Lessons in Radiance: Mary (Mother of Jesus)

And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me-- holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers." 

Luke 1:46-55

Mary was nothing special. Really. When we meet Mary we find her in the town of Nazareth. Today's equivalent would be... the middle of nowhere. Even Nathanael said " Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" (Jn 1:45-46) when Philip told him the he had found the Messiah and that he was a Galilean from Nazareth. She was a young girl (yes, a teenager) who was pledged to be married to Joseph, a carpenter. She did have some illustrious ancestors..but so did Joseph. They were both of the bloodline of David but Joseph's line was a bit more prestigious as his family came through the royal line of Solomon while Mary's came through  Nathan, one of David's other sons. She was just an ordinary girl who was loved by an extraordinary God. Just like me and you.

Most of us know the story. Mary is just hanging out waiting to get married...because that is what you did. When, poof an angel comes out of heaven to let Mary know that she should not be afraid but that she is going to have a baby. Mary is a little confused being that she is not married yet and asks in wonder how this will happen. The angel replies through the Holy Spirit she will give birth to the Son of God. And Mary says "Let it be to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38).

WHAT?!?

Oh, that I could be as ordinary as Mary!

See in that very moment without hesitation, without question, without doubt...Mary willingly and graciously submitted to the will of God. She knew the embarrassing and difficult position that she was going to be in, the fingers that would be pointed, the possibility of death...but she never hesitated to put her life in God's hands. And then she sang!

I love music and I love the praise and honor and glory that Mary gives to God and to Him alone in Luke 1. I love that in the middle of her "crisis" (well that's what we would call it) that she praises God, shadowing scripture from the Old Testament (see below for further study). She is such a great example to us all. Mary teaches us that God makes us radiant. Mary teaches us that with God nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37). Mary teaches us that we are blessed because of God. 

I love the song "Who am I?" by Casting Crowns...here are some of the words: "Who am I? That the Lord of all the earth would care to know my name (Isa 43:1), would care to feel my hurt?(2 Cor 1:3-5) Who am I? That the eyes that see my sin, would  look on me with love and watch me rise again? (Rom 5:8)." I am learning daily who I am and I am reminded through this song that God answers "Not because of who you are, or because of what you have done; but because of who I am and because of what I've done..you are mine!"

~ Donna

For Further Study:

Luke 1:46 - see 1 Samuel 2:1, Ps 34:2, Ps 35:9, and Isa 61:10

Luke 1:47 - see Isa 12:2, Isa 45:21

Luke 1:48 - see 1Sam 1:11, Ps 102:17, Ps 136:23, Genesis 30:13, Mal 3:12

Luke 1:49 - see Ps 71:19, Ps 126:3, 1Samuel 2:2, s 111:9, Isa 57:15

Luke 1:50 - see Ps 130:11, Ps 103:17, Isa 51:8

Luke 1:51 - see Ps 89:13, Ps 98:1, Isa 52:10. Ps 89:10, Gen 8:21

Luke 1:52 - 1 Sam 2:6-8, Job 34:24

Luke 1:53 - see Ps 107:9

Luke 1: 54-55 - see Ps 98:3, Isa 44:21, Mic 7:20, Ps 105:6-9

References: "Twelve Extraordinary Women" by John MacArthur

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day from the many faces of Faithfully Fit!

Color Run Fun!

Faithful Conference Attendees!

 

Opening Homes, Sharing life!

 

Great times of fellowship!

 

Reaching daughters!

 

Love and friendship!

 

Encouraging smiles!

 

Mentors!

 

Motherly love!

 

Fun, Fun, Fun!

 

 

Preparing for first runs!

 

Conference messages spilling over!

 

Times to remember!

 

Reaching goals!

 

Answering the call!

 

Serving one another!

 

Adding to the Kingdom!

 

Spreading Joy!

 

Finding friends!

Because of saying yes to God's call of ministry we have been so very blessed to have the joy and encouragement of so many! We have a saying at Faithfully Fit...

"Once a Faithfully Fit girl, always a Faithfully Fit girl"

 Whether you have visited once, come every class, keep in touch by facebook or email we love sharing Christ's love with you!  On this day that so many celebrate love, celebrate the One who loves the greatest! To God be the glory!

I saw life!

