Clean It Up

From whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:16, NLT)

We are a homeschooling family. We include Life Skills as a part of our daily schedule. One of Gracie's Life Skill tasks is to fill our water fountain. We are currently living in a roof top apartment in Honolulu and we don't have a water hose that will reach the downstairs faucet so she fills a container with water and carries the water from the kitchen to the fountain. This process takes about four trips.

Today she was carrying the container (which was too heavy, she had overfilled because she was in a hurry), bumped the kitchen door frame on the way out the door, and yep...water...went...everywhere.

To Gracie, this wasn't just water all over the floor...and walls...and door...and her. To Gracie, this was a huge mess that she had to correct when she was already in a hurry. To her, this was going to take time that she was already running short on. 

I. Can. Totally. Relate.

She burst into tears...very large, alligator tears. 


I. Can. Totally. Relate.


I stopped what I was doing, ran to her, and I held her tight. She said (Ok, she wailed), "I am just so upset right now." I told her, "It's just water, everything will be ok." She said, "Yea but now I have to clean all this up." I said, "I will help you."

About that time, Mikea came to see what was going on. She hugged Gracie. She held Gracie so tight and said, "I'm so sorry, are you ok?"

It was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen.

We all worked together to clean up the mess and it only took a few minutes since we were working together.

Once she had help, it gave her hope, and she said things like, "Well at least most of the water fell outside the door." and "Hey look! Now the floor is clean and now I can cross off mopping from my Life Skills list!"

This incident reminded me of how when we are in hurry and make a big mess, God holds us when we need Him, He draws near to us (James 4:8), and He shows us perspective. (Colossians 3:1-4) Our friends and/or family rushes in when they hear something has gone wrong and they do everything they can to make everything ok. (Ecclesiastes 4:9) And in doing so, God is blessed as He watches His children love and help one another. (1 Thessalonians 5:11, Galatians 6:2, 1 John 4:7, 1 Peter 2:21, Romans 12:10, Ephesians 4:32)

How are you today? Are you cleaning up messes or helping clean up someone else's messes? Whichever the case may be, clean that mess with your whole heart unto Him! (Colossians 3:23) Bear the burdens of someone else's mess and give them hope. (Proverbs 22:9, Matthew 10:42) It will bless the LORD! (Psalm 103:1)

Promises-Promises

You can ask anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. (John 14:13, NLT)

A couple weeks ago, we celebrated Mikea's tenth birthday. She is the cute little red head, giving the dolphin commands! 

As I was listening to my husband, Mike, pray a special birthday prayer over her, I remembered a time when specialists told us, "You cannot conceive without medical intervention. With medical intervention, your chances of conceiving are extremely low. You have a better chance of flying to Vegas and hitting the jackpot than you do of conceiving and bringing home a healthy baby."

My response was, "You do what you are trained to do and I will do what I'm trained to do."

Thank God for medical science. I'm thankful for doctors, nurses, hospitals, and their procedures; however, that is only part of the story. My story, and your story (if you are a born again believer), does not stop with what statistics record and/or what specialist say. 

Mike and I agreed to go through one round of in vitro fertilization. For me, IVF was not only a medical procedure involving months of treatment as well as 103 shots (yes, I counted), but a closer walk with God and understanding His great love. 

To make a long story short God showed me great and mighty things I didn't know. (Jeremiah 33:3) IVF was a daily walk…at times, it was a moment by moment walk. 

To name just a few:

On one occasion while discussing IVF with a friend, I said, "We are going through infertility." God quickened my spirit, spoke to my heart and said, "Are you pursuing infertility or fertility?" I immediately corrected my vocabulary and from that point forward said, "We are going through fertility treatments." 

I believe, it is critical to insure our mouth lines up with God's promises. (Matthew 12:37)

On another occasion, the specialist told us we were "Indeed pregnant but there is a problem. It appears you have a tubal pregnancy and we will have to go in and remove it." Every other day, for weeks, I had to get blood drawn. Every other day, for weeks I was told, "Your blood counts are abnormal, you need to prepare yourself for removing the pregnancy." 

Every day I leaned on God's promises. I trusted what He said when He said, "I can ask anything in His name, and He will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father." I asked God to correct my blood counts. I knew that I knew that I knew, He had brought me that far and I knew He would complete what He started. (Jeremiah 1:12)

At thirteen weeks in my pregnancy, my blood tests corrected. At thirty eight weeks in my pregnancy, I delivered our beautiful little promise from God, Mikea Faith Fulton! 

The following year, God hastened His Word and performed it as we learned we would have double for our trouble (without medical intervention)…yes, Gracie was on her way! (Isaiah 61:7)

As I look at my girls, I thank God for them (Philemon 1:4). They are constant reminders of the wonderful goodness of God!

