Women's Retreat

We never got this put up on the blog (I suppose it just never occurred to us), but here is a short slideshow from the Women's Retreat we went this last September.

The theme of the retreat was "Come Away With Me" and I think all who went would agree that it was a sweet time of doing that with the Lord!

A Healthy Heart: Part 3

In order to have a healthy heart in this new year, we need to ask ourselves a couple of questions: 1) Do I see any warning signs of an unhealthy heart? For example: pride,anger,bitterness,selfishness,sin,distracted with the things of the world, greed, a spiritual deadness, jealousy, desire to please the flesh--these are all "flesh woman" characteristics. 2) Am I ready to change my "heart condition"?

Part 2 shared the diet changes that are required for a healthy heart. Today, I will share the importance of exercise & stress reduction. This is as crucial for physical heart changes as spiritual heart changes. I Timothy 4:7b-8 says, "...train yourselves to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding the promise for both the present life and the life to come." We need to train ourselves to be godly--this is a discipline. Here are some inner exercises (or disciplines) that will begin our journey of a healthy heart:

1) Sabbath Keeping~ it is important that we take the Sabbath seriously. God instilled a day that we worship Him and not do any work...it is a day of rest. Rest is good for the soul! We are a culture that does not rest well.

2) Obedience~ Obey God's Word! Read Psalm 119 and hear the love of the law that the psalmist writes about. God has your best in mind. "His boundaries lie in pleasant places." (Ps. 16:6)

3) Confession~ Examine your conscience daily. Invite God to move upon your heart and show any areas that need His forgiveness and healing (there are 2 main categories of sin: sins of the heart and sins of the flesh)
*Sins of the heart--pride, arrogance, fear, anger, bitterness, etc.
*Sins of the flesh--laziness, overeating, adultery, overspending, etc.
Confession brings relief, freedom, joy and peace!

4) Meditating on the Word~ This is a time of reflection on a portion of scripture; maybe just one verse. Chew on the Word!

5) Worship~ A focused time on Jesus; to adore Him; to pour your love over Him. Develop a habit of worship...in the car, while your doing chores around the house, when kids are napping...Jesus will fill you to overflowing and pour His love over you as you minister to Him!

6) Prayer~ "To pray is to change. Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us," (David Foster). Prayer is a conversation, which means there is talking and LISTENING. We do much too much talking. Spend some time with a "prayer journal" & listen to what God is saying to you. Worship first, so your mind is clear of the clutter of the world. Then be still and hear what God is saying to you. Train your ear to hear His quiet voice.


Six disciplines or inner exercises that will transform your soul, which will bring health to your heart. Keep diligent in these matters and a desire will follow. What you feed on, you will crave. So begin feeding on the disciplines of the heart and you will begin to crave them. God's Word is alive and active and will transform you from the inside out. You will be amazed at the healthy heart that the Lord will develop in you~ what is on the inside of us, eventually is produced on the outside. Others will see the change in you too! What a great year it will be as you apply the diet changes, and exercise to reduce stress inwardly~ to have a healthy spiritual heart~ refreshed & renewed in 2009!

Sanctuary - Kari Jobe

A Healthy Heart -- Part 2

DIET CHANGES:

The soul (our mind, will & emotions) operates as a computer. It needs to be reprogrammed in order to be spiritually fit! This post will be about the "new diet plan" that we need for our soul, in order to keep our spirit-man (heart) healthy.

The old computer runs tapes that spin round and round in our mind. These tapes are controlled by the FLESH (Following Long Established Selfish Habits). Paul tells us, in the New Testament that we need to crucify the flesh. Flesh should not reign any longer. But we have lived so long following the FLESH and gratifying the selfish desires of the flesh, that there is work to be done in the diet. We need to STARVE the flesh! Where are you? Take this flesh test (from the book, Having a Mary Spirit by JoAnna Weaver):

1. A prideful spirit~ Do you have an exalted feeling because of success or
Position, good training or appearance, or natural gifts & abilities? An
Independent spirit?
2. A love of praise~Do you like to be noticed? Do you draw attention to
Yourself in conversation? Do you like to hear you are good at
Something?
3. A touchy temper~Do you have a touchy spirit? Do you throw sharp
Words at others? Do you make excuses for your impatience or
Irritability?
4. A willful attitude~Do you show a stubborn, unteachable heart? Do you
Like to argue? Are you harsh? Demanding? Driving? Headstrong? Do
You tend to criticize?
5. A fearful heart~Does fear of what others think control what you do or
Say?
6. A jealous heart~Do you hide envy in your heart? When someone is
More talented than you, are you tempted to speak of his faults rather
Than his virtues?
7. A dishonest disposition~Do you evade or cover up the truth? Do you
Minimize your real faults and attempt to leave a better impression of
Yourself than is really true? Do you show one face to one person & the
Opposite to another person?
8. A wandering eye~Do you entertain lustful stirrings? Do you dwell on
Romantic fantasies?
9. A spiritual deadness~Are you complacent about the lost? Is your
Relationship with God characterized by indifference? Does your life
Lack spiritual power? Do you regularly meet with God?
10. A love of self~Do you cater to your fleshly appetites & desires? Does
Your joy in life fluctuate around your personal interests & contentment?
Do you yearn for money and earthly possessions?

We all struggle with the flesh. Galations 5:16 says, "But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." And Romans 8:4 tells us, "Walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." We have a choice. Walk by the Spirit and His Spirit will change and transform us from the inside out. Any of us can, for a little while, make some behavior changes. God is looking for heart change and when it is heart change, it is Christ doing it in me.