I saw life.
I went walking last Sunday afternoon. It has been a cold and hard winter for those of us here in North Carolina who are more accustom to praying to see a little snow. I bundled up my ears and hands, put on my tennis shoes and took to the road determined to get in my exercise. I was really wanting a good long walk. My face was chilled but all was well as I pounded Old Farm Road. It was a wonderful time to meet God in prayer and I enjoyed seeing all the vehicles passing by filled with families on their way to Sunday lunch. I turned the corner on Hamilton Street and there is where I noticed.
I saw life.
As I passed by a row of trees, still bare from losing their fall leaves. Looking desolate without their normal green garments.
I saw life.
There on the tips of the limbs I spotted new buds. New life. New life being prepared for spring. New life being nourished and fed even here during this brutal winter.
I saw life.

And God quietly whispered, "Where else can you see life in what looks bare and desolate?";
"Who has buds of life waiting to spring forth that need my nourishment during the brutal trails of life?"; "Are you missing them?".
I started a list in my mind of those times I have been through trails and my outer shell shed it's Joy. But there were always buds waiting to spring forth. They just needed nourishment. Nourishment from prayer, from time in the Word. Nourishment from time spent with encouraging, uplifting Christian sisters. Who needs my encouragement? Your encouragement?
Currently in Faithfully Fit we are studying Extraordinary Women of the Bible. Our most recent study has been on Ruth. But here mother-in-law, Naomi, is impossible to overlook. The two are inseparable. They are bound together with the common thread of faith. After Naomi has moved from the home she loved during famine, lost her husband and two sons to death she finds herself stripped of all things and feels bitter. However, she turns to journey back to her homeland and discovers that she has an overlooked gift right there with her. Her daughter-in-law, Ruth. Even as Naomi urges Ruth to turn and go back to her family feeling she has nothing to offer without a husband or sons, Ruth proclaims,

"Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God."   Ruth 1:16

Ruth sees the bud of life that never left Naomi. She sees the constant provision of God even in the time of trail. She sees the one thing she knows will never depart from her or Naomi even during the coldest of times, the darkest of times, the most difficult of times. Without anything she still saw life!
She saw life.
God.
Life.
Provision.
Constant.
Nourishment.
"He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age." Ruth 4:15

Look for life! ~ Jodie

Lessons in Radiance: Ruth

I sometimes give up too easily. When I am trying to do something or change something and I do not see results quickly, I just simply give up. My dad can attest to that. We used to struggle...ha! (he would laugh if he read that) through math. He would try to teach me some background and help me to understand and excel... I just wanted the answer so I could be done. Books un-read, exercise and diet programs pushed aside, learning how to play the guitar, and playing the piano well.. I could go on but you get the point; all left undone or half done. But then there are things that I have stuck with. I finished PT school and received my Masters', I trained and finished a 10-mile race, I re-did my bathroom and painted my closet doors, and I have had the pleasure of leading a wonderful group of women known as Faithfully Fit for over 3 years.  Finishing/working on those things have required persistence.

Ruth was a woman of persistence. "Born on the wrong side of the Biblical tracks as a Moabitess. When she enters the Biblical story, she does so only as the widow of a now dead husband who was one of God’s chosen people. When she elects to follow her Mother-in-Law back to Bethlehem it is a brave decision – since her language, accent and even her name would have betrayed her as a stranger. To make the journey was to leave everything familiar behind and risk all kinds of isolation." But Ruth saw something in her mother-in law Naomi that she wanted, a relationship with Jesus and she would stop at nothing to get it.

Ruth 1:16-17 says this:

But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”

What follows is a great love story. Ruth's faithfulness is rewarded with a marriage to Boaz and the birth of a son, who would be the grandfather to King David. It is a story of trust, hard-work, and a "redeemer" who saved her family - her family that was just hers by marriage. Not only did Ruth start her journey but she finished it as well.

Many of us start many things. Many of us start a relationship with Christ but we never bother to see it through. We never "hang-around" long enough when we don't see the results that we want or when we don't "get our way". Ruth is an example of the courage that it takes to not only step-out into the unknown, but to keep on walking and follow the road of faith (believing but NOT seeing) wherever it may lead. Ruth was radiant and allowed God to be radiant through her. What are you not being persistent with today? Is it your walk with God? Have you even stepped out yet to start your journey? What follows is a great love story...a story that is real. A story of a Savior who came just for you and for me and gave up His life because He loved us so much. A Redeemer who has saved the world and Who wants to see you to the finish...just like Ruth. 

