We’re MOVING!!

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MovingI am honored to announce that Agape Visions, Inc. has outgrown its home! I have been blessed abundantly here in the last few weeks and I need some growing room! So the website is moving!!!! I am praying to make this transition as smooth as possible, but if I hit a few bumps along the way ya’ll please be patient with me and pray…a lot! The web address will stay the same, so you have nothing to keep up with there, but the posts will continue to be light as it will make my job a bit easier as the switch is taking place. Rest assured though I have plenty of writings waiting for you on the other side of this move! Be sure to get connected with me on Facebook, Twitter, and G+ as well. I’m going to have more announcements to come and you don’t want to miss this!

In the meantime ladies, please share your thoughts with me about what you would like to see…what you like, what you don’t like. It would really be a blessing to hear your hearts. I look forward to pouring out words across this screen very soon! I pray you abundance and peace beloved! Shalom!~

Surrendered to Him~
~rose~

Summer Bible Study!

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Anything Study Promo Picture

Just in case you have missed the news floating around Facebook and Twitter, there is an AMAZING summer study coming up at Good Morning Girls! We will be studying through Anything by Jennie Allen! This is going to be something truly powerful and you don’t want to miss out! I have even extended a few spots in my group for a few more members, but spaces are going quick so hurry on over and join us. Be sure to head over to Good Morning Girls, get enrolled, and subscribe to the blog to be sure and get all the great extras they have put together for this study as well. Then grab a copy of the book and get ready to study from June 3rd –July 26th. Even if you don’t join in with my group, let me know if you’re studying! This one is bound to get quite a few posts around here! I look forward to hearing all your insight and hopefully studying with a few of you! Be blessed beloved! Shalom!~

Surrendered to Him~
~rose~

From Shema to Shema

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From Shema to ShemaWhen you run like I do, like most people do these days, far too often you look and wonder, “when am I supposed to get all this stuff done?” Schoolwork on top of business, homeschool on top of Bible study, and we’re not even going to talk about the “stack” of books piling up waiting to be read. Then there’s the housework that pours out of a never ending faucet, coving every inch of the day. Before too long you are taking extremes trying to get it all done, like not sleeping or not eating…or not praying.

About a month ago, I was challenged while studying through James 4:13-15 to hand the planning of my day over to God during my morning time and let Him dictate my schedule each and every day. It has been quite an enlightening experience to say the least, but the thing that got me the most was all the stuff that kept getting added to my list! Finally one morning, after playing the “good soldier” role just one too many days in a row, I asked God that very question. “When am I supposed to get all of this done?”

His answer…“From Shema to Shema”.

The Shema is a prayer based on Deuteronomy 6:4-9. There are also two other parts to the prayer based on Deuteronomy 11:13-21 and Numbers 15:37-41. It is said once in the morning and once in the evening, both times during daylight hours. For me I typically mark them as 7AM and 7PM {though for many they are 6AM and 6PM}. What God was telling me in effect was that everything He was giving me to do could be done between 7AM and 7PM.

Well week after week I have worked my fingers to the bone trying to make that Shema to Shema, each week doing a little bit better than before but never quite making it. Last week I cried out to my Abba in confusion and despair wondering how on earth He could expect this of me. I was behind on one study, trickling along on another, and a few things around the house were in a pitiful state. What was I doing wrong?

Then the Day of Preparation came last week. I had three new classes, all with writing assignments due by midnight on Shabbat, meaning if I was going to keep Shabbat I had to get them done by 7PM on Friday…this on top of the cooking for the weekend and the cleaning in preparation for the Holy Day. All I could do was pray and push, push and pray.

God was silent that day. He gave me none of His usual encouragements and revelation…He was just there. Yet I finished…EVERYTHING! And I finished by 7PM! I didn’t cut corners. I didn’t do things half way. I did everything just the way it needed to be done, as if I wasn’t on a time crunch. It wasn’t until the candles were lit and the sun had set that God spoke.

“From Shema to Shema” was all He said.

And I knew…instantly I knew. All of the little things throughout the day that suck up seconds, that break momentum, that knock you off track…those are the things that extend your day beyond what it is supposed to be. It doesn’t have to be big things either. I rarely watch anything on my TV set, DVDs included, and if I do it’s as I’m falling asleep at night. I’m not one for idle chatter, so I don’t talk much on the phone at all. I don’t play video or online games. Yet and still there are TONS of little mismanagements of time eating away at my productivity. The biggest one being the casual way I go about my duties. Proverbs 31:17 says, “She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.” That’s what I did differently that Day of Preparation. It was a race…and I ran it like it was a race! And because I ran it like it was a race…I WON!

That is the challenge for this week. “…let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Let’s work vigorously on all the tasks He lays before us and run this race with Passion and Heart!

