Road Trip! A Workshop and a Women's Conference.

Workshop day! 
I like learning new skills that I can apply to my job. Meeting and greeting fellow paraprofessionals and talking shop with others who have similar on-the-job challenges is fun and inspires more creative thinking. At least, I think so.

Similarly, going to a one day women's conference helps me to learn a new approach, or point of view to my faith.

Meeting and greeting other women of faith is fun and inspires me. Listening to a variety of women speak on a topic helps my faith to deepen and grow as I listen to the differing attitudes and outlooks on faith.

A Workshop and a Women's Conference
This week I am going to a workshop for work AND going to a half-day fall women's conference at a local church. I am excited and happy to be going to both - it's a win-win for me! lol...lol

The Workshop
The workshop is for experienced paraprofessionals with four or more years of experience. I went to the beginning paraprofessional workshop last year because I had not worked in the special education department in years and I knew that many things had changed, especially the terminology. Last year's workshop was helpful and informative. This year's workshop should also be fun, helpful, and informative. In fact, I have found myself looking forward to this date.

The Conference
The women's conference topic is "Ordinary, but Faithful." I am looking forward to attending and sharing what I learn with you. Ordinary, but faithful is a fairly broad topic. I wonder which biblical women we will be taking a closer look at?

The woman at the well was an ordinary Samaritan woman who just went to get water one morning. Maybe it is Mary and Martha because they were ordinary women and sisters who served Jesus when he was in town staying at their house. Hmmm...who else? In the old testament there are quite a few women who were living an ordinary and normal life. I will just have to wait and see.

I am looking forward to my road trips!
Yes, I get to go to the workshop on Friday and the conference is on the following Saturday morning. I am also looking forward to seeing if the Lord has a divine appointment or two in store for me. Hope you are well and enjoying today.
Bye for now!
SalleeB

Verse of the Week - 2 Timothy 2:3 - September 25, 2016

Endure hardship. 

This phrase doesn't mean a lot to someone like me who has grownup in a country with an enormous amount of personal freedom and hasn't experienced any type of persecution beyond a scowling face, or a yelled"Go Home!"

The stories of my persecuted brothers and sisters in faith make me weep. 

Today, in 2016, my brothers and sister in faith are being jailed, maimed, beaten, and killed because of their faith. Right now, as you read this post, fellow believers are being ripped from their homes and loved ones.

One story in particular has me praying hard for a sister in faith in Nigeria, Africa. 

Her husband and son were killed by terrorists who broke into their home. Her two little girls were kidnapped by the terrorists. The girls were 6 and 8 years old. I don't even want to think about what happened to these baby girls. To read all of this heartbreaking story, Click Here

The Lord has been speaking to my heart about praying for the persecuted church ever since I started praying for a sister in faith in 2014 who was in prison with her baby. 

After 2 weeks of steady prayer, she was released and flown to the United States. My prayers for her were answered. My last post on persecuted Christians in Africa was in January when I woke up at 3:30 am and was led to pray hard for the men and women of faith in Africa and the missionaries that are there trying to help them. Again, the Lord is speaking to me to continue praying and writing about what is happening to the children of light in a darkened world. 

Pray with me for the missionaries and faithful Christians who are enduring hardship because they are being good soldiers for Jesus Christ. 

Prayer

Jesus, I know how sad you must be as you sit on your throne in heaven and see your followers being beaten, maimed, threatened, and killed because thy love you with all their heart. I ask that you be with them at all times. Do not let their feet slip. Shade them from harm. Watch over their comings and goings today and forever. Let your protection be evident so that your faithful ones may give you the honor, glory, and can proclaim to the persecutors that you are all powerful. They can proclaim that their God is alive and actively protecting them. I ask these things in your powerful name Jesus and by the blood you shed to save us from sin. Amen. 

To learn more about persecuted Christians and what you can do  Click Here

Psalm of the Week - 121:3 - September 25, 2016

God is my Father in Heaven. He loves me and doesn't want to see me come to harm. 

