Another “Most Wonderful Time of the Year”

January 8th, 2013 dsisler

I find that I look forward to the weeks of the year when women’s Bible study starts up. In the fall, it’s the week after Labor Day. In the spring, it’s the second week of the New Year. This is that week.

 

Tonight I will begin leading a group of faithful women who truly want to learn about God through His Word. Women who desire a deeper relationship with Him and who willingly remove themselves from the equation so that God may be seen by others through them.

 

Tomorrow morning, I will gather our women’s Bible study leaders and lead them in devotions and prayer time. It has become a special time that has drawn us closer to one another and to God.

 

Yes, it is one of my favorite times of the year. I find that three important elements are fueled by gathering with sisters in Christ to study Scripture.

 

In Acts chapter 2, we find the fellowship of believers devoting themselves to four things. “To the apostles teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer” (Acts 2:42 – NIV).

 

You see, I gain insight into God’s message by studying the apostles teaching. I gain encouragement by being in fellowship with fellow believers. I gain a closer relationship with God through prayer. These three elements are found in women’s Bible study.

 

For me, getting back into a schedule of studying God’s Word, fellowshipping with Christian friends, and praying corporately puts me back on track. It balances my life. It focuses my attention on God instead of myself.

 

So if you are in need to some direction in your spiritual life, why not seek out a group of believers that you can be with on a weekly basis. It might be a small group, or a Bible study, or even a Sunday School class. Whatever it is, it must be something that you’ll enjoy and that you will continue to be devoted to.

 

It’s a great time for a new beginning. Why not make it a great beginning in this way? I’m certain you will find complete satisfaction and fulfillment in doing so.

 

I can’t wait for tonight!

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

Share

My Failures

January 7th, 2013 dsisler

I have accomplished so much in the past 12 months. I write an inspirational blog every day. I moved my blog to a beautiful new website. I have an e-published book.

 

But, I have had a difficult beginning to the New Year. I was feeling sorry for myself. Yes, I write an inspirational blog every day, but I rarely hear from others, so I have no idea if I am making a difference in this world. Yes, I have a beautiful new website, but I lost all of my followers from the original blog site. Only one person followed my move. Yes, I have an e-published book, but I’ve only sold six copies of the book.

 

And to make matters worse, someone who I have mixed emotions about has a published book and I was told about it…again. So add jealousy into the mix and I found myself in a pretty bad way a week ago.

 

I felt like a failure.

 

I picked up two books to read. One was “Made to Crave” by Lysa TerKeurst. If you have read any of my blogs, you know this is a book that has made a huge impact on my life. I certainly needed an attitude makeover and I knew this book would help with that.

 

The other book I chose to read was a book I’ve had for two years. It is “In the Blink of an Eye” by Michael Waltrip. Michael is my favorite NASCAR driver and I bought this book before going to the Daytona 500 in 2011. I took it to the race track each time we went in hopes of getting an autograph. I never saw him. So the book was placed on my shelf upon my return to Colorado.

 

Until last week.

 

According to Michael, he started 463 NASCAR Cup races before he went to victory lane. I couldn’t even begin to tell you how many laps he made around the great race tracks of our country before winning a race. But it is a lot. Thousands.

 

Suddenly, my year’s failures didn’t seem nearly as large. Michael Waltrip had inspired me. Surely I could keep going without all the baggage that I had picked up along the way.

 

And here’s the crazy part. When I started writing my blog a year ago on January 30th, I hadn’t set any goals. I just wanted to write. I didn’t care if people read my blog. I just wanted to write about God. So I have been successful at it. I have written about God every day for nearly 365 days.

 

My first blog post was a reflection on fear. I conquered the fear of writing and offered my words to the world. I have been successful at that as well.

 

I have grown closer to God and have deepened my relationship with Him throughout this year. I have been successful in that regard.

 

So you see I am not a failure. At least not by God’s standards. I offered Him my writing when I started my blog. And He has honored my gift with some great insight into His world. God has opened my eyes to concepts and ideas that I had never thought of before. God has been in the middle of my blog from the beginning. That makes me and my blog successful.

 

This is the final paragraph of my first blog post.

