Ephesians 2-6!

Oh my gosh!  I love so many of the scriptures in Ephesians 2-6.  I found myself highlighting more words than not.  I think it's because Ephesians is all about how to live life God's way.  Day to day life, struggles, your marriage, your family, raising your kids, being a good person…all these things are covered.  This book tells us what we need know and what we need to pray to realize the full potential of our faith.  

Why faith?  Why live in faith?  Why nurture it?  Why believe in something we can't see?  Why listen to a voice the world can't hear?  Why follow the steps of a Spirit who leads us right through the unknown?

Galatians 4-6 & Ephesians 1

Paul continues his ministry to the Gentiles through his letters in Galatians 4-6 and Ephesians 1.  He is desperate to win believers for Christ and keep us on the right path.  As we finish reading Galatians, Paul wants us to remember that we live by the Spirit, not by the law and our own efforts.  And because we live by the Spirit, we are blessed with the spiritual gifts of Christ.  We have an eternal freedom.  It's pretty amazing stuff, and for some reason, it's all too easy for us to forget the power and presence that is within us as we get caught up in the influences of the world.  

No matter what we do, whether wonderful or horrible, we cannot earn our own relationship with Jesus.  If you believe in Him (and it's never too late), then you know God has blessed you with His grace and a life-saving faith.  

When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,

Ephesians 1:13

As a believer, you can never fall out of grace.  What a gift to be free in Christ!

Paul tells us, today, exactly what God wants us to do in response to this beautiful, perfect, and undeserved gift.

6 The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

Galatians 5:6

I want my faith to count, wherever I find myself in this life.  I want to make it personal.  How about you?

How do we love in faith?

A special prayer today from Paul-  After you pray for your own heart, feel free to pray this prayer for those on your mind today.  It's empowering.

Dear God,

I pray that the eyes of my heart may be enlightened in order that I may know the hope to which You, Lord, have called me, the riches of Your glorious inheritance in Your holy people, and Your incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength You exerted when You raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at Your right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come (Ephesians 1:18-21).

In the name of Jesus I pray,

Amen

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit,

Marriage, Faith, and Blogging Tidbits

A little bit of everything for a Monday morning...

As many of you know already Seth Adam Smith got me thinking with his viral post, Marriage Isn't For You.  I loved it.

Smith inspired me to write more on marriage in my response post on Friday, Marriage Isn't For You.  Me Either.

Words are powerful.  

And just as I am growing in my faith, I am also learning so much as a blogger.  There's so much to learn!  

After lots of feedback from my marriage post on Friday, I realized many people don't know that the green font on my blog is a link. That means that you can click on anything green in one of my blog posts, and it will take you to some more, also important, information.  I link to websites, blog posts, Bible verses, and even previous posts by me that I think add to what I am saying.  

So, if this link clicking thing is new for you, feel free to give it a try. 

1. Here's a link to my post, Marriage Isn't For You. Me Either.
2. Once it takes you to my post, try clicking the green link to Seth Adam Smith's article, Marriage Isn't For You.  It is the background that inspired my post.  It's well worth reading.
3. Don't forget to come back and hang out with A Mind-Mind-Maker-Upper after you're done checking it out.

Okay.  Back to marriage.  Words are powerful.  So are pictures.

I took what was on my heart about marriage and tried to make a visual too.

What do you think?  

And guess what?  The picture is a link.  If you click on it, it will take you to my post from Friday!

A prayer for today-

Dear God,

Thank you for all that you teach me, and all the ways you guide me in my day to day experiences.  Help me to hear your voice and follow You.  Use me to share your love with others.

In the name of Jesus I pray,

Amen

Blessings,

Marriage Isn't For You? Me Either.

After reading the blog post Marriage Isn't For You that went viral this week, I have to agree with the author, Seth Adam Smith.  Marriage isn't for me either.

I have been married for 10 years and 10 months, also to my high school sweetheart.  I met my husband the summer before I started high school.  I was fourteen.  He was fifteen.  We had 10 years to get to know each other before our wedding day.  We thought for sure we knew what we were getting into.  We didn’t.