Monday SHINE....
Today's Reading: 2 Samuel 4
The Lord wants and needs this from us and he is all about being praised. And, remember, he LOVES our praise. He is like a magnet to our praise, He’s ready to inhabit our praise.
Oh— and God knows we forget His goodness. He asked Moses to keep a sample of His manna in a jar so that the generations to come would remember His goodness. (Exodus 16:32)
Wow. He knows our gratefulness is thin and very short. *SAD face*
Psalms 22:3
But You are holy, O You Who dwell in [the holy place where] the praises of Israel [are offered].
Good Monday morning, SHINE girls!
I hope your weekend was the best! It's so good to get back into our reading. It gives me something to look forward to on Monday's.
Seriously, it does.
A lot of fun in store for you this week. Hope you are ready!
Since we are Spring-breaking it this week, we have several guest bloggers. Yay!
SHINE is made up of ALL of your voices. God made it this way.
All of the wonderful attributes of this ministry are because of YOU, our SHINE girls.
God has totally hand-picked YOU to take this journey into His Word with Him.
Surrounded by other believers.
This is what SHINE is all about.
Simply glorifying HIM. Together.
Enjoy the heart of your fellow SHINE girl today. Be blessed.
Monday, Monday
by Rebekah Vepraskas
In the beginning, of a week like
this. . . . We want all of the good
stuff. I know I do. I just started a semi- new part time job and
I think – maybe I have just found my niche.
I am praying about it, which is good, the Lord wants to hear me and know
me in this way. He wants to bless me, I
know. Right?
I loved Jamie’s blog on Saturday
about the quiet and simple times of life—we long for them. The Lord so uses quiet to speak to us. Sometimes, for me, quieting occurs most
during vacuuming. Ironic. Somehow, quiet can happen best when everything
else is drowned out of our consciousness.
The Lord reminded me of Caitlin. Caitlin is a lovely and sweet young wife in
my small group. She is a newer friend
and I LOVE her, y’all. She has precious,
soulful eyes and the Lord is really working in her heart and life. She is a breath of fresh air. Caitlin is a dancer. Period. Exclamation point! She has danced all
of her life. Her sister dances, her friends dance, she is all about being a
dancer.
Her life is being redefined in
the aftermath of an auto accident that badly injured Caitlin’s back. Meeting Caitlin now, you would never know the
heart break she face(d/s). After a
subsequent surgery and long recovery, she has been and still is determined to
understand what God has in mind next in her life. She still loves dance, though she isn’t able
to participate anywhere near how she did before. She
takes it day by day, but she’s struggled to start over after defining herself,
always, as a dancer. This past week, her
prayer requests included a praise, which struck me. She thanked God
for giving her great health insurance at the time that she needed back surgery—
post accident.
Ahem? Wow. . . .
It’s incredible that Caitlin can
even go there. In the midst of pain and
loss— there it is—gratitude and hope.
It’s a valuable lesson: being
grateful for where we are and the Lord’s presence in the wilderness. It’s also really, really important to God. It’s
not just a trite expression.
I am reminded of the
Israelites. In these passages in Exodus
14-17, there are several times where the Israelites questioned God and asked
for more, more, more. Just after being
delivered from the Egyptians, where the Lord commanded them to cross the Red
Sea and they crossed on dry ground. You may
remember that the Pharaoh and his soldiers were swallowed up by the sea and
drowned. Just after this, the Israelites
were rejoicing, but only for a moment.
They were then accusing God and Moses of trying to kill them, by taking
them into the desert. They were hungry
and thirsty and mean. Moses and God were doing everything they
could to keep the Israelites happy. It
was impossible.
Parting the Red Sea, manna – bread and quail
from heaven to eat, water flowing out of a rock in the desert.
They were unimpressed moments and
days later. They were griping mostly and
seeing a lot that the Lord could do, do, do.
They glossed over the biggest miracle(s) of their lives.
We have A
LOT in common with those Israelites.
I know I do.
I also know what you’re
thinking! I do! You’re thinking, “well, I’m grateful. I know what God’s done for me.” That’s what I would say. But can we land there for today? Seriously,
land there. Really marinating in the
richness of God’s care. Could we,
together, take time to listen to Lord today, with a humble heart? Show me, Lord.
Show me how you have loved me, even when I wasn’t paying attention.
Like the Israelites— What’s your
Red Sea?
What’s your “manna from heaven?”
Like Caitlin— What’s your good
insurance coverage during a career ending back injury?
Literally, scores of things are
popping into my mind and I am overwhelmed with gratefulness. I am going to consciously move my new job the
back burner and thank God for who He is in my life.
I pray that the Lord shows us
many new things that we have perhaps glossed over or forgotten. {Even the little things inside of the BIG
things.} The things that ensure God’s
goodness and provision—His love and care.
The Lord wants and needs this from us and he is all about being praised. And, remember, he LOVES our praise. He is like a magnet to our praise, He’s ready to inhabit our praise.
Oh— and God knows we forget His goodness. He asked Moses to keep a sample of His manna in a jar so that the generations to come would remember His goodness. (Exodus 16:32)
Wow. He knows our gratefulness is thin and very short. *SAD face*
Psalms 22:3
But You are holy, O You Who dwell in [the holy place where] the praises of Israel [are offered].
Exodus 19:3-6 (NIV)
3
Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and
said, “This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are
to tell the people of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did
to Egypt, and how I carried you on
eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me
fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured
possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you[a]
will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you
are to speak to the Israelites.”
Beautiful Savior, and Lord, I
pray for peace today for my sisters.
Give them Your voice and soft reminders of all You have done. We praise
you, Lord, with hearts full of gratitude.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
In everything give thanks; for this
is God's will for you in Christ Jesus, concerning you.
I love you,
beautiful daughters of God and sisters of mine.
Rebekah
