Paid In Full!

Posted on April 3, 2015 by 4sisterssharing
found on pinterest.com

found on pinterest.com

Deep in Debt

No one likes to be in debt. It creates so much anxiety and stress to know that I have far more bills than money coming in each week. I dread going to the mailbox everyday because it’s inevitable that there will be another bill or two to toss into the pile sitting on my counter. Where does it end?  Work like a dog to make ends meet, yet I can’t seem to keep up…sighhhh. I dream of the day when a bill collector says, “You’re debt free!”

In today’s society, there’s a stigma of “keeping up with the Joneses” that seems to overwhelm and burden us with debt. If I asked for a show of hands, I bet we’d all wearily pop a hand up. As a child, my father would sacrifice our needs and wants to fulfill the needs of another. He did this on many occasions. His faith was so great. He knew if he helped another, he would be blessed and that God would supply our family with all we really needed. There were so many times he would anonymously pay for a bill or a toy for a family in need to keep their power on or to give Christmas to an unfortunate child. His altruistic ways was a direct reflection of what he embodied–the love of Jesus Christ.

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found on pinterest.com

Paid!

With the season we are in, this all sounds far too familiar, doesn’t it? A payment made specifically for you so it’s marked and paid in full? How grateful should we be that we all owed a great debt for sin that we could never pay on our own? Jesus understood our awful state and chose to leave the grandeur of Heaven with His royal standing to take on the sin of all humanity. He paid our debt. I’m reminded in the AMP version of John 19:28-30 that Jesus, knowing that all was now finished (ended), said in fulfillment of the Scripture, I thirst. A vessel (jar) of sour wine (vinegar) was placed there, so they put a sponge soaked in the sour wine on [a stalk, reed of] hyssop, and held it to [His] mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, It is finished! And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. Read the KJV here.

I find it interesting that the definition of “it is finished” in Greek actually means “paid in full”! So when Jesus said these words, He was declaring the debt owed because of the original sin in the garden but now it’s all been wiped away! Nothing had to be added for our payment. It was paid in full! What a pay-day we have coming!  If this doesn’t excite you my friend, I don’t know what will!

Be Free

So, in reality, if someone went to the bank and paid your house or car loan off, would you try to go behind them and pay it again? Absolutely not! How absurd would that be? Why is it so difficult to see the truth and see that our sin debt is canceled? Stop living in shame and condemnation. Jesus carried our shame and condemnation and hung it on the cross. All sin is canceled- past, present and future! Receive the gift of salvation in the fullest this Easter season. Walk in freedom because of what our wonderful Savior did at the cross of Calvary. Do you know Him? Do you walk with Him? He’s waiting for you.

Happy Easter Weekend,

Four Sisters Blogging

Kendra, Tonia, Blake & Tiffany

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Running on “E”

Posted on March 19, 2015 by 4sisterssharing

Pushing the Limits

Have you ever felt like you were running on empty, not only in the natural sense, but also in the spiritual sense? Sometimes we push the limits and keep going even when we need to stop and refuel. Ask me how many times I’ve ran on fumes in my vehicle. Just ask me! There’s too many to count no doubt. My car seems to stay on “E” more than “F”. Each time my tank hits “E”, a friendly little warning light shoots on, but at no expense, I bat my eyes and ignore the signals and I just keep on truckin. I had convinced myself I could stretch that dollar and go at least another ten miles. With no avail, my nifty and reliable car isn’t suited to run on “E”. She’s a bit of a diva. She prefers to be full, but who doesn’t? It’s smooth running after my belly is full! I’m energetic, more coherent and ready to run…Pushing my car to the limits stresses out the system—it loses power, eventually shuts down and leaves me stranded on the side of the road. It too, runs best when full.

