by Sabrina Justison

This post first appeared January 6, 2012 on www.7sistershomeschool.com.  On Fridays at the 7 Sisters website, we like to link up to a mom named Lisa-Jo and all the writers over at her site, www.thegypsymama.com for a 5-minute blog.  5-Minute Friday blogs mean that mean Lisa-Jo picks a prompt word, and I do my best to write for 5 minutes on that word without overthinking or editing myself…..just write!

The prompt word on January 6, 2012 was:  Roar. 

Here’s what I came up with in 5 minutes!

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I’m a word-geek.  I love to play with words.

One of my favorite words is PRAYER.

If you get goofy with the spelling and the pronunciation, it can become -

PROAR!

What would 2012 look like if you were livin’ on a PROAR instead of just a wimpy prayer?

How does prayer become PROAR?  Add your voice to the voices of other believers!

I read a really interesting book a few weeks ago called Lioness Arising by Lisa Bevere.  In it, she examines lionesses and their habits, and applies those images to the life of believers.  The roar of a lioness is mighty, but when the other lionesses in her pride raise their voices with hers, the sound is mind-boggling.

When I pray alone, it is mighty.  Conversation with the God of the universe has unlimited potential.  But my praying becomes PROARing when I pray with other believers.

I pray with my husband, faithfully, all the time.  It is the only thing that has preserved what little sanity we have!

I pray with my kids.  We don’t do little “token” prayers, we sit together and talk to God about the stuff that’s bothering us, the stuff we’re longing for, and the stuff He’s laid on our hearts.

I pray with other homeschool moms.  I cannot find words (word-geek that I am!) to describe how praying with these other women has changed me personally, and changed our little world over the years.

I pray with the kids I get to teach in day-school classes, co-ops, drama camps, and anywhere else we find ourselves together.

I pray with my church.  I see amazing things happen in the lives of others even while I am impatiently waiting to see God’s answer to my own concerns.

I pray with others around the world.  The internet allows me to join in to the PROAR being voiced around the world.

Will you join me?

Let’s live life in 2012 on a PROAR!

by Pastor Alex

Yes, winter is here!  Although we have not had much snow in the Delaware area, the cold air has truly arrived.  One unique distinction about winter is the need for heat.  Across the nation as winter sets in, fireplaces all over begin to blaze with hot coals and bright flames providing families with necessary warmth.  There is such an affinity to fire during this time of the year.  We load up on wood, pellets, or coal.  We clean out the chimney, and open the flue.  We crumple the newspaper, and place the kindling on the grate. Then we strike the match, place it to the paper, and watch the small flame burst into a blazing fire. My how we adore the glow and enjoy the heat radiating from our fireplaces.

If you are anything like me, you do not enjoy the cold.  I don’t like to be continually bombarded with the frigid air, and especially in the morning crawling out of my nice warm bed with extra covers on top!  The cold is a reminder of our need for heat and to regulate our body temperature to prevent us from slipping into a severe state of hypothermia.

It is interesting to find the unique parallel between our physical bodies and our spiritual life.  I am reminded of Paul’s exhortation to Timothy when Paul instructs his young son in the faith to fan into flame the gifts in him.

1 Timothy 1:5-7(NIV)

I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.  For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

Paul is instructing Timothy to remember the gifts that are in him are for a specific purpose and they need to be fanned like a fire.  God has imparted to each of us power, love, and self-discipline.  In order for these gifts to be present in our lives we have to do a couple of things.  We have to get rid of  the worldly build up in our lives (clean the chimney/open the flue).  We have to read His word for fuel for our spirit (gather wood). We have to make preparation for God’s presence in our lives (crumple the paper/ arrange the kindling).  We have to pray and interact with God (strike the match / place it to the paper).  Lastly, we have to allow God to consume every part of our lives (watch the small spark turn into a blazing fire).

If we do this on a continual basis then we will prevent ourselves from falling into spiritual hypothermia.  Hypothermia is an awful state that could take our very life. As a follower of Christ, at the first sign of feeling cold or indifferent towards the things of God, we need to stir up His gifts in each of us.  We need to be on guard against that spiritual enemy we call apathy.  Apathy, like the cold air, allowed to go unchecked in our lives will eventually destroy us and render us powerless in our lives spiritually and physically.