 

“I’ve conquered this fear of blogging. You may not agree with me. You may not like my style of writing. You may never return for “Day 2” of this blog. But I know that whatever tomorrow holds, my God will be with me. And because of that truth, I have nothing to fear.”

 

From the beginning I wasn’t sure who would read my blog, but I did know that God would be following my blog and that He would be with me each day. And He has been.

 

So I will continue to hold onto Moses’ words to Joshua and believe He is doing the same for me, because God has made this promise to believers throughout Scripture. “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deuteronomy 31:8 – NIV)

 

My fear is gone. My discouragement is diminished. My feelings of inadequacy have vanished. I am facing this New Year with a new resolve. To write about God every day and not worry about being successful by the worlds standards.

 

What have you resolved to do?

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

Share

Building a Doll House: Open House – Chapter 14

January 6th, 2013 dsisler

NOTE: If you missed Chapters 1-13 of Building a Doll House, you can find it in the column under “blog archive” to the right.

I knew from the beginning of creating this doll house that I wanted to share our experience with others. And as I told friends and family what we were doing, they all wanted to see it. So I decided that I would have an open house for the doll house.

 

I love to entertain, so this was an easy party to host. And of course, Joy had to be part of it. So together we threw an open house that was well-attended.

 

The doll house was placed on the dining room table and all the furniture was set. My home was prepared and food filled the kitchen for guests to enjoy. We then waited for guests to arrive.

 

And they did. For the entire afternoon, we had guests come and go. Others stayed the entire time visiting. It was a joyous occasion. And Joy was the perfect hostess. She was honored to show our guests each room of the house.

 

I enjoyed telling the story of building the house. The choices we made. The verses of Scripture under the wall paper, flooring and shingles. I even created a PowerPoint presentation of the process for everyone to see. Here is a glimpse into the rooms of the house with the Scripture reference that is written there.

 

The kitchen (Proverbs 31:15).

The dining room (John 21:12a).

The living room (Titus 2:4-5).

The parent’s bedroom (Matthew 11:28).

The boy’s bedroom (Psalm 4:8).

The nursery (Psalm 62:5).

The little girl’s bedroom (Psalm 127:2b).

The bathroom (Ezekiel 36:25a).

The foundation (Psalm 127:1a).

The floors (Jeremiah 29:11-14).

The porch (Deuteronomy 6:7).

The roof (Psalm 45:15).

 

This was a day of celebration. And we celebrated with those we cared about the most. Family and friends.

 

Jesus is building a place not so different than the doll house. Except that is God’s house. And there are many rooms, mansions or dwelling places, depending on the version you read.

We find reference to it in John 14. Just before this passage, Jesus told the disciples that He would be leaving them and also that Peter would deny Him three times. Jesus knew they needed encouragement. So here are the words He spoke.

 

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” (John 14:1-4 – NIV)

 

So what do we know about this place, this house that Jesus is preparing for us?

 

It has taken a long time to finish. Jesus left the disciples behind nearly 2,000 years ago. Each generation from that point on has been waiting and longing for Jesus’ return. What joy it will be when we see Jesus face to face!

 

It will be beautiful. We see a glimpse of this place, also from John, in the Book of Revelation. The description found in Revelation 21 tells of a city made of pure gold, precious stones, and with streets of gold. There is a river with trees lining its banks. Of course, these are human terms. Concepts that we can understand. But from what we can comprehend, heaven will be beautiful!

 

God and Jesus will be there. Also from Revelation we read phrases like, “It shone with the glory of God.” (Revelation 21:11a – NIV) “The Lord God Almighty and the Lam are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.” (Revelation 21:22b-23 – NIV) “The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city and his servants will serve him.” (Revelation 22:3b – NIV)

 

He wants to share His house with all those He loves. His family. His friends. Jesus told His disciples in John 14 that they knew the way to this place. Jesus was and is the Way. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we have the “map” to this great treasure. We have the entire New Testament to point us in the right direction. We have instructions on how to get on the right path when we’ve taken a wrong turn. Jesus doesn’t want anyone to be lost forever. He wants you to enjoy His house!

 

Jesus has invited us to join Him for the open house. Jesus invites us to come. There are more passages that reference this idea than I have time to mention, but here are a few. Matthew 11:28; Matthew 16:24-25; Matthew 19:21; Luke 5:32; Luke 6:47-49; Luke 9:23; Luke 14:15-24; John 6:35; and John 14:6.