He is eternally vigilant. Isn't that amazing? No matter where I am or what I am doing, God is right there with me. 

I am going to relay an incident to you that will sound kooky. 

However, it is a true story about an incident that happened to me when I was fifteen. 

I stepped off of a sidewalk to cross a side street in downtown St. James, MO. 

Suddenly, it felt like everything around me stopped for a second. My vision blurred as I felt something hit me in the chest and I moved backwards. At the same time, a car turned quickly from the main road, onto the side street and passed in front of me. 

I was confused.

I knew I had stepped from the curb into the road. I was standing on the sidewalk again. What happened? Then, I realized the car should have hit me because I had been walking across the street. It was too much for my fifteen year old brain to handle. 

I took off running and ran the five blocks to our house. 

As I burst through the front door, I started calling, "Mom! Mom!" My mom and I arrived in the dining room at the same time and I blurted out my story to her. In typical mom fashion, she pulled out a chair, told me to sit down, and calm down. Then, she sat down herself and quietly asked me to repeat my story again. After the calm story, Mom grabbed me and hugged me HARD! 

40 years later, this particular memory remains extremely vivid. 

This incident hasn't faded over time as many memories will. I can still feel the odd, everything-stopped-for-a-moment feeling and blurred vision. The sensation of moving backwards is still there.

Something invisible hit my chest and caused me to move backwards onto the sidewalk, just in time to not be hit by a car. 

I believe my eternally vigilant, Father in Heaven was not slumbering that day and had an angel save me. God loves me, he has a plan for me, and he isn't ready to call me back home yet. 

Putting Off the Old Self and Putting On the New Self

Tonight I am reading Ephesians 4:17-18, and 4:22-24.

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 

Putting off my old self was difficult.
Verses 17 and 18 describe me perfectly before I became a spirit-filled, joyful follower of Jesus Christ. Putting off my old self did not happen overnight. My darkened understanding, or stinking thinking, was an ingrained way of thinking.

It took years before I could put off most of my old self,
because I kept trying to take control of my life over and over again. Every time I did this, Jesus let me do it. One positive sign was that I  became quicker at giving myself back to Jesus. Finally, I was able to let Him drive and  I became a passenger who was along for the ride.  However, I still have deceitful desires that keep trying to creep back into my mind. I combat this with prayer and scripture.

God has given me personal revelations through the scriptures that I read. 
One such revelation is that I have been made new and have come to  realize that I am holy. When I surrendered all of me to Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit flooded into me and took up residence. My body contains the Holy Spirit and therefore, I am holy.

• Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God--this is your true and proper worship.

• 1 Peter 2:5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

My Attitude Has Changed
My attitude has changed and  is no longer that of my old self, but my old self continues to let me know that it is there if I let up on spending time with the Lord in prayer and studying my bible.

Today, I thirst to read the Bible.
My bible is dog-eared, creased, and wrinkled because of this thirst. I know it contains all the tools that I need to live my new life. It keeps the old me from resurfacing and softens my heart.

My Bible is Alive
Additionally, my bible is alive with the stories of men and women who lived, breathed, ate, and slept just like me. None of them were without fault. In fact, some of them were quite flawed. However, they completed many important tasks of the Lord in spite of their faults and flaws.

Perfection isn't a requirement to work for God. 
In fact, all He requires of me is to be willing to put Him first before all other pursuits. God wants to be number one in my life and he wants me to be obedient to the plan he has for me. My focus has to stay on God.

A Joyous Journey, an ebook

Now available at Lulu.com for $8.99 

Psalm of the Week - 121:2 - September 18, 2016

The Gasconade River at Sunset by Gasconade, MO. Photograph taken by Cassie Pilger 

I rely on the creator of the heavens and earth for my security. He is always available to help me. I know this because I have read of his works in my bible. God is faithful and good. 

I KNOW 

• that I have a personal relationship with a living God who loves me. 
•  that I have been given an indwelling Holy Spirit that helps me and connects me to Jesus the Son and God the Father.
•  that I am a co-heir of the kingdom of God
• I am going home to heaven when my physical body dies.  

