Through Isaiah

After studying the whole book of Isaiah over a nine month span, I wanted to share what I learned and/ or was reminded of...

... sometimes we must suffer discipline from God's hand before He can restore us.
... those who exalt themselves above the Lord will be humbled.
... God's expectations are reasonable, and clear.
... to refuse God's grace is to receive His just judgement.
... in a crisis you can either be driven by fear or stand in faith.
... belief in His sovereignty cannot answer all my questions, but it can take away my anxiety.
... you can't appreciate the grace of God until you understand His wrath.
... God does not have to explain Himself to me.
... God places people in power, and takes them out.
... God will NOT share His glory with another.
... God's electing love, how He chooses to love us.
... God's people of all ages are to understand that their strength is not in strategizing as others do, but in trusting the Lord and His purpose.
... pride and arrogance leads to judgement while a humble and repentant heart God honors.
... when we prefer security by association w/ people in the world, He sometimes removes our false security so that, undistracted, we will trust Him.
... people who distance themselves from God's truth ultimately experience fracturing.
... no nation or individual is beyond the grace of God.
... worship of God brings genuine peace. Peace is a result of a mind fixed on God.
... God's purposes in discipline of His people are always change, reunion with Him, and restoration.
... the place you look to for help, strength, and assurance is a starting point for examining yourself.
... the fact that people have, for many years, denied God as Creator does not change the reality that He is.
... to fear the Lord is to revere Him with love, and to know security is with Him, never apart from Him.
... God's holy vengeance = God upholding His perfect, holy, and just purposes.
... the time to praise God and tell others of His faithfulness is today.
... Prosperity is a greater threat than adversity. In prosperity we become comfortably complacent.
... when you gaze at the greatness of God, then you will see everything else in life in it's proper perspective.
... God's strength and power are given to those who trust HIM, not themselves.
... when I choose to fear, it tells God that I do not believe He is all powerful and in control.
... whenever I look on the past, I must dwell on the greatness of God, and nothing else!
... to pray that God gets a hold of my children's hearts - no matter what it takes.
... you are free to believe what you want to believe. You are not free to dictate the consequences of what you believe.
... the Messiah fortifies Himself not to focus on the abuse but to anticipate the reward that will be His.
... He will not pull me out of a difficult situation one minute too soon - He will refine me in it.
... the Lord's Word will not return void.
... the grace of God embraces the contrite and lowly in spirit.
... believers are the work of God's hands, for displaying His splendor.
... the Lord esteems those who are humble and contrite, who tremble at His word.

Hmmm

What do you blog about when it's been 3 months of not blogging??

I have seriously cut back on my computer time. With the Spirit's conviction and studying Isaiah I realized my obsession with connectivity was a problem... an idol. I was spending more time being on the computer than being in the Word. So instead of a long (and boring I'm sure) post about what's been going on, I'm just gonna re-cap:

BABY: I will be 18 weeks pregnant this Thursday, the 19th. The morning/ afternoon/ evening sickness and fatigue have been replaced with a massive appetite. Yikes.

FRANKIE: So incredibly proud of him. He is in the air as we speak, flying home from his first mission trip. It was in Belfast, Northern Ireland with the Firefighters For Christ team. You can check out their trip at: http://www.firefightersforchrist.org/ and click on "Mission Possible 2011."




VICTORIA: 4 1/2 years old, more beautiful than ever, and a HUGE heart. Lately she has been praying for her sister. And I quote, "Dear God, please come and live in Sophie's heart. And please please love her. In Jesus' name, Amen."


SOPHIA: Going on 2 1/2. Tantrums have begun. And she is definitely challenging us. Not used to parenting such a stubborn child. But I adore her in every way. She is SO silly, loves to laugh and be goofy. And is talking like crazy.


ME: I am thankful. God is teaching me so much right now. BSF just ended, which I'm not too happy about, but He has taught me SO much this last year. I fell in love with the book of Isaiah after studying it for 9 months. It is so rich and full of God's instruction. I learned about the sin of idolatry and how prevalent it is in our (definitely in mine) lives today. He took my belief in His sovereignty and made it go from a head knowledge to the heart. To LIVE out that belief, bringing such peace in day to day life. He showed me the extent of His faithfulness to such a stubborn people as Israel (and myself). I studied His unfailing love and comfort, His righteous judgement, His gracious perseverance and His just discipline. Stay tuned for my next post on things I learned while studying Isaiah...