I am a Child of the King

The following was written by Dr Ed Laymance, the Counseling Pastor at my church. Every word comes directly from scripture.

Because of who Jesus Christ is, and becasue He is my Savior and Lord:
I am a child of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, seated with Christ in the heavenly realm. I am chosen, accepted, and included - a citizen of heaven and a member of God's houshold.

I am loved by God unconditionally and without reservation.

I belong to Him, having been bought by Him with the precious blood of Jesus. I have eternal life and will be saved from all of God's wrath to com - guaranteed!

I am a Christian. I am not just different in what I do. My identity has changed. Who I am has changed. Everything has become brand new.

I am a dwelling place in which God lives by His Spirit. I have access to Him anytime, anywhere, for any reason.

I am God's creation - His workmanship. I was created by Him and for Him, so who I am and what I do matters. I am spiritually alive. I have been set free from the fear of death and have been given life to live and enjoy to the full.

I am forgiven - completely, totally, and absolutely.

I have been rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into the Kingdom of light - the Kingdom of the Son. I have been set free from the penalty of sin and the power of sin.

I am an enemy of Satan and at war with spiritual forces of evil, but greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.

If God is for me, it doesn't matter who or what stands against me, because nothing and no one can separate me from the love of Christ -
not hurt, pain, loss, problem, or brokeness;
not persecution, trouble, difficulty, or danger;
not abandonment, abuse, addictions, or appetites;
not desires, food, sexuality, or relationships;
not life or death, angels or demons;
not my past, the present, or the future;
no power, no person, no place, not anything in all creation;
not even Satan himself shall prevail.

I am in the hands of Jesus, in the hands of God, and nothing and no one can snatch me out of God's hands.

I will fear no evil because God is with me, and He has promised to never leave me nor forsake me.

God's presence is with me everywhere I go - to the heights of heaven, through the valley of the shadow, to the ends of the earth - forever and always.

I am a child of the King and choose this day to live as one.

Internet Cafe Question - The Lie

What is a lie that you have believed in the past (or even currently), and why do you think you believed that lie? Find a verse in God’s Word to combat the lie.

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When I think of lies the first thing that comes to mind is Satan, the author of lies. If he can convince us to believe his lies then he can hold us in bondage. That is what he did with me. While there have been many lies he had convinced me of, they all culminated into one massive lie, "except Edie." You see, anytime I would hear or read one of God's promises, the enemy would be right there whispering "except Edie." It was continuous and constant.

"I know the plans I have for you ... plans to give you a future and a hope" - "except Edie."
"You are fearfully and wonderfully made." - "except Edie."
"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." - "except Edie."

On and on it went tearing down my self esteem and leaving me feeling worthless, unwanted, with nothing to offer, and hopeless. This lasted a number of years and even though my brain knew that it was a lie, my heart came to believe it. My circumstance appeared to prove it and honestly, I just didn't know how to really fight the spiritual battle effectively. But God does not leave His children to the enemy. Even though Satan was able to convince me that I was nothing, even in God's eyes, he could not convince me that God was anything less than GOD.

God began to show me more clearly the tactics and strategies of the enemy and how to effectively battle with the enemy in His Power. Speak scripture out loud in response to the lies. "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 attitudes of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)

Sing praise songs boldly in defiance against the enemy. "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7)

He has taught, and is still teaching me many other things about this spiritual battle that we are in and He freed me from the bondage that the lie had led me into. "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32)

O Lord - Thank you so much for your unfailing love and for the freedom that you and You Alone can give. You are Almighty GOD.

"Watch This"

Have you ever had one of those "Watch This" moments with one of your kids? You know, where your immediate circumstances inspire you to turn that moment into something special that will leave a fond and lasting memory in your child's mind. A moment where you and your child share an idea, a plan, or a wonder only between the two of you. Those kind of moments don't necessarily require something spectacular as much as a complete and unexpected deviation from what is currently happening, where you look at your child and say "Watch This."

Do you notice when God creates those "Watch This" moments with you? A number of years ago, my job required that I travel to trade shows a couple of times a year. One time while we were in Minneapolis, we decided to have dinner at a particular restaurant that had been recommended to us. It turned out that this restaurant had an aquarium, center-stage, with one large, and faily unattractive fish swimming lethargically around among the lava rocks and plants. I am always fascinated by God's creatures and this odd fish was no exception. I asked our server if she knew what kind of fish it was and she told us that it was a puffer fish. I had never seen a puffer fish before and this fish didn't look at all to me like it could puff itself up into a spiney ball, but I was very intrigued and hoped that I might get to see it take place. The server quickly quenched my hopes as she told us that it had been in that aquarium for 7 or 8 years and had never puffed up. She said that they only puff up when they feel threatened and it was apparently used to the environment and felt very secure.

But then God... Don't you just love those words? You know that whatever follows is something you don't want to miss. I sat there at our table about 12' from the aquarium just watching as the puffer swam around, still curious, still in wonder over God's work, and still wishing that it might puff up. Then suddenly it seemed to be having convulsions. At least that's the way it appeared to me. I watched in amazement as I realized that it was puffing up. I said "It's doing it" just as our server was walking by, and she turned to look at the aquarium. Then she ran and told the staff and in seconds the aquarium was surrounded by restaurant staff as they watched in awe and blocked the view to all the customers. When the staff left the aquarium and resumed their duties, the puffer was once again swimming lethargically around in the water. Ok, so I still didn't get to see it fully puffed up, but I got a spectacular "Watch This" moment with my Awesome God that will live in my heart forever. Nothing could be better.