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Fessing Up

I NEVER wanted to call my dad in this situation because I knew he was going to scold me for not being responsible and proactive. Ohhhhhhh the dreaded lecture that was to come. A broken record of, “I told you so…” But he was right. And my dad did what every loving father would do– he would mend the situation and save the day. He would come to my rescue with just enough gas to get me to the nearest gas station. I knew that I was wrong for ignoring the signals that it was time to pull over and refuel. If you really think about it, that’s how we get emotionally and spiritually too. Our relationship with God gets a little empty, a little low on juice. All these worldly distractions pull us away from our creator. Before we know it, we’ve become so distant, that our lives are in shambles emotionally, spiritually and sometimes physically. It’s not because God leaves us; it’s because we didn’t take the time to acknowledge Him and allow Him to fill us with his love and peace. Maybe we had things going on in our lives that we just didn’t understand or that we didn’t expect and we allowed the circumstances to bring us down to the point that we felt lonely and hopeless. Maybe we had some very important life decisions that needed to be made, but we got so caught up in trying to figure these things out on our own without looking to God for the answers. Absolute truth lies in God. And all the answers we’ll ever need should originate from God. We become so distracted by our circumstances that we forget to look up to Him for the solution. This is soooo draining. Efficiency is key to thriving and finding joy and happiness in life. Spinning our wheels over and over again isn’t sufficient, nor is it a time to be self-reliant. We need God just as our vehicles need fuel to run. It’s time to tank up on His faith, hope, and love!

Food for Thought

Hebrews 5:12-14 AMP reads, “For even though by this time you ought to be teaching others, you actually need someone to teach you over again the very first principles of God’s Word. You have come to need milk, not solid food. ₁₃For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced and unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action), for he is a mere infant [not able to talk yet]! ₁₄But solid food is for full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law.” Get the KJV here. Just as babies rely on mother’s milk for nourishment, we too must rely on God’s word for spiritual feedings. Without vitamins and nutrients, a baby wouldn’t grow…Hmmmm, so without God’s word, how will we mature and develop our own faith and relationship? We must continue to believe and place all of our hope and trust in God and that He will work out every situation in our life for the good of His kingdom. We can’t trust in our on strength. Control is a slippery slope. Learning to let go and let God is a must! Remember: when we’re running on empty, we must refuel on the word of God. Listen deeply to the warning signs and respond to them without delay, but as you respond, ask yourself this, “Did I seek counsel from the great physician before I acted?” Be wise and pray about everything.

Personal Reflection & Discussion

1. How do you feed yourself spiritually each day?

2. Discuss a time when you felt hopelessly stranded. How did you react? How did God help you overcome this roadblock in your life?

Peace, Love & Healing,

Four Sisters Blogging

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Prayer Requests, Praise & Encouragement

Posted on March 12, 2015 by 4sisterssharing
found on pinterest

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Encouraging One Another

How can we help you pray today? Do you have a praise you want to share that may be encouragement to a fellow Christian? Please email us or post a comment with your prayer request or praise.

Here’s 25 scriptures to encourage and inspire you today.

found on pinterest

found on pinterest

We Can Only Imagine!

His beautiful promises remain…He’ll NEVER leave us or forsake us. When things are tough, when life is in shambles, or you feel like no one is listening, HE is.

Be blessed in His name,

Four Sisters Blogging,

Kendra, Tonia, Blake & Tiffany

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Be Wise: His Divine Design Part II

Posted on March 10, 2015 by 4sisterssharing

 

Has God asked you to do a task that made you lol? As in I’m laughing out loud because He can’t be serious? Just the thought of it makes you quiver. Our dad was quite young when he was burdened to become a preacher. He had stuttered all his life, and quite frankly, had been ridiculed for it as a child. We can only imagine the dialogue that was exchanged between the two of them as dad battled with the idea of placing an ill-received mockery of himself. Picture this: A red-headed, freckle faced stuttering young man who had been charged with coming out front and center to become a public speaker. At the time, dad didn’t realize that God already had a master plan for him. So long as he was obedient, God would supply him with everything he needed to overcome his speech disorder.

You Are Worthy

2 Timothy 3:17 reads, “So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Who are we to say “we can’t”? God doesn’t just “think” we have potential, He already KNOWS our full potential even before He asks us to do something. So when we say we can’t, guess what? We can! You see, we seem to be our own worst enemy again. Dad didn’t believe God could take away his stuttering. He struggled with the idea and boldly told God he would become a minister IF He would take the stuttering away. Now who’s laughing?!!  He’s been a minister of the gospel for over 40 years. God healed him of his stuttering!  What a testimony to the power and accuracy of God’s word. We are so reluctant, scared and ashamed for fear of failure and fear of ridicule. Know that you should be confident in your calling. All it takes is to step out on faith– He will meet you there. The beauty of grace is that it empowers us to do things that we couldn’t do apart from God! There is no single person on this Earth who doesn’t already have a purpose. We just need to sit still and listen. Check out Rick Warren. Rick has a three-part audio series titled How God Talks to You.

