that meant financially to us even after the start date for new pay. I had been hounded by another company to work for them and I took it. I found out after I had accepted the offer the guarantee was still in play but by the way so is their stressors to this day!!
I took that other job and in 6 months (ironically when my guarantee would have stopped) I found myself without a job and on unemployment. During this time, I began college. For 13 weeks I was without work and now making much less than the first underpaid highly demanding job I had left to begin this journey. ARG!!!!!! I nearly lost my marriage also, all this seriously had no reflection on my actions. I was just doing what I was supposed to do and now I had nearly nothing and I could not blame myself or even feel guilty about anything I may have done. There was nothing to blame but I still keep seeking HIM. But it seemed I had lost all my rewards. I was tired, sad, lonely, but making great grades in school. It seems that school, Christian school, was helping me stay focused when I worked on it. I slept a lot and there were no companies hiring. Before I had lost my job there were a lot of job openings, so I knew this time off was God ordained but I was not seeing the whole picture. And for the first time in a long I felt uninspired.

Or was I?

During this time off, there were real break-throughs in my husband’s life and God once more asked me to be willingly obedient even though I did not feel like it. We still had a WOVEN conference but then I had to let a friend go.

It was a very hard year from October of last year to now. The roller coast has now become a kiddy coaster (that is a good thing!) But still the Rewarder is peeking through the fog in my life.

June 30th, I started a new job and I have a wonderful group of people to work with and a GREAT boss! I have not had both together at the same time since running a Senior Center in Tulsa. Even there I had a lying boss for a little while but he met his doom on his own and kept serving him even when I did not want to. I have been writing like crazy and spending more time in the Word then ever accept when preparing for a conference. We average two per year.

I am NOT trying to make myself seem like a saint or a martyr (however you need to know that the root word for the noun WITNESS is martyr!)

I did not always cheerfully obey but I do willingly obey. There is a difference, and I am learning to do it cheerfully even when it hurts. It will be a lifelong process and I give Jesus all the glory. I have not arrived anywhere except in some PEACE.

Recently, I began to question if I was where I was supposed to be job-wise. I could not concentrate or even seem productive in my own eyes. People have seen such potential in me my whole life, but I could never figure out what that was supposed to amount to.

So, I asked my Provider to become the Rewarder financially once more. Now I say financially but know I like to be busy and I have fun in insurance, I know that is weird but I like what I do and I like to see people understand their benefits and I do like to get paid for it. Plus, I am climbing back up the pay scale less ambitious but still eager less proud of the reward and more humble in HIS Grace.

Immediately the answers began to come. DID I SAY IMMEDIATELY???? Yes it was and not just in work but in the lives of people around me too. God is on the move and He is ready to be a Rewarder to all those who diligently and earnestly seek HIM.

Matthew 6:33, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of GOD and HIS righteousness and ALL these things will be added unto YOU.” AMEN