 

There is one more invitation I’d like to mention from Revelation. Come is the repeated word. “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and however wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” (Revelation 22:17 – NIV)

 

The preparations are nearing completion. The invitations have been sent. The way is clear. Now it’s up to you accept. Come.

 

Are you weary? Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? Are you lost? Jesus is the Way. Come.

 

Come.

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

Share

Building a Doll House: Christmas Morning – Chapter 13

January 5th, 2013 dsisler

NOTE: If you missed Chapters 1-12 of Building a Doll House, you can find it in the column under “blog archive” to the right.

 

Christmas morning arrived. It was time for Joy to see her dollhouse for the first time. However, it was a pretty large gift and would not fit under the tree. So I created a scavenger hunt for her to search for her gift. The hunt ended in the guest room where Joy found her doll house.

 

All the anticipation leading to this moment was worth it. Wondering whether she would like her doll house disappeared the moment she saw it. When Joy saw the doll house, her face told us how she felt. The excitement, the thrill, the joy. It was all there. Expressed by wondering eyes, a smile that melts the heart, and uncertainty of where to begin the exploration. It was priceless!

 

I wonder if this isn’t how God feels when we accept Him as our Father and His Word as our guide to live by. When we get the picture that it isn’t all about “me.” When we willingly and cheerfully give of ourselves to others. Then He looks at us with joy in His heart. With excitement that cannot be contained.

 

He is the designer and when His creation accepts the challenge to be as He originally designed, God is most satisfied and thrilled by our actions.

 

The Apostle Paul encouraged the Christians in Thessalonica to live lives that pleased God. Take a look at these words. “Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.” (1 Thessalonians 4:1 – NIV)

 

This group of people were pleasing God by their actions and their attitudes. But that didn’t mean they had reached their goal. They needed to keep on doing what they were doing, but do it more and more. So what lifestyle is pleasing to God? Let’s continue with this passage to find out.

 

Paul begins with being sanctified. Sanctified means to be holy or blameless. To be set apart for holiness. There are other passages that call us to be holy. Romans 12:1; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:9; and 1 Peter 1:15 to name a few. It means we must live to please God instead of our sinful nature.

 

Which Paul mentions next. “You should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3a-6 – NIV) In order to please God, we must rid ourselves of anything that is displeasing to Him. Our hearts and minds must be pure of sexual immorality, lust, and uncontrollable urges.

 

Paul then moves to our treatment of others. He instructs them to be careful not to wrong another brother or take advantage of him. (1 Thessalonians 4:6) As we come to a better understanding of how God wants us to live, we acknowledge the second greatest commandment. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:31 – NIV) Paul was simply restating Jesus’ words.

 

In the next section, Paul encourages these brothers to treat others well, but also to grow their brotherly love. They obviously were doing so, but Paul told them they could improve. “You do love all the brothers throughout Macdeonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more.” (1 Thessalonians 4:10 – NIV) Regardless of how much we love, we can love more. It is part of what pleases God.

 

This group of Christians were then asked to “make it their ambition” to do a few more things. To lead a quiet life. To mind their own business. To work with their hands. To live lives that will win respect of outsiders. To be independent of others. (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12)

 

For me, this seems like an odd list of objectives for living a holy life. The only directive that seems to be related to God in any way is the section about winning the respect of others. That our holy lives would reflect God and that would bring others to Christ. But clearly, these elements are to be pursued. Pursued ambitiously!

 

I suspect by using these guidelines to live by, we would have less opportunity to allow sin to creep into our lives. A quiet life would imply that carousing isn’t taking place. Minding our own business would imply that our lives are free of gossip. Working with our hands would imply that we desire to accomplish good, not evil. Being independent in our well-being would imply that laziness is absent.

 

In all of these areas then, others for certain would see God working in us and through us. Our holy lives would indeed win the respect of non-believers.

 

And holy lives are pleasing to God. I said it earlier, but it is worth repeating. God is the designer and when His creation accepts the challenge to be as He originally designed, God is most satisfied and thrilled by our actions.

 

So, what steps are you taking today to live a holy life? What ambitions have you set for yourself? What more do you need to do?

