Luke 11:42 But only one thing is needed, Mary has chosen what is better and it WILL NOT BE TAKEN AWAY FROM HER.

Now the context of this passage is key… Jesus was at Mary and Martha’s house in a small village called Bethany. He was there to visit and to teach. Martha was a whole like I am… worried about making sure everything was done just right, everyone had food, the house was clean and the list never ends does it? Well, her sister Mary was interested in one thing… listening to Jesus, and learning what He wanted. I have to say, I get annoyed easily with the “Mary’s” in my life, there is ALWAYS something to be done and they seem to be content in not doing it!  Why? Well, a true “Mary” has learned what is important. Has learned Who is important, and THAT cannot be taken away.  I don’t like change. In fact, change terrifies me. I want things to stay calm and the same. Well, that is unrealistic. So, what am I to do?  According to this passage, I must learn to sit at the feet of Jesus, listening to Him, putting Him first and this will NOT be taken away. In fact here is another verse that says exactly that.

John 14:26, 27 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of what I have said to you. Peace I leave you; my peace I give you I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Did you know that you can be so educated and “wise” that you cease getting revelation from God? Truly.

Matthew 11:25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you Father, Lord of heaven and earth because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.

I know so many people, and I myself have even been there, who are so schooled in theology that they have no faith to just believe the Word. When this happens, we read the Word looking for things to back up our theology instead of seeking revelation from God. And it does not disappoint. We can find scripture after scripture to say what we want it to and then we use that as a destructive weapon against our fellow believers.

I also know a man who is in his early sixties, has two Master degrees in theology and yet has faith like a child when it comes to his Father’s Word.

^{Matthew 18:3} And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

I so desire to just have faith in my Father and in what He says just like a young child has faith in their human father.

There is a song that my boys sing that is a great reminder of this click this to watch and listen.

Read the Word. Speak the Word. Believe the Word.

Mark 4:14 The sower sows the Word.

Abbie and I planted over 150 flower bulbs today. We had Iris bulbs, Poppy bulbs, tulip bulbs (My personal favorite), Lilly bulbs, and Snow Glory bulbs in mixed sizes and colors.  It was a lot of fun strategizing where they would be planted and imagining them springing up from the ground next March or April.

I have been thinking about those bulbs the past few days and I have felt God teaching me something. As we know, the Word teaches us in Matthew 17 that our faith is a SEED. Well, my family and I have a garden that we plant mainly by seed. Some seeds spring up within a few days of planting, others like beets can take up to 2 weeks to show life. Even though those 2 weeks seem like a VERY long time to me, a bulb takes even longer!  See, we plant a bulb in the ground in the month of October here in Louisiana, we wait 5 or sometimes even 6 months before we see any fruit of our labor! WHEW! THAT is a long time! 

I started thinking about how faith is a seed we sow into our circumstances. We read the Word, get a Rhema word from God and “plant” that word by confessing and believing it. Well, I don’t know about you but sometimes, my faith has to go through some cold winter months before it starts showing fruit. Sometimes, I have to keep going back to the Word and remembering I planted it!

Come Spring things will be very colorful in our flower beds. I am trusting that the “Spring Time” of our circumstances and needs will be showing new life from the faith we are sowing into them.

I am a pretty simple-minded person and so I am thankful that God uses simple lessons to teach me!

When my day starts and all seems in control,

Lord, I come.

When I can’t seem to calm my anxious soul,

Lord, I come.

You are my Rock of Refuge,

You are my strong and mighty tower,

You are the One who hears me

You are the One to Whom I come.

When I rise on eagles wings,

Lord, I come.

When I deal with endless days,

Lord, I come.

You are my Rock of Refuge,

You are my strong and mighty tower,

You are the One who hears me,

You are the One to Whom I come.

When my ways are not Your ways,

Lord, I come.

When on you my mind does stay,

Lord, I come.

I will seek You in the morning

I will come to You always

I will lean on You in the dark times

You are the One to Whom I come.

Lord, I come. Lord, I come.

Psalm 71:3  Be to me a rock of refuge,
   to which I may continually come;
you have given the command to save me,
   for you are my rock and my fortress.

Today I asked again for the victory

Seeing it through my eyes

Hearing it with my ears

Exercising my faith, not wanting it to die.

My day dragged on an on

Not seeing the victory

Nor any battles won

Why, why, when I asked You in faith?

When I believed You for it

When I did not doubt my way?

“My child, my darling one,

I know the plans I have

I know the battles won.

You see, sometimes I know what’s best

I see the whole picture

I am always working, never stopping for rest.

Some days you will have the sun stand still

Some days you will have it your way

Some days you will have the victory

Some days I will say, ‘Yes, you may.’

But, there are the days that will make you frown

The days that you don’t want to talk about

The days  that the sun does go down.

On those days I need you to trust me the most.

I need you to let Me be your Light.

You will understand it all in time to come

You will then have heavenly sight.

So today, even though you are in the dark,

Trust My heart, My plan, My Word

Till you see the light begin to spark.

Ten Confessions of the Gott Home.

1. 1.      I am fully forgiven and free from all shame and condemnation.

Psalm 103:8-11, 1John 1:9, Romans 8:1-2, Isaiah 43:25

1. 2.      I act in bold faith to change the world in my generation.

Joshua 10:12, John14:12, Esther 4:14

1. 3.      I have no fear or anxiety; I trust in the Lord with all my heart.

