Tuesday, February 21

But God Verses

Thank you for all the sweet comments about the blog redo.

And thank you to all my friends who tuned in for the webcast last night.  It really was a special night. If you missed it or you’d like to watch it again, here is the link.

If you don’t currently get my tweets, you can follow me by clicking here.

My message was “How big is your but?”  I’ve found a big defeater in my life is following up statements about what I want or need to do with the words “But I.”

I need to work out… BUT I am so tired.

I want to get healthy… BUT I lack self-control.

I want to stop yelling at my kids… BUT I just feel so frustrated all the time.

I need to talk about this issue with my friend… BUT I don’t like confrontation.

When we follow up statements with “But I” the BUT seems very big.

That’s why I’m learning to follow every “but I” with a “But God” statement of truth.  If I catch myself saying “but I”… I need to see this as a trigger to redirect my discouraged heart with a “But God” truth.

When we follow up statements with “But God” the BUT becomes smaller and smaller.

As I promised in last night’s webcast, here are some BUT GOD verses we can use:

Genesis 8:1
But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.

Genesis 31:42
If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you.

Genesis 50:20
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

1 Samuel 23:14
David stayed in the desert strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.

1 Kings 5:4
But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or disaster.

Nehemiah 9:17
They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them.

Psalm 49:15
But God will redeem my life from the grave; he will surely take me to himself.

Psalm 73:26
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.

Jonah 2:6
To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God.

Matthew 19:26
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

John 1:18
No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.

Acts 2:24
But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

Acts 3:15
You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.

Acts 5:39
But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.

Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:9
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.

1 Corinthians 1:27
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

2 Timothy 2:9
for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained.

Which of these verses is your favorite and why?  Let’s talk about it.  Also, let me know how God is speaking to your heart through this “But God” teaching.

Monday, February 20

Blog Redo!

Well, I’ve spruced things up a bit here in our little corner of the blog world. What do you think?

Getting new pictures was a must.  I truly wish I had a dollar for every person that told me in the kindest way possible that my other pictures didn’t look like me.  Seriously, every speaking event, at least one person had “suggestions” for fixing my photos.  I’m not kidding.

And I honestly appreciated their insights.  It’s kind of like when you have a little fleck of pepper in between your teeth.  You may not want the embarrassment of being told… but then again you really do.  You know what I mean?

So… as much as I loathe getting my pictures done, I put on my big girl pants and gave it a whirl.

My friend, Cheyenne, worked her photography skills like nobody’s business. The girl is amazing. Even though she normally only does weddings- she took pity on my situation.  Seriously, if you are getting married anytime soon- there’s no better wedding photographer.  You can find out about her here.

And then my friend, Ryan did the redesign and Lisa Boyd made it all work like a blog should.

So, in honor of this little redo- I thought I’d give away a little prize.

Drumroll please….

A $100 gift certificate to TARGET!!!  Because you know they just put out their bathing suits and all us pasty winter skinned girls are stoked about trying on new swimsuits!  Oh I kid.

Do not use your fun money on a swimsuit. Unless of course this makes you smile. But for those of us who don’t like what the store florescent lights do to a woman’s leg skin in the confines of a dressing room- let’s venture to another department.

You can buy something fun and delightful like new lamps for your den… or dishes for your table… or PJ’s that don’t have holes in them.  Yippeee!

To enter, just leave a comment below.

The winner will be announced on tonight’s webcast.  Don’t forget to tune in right here (www.LysaTerKeurst.com) tonight at 8pm for a short but power packed LIVE webcast… “How Big is Your But?”  I know, strange title… however, this is going to be inspiring teaching you won’t soon forget.

I can’t wait!

Now there’s one last little technical detail- If you pop over here at 8pm EST for the webcast and you still see this message, force your browser to reload this page.  Then you’ll be ready to go.

See you tonight at 8pm.  And don’t forget to leave a comment below and listen in tonight to see if you are the winner!

Thursday, February 16

Why I dumped my mealtime prayer

Welcome to my “Encouragement for Today” devotion friends.  If you are looking for the February 20th “How Big is Your But” webcast sign up, it’s to the right of this post under the Proverbs 31 logo.

I am so excited about this 30 minute FREE webcast and hope to have you all join in right here at 8pm EST this Monday!  If you sign up, you’ll get an email reminder.  If you don’t sign up, that’s okay.  You and your friends can just log on right here at www.LysaTerKeurst.com and I’ll be here ready to teach, inspire, and even throw in a few surprises as well!

The details one more time:  Monday February 20th, 8pm EST, at www.LysaTerKeurst.com for a FREE webcast!

About a year ago I was praying over my meal thanking God for my food.  But for some reason my typical mealtime prayer bothered me.

It sounded so canned.

So overused.

So disingenuous.

I really was thankful but I just didn’t think my prayer truly reflected what a gift daily food really is.

So, I dumped my typical prayer.

And started just talking to the Lord from my heart.

“Jesus, thank you for the amazing way you provide food for me and my family every day.  May we never take for granted what a gift this meal is.  And may you help us be ever mindful of those who are going without today.  Oh God, intervene and help provide for someone going without right now.”

And then God started convicting me to be the provision.

So, that’s what I plan to make the focus of my Lent journey this year. I didn’t grow up practicing Lent, but honoring the 40 days leading up to Easter feels right to me.

If it feels right to you, I encourage you to take a look at my friend Chris Seay’s book, “A Place at the Table: 40 days of Solidarity with the poor.”

I introduced Chris yesterday in part one of our interview.  You can see that by clicking here.

Also, check out Chris’ website here,  where you can find so many resources to encourage you along in your 40 days of remembering those who go without- your 40 day journey through Lent.

 

Lysa TerKeurst w. Chris Seay Part 2 from Chris Seay on Vimeo.

 

Leave a comment today, praying for someone specifically who is without today.  Even though you don’t know their name, ask God to be with that person, that child, that family… be their prayer covering today.  I can’t think of a better way to prepare my heart for Easter.