"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." (Jeremiah 33:3)

Matthew 25:40

Final

About a month ago my friend Rhonda called me up and asked if I would design a graphic for her daughter Jennifer. It seems that she was redecorating her husband's office while he was out of town as a suprise for him and wanted to frame it for the wall. Unfortunately, I got the call late in the afternoon while I was at the zoo and they needed it the next day. The theme was Africa because Mark has a heart for helping orphans in Africa. That was about all the information I had in addition to the scripture she wanted on it. Well, due to the time constraints, she received my first draft. I wasn't really satisfied with it, but I was out of time. The other night I decided to work it up to something I was happy with. I have to say I much prefer the final result. Maybe this was God's idea because He's been chasing me around with this scripture from that night on.

First Draft

My Prayer

I ran across this on the internet and fell in love with this song.

Names of Jesus

This is my latest framed art. I made this for a small place on a wall in the hallway. I couldn't get a good picture in the hall so I had to improvise. This graphic displays some of the Names of Jesus, but is certainly not exhaustive. I tried to choose some of my favorites of His Names, that is very difficult because I love the Name of the Lord in every form.

It seems I am often thinking about names; and the significance of using someones name. I believe He has prompted that quite a bit lately. When we call a person by their name it creates a personal tie with that person. I remember once when I worked in a clinic, I needed one of the patients to come up to the reception desk in order to ask him a few questions. The man's name was Nikolaus Holtz. When I called out his name I pronounced it as it is supposed to be pronounced. He was so thrilled that I pronounced his name correctly instead of as Nicholas, which apparently happened quite a bit. From that day forward he was my friend. Every time he came to see the doctor he would look for me and was always glad when he found me like a good friend, and he always remembered my name too.

Isaiah 45:3 says "And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness— secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, the One who calls you by name."

Wow. The maker of the stars knows us so personally that he calls us by name. We're somebody to Him. He's not too busy to notice us as individuals. Like my friend Mr Holtz, the God of the universe looks for us, picks us out of the crowd, and with great joy calls to us by name. And all who are nearby can see that we have an intimate, personal relationship with our God.

Cardboard Testimonies

A great tribute to the Love of our Awesome God, brought tears to my eyes. I hope you enjoy it.

Game of the Day - Dots

Try to complete more boxes than the computer by connecting the dots. Draw lines in your turn by clicking in between two adjacent dots. If you complete a box it is your turn again.

Olivia's Modeling Debut

While Ashleigh is taking care of teddy bears, Olivia discovers her calling. As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am doing my best to declutter. I spent most of the morning going through the closets, rooms, and garage gathering together everything I don't need in order to donate it to a group of women at Safe Haven. So now I have piles of stuff around the house (ever notice the big mess you make when you try to clean up?). Anyway, piles of stuff seem to be very attractive to curious little girls. They always seem to be able to find something they like. Olivia, it seems, liked the boots and purses that were in one of the piles and without hesitation thought it would be fun to model them. She noticed right away the coordinating handbag-boot combinations and didn't seem to mind a bit that the boots were several sizes too large for her little girl feet. Doesn't she make a lovely model?

Ashleigh the Mom

While Emily was at the dentist I entertained my other two little darlings. Ashleigh decided that all of the bears in house needed some loving "Mom" attention. They certainly needed that warm furry blanket on top of their warm furry fur in this 90 something degree weather! When I told her that I wanted to get some pictures of her being mom she complied with great enthusiasm. She is definitely not camera shy! All of the pictures turned out so cute I couldn't pick just one so I'm sharing them all. Click on them to enlarge.

Grandma's Mouth - By Emily

My sweet little 4 year old Emily went to the dentist yesterday and her nerves were pretty frazzled about going so I tried to help. I explained that the dentist was just going to take a picture of her teeth and it was just like when I take a picture of her. She wasn't going for it. She said the dentist's camera was a lot bigger than mine. Smart Kid! So I got my camera and explained how the lens (the eye) was the same and the back part was just the brain and the dentist's camera needed a bigger brain than my camera. I told her that they still just push a button like on my camera and asked her if she wanted to take a picture inside my mouth. This of course got a happy-faced nod. This is how the picture turned out.



I think she missed the mark a little but she was then happy to go jump on the bed before they left for the appointment. (More on the sport of bed-jumping in a later post.) She came home later that day with a ballon in the shape of a butterfly, a bouncy, super-size super ball, and a big smile on her face. She still has to go back for some work but she's feeling much better about the dentist now. A special thanks to all my prayer warrior sisters.

Game of the Day - Color Flood

The object of the game is to flood the whole board with one color in less than 25 steps. Select one of the colored balls on the left to change the colored areas. Begin at the the top left corner. Select a color that matches one of squares that touches the one in the top left corner. That will change the corner square and all touching squares to the color you select. Keep doing this until you flood the whole area with one color.

My Daughter the Blogger

Who would have thought it! My daughter, the one who can't stand computers, who wouldn't take a few minutes to look at my blog (which is almost all about HER KIDS) called me up one night and said "How do you make a blog?" Ha! Now she's hooked! You can't keep her off the computer! So, leave a comment on this post on MY blog, then go to her blog, Mom Gone Bananas, and tell her that you left your comment on my blog. :D

That is just for fun. To be nice I made this MonkeyTales logo for her to put on her blog.