Proverbs 3:5,6, Psalm 27:1, Isaiah 35:4

1. 4.      I will fulfill God’s calling on my life.

Phil 3:14, Phil 4:13, Psalm 119:89

1. 5.      Insecurity has no place in me, I see myself through God’s eyes.

Psalm 139:13-16, Eph 5:25-27

1. 6.      I am completely well- physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Psalm 103:1-5, Matthew 8:16-17, 2Cor 5:17, 1Peter 2:24

1. 7.      I am increasing steadily in influence and favor for glory of God.

Acts 2:37-47, Psalm 5:12

1. 8.      I will love others as Christ loves them.

2Thess 2:16-17, 1John 3:16, 4:9-12

1. 9.      I have the mind of Christ, so I make every decision with His wisdom.

1Cor 2:16, Prov 2:6, James 1:5

1. 10.  I am protected in the name of Jesus from all harm and evil.

Psalm 3:1-3, 2Thess 3:2-3, Gen 50:20

I try and try to win Your grace

I do and do hoping for favor

Not a moment to lose

This is my current behavior.

For some reason I cannot give up

I find myself judging, anxious

Ready to fight, not the good battles mind You

 But the ones that make me feel “Above”.

Then I stumble upon the real reason why

The reason I cannot rest

The reason I try and try.

I find I have never truly accepted Your love

For yesterday’s, today’s, and tomorrow’s sins

Your love cover’s it all, and lets me, begin again.

In this I can be sure

Nothing, No one, not even me

Can separate me from Your love

The love that is unfailing.

I trust in Your grace

And so I can give

Love, acceptance, forgiveness

This life You’ve called me to live.

My “anything else”, You have taken care of.

Washed it in Your blood

Covered it with Your love!

I am forgiven, I am free!

Today, my chains are gone

I am walking in liberty!

Today I chose to get up and run

I forgot to talk to You about it

Forgot to ask how it is done.

My feet felt heavy, my legs untried.

My breathing came hard

There was no strength in my stride.

I finished my day feeling defeated and weary

I had no joy, no peace

 Even tomorrow seemed dreary.

As I started to drift into a fitful sleep

You said “My Child, Wake up, we need to speak.

I can give you strength for your run

I can show you exactly how it is done!

I can take away your weariness and defeat

Give you joy unknown and a peace so complete.

But, you must first wait to hear from Me

Take my counsel, be willing to learn

Before you experience that I do not grow weary.

I never tire, I never fail

I never, no never will let you down.

Wait on Me, trust in Me.

My understanding goes on forever

My strength to you I give,

Breathe deeply, this is how you should live.”

 Sometimes it seems this road will never end.

 Long and winding, rough and steep

 I look and look, but all I see are turns and bends.

One day I wake up with hope in bloom

 Sun is shining, birds are singing

 I get knocked back down, that very afternoon.

 I know all the right responses my heart should say

 “God, it’s about Your glory.” “I choose to trust You.”

And so on and so forth, but sometimes these seem just a bit gray.

I never saw myself in this particular struggle

It never occurred to me that I could face this.

 Yes, some days are better than others,

Yes, I am still choosing to trust

But Lord, I often wonder what You are doing,

 And words being written down have now become “a must!”.

 I am in this struggle not for my lifetime,

 I know that the road will truly end.

 I just need to let You know,

 I am weary Of all of the turns and all the bends.

Hold my head up, don’t let it hang.

Shut the mouth of the enemy

Who brings nothing but shame.

Today, I rise up off my knees

 Thankful I brought my feelings to You

 Even if it does make me look weak.

 Today, tomorrow, and forever, I know

 You alone can make me strong

 You alone know where I am on this road

When what I see is all the wrong.

Psalm 13

 ¹ How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?
   How long will you hide your face from me?
² How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
   and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
   How long will my enemy triumph over me?

 ³ Look on me and answer, LORD my God.
   Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
⁴ and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
   and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

 ⁵ But I trust in your unfailing love;
   my heart rejoices in your salvation.
⁶ I will sing the LORD’s praise,
   for he has been good to me.

Thursday night at Bible Study, Bro. Lee was sharing a message titled “Satan’s Bucket List.” Basically everything the enemy has for you and how to discern what is from God and what is from Satan. He had two buckets in front of him when he asked me to help him in an illustration one with “Satan’s Bucket List” and the other “God’s Blessings”. As I stood before him, he asked me to close my eyes very tight and not peek. He then told the rest of the people there to help me out. As I reached down into a bucket they were to tell me “Yes” or “No” if it was the “Right” bucket to take from.  immediately I realized my ears were tuning in for a particular voice. Do you know who’s?  Of course you do, Tony’s. I knew that I could trust his voice to not lead me astray in choosing the wrong bucket. As I heard the crowd when I reached out, Tony’s voice seemed like it was 10 times louder than all the rest! I sat down and immediately John 10:3b-5came to mind, “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

See, my ears tuned into the one person in the room who I know intimately. I know his love for me, I know his heart. I know I can trust him completely.

But, Who does my spirit tune into on a daily basis? Do I discern the Lord’s voice in every situation? Do I trust His heart enough to immediately respond to His voice? WOW! I want to! I want to know His voice better than I know the voice of my husband, trust His love more fully than I trust the love of my husband, and trust His heart for me in every matter.

I need His voice to be louder than the rest of the crowd!