LizChatter

The Holy Spirit has been preaching to me about how often prayer time centers around things that concern us which more times than not, has little or nothing to do with God being glorified and more to do with our comforts and earth-bound desires. Since God is concerned with the things that are about us, we can be concerned with the things which about Him. I sense that this is a healthy foundation for long-lasting relationships in any case, and with God most especially. It is not that He suffers from our poor attempt at a relationship with him, but our spirit will definitely suffer and in the long run so will our witness. Too many are unwittingly focused on how their relationship with God should benefit them; this is a sign that the pride of life has not been addressed in the heart of a believer. When one sees Him as worthy, despite earth-bound struggles, the focus is on His fame and His honor, on His glory... rather than on how our lives will benefit from a relationship w...

This week there have been multiple conversations with dear ones who have found patterns in their life of giving in to temptation and giving in to the demands of the uncrucified flesh. After a while, we began to discuss how it seems like some folks just don't struggle with transgression to the degree that other people do and these thoughts came out of those conversations.  You are not a victim, you are a victor! Quit the blame game. Jesus quite literally provided us with the victory. You do not need to be enslaved to patterns that wound your spirit.  Freedom is available to you! Your choices are reflective of the things you feed your spirit/soul/mind.   Just like physical food manifests itself in your physical body - spiritual food manifests itself in your conversations and your decisions.  You're obsessing over whether or not God loves you, that's a waste of energy.  He's already proven to all of humanity that He does. Thi...

The devil catches blame for a lot of stuff. I mean, A LOT of stuff. Blame is a very interesting human phenomenon that, to the best of my knowledge, started with Eve in the Garden of Eden. Since Lucifer committed the original transgression (you know, pride , the thing that got him kicked out of Heaven) there's some merit to why he is assigned so much blame.  Anyhoo, we've followed Eve's example of finger-pointing for several thousand human generations.  Shifting the blame off my own shoulders has seemed at times like an involuntary reflex to trouble; I suppose that's because shifting the blame is sometimes easier than admitting the truth... oddly enough that seems to also stem from pride (back to that original transgression). Our own pride of wanting to be seen in a good light, but yet desiring (at times) to have that which is not ours is at the core of most transgression committed by humanity. As I was contemplating all of this I couldn't help but identify a bit...

Happy Monday ya'll! As I'm looking over my list of to-do's it dawns on me that there are no "earth shaking - world changing" events listed. In fact very little of what I accomplish today will be noticeable. Today is routine, average, normal.  Is that okay with me? Well sure, mostly okay ;) I admit to mostly okay, because there's a part of me that wants to greatly impact the world. Maybe it's the fact that I read all the Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, the Sugar Creek Gang series' over and over as a youngster that I have this desire for adventure and life impacting involvement; or maybe it's deeply rooted in my DNA. The need to make a difference in the world around me IS listed as one of my top 5 in the Clifton Strength Finders personality & gifting results. Whatever the reason, that child-like hope of being involved in big things lingers; like a puppy with longing eyes, just there in the recesses of my cerebrum.  Despite all that, I a...

I have been stuck on this simple love song for days.  Please don't underestimate the power of your love connection with Christ.  Encourage those around you to develop their relationship with God,  it's what they're created for. This deep soul connection to Him has brought me through some very dark and disparaging times.  Love, Joy and Peace in the Holy Ghost

This lovely morning finds me  Unready for the Monday grind.  So I lay, but a moment longer... to create this meme. 

Ephesians 5:11 Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. Proverbs 1:10 My son, if sinful men entice you, do not give in to them. John 3:20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.  Romans 13:12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

I will identify, for anyone who is interested, that one of my spiritual gifts is LOVE - Agape love.  Over the weekend though I was challenged by the Holy Spirit to evaluate where I have fallen short in loving people.  This post is not to point out shortcomings in anyone; it's a reminder for me.  Perhaps you are able to identify with me on the need to evaluate/re-evaluate the function of love in your life; feel free to connect with me about it. I'd love to hear from you - we can encourage one another to love better; to love like Jesus. It would have probably been very easy for Jesus to hang out with people that lived righteously, followed the Torah and attended Temple every Sabbath, lived innocent lives never having made a poor choice, or transgressed the law in a deliberate attempt to self-medicate hurts, loneliness, anger or loss.  I'm sure from the instant He reached the age of accountability, He could have walked out of his home and found life easier not ...

Today is affectionately known across Christian circles on social media as #worshipwednesday and as  a worship leader, I like to put choruses together and create a medley of choruses from writers and artists that may never actually get the chance to work together on a project.  These two choruses came together for me during some private worship moments earlier this week. Thanks for allowing me to share them with you for Worship Wednesday. There is none like You No one else can touch my heart like You do I could search for all eternity long and find there is none like You I searched all over couldn't find nobody Looked high and low still couldn't find nobody Nobody greater, nobody greater  Nobody greater than You I do not own these choruses or the rights to them.

Psalm 46:1-3 For the choir director: A song of the descendants of Korah 1 God is our refuge and strength,     always ready to help in times of trouble. 2 So we will not fear when earthquakes come     and the mountains crumble into the sea. 3 Let the oceans roar and foam.     Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!

The lighting is terrible on this video. And it's painfully clear why most videos are not taken from a downward angle. Seriously! Those shadows got me looking like I'm 60 years old. LOL!! Team #nofilter in th' house.  And why am I always sniffling in my videos? Good grief. Allergies are a real issue people. That's okay though, it's not about me just about the message. If you've taken time to watch this, I hope it helps you in some way.  With tons of love!  Your friend,  Liz 

What if the measure of success is not actually found in the usual suspects: "likes", "hearts", relationship status, "shares", followers, comments on your posts/blog/vlog, position, statistical outcomes, human interest, fame, wealth... What if God views obedience, simple (yet not always truly simple) obedience as real success? I believe someone needs to know this! No matter the messiness of current circumstances, keep with obedience; this is the undisputed champion of ways to bless God's heart. Thanks for stopping by. Love, Liz

I'm stoked! Completely overpowered by the goodness of God.  Seriously, I'm giddy over all He's doing.  It's incredible that He lets me be a smidgeny part of it.  Is smidgeny a word? I think yes, smidgeny is a word.  Ha!   Anyhoo - here's a lil' update on tonight's events and a word of encouragement.  Don't forget, Jesus loves you and so do I!

  We all have opportunity to grow through trying times in life.   I've found the best way to stay optimistic while going through a difficult time is to view the situation as temporary - and it is temporary as long as we are cooperating with God. In fact, we stay static, stuck or stagnate in situations were we (perhaps due to shortsightedness) have become uncooperative with what God is doing.    Have a "season" mindset. Realize there is a purpose in the test, trial, and temptation. Much is accomplished in your cooperating with God!

https://youtu.be/A-n4HHDhAqo

For my brothers and sisters in Eritrea, Egypt, and other countries where Christians are being persecuted and even martyred; You are in our hearts and our prayers! Do not be afraid and remain faithful.