Loving God

The Book of the Covenant

January 21, 2017 By Preslaysa Leave a Comment

Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!” (Exodus 24:7, NASB)

After going over this third instance in the Bible which uses the word ‘book’, I noticed a pattern. God must really want us to recite and hear His Word.

What struck me about this particular verse however is the Israelites immediate decision to be obeidient to the Word. If you’re familiar with the stories of the Old Testament, you know the Israelites failed in keeping this promise many times, as we often do. What can we do if we fail to live up to God’s standards?

God’s answer is the covenant.

One definition of ‘covenant’ given in dictionary.com is “the agreement between God and the ancient Israelites, in which God promised to protect them if they kept His law and were faithful to Him.”

The Israelites obviously messed that one up.

We often mess up too.

But the beauty of God’s covenant is He sealed it with His Blood, the Blood of His Son Jesus. As a result, all penalties for failing to live up to the covenant standards written in His Book fell on Jesus over two thousand years ago. He bore the penalty for all. We receives the promises of the covenant by believing and confessing His Son as Lord and Savior over our lives.

Declaring His Lordship means He becomes Master over our lives. Absolving us of all the mess we’ve created as a result of our sinful nature and empowering us with His Holy Spirit so we can live a life pleasing to Him.

So, fill your thoughts with the Book of the Covenant (the Bible, that is).

And, repent and believe in His Son, Jesus (the One who frees us from the penalties of breaking the covenant and imparts us with His eternal life. His eternal life empowers us to fulfill His covenant and receive its benefits)

How did Jesus make this happen?

First: Jesus died. Acts 2:22, NASB says “this Man (Jesus), delivered over by the predetermined plan and forknowledge of God, you nailed to the cross by the hands of godless men who put Him to death”

Second: Jesus rose from the dead. Acts 2:24, NASB says “but God raised Him Jesus) from the dead, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”

Third: Jesus is presently exalted and seated at the right hand of the Father. Acts 2:33, NASB says “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear”

What’s the next step?

First: Repent. The Greek word for repent is ‘metanoeo‘ and it literally means to “perceive afterwards, to change one’s mind or purpose and it always involves a change for the better.” The first step involves your personal decision to make Jesus Lord of your life. (Acts 2:38)

Second: Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord of your life and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead and you will be saved (Romans 10:9-10, paraphrased)

Then what?

God empowers you with the gift of the Holy Spirit and you receive His eternal life. You then embark on the lifelong journey of growing in your faith. Following His leading enables you to grow.

Concluding Thoughts..

That was a lot from one verse in Exodus but its invaluable truth. I first heard the gospel as an eleven year old at a flea market! One day, I sent up a random prayer to God asking Him why church was so boring, lol. He replied by sending someone my way to clearly lay out the gospel and give me an opportunity to make that decision for myself. Years later, that decision continues to shape my life.

For Readers

As one added benefits to my readers, if you have recently made a personal decision to make Jesus the Lord of your life, I would like to send you a New Testament and a pamphlet on growing in your Christian walk. In addition, I’ll commit to personally praying for you once a week for a year during my personal prayer time so you won’t feel alone as you embark on the life of faith. Email me at preslaysa(dot)c(dot)williams(at)gmail(dot)com with your name and mailing address.

BTW, this offer stands if you are reading this post months or years later after the date of this posting.

Till next week…

Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!” (Exodus 24:7, NASB)

A Breath-Prayer on Limping Princes and Broken Hearts

June 14, 2016 By Preslaysa Leave a Comment

{A Breath Prayer for the grieving, the brokenhearted, and the ones who’ve lost their way.}

Me: God, teach me to trust.

“Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.”

Romans 10:17

Me: Okay so that’s faith…but trust comes by…what? {Flipping through the pages of the Word for an answer}

“He who trusts in the Lord will be like Mount Zion which can never be shaken.”

Psalm 125:1 [Read more…] about A Breath-Prayer on Limping Princes and Broken Hearts

For Your Weekend: A Birthday, A Personal Testimony {And Guest Blogging}

June 11, 2016 By Preslaysa 14 Comments

Today’s a big day for me. I turned seventeen (Ha, ha!! Not really.) But it is my birthday today! Time for cake!!!

My birthday is pretty darn special to me for many reasons. The most important reason? I’m still alive. That may not seem very exciting, but eighteen years ago a series of God-fortunate events led me to a pit. (I say God-fortunate because I believe ALL THINGS work for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.) I battled with severe depression, compulsive cutting, and suicidal ideation. Eighteen years ago, I had my stomach pumped in an emergency room for overdosing on aspirin.

It was bad y’all.

But God….

The Gratitude Journal

December 21, 2015 By Preslaysa 2 Comments

A few years ago, I got our family started on a Gratitude Journal. I decided we should keep one after reading about the physical and psychological benefits of practicing gratitude. A Gratitude Journal proves helpful in many ways. It challenges the idea of having a “set point” for happiness. Meaning, all humans have a perceived level of contentment they believe they deserve. Some people believe they deserve a lot of happiness. Others, not so much. Keeping a Gratitude Journal challenges our perceived notions of self worth.