Building Your Confidence

Here’s a simple strategy to help get you all shaped up and ready for your next task assigned by God:

1. Read your Bible daily. Even just a simple verse is sufficient. There’s no reason it has to be an entire chapter (though we aren’t discouraging this!). Some of the best ah-ha moments come from one single verse.

2. Make God your source for everything in life. He cares about the small stuff just as equally as the big things. We tend to call on Him when there’s a major medical or financial crisis, but He also wants to provide direction even for something as small as making sense of a relationship or saying yes or no to the next request a person asks of you. The requester isn’t always entitled to an immediate answer. Tell he or she that you need to pray about it and you’ll get back to them. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this and if he/she seems to have an issue with this strategy, we may need to rethink who we are surrounding ourselves with.

3. Learn the importance and value of self-worth. We are all valuable in God’s eyes. From the meek and lowly to the most powerful and everyone in between.

4. Wake up with a thankful heart. Start your day with God on your mind. Thankfulness brings blessings.  Blessings bring joy. Joy brings purpose. Purposeful living pleases God!

found on pinterest

found on pinterest

Personal Reflection & Discussion

1. Reflect on a time when you did something without God’s insight. How did it turn out? Consider the outcome, how you felt, how others responded, etc.

2. How will you answer God’s calling for you? Locate scripture that will encourage, direct, and help you feel confident and fully equipped to achieve the task. Not sure where to start? Proverbs is our dad’s go-to.

Remember, God loves you and so do we. You are worthy. You do have a purpose. Accept it and be inspired by it.

Many Blessings!

Sisters Blogging

Kendra, Tonia, Blake & Tiffany

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Divine Design: The Master’s Plan

Posted on March 3, 2015 by 4sisterssharing

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There’s so many DIY and ‘how to’ demos saturating our every being. It makes us feel so inadequate when we see or hear about all these Betty Crocker + Martha Stewart prodigies have created to save the day, save a dollar, and be the family hero. Can you relate? Of the four sisters, Tiffany is sewing challenged. Last winter she believed she could create a simple dog sweater out of fleece for her dogs. She purchased the fuzzy printed fleece, professional shears and got to nipping. We said nipping. No, more like Edward Scissor Hands mutilating that poor fleece. She didn’t use a pattern and she didn’t measure her dogs.  That’s correcto, she just laid the fleece on top of the dog and snipped x-shaped slits where the dog’s legs should go! Then she cut strips on the belly side to tie it down. What. A. Funny. Disaster! Even her poor hubby said they were some of the most pitiful sweaters he’d ever seen!! Here’s an excellent example of how NOT to do a project without a strategic plan!

Strategic and Purposeful Planning

Technically, when you envision a finished project, there’s a lot of forethought that goes into it. You outline, plan and purchase before you even put the final pieces together. Home owners request custom designed drapes for their windows quite often at the family design business. People think there’s a one price and one size fits all strategy for window treatments. They demand immediate price lists but there’s so much detail that’s necessary before this can be accomplished. Things that have to be considered in an estimate are window sizes, pattern repeat, style and function of the treatment.  All these variables must be considered to create the perfect design otherwise they’ll end up with a Tiffany special! {we’re all dying laughing, poor Tiff}

His Design

Psalms 139:13-14 states, “You made all the delicate inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous and how well I know it.”  Did you know God had a perfect plan when He created you?  He is the master craftsman for your life.  You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Made for a specific purpose. Do you even realize you’re one of a kind? People go far and wide to find precious one of a kind gems and here we are, uniquely made and equipped to fulfill a Godly purpose. It saddens us to witness so many people miss their calling. Why? Because they don’t feel uniquely equipped or perhaps it’s because we’ve been led to believe we’re inadequate. God doesn’t perfectly design anyone to be ‘inadequate’. We KNOW God doesn’t think, “I’m going to create a misfit today and I’ll see to it that he or she lives his or her life in pain and agony!”  NO no NOooooo!  He breathed life into you- to energize you, to encourage you, to support you, to reprimand you. Why? Because He loves you that much. YOU are made deliberately with pure intent. You have a purpose on this Earth. What is that purpose? We can’t answer that for you, but God can. Pray. Pray often. Listen. Listen wisely. He speaks to us in many different ways. God is the expert. He has the power and will to take the broken pieces of our lives and recreate a beautiful mosaic as He begins to fit all the pieces back together. Ever feel the need for a fashion make-over? How about a spiritual re-do? It’s here and it’s waiting just for you. You are God’s art project in process. Why is it such a process? Because you have to put forth some effort! Step out and step up and allow your life to morph into the most beautiful masterpiece ever made by the creator and master artist signed by God.

