"Jesus First"

Choices, choices, choices.  We all have so many choices and decisions to make every day!  What to do with our time.  What cereal to eat for breakfast. (like the bookmark idea?) How to spend our money. What to read.  What to watch.  What to listen to.  What friends to call or spend our time with. It keeps going and going.   

The best path to take is the "Jesus First" path.  If we consider Jesus in every decision we can stay on track and have a blessed day and future!

Jesus First

First day of the week - John 20:19 - Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

First hour of the day - Psalm 5:1- Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. ² Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.³ My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

Psalm 199:62 - At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments.

First book to read - the Bible!

First 10% of each dollar earned

First Love - Deut. 6:4 - Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: ⁵And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

First Name on my lips - Phil. 2:⁹Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: ¹⁰That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; ¹¹And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

First call in a crisis – Ps. 107 :13 - Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.

¹⁴      He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.

¹⁵      Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

First counselor in a decision - Proverbs 3:5 - 10 - Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. ⁶In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

⁷Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. ⁸It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. ⁹Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: ¹⁰So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

First defender in danger

First friend to consider

First song played or sung

First physician to seek

First fashion expert to follow

First appointment to schedule

First comforter in sadness

First face I will see in death

Matthew 6:33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 

John 3:30 - ³⁰He must increase, but I must decrease. 

"You are So Beautiful!"

Hey Bible Girl, you are beautiful!!!
I hope your Bible reading, prayer time, and time with the Lord are going well for you.  You can do all of these things and still struggle with other areas.  These things can zap your zeal and enthusiasm or just discourage you.  Most young ladies have to work through self-acceptance, or just being plain happy with the way God made you.  We can spend much time worrying about things we cannot change and not doing anything about the things we can change.
For example - foot size...
What size are your feet? Mine are a size ten, yes, don't oohh or ahhh about, these are my gifts from God.  When I was about ten my feet were a size ten and for a few short years they were a size eleven.  When Mom said, "It's time to go shoe shopping" I would dread it and almost cry when I got to the store.  Back in the old days (the 70's), size ten shoes were scarce and each time I would find a pair I liked and ask for the size the shoe man would say, "We don't carry that style in that size."  Then he would bring out some ugly loafers or lace up old people shoes!  I started to hate my feet.  I was not thankful for them or proud of them and I definitely did not think they were beautiful.
I hope you feel great about the way God made you.  I hope that you don't understand what I felt like back in 1973.  It was a waste of time for me to be so upset and conscious about my foot size.  I was about five foot eight inches tall when I was in the fifth grade, that was a sight too, and can you imagine a tall gal like me with a size six foot?  That wouldn't work, something would definitely be awry.
Because I did not become thankful for my feet I tried to hide them.  I would tuck them under my chair when I sat down or cross them under myself if I sat on the floor.  I didn't like to go bowling because the bowling shoes had the size on the back, so my bowling skills still lack to this day!  I remember buying a pair of shoes one size smaller because my friends were with me - tell me, there's not much difference between a nine and ten!  Those shoes nearly killed me and my big toes, my poor toes suffered!
Does this sound dumb?  Yes, as I look at my beautiful feet today I have to apologize to them.  They are the perfect size for my body.  They have carried me for forty-five years, I was slow to learn to walk.  They have been my foundation and taken me places to serve the Lord.  I just love them and thank God for them!  I'll even treat them every so often with a salon pedicure!
Maybe you feel that way about some part of your appearance.  If you can alter it by dieting, exercise, personal hygiene, or clothing style, then try.  If not, work with it!  God knows every part and made you that way for a specific purpose.  Turn your hatred, embarrassment, or fear about the way God made you into love, gratitude, and confidence that it will turn out beautifully and is for a purpose!

Psalm 139

¹¹      If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; 

even the night shall be light about me.

¹²      Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; 

but the night shineth as the day: 

the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

¹³      For thou hast possessed my reins: 

thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴      I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:

marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

¹⁵      My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, 

and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

¹⁶      Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; 

and in thy book all my members were written, 

which incontinuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

¹⁷      How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! 

how great is the sum of them!

¹⁸      If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: 

when I awake, I am still with thee.

"I Am Just So Bored..."

Have you said that yet?  We all tend to say this in the middle of the summer, after the parties, after camp, after vacation, etc...

One of my favorite teachers gave me a tip when I was about fifteen years old.  She said that whenever I was bored I should do one thing I normally don't like to do that takes about ten minutes.  Do you have things you don't like to do?

I started making a list in my mind...

"Things I Normally Don't Like to Do that take about Ten minutes"

1. Clean the toilet and bathroom sink.

2. Organize one dresser drawer.

3. Sweep the porch and sidewalk.

4. Write a letter.

5. Wash the dishes.

6. Floss teeth and clean ears and clean face.

7. Wash the car windshield and windows, inside and out.

8. Hang up clothing, organize shoes, dust bedroom.

9. Pick weeds by front porch.

10. Clean inside of car, dash, seats, trash out, etc...

etc..., etc..., etc...

Can you add to this list?  I could add a hundred things.

Well, I listened to my teacher.  Whenever I was bored I would look around and find a very small job to do that I didn't really want to do.  I started it.  I did it.  I finished it.  I felt good.  I felt so good I would do another small job.  It is amazing how great WORKING makes you feel.  God made us to accomplish a work.  If we are faithful to the little jobs around us, we'll be faithful servants for Him in the bigger jobs.

The next time you think or say, "I'm just so bored..." - DO SOMETHING AND ENJOY YOURSELF! :)

"When You Get Off Track"

Have you ever wished you were as perfect as someone else?  I have always wanted to have it "together" like the ladies I admire at church.  You know, there is no one that is perfect or that has is "all together".  Someone else may do ONE thing better than you do, but that does not make them perfect.  You may be able to do ONE thing better than someone else, but you are not perfect.  How do I know?  I'm not perfect.  I was counseling with one of my daughters one night and she said, "Mom, people think you're perfect, but I know you're not."  I wasn't offended by my daughter, but I was surprised that anyone would believe that I am perfect.
I have to run to the bathroom to brush my teeth in the morning because I can't stand my bad breath!
I always take a shower before I go to bed because my feet are stinky!
I have a tendency to interrupt conversations, leave unfinished sentences in conversations, and laugh annoyingly loud in group conversations.
I had to make up a days on my Bible reading when I missed!  Yes, WHEN I missed, not IF I missed.  As a young girl and teen and young mother it was a struggle and sometimes I would think, I am NEVER  going to get this thing down.
Sometimes you will get off track, don't stay off, just hop back on, you'll get to where you're going.  Life is a journey and you've got to keep going on your path with the Lord.  Maybe you feel like you haven't accomplished what you've wanted to this summer, that's how everyone feels.  Life cannot be planned perfectly, minute by minute, but when you get off track, you just get back as soon as you can.
Jessica was in the hospital ICU this past weekend, so my regular Bible reading schedule got a little messed up.  I did read from Proverbs and read scriptures I felt that I needed from the Psalms.  The point is I did the best I could do.
"Tomorrow is a new day, with no mistakes in it, yet." - from Anne of Green Gables.  Don't give up!  If it's 11:58 P.M. and you haven't read your Bible, run and get it and start ASAP!  I've done that many times.  When I miss my Bible reading in the morning, I lay my Bible on my pillow so I'll remember to read before I go to sleep that night.  That's a great way to get back on track.
I know I may be saying the same things again, but we always have the same struggles - get back up, again, and again, and again.
Hey, if you ever do get Bible time down perfectly, you will still have other things to work on and you will still have to get back on track...