Do you KNOW beyond all doubt that you have a personal relationship with God? Do you have the Holy Spirit? Do you KNOW you are a co-heir of  God's kingdom and going home to heaven? 

When you have a personal relationship with the Maker of heaven and earth, you have no doubt about any of the above questions. 

Verse of the Week - 1 Peter 2:5 - September 18, 2016

Hahatonka Castle at Lake of the Ozarks, MO. Photograph taken by Cassie Pilger.
Correction: this verse is 1 Peter 2:5

Hahatonka Castle is built of physical stones. The mortar and stones are still being admired by tourists to the Lake of the Ozarks. However, the living part of the building is gone. The castle is a ruin. 

Jesus is the living stone that was rejected by men, but chosen by God and is precious to God. Through Jesus, I too am a living stone. I am being used to build a spiritual house that is devoted to being servants to God. I am part of a  holy priesthood that God finds acceptable through Jesus Christ. 

Can you see yourself as a living stone in a spiritual house? No matter how wide spread the followers of Jesus are, we still form a holy priesthood within a spiritual church. We are all living stones within one, world-wide, spiritual house. It doesn't matter what race, color, country, or language we speak. To Jesus, we are his living stones that are offering spiritual sacrifices to Him and God. 

Prayer

Father God,

Thank-you for everything that you have done for me. The thought that I am a living stone in a world-wide spiritual building is awe-inspiring. Today, let me remember to do your will and not mine. Help me to see the tasks that you have set before me. Help me to understand your plan for me today. I thank-you and ask these things in the mighty name of Jesus Christ who is my Savior. Amen. 

Beth Moore's Entrusted Bible Study Quote

Amen! I too am not ashamed because I know the One - Jesus Christ. 

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Psalm of the Week -28:7 - Sept. 12, 2016

I enjoyed a weekend with my Christian Motorcyclists Association sisters in Mountain View, Arkansas. We left Saturday morning and arrived back home yesterday evening.
Saturday morning was overcast and the highway was wet from recent rain. I chose to not wear a rain suit and trust the weather forecast that said the weather would clear after 8:00 A.M. lol...lol Bad choice!
Today, my heart is leaping for joy and I am thanking Jesus for the wonderful weekend I enjoyed. A weekend that was filled with laughter, good food, and riding my motorcycle. Woohoo!

Verse of the Week - 1 Timothy 2:1 - September 12, 2016

September 11 was yesterday. 

Let's remember that for a brief period of time, America was united. Prayer warriors, continue to pray and intercede for this great country of ours. The Enemy is Satan. We are fighting a spiritual battle and all prayer warriors need to engage this enemy and cast him out our lives and our nation. 

Remember the fallen who have fought for our freedom.

Psalm of the Week - 32:2-5 - September 5, 2016

Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Knowing Jesus and living with sin is tough. 
It is even tougher to live with a sin that has a stronghold in your life after God convicts you of that sin.
The guilt of living in sin, under God's conviction, is painful. 
You know what you are doing is wrong, but you just can't seem to stop. A cycle of guilt, remorse, and secret shame begins weighing upon your thoughts.
There is only one way to get out of this situation. 
You have to willingly and wholeheartedly repent to God and ask for forgiveness.
Next, give God your entire life. Your life became God's life to do with as He wants. No more withholding areas of your life from Him because you have placed yourself under his Lordship.
A Personal Scripture Prayer
Lord,when I kept quiet about my sin my unhappiness kept me groaning and ill. My guilt sapped my strength. Then I turned to you and no longer tried to cover up the depths of my wrongdoing. I decided to confess my wrongs to you Lord. When I confessed, you forgave the sin and the guilt was gone. I am blissfully content since you forgave my sin. I am happy that your favor includes not counting my sin, or sins against me. I am blessed that You are in charge of my life today. I say these things through Jesus Christ who is my Lord and Savior. Amen.

Can I Trust God? Can God Trust Us? | Beth Moore Teaching Clip from Entru...

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