So, the next time you are warming yourself by the fire, I encourage you to remember God is a consuming fire. He wants each of us to not live a cold spiritual life.  But, He would rather us fan into a blazing fire the gifts that He has deposited in each of us.

What are some things that you do to prevent spiritual coldness from setting in, in your life?

by Sabrina Justison

My parents named me.  Your parents probably named you, too.

My birth certificate says that my name is Sabrina Gay Culley.  (Just save the jokes…I’ve heard them all before.  It was a long time ago, and my parents wanted me to be a happy child.)

The first name was one my folks chose for me.  Personally, I like it.  There’s that classic poem titled “Sabrina Fair.”  There have been a couple of cute movies called “Sabrina.”  And it’s pretty unusual, so I don’t meet a lot of other Sabrinas.  That satisfies the unique streak in my personality.

(We’ve already agreed to skip the middle name, so let’s move on.)

My last name was my father’s family name.  I grew up in a college town, and from time to time I would meet someone and they would say, “Are you Dr. Culley’s daughter, the classics professor?”  Yup, that’s me!

We all start with a name that was given to us, usually by our parents.  But over the years other people name us.

by Mark Shaffer

SO many blessings!  Over the course of our lives we receive so many blessings.  Blessed with health.  Blessed with a home.  Blessed with a family.  Blessed when I serve.  Blessed to live in a country where I can worship Him freely.  Blessed when I seek Him.  Blessing upon blessing.

These blessings are typically plainly seen.  A house, a car, food on the table, or the computer I am typing on are all physical things we can touch and see.  We can enjoy the company of a wife and enjoy the relationships we have with our children and grandchildren.  When we are sick, we know when God has restored us to health.

Psalm 103 says:

Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy Name.  Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. 

Forgiveness, healing, redemption, love, and strength as in our youth are all described as benefits the Lord provides. 

by Sabrina Justison

We sang a new song during the worship service this past Sunday, Aaron Keyes’ “Sovereign Over Us.”

The idea of sovereignty is really intriguing to me.

The definition of sovereign says that something is “possessing supreme or ultimate power.”

Here are the lyrics to that song we sang:

by Pastor Alex

Have you ever asked the question, “What’s the difference?”?  Maybe you were comparing one computer to another.  Or maybe you were looking at purchasing a new vehicle and was shopping around for the best deal.  By asking the question, (what’s the difference?) you were wanting to know value.  What makes this object far better than the other one available.  Maybe it’s price.  Maybe that computer has more RAM.  Maybe the other car has butt warmers and you don’t like to be cold in the winter.  Whatever the difference is, we make our decisions based on the value being presented.

Now, have you ever asked this question about your experiences with God?

by Sabrina Justison

I have songs playing in my head all the time.  I am wired for music, love to sing, am fascinated by chord progressions and timing….plus, I’m a word geek, so there’s always the lyrics to a song grabbing hold of me and running my brain.

I don’t hate it when a song gets stuck in my head, but I do hate it when I forget to “set the station” in my head to a GOOD song.  Imagine if you hated mariachi band music, but that was the only channel your car radio could receive clearly, and you kept the volume up every time you drove.  Wouldn’t that mess with your mood?  (Ole!)

by Sabrina Justison

Does life just happen to you?

Some days that’s how I feel!  I thought I knew what to expect, and WHAM! I get blindsided by something that changes my whole day in an instant.

There’s no way for us to predict how each day will go.  Only God sees the whole picture.

But we DO have control over our response to the unexpected in life.  We can choose to be PASSIVE or ACTIVE participants in all of it.

To be PASSIVE means:

by Pastor Perry

How important is “ONE DAY” to us?

As I started the 21 days of fasting and prayer this year I started looking at the end of the fast before the first day was over. Last year our corporate fast ended with such power. The Holy Spirit moved on our church in such an intense way. I started looking forward to that day. The Holy Spirit reminded me that if I did that I would miss out on 20 very special days of blessing. Every day with the Lord is special. The Psalmist said it this way in Psalm 84:10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; (NIV)

by Sabrina Justison