 

As Paul said, “do so more and more.” There is always room for improvement. Each of us can move a little closer to God. And in doing so, we are living a life that is pleasing to Him.

 

Many playful hours have been spent in the rooms of the doll house. And I suspect there will be many more to come. This play area has brought great pleasure to our granddaughter, but to be honest, it brings great pleasure to my husband and me as well.

 

Each moment Joy spends rearranging furniture or playing with “the family” brings joy to my heart. Her imagination, her enthusiasm, and her enjoyment make the building of this doll house all that more meaningful. And I smile!

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

Share

Building a Doll House: What to Do With the Leftovers – Chapter 12

January 4th, 2013 dsisler

NOTE: If you missed Chapters 1-11 of Building a Doll House, you can find it in the column under “blog archive” to the right.

 

As we were drawing closer to the finished product, I realized there were three pieces that didn’t seem to have any place on the house.  We had leftovers!

 

Two of the pieces had a sticky note on them with their respective numbers. After our cross reference, we found that one piece should have gone on the house long before. Our inspection found that there was no way it could be placed where it belonged and that the house would be just fine without it.

 

The piece without the sticky note was the flower box that would go on the front of the house. A pure aesthetic piece and would be one of the last things added to the house.

 

The third piece was puzzling. The number matched an item that was already on the house. Even more puzzling was that on the sticky note it also said “4 pieces.”  We still don’t know where this piece was supposed to go, but again, the house is sound and it doesn’t seem to be begging for this last piece of wood.

 

What do you think of when you hear “leftovers?” The food sitting in your fridge that will be tomorrow’s trash? The scraps of craft items you haven’t been able to use? The pain that remains from a deep hurt? Broken relationships? Death? Shattered marriages or damaged friendships? These are all “leftovers” of our lives. Some are good, some are painful, but we still need to determine what to do with them.

 

Scripture gives a few ideas…sometimes the leftovers were destroyed, sacrificed or trampled.

 

In Exodus, the locusts devoured everything leftover after the hailstorm when Pharaoh wouldn’t release the Israelites from bondage. (Exodus 10:15)

 

At Aaron and his sons’ ordination anything from the ram or from the bread that was leftover until morning was to be burned up (Exodus 8:32), while in Leviticus 7:16, leftover food from offerings could be eaten.

 

In the book of Ruth, we see Ruth gleaning in Boaz’s fields (Ruth 2:2). She would glean the barley that was left over after the harvesters. Boaz even told the harvesters to leave extra behind for her.

 

And there were the leftovers from the feeding of the 5,000. John 6:12 tells us that Jesus didn’t want anything to be wasted. I wonder what they did with those leftovers?

There have been times in my life when everything seemed to be just fine, but there were pieces lying around that didn’t seem to fit. Whether it was a hobby or a friend or sin.

 

God has given me the directions for my life, but sometimes I ignore His guidance and miss adding something to my life. Sometimes I get ahead of Him and then wait for the piece to be added. And then at other times I have no idea what I missed or where something should be added and it is a complete mystery.

 

Whatever the case, my focus must stay on God. He’s the Author of the plan. He is the Designer of the life. He is the Creator of me.

So what are we to do with the leftovers of our lives? Remember, Jesus doesn’t want anything to be wasted. It may be different for each of us. But what I do know is that when we give them to God, He can do amazing and remarkable things with the leftovers.

 

He can restore hope, mend broken hearts, and heal wounded relationships. In the end, He can take all those leftover pieces and make them into something beautiful.

 

Now, what will you do with your leftover pieces?

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

Share
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

  • Subscribe by Email

  • About Me

    "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe." Ephesians 1:18-19


    I am a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. I lived in the beautiful state of Colorado for 20 years where I found great inspiration for my novels and devotional writings. Currently living in southwest Ohio.

    I am passionate about helping women find their way to Jesus through Bible study, teaching, speaking, inspirational writing and creative Bible journaling.

  • Bible Studies & Other Happenings

    Bible studies I’m currently leading:

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    In September 2012 I went to SE Asia on a service trip. For more information, check out preachitclearly.blogspot.com.

  • Categories

  • Recent Posts

Visit Us On TwitterVisit Us On FacebookVisit Us On PinterestVisit Us On Linkedin