Much Love,

Sisters Blogging

Kendra, Tonia, Blake and Tiffany

Personal Reflection & Discussion

1. What or who has God strategically placed in your life to help you along life’s way?  How did this event or person help you mature in your relationship with God?

2. Identify what you believe God’s purpose is for you right now in your life.

3. What will you start doing every morning that will help you stay on God’s master plan for you?

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Live, Love & Align with God

Posted on February 22, 2015 by 4sisterssharing

 

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found on pinterest

Do you live, love, and align with God? This is the first time in my life that I can honestly say my focus and priority is to live, love, and align with God. It’s a wonder God hasn’t given up on me in the past, but thankfully, He is loving and patient. When someone in my life strayed away from where I wanted them to be, I walked away. Quit. Tossed in the hat. Waved a white flag. It was easier for me to turn my head than confront the issue. Confrontation takes effort, effort requires energy—energy I thought I couldn’t spare. Can you relate? It seems when life gets tough, our fleshly body recognizes work. It’s human nature to be complacent with what we’re already doing. My goodness, a natural job is work enough, right?! We work to pay our bills, keep a roof over our heads, food on the table, and clothes on our back. We weigh the advantages and disadvantages of everything. Can you imagine where we would be without God? I’d surely be living in darkness. In the deepest pits of sin, playing Russian roulette with the devil. I’m so grateful that my God didn’t give up on me and washed and made me whole through salvation. He sees potential in each one of us and truly has a purpose driven life for all of His chosen ones. This includes you my friend.

Custom Made

Ecclesiastes 3:1-12 paints a perfect picture of a purpose driven life. Doesn’t this make you feel loved? I feel a warm embrace just thinking about God mapping out a detailed custom plan just for you and me! And again, it’s free! Each of us has a season and purpose on this Earth. Accept it. Believe it. Own it! You’re special to God and He is willing to provide you with something to look forward to each and every day. Do you wake up ready to face the world with God’s help or do you pull the covers over your head and wish you could drift off to sleep again—desperately hoping, praying that the day will be over before it even begins?

True Meanings

What does it mean to live, love and align with God? Literally speaking, to live means to be alive, not dead. Alrighty, this is GREAT news! You are obviously “alive” and “living” or you wouldn’t be reading this right now! But do you reeaalllly live?   It is one thing to be alive, and another to truly live. Do you take time to stop and smell the roses? Can you hear the birds chirping? There are times in my life when I find myself aimlessly going through the motions. I always tell my husband that I love him before a phone conversations ends or before walking out the door. It has become a habit. Habits are first developed by conscious recognition; then, the conscious becomes the unconscious and suddenly you’re doing things without having to put forth the effort to “think” before you “do”. Recently I was on the phone with my hubs. I hung up only to realize I forgot to say I love you, so I called him back. My husband said, “You already told me that, but thanks for reiterating it.” Ok, now that’s sad. How do we not remember the most important and meaningful events in our lives? I believe the best answer is that we’re all living chaotically. Lives that are spreading us thin and asking more from us without any added return. Whoa!! There’s a revelation. Asking for more but receiving nothing else in return. My heart suddenly aches as I’m faced with the thoughts of all the things I ask of God and He never wants anything in return EXCEPT our abiding love and a commitment to serve Him. Look at what God requires of us. It doesn’t cost a dime to accept salvation, nor does it cost anything to serve and fully submit ourselves to Him. Matthew 22:37-38 reads, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.”

Do You Need a Popping?