We love to hear from you! Do you want prayer agreement? Let us know and we will agree in prayer with you. (Matthew 18:19)

Stephen

And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. (Acts 6:8)

Yesterday, I read the above verse and it literally screamed out to my spirit! I literally jumped in my seat!

I want to be full of grace and power! Doing great wonders and signs among the people! Glorifying my God! (1 Corinthians 10:31, Matthew 5:16)

Since Stephen was, I can be! (Acts 10:4) And you can be too!

But how? By and through love!

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. (Ephesians 5:1, NKJV)

Love is the greatest! (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Love never fails! (1 Corinthians 13:8)

Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray for myself and every reader right now to deepen our love walk! My heart's desire truly is to glorify You in everything I think, say, and do. I submit my spirit to Your precious Holy Spirit right now and I ask You to increase Yourself in me and every reader! Please forgive me for every failure to walk in love, strengthen me to imitate Christ as He has loved me! Thank You for making Acts 6:8 come alive to and in me as well as every reader! Thank You for Your grace, it is sufficient for us. Thank You for abundantly blessing us and making all grace abound toward us, we will abound in every good work, in the name of Jesus!

(2 Corinthians 9:8)

Only

But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.” (Luke 8:50, NLT)

On Thursday, I wrote a blog post about my ways being higher than Bo's ways entitled, "I Just Don't Understand".

Since then, I've gotten a lot of feedback from readers about how that post has helped them move from not understanding to trusting.

The Lord has been moving on my heart to discuss, "only".

Only defined is:

• Adverb: and no one or nothing more besides; solely or exclusively: 
• Adjective: Alone of its or their kind; single or solitary: 

Mahalo google!

This is a gentle reminder and an addition to Thursday's blog post, "I Just Don't Understand". We are not called to understand, we are called to "only believe". (Luke 8:50) And when we are only believing, there is no room for doubt. 

I will explain. 

If we are (only) married, there is no room for us to be single. 

If we are (only) a woman, there is no room for us to be a man.

If we are (only) facing north, there is no room for us to be facing south.

Since Bo is only a dog, there is no room for him to be a cat. Well, you get the idea!

In the same manner, we are to only believe, leaving no room for doubt. (James 1:6)

Trust Him, He is so trustworthy!

Psalm 9:10

Psalm 13:5

Psalm 20:7

Proverbs 28:25

Isaiah 12:2

Isaiah 26:4

Father, thank You for being trustworthy at all times! Thank You for your love that never fails! Thank You for teaching us that we can fully trust in You! In the name of Jesus, I pray for each reader right now as they have moved from battling with understanding to completely resting in trusting You. Thank You for finishing what You started in them. Thank You for Your peace which surpasses all understanding! 

1 Corinthians 13:8

John 16:23

2 Corinthians 3:18

Philippians 1:6

Philippians 4:7

I Just Don't Understand.

As most of you know, we have a dog named Bo. Because of Bo, I now understand the saying, "A dog is a man's best friend." I also understand the saying, "I wish I could be the person my dog thinks I am." 

Bo loves to be with me. When I'm working at my desk, Bo is at my feet. Most of the time, he lays on my feet. When I am reading on my lounge chair, he lays beside me. When I leave the house, Bo loves to go with me. 

Bo always wants to go with me but unfortunately, it isn't always safe for him to go with me. For example, today I was going to downtown Honolulu for several appointments and had to be gone until after noon. Bo believes he should always be able to go with me. I can't explain to him why he can't sit in the hot car for four hours while I am at appointments. All he knows is, he wants to go with me. He doesn't understand that I am keeping him safe at times, by refusing to allow him to go with me. He will never understand because my thoughts are higher than his thoughts. 

His face was so sad today when I was leaving and made him go back inside the house. He drooped his eyes, lowered his head, put his tail between his legs, and slowly walked away. His bone in his mouth (looking like a binkie) completed his pitiful look. 

He could not understand that my refusal to allow him to go was actually a decision to keep him safe.

This reminded me of a conversation I recently had with a very close friend. It is the same conversation I've had with numerous other people throughout the years. My friend was going through a very hard time and she asked me, "Is what I'm going through an attack from the enemy…or am I out of the will of God?" I'm sure we've all asked that question.

So many times, we want to go somewhere or do something but it never comes to fruition. And so many times, we just don't understand. 

It's times like this that we determine to trust the Creator of the universe and accept that His ways are far beyond anything we can imagine. The next time we want to do something that just doesn't pan out, we cannot droop our eyes, lower our head, and put our tail between our legs. No. We must trust God and His ways, knowing He is working all things together for our good! (Romans 8:28) 

Father, I pray for every reader right now. In the name of Jesus, I pray You illuminate their hearts to Isaiah 55:8-9 so that the next time they are faced with a situation they just don't understand, that they will determine to trust You and rest in knowing You always work all things together for their good. Thank You Father! I also ask that You bless them and keep them, make Your face to shine upon them and be gracious to them! Lord, please lift up Your countenance upon them and give them peace! (Numbers 6:22-27) I thank You for giving me the confidence to know, when I ask anything according to Your will, You hear me. And when You hear me, You answer me! (1 John 5:14-15)

Listen!