I can attest to this. Keeping a Gratitude Journal has taught me a lot, especially when I have a particularly rough day of motherhood, wifehood, writerhood…lifehood! Whenever I have had a bad day, my wonderful husband opens the Gratitude Journal and asks me what I’m grateful for – and then I have to think.

Hard.

(I forgot to add, one of our “rules” for the Gratitude Journal is we have to say something we are grateful for in the past twenty four hours. So we can’t say general things like “I’m so grateful for my family..or my house..or for my salvation.”)

Like I said, I have to think hard…challenging my own “set level of contentment.”

So, after wracking my brain, I say something simple like: “I’m thankful for seeing our son smiling today.”

Or: “I’m thankful for the sunlight streaming through the kitchen window this morning.”

Or: “I’m thankful for my husband helping me out with the dishes today.”

It’s at this point I realize those things aren’t so simple. They are wonderful gifts which indicate a few things. First, my child is happy and I’m able to witness his joy. Second, I’m alive and able to enjoy God’s creation. Third, I’m blessed with a supportive, loving husband.

Not such a bad day after all.

When the laundry and the dishes and the screaming babies and the dust make you want to crawl back in bed and wait for tomorrow to show up, give thanks..in everything.

(And write it down!)

I’m guest blogging at Putting on the New today!

November 11, 2015 By Preslaysa Leave a Comment

Hey folks! I’m guest blogging about my struggle with perfectionism at the Putting on the New blog today! Hop on over and say ‘hi’! Here’s the link http://puttingonthenew.com/2015/11/11/progress-not-perfection/

How to Keep a Love Journal (And why!)

May 13, 2015 By Preslaysa 8 Comments

How to Keep a Love Journal (The Why)

Keeping a journal is a simple way to track the inner workings of your soul. I first read about this in Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. She calls it Morning Pages, but I call it love journaling because as I kept up with this writing practice, it helped me invite more love into my life. Not just love towards others, but love towards God and love towards my self.

Whenever your pen touches paper and your mind connects to your thoughts, something special occurs. All the stuff fizzing around in your brain, the good, the bad and the ugly, rises to the surface and you are forced to deal with it. If you press through the not-so-pretty parts of love journaling, you’ll discover how to invite more goodness into your life.

Yeah, that sounds very heady and philosophical, but it’s pretty simple. Love journaling is all about paying attention to your inner self, the secret place that houses your fears and worries and insecurities. Whenever you love journal, gone are the days of stuffing your feelings in a bucket and pretending they don’t exist.

We have a bazillion thoughts running through our minds every day: insecure thoughts, fearful thoughts, selfish thoughts, kind thoughts, noble thoughts, but we may never give them proper attention. Left ignored, those thoughts fester and blister and boil and pop up in our lives in not-so-pretty ways. They often take the form of bad habits, wrong thinking and destructive relationships. In other words: drama. I, for one, don’t need drama. Keeping up with a 4 year old and a 2 year old provides me with ample drama already 🙂

How to Keep a Love Journal (The How)

Here are three simple ways you can keep a love journal and start the love process in your own life:

Step One: Get a notebook.

Any notebook will do. Right now I have a blank, one subject spiral notebook. When I finish with it, I plan to continue journaling in these lovely black soft bound medium journals from Barnes and Noble. (Hint: If you want to buy me something for Christmas, this is it.) I haven’t used them yet, but all the reviews say lovely things and since I’m part of American consumer culture, I’ll buy them. I even make sporadic trips to Office Max and Staples and oogle over their pens and notebooks and post it notes. Sad but true.

Step Two: Get a pen.

Yeah, you need a pen to write. You cannot journal on a computer. Using your own hand to write your own thoughts is key. It builds a physical connection which makes all the thoughts which arise during a journaling session more immediate and real. I’ve tried many different pens. Right now I’m using Bic pens because I like to see the ink level decrease as I write, makes me feel like I’m accomplishing something worthwhile. (I’m weird like that.)

Step three: Write 1-3 pages of your first thoughts when you wake up in the morning.

Do this before the day catches up with you. This enables you to clearly monitor your thoughts. When I started to love journal, my first thoughts were basically all about the to-do list I kept in my head. You know what I’m talking about:

I have to buy milk before we run out.

Oh, I need to mail off that telephone bill before the 8th.

Man, look at that mountain of laundry in the corner of my bedroom, will I ever get to it?

I hope the kids don’t wake up early today, I need some quiet time to myself.

Blah, blah blah.

After that stuff rose to the surface, all the self-conscious, human thoughts made their Grand Entrance.

Why did she say that to me? Does she like me?

I really need to get a handle on my carbohydrate intake. Today is the day for a new beginning…again.

Gosh, this story I’m writing isn’t coming together. What IS the story I’m writing?

I hope I didn’t offend such and such when I did that.

Blah, blah, blah.

Then, some kind and gentle thoughts nudged me. I knew this was the voice of the Holy Spirit. He said two things:

1) I needed to be more kind and loving to my self.

2) I needed to be more self-protective of my heart.

