Breaking down a wall

Wow.

With so many wondrous things filling my heart I will try to make sense of them in this blog. It's all so much I feel I might just burst with excitement to share them with you all.

Let me start by asking you this:
Remember that first moment when Salvation became so real that you were left stunned. I do. If you haven't, let me share with you. Salvation is the very word that causes my heart to race and my hands to sweat. Every time. Eph 2:8, For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of your own doing, it is a gift from God.

What does it actually mean to be saved? How would you answer this? Feel your heart racing.... hands sweating..... hair on the back of your neck standing up....

For me, those reactions used to be fear. God has turned my fear into pure excitement. I cannot put into words the full impact how that change, from fear to excitement, feels. The 'backspace' key has become my new best friend, as I can barely control my fingers just thinking the words I want to type.

Oh to be a child of God.... NO.... A Daughter of the King.

AS HE REVEALS.....
I finally discovered what was holding me back from sharing the gospel with others at any given opportunity. Embarrassment. Am I a people pleaser? No. I have such wonderful friends and family. I am secure with who I am and have little fear of being considered "acceptable" to strangers. My wardrobe or lack thereof the latest fashions will attest to that. :-)

I'm afraid I will embarrass my Father with my lack of knowledge or the right words. Being here on earth, I'm also afraid I will embarrass my husband. I have respect for Eric, more than anyone else on this earth, and to embarrass him is something that would crush me. Satan has used these two fears to subdue me. No more. I let the Great Deceiver hand me the first brick, and today I begin my work of tearing down that wall that I have built between me and my Father.

I sat down and made a list of some of my gifts.
Hospitality- Parties/get togethers.
Creativity- Simple details.
Organization- A well kept home (most days).

These are things that I use to show the world that God has blessed me. I love having people in our home. When we put an offer on the house, I vowed to the Lord that if He would provide the home I would use it to host His people. Having bible study in our home is important to me, and Eric. We both love to have parties and have people in our home, because it is an opportunity to share how the Lord provides for us.
When we made the decision of follow the Lord's path to come to West Lafayette, we had to not only sell our home in Flora, but also find a home here. We knew the area we wanted, but found only one home with the things we needed and wanted. The house was out of our price range, but had the space and land. Eric went through the house by himself and knew I would love it. We put an offer on the house below the asking price. I looked at the house and we received a call from the realtor within 24 hours. There was already a better offer on the table. I cried and sobbed as we withdrew our offer, and the tears continued through the night. Eric's wise words, "It's just not the Lord's will," did comfort me enough to finally fall asleep that night. James 5:16 says, "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." All through the night and into the next day every time I thought about the house, I prayed, 'The Lord's Will Be Done.' (Feeling goose bumps on your arms? .... God's providence). We got another call from the realtor 24 hours later, the first offer had fallen through and they were ready for us to submit our low offer. Within 3 months the Lord brought us a buyer for our Flora house and we moved into our new home in August 2006.

God sets before us many choices, but simple choices.
Life or Death
Blessings or Curses

Can this really be considered a choice?

Pray for me this week as tear down my wall of fear:
Confidence to use every opportunity.
Assurance that He has equipped me.
Thankfulness that it is not my words, but God's and He saves by His choice.