The re-programmed computer of the heart is one which is controlled by the SPIRIT (Spirit-Producing Inside~ Renewed Intentions & Thoughts). The more we surrender ourselves to Jesus, the more we are transformed into His likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18). And we know with confidence, "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6). As you look at the "Flesh test" questions, commit to live out the opposite. :)

Diet changes for a physical heart include: watching cholestrol, sodium levels, saying "no" to certain foods (not feeding the flesh)! Change is hard and a new habit takes awhile to develop. But the longer you remain faithful to the changes, the easier it is. Spiritually, "flesh woman" had gone unchallenged for MANY years, so it will take time to begin new routines and new patterns of thoughts and behaviors~ getting your flesh under the Spirit's control. We begin by STARVING THE FLESH! How do we feed the Spirit and starve the flesh?

1) Get in God's Word~ renew your soul with God's Word. Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart." In 2009, make a "diet change" to be in the Word daily.

• Ask God to increase your spiritual appetite. Ask the Lord to give you "hunger pains" for HIM! "Hunger is what causes us to empty ourselves of compromise and creates a holy dissatisfaction that drives us to our knees and makes us depend on God." Rhonda Hughey (Desperate For His Presence)

2) Memorize & Meditate & Chew on God's Word~ The challenge from Mike Bickle at the One Thing Conference this year is "EAT THE SCROLL". I love that! I have been "chewing" on the Word for many years now. So, it is time to eat the scroll. Dig deep, looking for the treasures in the Word.

3) Take every thought captive~ This takes practice. When you catch yourself thinking something that is not true about you or someone else:

• RECOGNIZE it as untruth
• REFUSE to accept the thought as your own
• REPLACE it with what is true

4) WRITE OUT A CONFESSIONS LIST~ Statements from God's Word that are true about who you are in Christ. Use a notebook and record the verses. Read them over and over as a way to transform your heart. Make the verses personal declarations of the reality of who you are as a daughter of the King! Example: "I have the mind of Christ." 2 Corinthians 2:16

5) CLOTHE YOURSELF~ with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, love, forgiveness (Colossians 3:10,12-14). Deny "flesh woman" of her rights! Respond in the opposite spirit as you naturally would. Keep doing it until the feelings follow!!!!!

As you begin feeding on the Spirit, you will become transformed and conformed into the image of Christ~releasing the flow of His life through you.

Holy Spirit, have Your way in us; that we would die to ourselves and allow Your life-giving Spirit to reign in us. Change us, transform us, shape us and mold us to live a life that pleases our Father in heaven.

Next post: A Healthy Heart Part 3 (Exercise and stress reduction)! Who doesn't need that?

A Heart Healthy 2009

A Heart Healthy 2009: Part 1

A new year means new resolutions to be healthier. That is on the top of most "resolution lists" for any new year. What about a spiritually healthier 2009? In order to be spiritually fit, the heart needs a makeover. Physically, we know that the arteries carry blood from the heart to the whole body. As long as the heart is able to receive the blood and send it along, our physical life continues on. Physical blockage will stop the flow of blood that brings life to the whole body. There are usually warning signs that occur in the body--telling you something is wrong. Some of these signs are: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, pain in the chest or arm, difficulty breathing when performing simple tasks. When those signs are experienced, a doctor will prescribe medicine, a diet & exercise regimen, stress reduction plan, or even heart surgery to correct the problem. Without intervention, the result could be a loss of life.

There is a spiritual principle here. Our heart, our inner man is renewed & made right with God the moment we trust Jesus to be our Savior & Lord. This is our spirit-man. However, the soul, the place of our mind, will, emotions needs to be renewed. Our spirit man can be affected by the soul, when their is a spiritual blockage. The streams of living water (like the blood) carry life to the rest of the body. When there is blockage spiritually, the life of Christ is stopped from flowing freely. Sometimes we have lived with the blockage for so long that we don't even recognize there is a problem. Proverbs 4:23 says, "Watch over your heart with all diligence; for from it flow the springs of life," (New American Standard version). To watch over means to "protect or stand guard". How well have you protected your heart? Do you stand guard to keep your mind, will and emotions protected from the signs of corruption? Leading up to verse 23 in Proverbs, we see the key to keeping our heart guarded. Verses 20-22 says, "My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight; keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their whole body." To keep the heart guarded, we need to keep God's Word within the heart. That is the gate keeper. If something enters the heart that doesn't line up with what God says, then it will produce corruption in my spiritual body. The Truth of God's Words bring life and health to the whole body!

So, how do you know if your heart is healthy or if it is sickly? Take a heart check from the characteristics I have listed of a healthy heart. A healthy heart is:

• Prepared to seek God (Exra 7:10)
• Fixed on God (Psalm 112:7)
• Joyful in God (I Samuel 2:1)
• Pure (Psalms 24:4)
• Tender (2 Kings 22:19)
• Single and sincere (Acts 2:46)
• Honest and good (Luke 8:15)
• Broken and contrite (Psalm 51:17)
• Obedient (Psalm 119:112)
• Filled with the law of God (Psalm 119:11)
• Awed by the Word of God (Psalm 119:161)
• Filled with the fear of God (Jeremiah 32:40)
• Meditative (Psalm 4:4)
• Prayerful (Psalm 27:8)
• Trusts in the Lord (Proverbs 3:5)
• Desires God (Psalm 84:2)
• Wise (Matthew 12:35)
• Steadfast (Psalm 108:1)

How did you do? Based on your responses, would you say you have a spiritually healthy heart? The desire of all who are committed to Jesus Christ is to have our hearts reflecting these qualities. With the beginning of the new year, take time to process any issues that are keeping your heart blocked. Invite Jesus, the great physician to do "heart surgery". He is trustworthy and faithful. He is the Divine Healer. Give Him access to your heart.

All heart patients need a new diet and exercise plan, along with some stress management techniques. A spiritual heart patient needs these as well. We will examine these changes in the coming posts.