Align means to arrange in a straight line. I get really cranky when people create extra steps to get a task done. Efficiency is key in moving to the next task. Distractions are to blame for getting off course. God wants us to walk the straight and narrow. Take the path less traveled. Be peculiar people all while striving to live as Christ-like as possible. Something piqued the interest of my border collie while we were in the front yard one day. It was like a fire alarm went off outside. I saw the hair stand up on her neck and all I could think was she was going to be the daily special for a buzzard if she made it to the road. Before I realized it, my natural instinct was to scoop her up before she had a chance to run. There was no time to think. I yanked my fifty pound collie into my arms, scolding her for not listening to me, and started toward the house. Once the fight or flight response faded, I noticed there was something different in the way I felt. There was a sharp shooting sensation in my lower back and side. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would have thought someone was blowing hot air against my skin. Reality set in. I pulled a muscle. My only relief was to see a chiropractor. I begged the doctor for relief. He said an adjustment and realignment would get me back on my feet. I felt like a new woman. Refreshed and flexible to take on the world again. God is our chiropractor. You got it—He’s our spiritual chiropractor. He will massage our thoughts and wash our sins away and give us a spiritual adjustment when we go astray. And we all know He won’t hesitate to give us a popping if and when we need it, but I can’t help but think about something my dad would always tell us when we were being disciplined. If I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t care. When you experience despair, pain and suffering, call the greatest physician I know–Dr. Love aka our Heavenly Father. Resolve taking things into your own hands. Pray for direction and peace so you can live, love and align with God on a daily basis.

Personal Reflection and Discussion

  1. Read Ecclesiastes 3:1-12. What do you believe God’s purpose is in your life?
  2. What will you do today to start realigning with God?

Peace and Love,

Kendra, Tonia, Blake & Tiffany

Instagram @faithistheseed

email: faithistheseed@hotmail.com

 

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Be Mine, My Eternal Valentine

Posted on February 14, 2015 by 4sisterssharing

 

Scripture: Ephesians 8:38-39

The ever symbolic love language of Valentine’s Day is chocolate and roses. Our society has high expectations on this day, don’t ya think? We toss around the word ‘love’ and ‘I love you’ far too often out of habit and not out of sincere admiration for others. It’s easy to verbalize love, but do our actions, thoughts and words consistently align? Ponder that for a moment…

True Love

Recall a time when you felt like a dark cloud hovered over your head and you wanted to retreat to someone you loved, seeking out comfort that would drive that dark cloud away. Was it financial misfortune? Relationship failure? Loss of a loved one? Regardless of the situation, we all run toward the light—we run toward someone who can brighten our day, lift us up and nurture us back to a balanced emotional and physical state. For me and my sisters, that light was our dad. We knew no matter the turmoil, he stood with opened arms to encourage, reprimand and challenge us to learn from our mistakes. Did you know our Heavenly Father does the EXACT SAME THING? Romans 8:38-39 reads, “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

His Promises

Do you really realize the love God has for his children? That’s you! We look forward to holidays each year. Valentine’s Day comes around only once, but the awesome thing about God’s love is that He provides a daily Valentine custom-made just for you and me. How much awareness do you really have of this? Take this for example- we had to sing at our grandmother’s funeral. It was such an emotional request, but we did it just for our mother. As we stood at the front of the sanctuary, we were choking down tears to be strong enough to get through the first verse. Our God is sooo faithful, isn’t He? Just as we belted out, “We are standing on Holy Ground…” the warmest, most calming beam of light shot through the stained glass window we were standing next to as if God placed a spot light on us from heaven. This is no joke people! His love is real. This is a prime example of how God has to get our attention. He almost had to slap us in the face to let us know He hadn’t left us during our time of grief and sorrow. He sends us subtle and sometimes extravagant signs to provide peace, comfort and assurance of how tremendous a Valentine He really is. So the next time you feel your Valentine isn’t fulfilling your expectations, remember this: God is YOUR constant and consistent Valentine- day in, and day out.

Personal Reflection & Discussion

  1. Discuss a time when your Valentine disappointed you? How did you feel? How did you respond? Was it Christ-like?
  2. Recall a time when you knew God was assuring you that He would never leave you or forsake you during time of need.
  3. How will you familiarize yourself with our Heavenly Valentine on a daily basis?

We encourage you to post comments, email and tag us on Instagram to share thoughts and open up discussion.

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