Journal ~ Don't wait for God to do something, exercise your authority!

Sophia standing next to our little winter garden.

Hello Sisters!

It is a beautiful clear sunny morning here in Southern California. I had gotten up early to spend time in the Word, which I did...YEA...but just when I thought I'd have some time to get on the computer the children wake up. So...I'm letting them watch Cyberchase, and eat chocolate chips while I write this. :)

Have you ever heard people say, "I wish that God would just remove that from me." As if "God" had some part in it. If you read the gospels, you can see that Jesus is ALWAYS willing, but we have to do the "acting." Like an overeater who always sticks her hands in the cookie jar and continues to cry out, "Lord, help me stop overeating!" Well, God is not going to come down from heaven and help, he already did ALL THE HELPING He is going to do when Jesus died and rose from the grave. God gave ALL POWER to Jesus and Jesus in return gave ALL POWER to us. ALL POWER for us to E X E R C I S E our flesh and slap it back. We are the ones (not some cosmic power from above) who need to say, "no flesh, in Jesus name I will not eat that cookie, in Jesus name, body I command you to straighten up and quit eating when your not hungry." TALK TO THE THING THAT NEEDS REMOVING....Jesus showed us His example when He talked to the fig tree and the storm.

"For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace." Romans 8 (the WHOLE chapter is wonderful!)

This week I have been having to (well, this is all the time, but this week more so!) really choose as Joel Osteen would say, "The Higher Road." I have had lots of situations this week where I could have freaked out, but instead I chose the Higher Road. The Higher Road is the road of NO OFFENSE, we are not offended when we have every right to be. The Higher Road chooses to overlook a matter and ACT and SPEAK in love and kindness, knowing that acting in a way like this will bring closure, peace and healing to a matter (although not always right away. :) The Higher Road ALWAYS is LOVING because Jesus said in John 15 "A new command I give you, LOVE ONE ANOTHER." The Higher Road always works, because it is Jesus and Jesus ALWAYS works on our behalf to prosper us and bless us spiritually and physically.

Blessings,
Shannon