But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my dearly loved Son, who brings Me great joy. Listen to Him." (Matthew 17:5, NLT)

I was going through my journals and found this entry from January, 2008. My girls were three and four years old at the time. They were such cute toddlers but thankfully, there are no more fights about soap!

Enjoy this flash from the past!

I was giving my girls a shower today. When I wash their hair, I give each of them a little cup of suds from their shampoo to play with. I washed Grace's hair first but forgot to give her suds. As I was washing Mikea's hair, Grace remembered her suds but all the soap had already been rinsed from her hair so I said, "I'll give you soap from Mikea's hair after I wash it." 

Mikea told Grace (under her breath) "This is MY soap." Grace cried out to me "I want some soap!" I said, "I'll give you some soap after I'm done washing Mikea's hair" Mikea was standing in between me and Grace, again Mikea said, (under her breath and in a mean, low tone of voice) "This IS MY soap" Again, Grace cried out and looked up to me, getting a little desperate. She started to cry because she knew I had promised her soap but she was upset that she hadn't received her soap. Gracie said, "I want some soap!!" At this point things accelerated and at the same time Mikea was yelling, "THIS IS MY SOAP!" Grace was looking up to me and screaming, "I WANT SOME SOAP!!"

In a calm voice, I kept repeating to Grace, "Listen to me. Listen to me. Listen to me." I was not concerned w/ discipling Mikea at the time. No, I was concerned that my child listened to what I had promised.

God spoke to my heart and said, "This is the same battle I watch some of my kids fight. Satan lies to them over and over and gets louder and louder. But all my children have to do is listen to me."

Listen to that voice of truth! Listen to His promises! All God's promises are right in His Word. He's already done everything He has to do in order for us to obtain all His promises, listen to Him and receive.  He is the maker of the universe and you!  Trust Him.

"You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."   (John 8:44, NIV)

God's Word plainly tells us the devil is a liar and there is no truth in him.  And he speaks from his own resources.  Consider God's resources!  (Philippians 4:19, Psalm 35:27, Psalm 50:10-12) Everything is His, and He is your Father!  The next time the devil tries to lie to you and tell you that you cannot have something God has already promised you, make the decision to listen to God, our Father!

Father, I pray for every reader today. In the name of Jesus, I declare they immediately recognize and ignore lies and hold fast to Your truth. As they submit their spirit to Your Holy Spirit, I pray they take every thought captive and mediate only on that which is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, whatever is admirable, and everything that is praiseworthy. I pray they meditate on all the good in their lives and none of the negatives they struggle with. I pray they praise and thank You for all the goodness in their lives. I thank You in advance that as they mediate on You and Your Word, the fruit in their lives shine their light so all man sees and glorifies You! Thank You for never lying to us! Thank You for loving us so deeply and for giving us Your promises through Your life changing Word! We love You Lord. We worship and adore You! Thank You for You and thank You for Your Son, King Jesus! 

John 3:16

Hebrews 6:18

John 14:14

2 Corinthians 1:20

2 Corinthians 10:5

Matthew 5:16

Philippians 4:8

Foot Ride!

The LORD is my strength, my shield from every danger. I trust in Him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. (Psalm 28:7, NLT)

Yesterday, a friend and I were discussing the wonderful greatness and awesomeness of God. We talked about how no matter what we had dealt with in the past, or how instrumental people in our lives had hurt us, God always takes our circumstances and works everything out for our good…way beyond anything we could ask or think. (Ephesians 3:20)

As we were discussing tests that are now testimonies we use to help others, I started to laugh. I laughed and laughed…a silly little girl laugh that just wouldn't stop, which reminded me of when my girls were toddlers. 

Every day when Mike came home from work, my girls ran to him. They never hesitated. They screamed, "Foot ride! Foot ride!" Mikea picked one foot, Gracie picked the other foot and they would sit on his feet and hang on for the ride! He walked around the house, dragging them on his feet as they screamed and squealed!

On that memory, I had a vision of our Father. He screamed, "Foot ride! Foot ride!" He is beckoning us to sit with Him and scream and squeal and be strengthened by His joy! (Nehemiah 8:10)

I just had my first "Foot ride" and I can fully exclaim with a newly illuminated heart, "The LORD is my Strength and my Shield! I trust Him with all my heart! He helps me and my heart is filled with joy! I burst out in songs of thanksgiving!" (Psalm 28:7)

He is screaming to us, "I am your Father, don't hesitate! Come my child! Scream and squeal and be strengthened! My joy is your strength! See what great love I want to lavish on you!" (1 John 3:1) 

Take time right now and go on a foot ride with your Father!