I didn’t know what that meant when I first wrote it out, but whenever situations popped up, I would be reminded of those two directives. If I listened to them, things turned out well. If I ignored them, I got (you guessed it) DRAMA!

After love journaling, I read a portion of the Bible. That’s when I receive God’s thoughts. They always cemented those Holy Spirit nudges and corrected my faulty thinking patterns. It’s like early morning corrective surgery…every single day!

Keeping a love journal is a lifelong process, and I’m committed to doing it for the long haul.

How about you? Do you keep a journal? How has journaling helped your life?

Free Printable Love Calendar week of Feb 8, 2015

February 8, 2015 By Preslaysa Leave a Comment

Click here for this week’s free printable Love Calendar! Have a blessed week 🙂

A Guest Post by novelist Jennifer Slattery

January 23, 2015 By Preslaysa 3 Comments

“What God Showed Me Through An Angry, Old Woman” by Jennifer Slattery

I’m not sure why I went, except to say I felt a tugging. A vague, unwavering desire to go. And so, I obeyed, not knowing what I’d do or why God asked me to. And this is where, at a small, locally ran nursing home, I met a woman who showed me, through her hostile, confused state, the depths of God’s love.

Her name was Betty, and she lived in a local nursing home, one I decided to serve at. I met her right away. It was hard not to notice her. She had the mouth of a railroader and a temper to match. Most of the other residents, and I suspect, many of the staff, were afraid of her. But I was drawn to her. I’m not sure why except that I sensed she was deeply lonely.

So, I began to form a relationship. My family soon joined me, and we’d go one night a week to play cards. Until cards grew too difficult for her. In the middle of a game, she’d get upset and throw her cards down, “This is a stupid game.”

Then she’d look at my husband, who was growing a beard, “You look like a hobo.”

My husband would just smile, his folded hands propped under his chin.

“If God wanted you to have facial hair, He would’ve given it to you.”

We chose not to explain the fallacy of her statement and instead smiled.

This went on for some time, and with each encounter, we grew more attached to this angry, foul-mouthed woman who spent most of her time cursing us.

One day, when I came to visit, she told me her friend had fallen and was in the hospital. This upset her greatly, most likely because it reminded of her vulnerability, and the great unknown that awaited humanities decline of health. Distraught and deeply concerned, she asked me if I’d take her to see this woman who normally resided down the hall.

I readily agreed and got permission from the facility staff. Before they gave me the go-ahead, however, the activities director spent ten minutes telling me how awful this woman was. She was angry, hostile. Why would I choose to have her in my car? But if that’s how I wanted to spend my afternoon, God be with me.

Actually, she never mentioned God, because I’m pretty sure if she gave Him a thought at all, her view of this spunky old woman would change.

Ten minutes later, Betty and I sat buckled in my van, heading toward the local hospital. On the way, Betty swore, told me all of the things she didn’t like about the other cars we passed or the people in the parking lot.

She was mad. Confused. Scared. Angry.

But as we were walking toward the glass doors, her cursing, me smiling, God gave me a beautiful gift.

Speaking ever-so-softly to my heart, He said, “I don’t see her that way.” And then it clicked. When others looked at her, all they saw was her behavior, but when God looked at her, He saw her disease, Alzheimer’s.

That’s the same way He views mankind. When we see others acting angry or unkind, all we can is their behavior. But God looks deeper. He sees their disease—sin, and he offers a cure through His Son Jesus Christ.

For God so loved our broken, sin-ravished world…

This encounter, with the woman and with God, impacted me greatly, so much so that I put in my debut, Beyond I Do.

That day, God showed me how deep, how far-reaching, how unshakable His love really is. By loving this woman through me, God showed me the depths of His love for all mankind. For me. It was a beautiful moment, one I won’t forget.

Isn’t He amazing? What about you? When has your God-given love for someone else revealed God’s heart in a deeper way? When do you feel closest to God? Share your examples with us so we can celebrate God’s faithfulness.

About Jennifer

Jennifer Slattery writes soul-stirring fiction for New Hope Publishers, a publishing house passionate about bringing God’s healing grace and truth to the hopeless. She also writes for Crosswalk.com, Internet Café Devotions, and the group blog, Faith-filled Friends. When not writing, Jennifer loves going on mall dates with her teenage daughter and coffee dates with her handsome railroader husband.

Visit with Jennifer online at JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud.

About When Dawn Breaks

As the hurricane forces Jacqueline to evacuate, her need for purpose and restitution motivate her to head north to her estranged and embittered daughter and into the arms of a handsome new friend. Dealing with his own issues, Jacqueline isn’t sure if he will be the one she can lean on during the difficult days ahead. And then there are the three orphans to consider, especially Gavin. Must she relinquish her chance at having love again in order to be restored?

Read a free, 36-page excerpt here: http://issuu.com/newhopedigital/docs/slattery_sampler/1

You can buy a copy here:

On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/When-Dawn-Breaks-A-Novel/dp/1596694238/

On Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/when-dawn-breaks-a-novel-jennifer-slattery/1120694122?ean=9781596694231