 John 3:16-17

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."

~Donna

Lucky you, sandwiched between two pilots!

Yesterday I saw a post on Facebook.
"Here we go again, second blood transfusion in a week. Isaiah 40:31"
It was written by a sweet Faithfully Fit sister who now resides over 4 hours away from my hometown. The Lord brought her to our area for a brief time, but time enough for many of us to simply fall in love with her sweet energetic spirit and smile. We have been able to visit her once since the Lord carried her back up the mountain closer to her hearts home. On that trip we prayed for healing. We wait patiently for the Lord to work, trusting in Him.
When I saw this post I went straight to prayer. And then to the Word.
As Christian sisters we get the great opportunity to lift others to the Lord.
Go to Him trusting and believing that He will answer.
 As I laid in bed last night and spoke again to the Savior on behalf of my sister I apologized for my worry. This morning I went back in prayer and in study to find this old devotion written to others in 2012 and now to my own heart. I hope that you enjoy and find the relevance as I did! 
(2/13/2012 Morning Motivation email) 

Good Morning ladies!

I am writing you this from the southern state of Alabama! ...

Before my travels I asked for prayer for this trip. My safe travel, my time with a good friend, my family to pull together everything while I was away. When you ask for prayer or pray yourself what is your expectation? Do you go to the Lord expecting great things? Do you call out to Him with boldness or timidity?

Earlier this year I shared my goal of strengthening my prayer life and after reading through the Word I chose James 1:6 to be my bible verse of encouragement. It states, "But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."

Have you ever been afraid to ask someone for help? I know I have. This verse helps remove any fear that I have in asking of the Lord to provide for my needs. This verse reminds me to go boldly in belief that He not only wants my requests, but that he will respond. Without that belief my prayers are lifted and without result...blown and tossed by the wind. I enjoy talking to the Lord, sharing my hopes and my fears. And then I like to look for all that He does in response.

It's not always easy to see the results of prayer, especially if we forget to look. Especially if we are not patient and even persistent. But trust me when I say God never fails to answer and sometime His sense of humor shines through! Part of my prayer for my trip was safe travel- remember? Well, my specific prayer was for the Lord to have angels present watching over my flights. As I boarded my first plane I approached my seat and was a little confused. It was a row of three seats and mine was the middle. The window seat was already occupied....by a pilot! I chuckled to myself just a little, but at this point was really just wondering why a pilot would be flying coach. The plane was packed, but the third seat in my row remained unoccupied almost until the last passenger boarded. I was actually considering that I would be able to slide over and couldn't believe the luck of a full plane and an empty seat beside me! But just at the last minute someone boarded, headed toward my row and took that last seat. The passenger dressed in white looked at me and looked in the seat next to me and then spoke, "lucky you, sandwiched between two pilots!" You had to laugh a little and after a moment I responded, "I asked God for angels and he sent me pilots! You do have your wings don't you?" Most of the flight I spent reading and wondering how God could be so good and so real, but how I tend to overlook Him in the daily things.

His goodness continued on my trip. I was the most anxious about changing flights in Atlanta because I had very little time to get to the right gate. The second pilot explained a map of the Atlanta airport to me and told me exactly which direction to turn as I got off the plane. He also reminded me to check the board to see if the gate had changed since I had checked it earlier before my flight....sure enough the gate had changed. My second flight was delayed slightly and I sat comfortably 1 minute before the planned boarding time...God assuring me that He was in control, not to worry, my prayers had been heard and answered!

By the way, I did inquire as to why the pilots were flying coach and not business class or first class. The response? "We used to be up there, but recently they changed that and we only get to be there if the seats are not full."

Take your prayers to the Lord, believing that He is there and will answer. Then look for His response! I lifted my friend in bold prayer before the Lord because He desires my trust and I know He is faithful to answer.

Present your requests before the Lord trusting in Him to answer.

Be watchful for His answer.

Laugh when you see His humor.

Know that He understands your heart.

Love to all- Jodie

 

Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me...

Acts 12:11