I pray you strength and focus abundant beloved! Shalom!~

Surrendered to Him~
~rose~

364 to 1: A Single Mother’s Plea

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364 to 1From the volume of messages hitting my inbox on this blessed Sunday, Mother’s Day has apparently found its way back around on the calendar. I must admit in all honesty, I dread this day each and every year. I’m not sure which one I find more difficult to stomach, Mother’s Day or my birthday. Right now, I’m going to vote for Mother’s Day though because I have the power to hide my birthday from others…but Mother’s Day is listed on just about every calendar in the United States. They even run commercials to make sure people don’t forget and the whole nine yards.

Please don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying mothers shouldn’t be celebrated. We most certainly should. The question is with the commercialization and advancements in social media…are you celebrating me or broadcasting how “attentive” and “thoughtful” you are? See I can always tell when a Hallmark “holiday” in in full bloom. My texts, emails, and Facebook light up with messages galore. Mass messages where I’ve been “honored” to be among the many recipients arrive hour after hour. Before the day is done I’ve usually even gotten texts from people who have been out of contact with me for so long that they are no longer saved in my contacts so nothing shows but the number.

So here I sit, as I do every year, hiding from my own devices, praying over what responses to send…if any, wondering if any one of them has any idea of what they are attempting to celebrate. Are you celebrating the fact that I chose to give birth? Are you celebrating the fact that I chose to bring my child home? Are you simply celebrating the fact that I have children? I ask because for the most part, 364 days a year most have no idea what my days look like. 364 days a year I live a quiet, contained life that very few take part in. 364 days a year I’m here and I’m me. 364 days a year, these same places are typically silent. Yet on this 1…

Rest assured. I’m not desolate. I’m celebrated year round. My children shower me with accolades daily, proclaiming me “the best mama in the whole world” with ever chance they get. A few in my family answer my cries whenever I call and even encourage me on occasion. Most of all though, there is my Abba. God is there, in my face, each and every day cheering on my progress, showing me my mistakes, and helping me to be a better mother than I was the day before. He celebrates all that I am and all that I do, lending a helping hand at every turn, and wiping the tears from eyes in the dead of night when the day is said and done.

I’m not your Hallmark mother. I’m a mother who made some serious mistakes, but because God even makes my mistakes to prosper, I was rewarded with three beautiful girls and a wonderful life as a result. I’m a mother who in thirteen years has received less than $12,000 in child support total yet only on rare occasions have my children had to go with a need. I’m a mother who has raised a special needs child from functioning at an 18 month old level at the age of three to ranking top in her class. I’m a mother who has spent every year of parenthood being told she is bad mother because I don’t raise my kids like others, yet being told by those same mouths how they wish they had the peace and order in their house that I have in mine. I’m the mother who kisses my children’s tears away as I explain to them how much the fathers they haven’t seen in years love them and are always thinking about them, making sure I never let an unkind word part my lips about them. I’m the mother who gets up at the crack of dawn to pray over my household and usher the Spirit into their lives. I’m the mother who is running and growing an online business so that I can live out the Proverbs 31 lifestyle for my girls and be the stay-at-home mom they need. I’m the mother who is going to school full-time, while setting up to homeschool my children. I could go on, but you get the point.

I’m not saying I’m something special, because believe me, in the category of motherhood I KNOW that I’m not. There are countless women who do more than I do with less than I have. There are women who cry more tears and fight more battles before breakfast than I do all day. My point in this is not to rant on about how what I do is so great. It is that if you are going to celebrate a particular mother, know who it is you’re celebrating and spread it out over more than some monetary sentimental gesture.

Every day there is a single mother in your presence who is dying on the inside. There is a single mother in your presence who dreams of suicide and the only thing that breaks that dream apart is the smile on her baby’s face. There is a single mother in your presence who has asked you for help, asked you for a break, and you have turned her down because you are still holding a grudge against her for the way those children came to be. There is a single mother in your presence who hasn’t eaten more than a couple of crackers a day all week because she barely has enough to feed her children. There is a single mother in your presence who has no idea what a full night’s sleep looks like. There is a single mother in your presence who hasn’t been hugged, or comforted, or even looked at with care in so long she can’t even remember what is feels like to be cherished…if she ever knew at all. “And this in front of unbelievers!”

I don’t dare speak for all mothers. I don’t even dare to speak for all single mothers. But I ask you as you finish out this day, or even to consider for next year, before you send a generic pat on the back through some social media network, or call or text someone you’ve barely spoken to all year…especially if she is a single mother…ask yourself if that is what she really needs to feel like she’s done something worthwhile as a mother, to feel appreciated, to know someone cares. Ask God what you can do to bring that feeling into that mother’s life, even if for a moment. And if the answer you get is too much for you to do or too much of an inconvenience, then ask yourself if are really celebrating her or asking her to celebrate you by acknowledging how much you “care”?

Most of all…know that all of you out there who fight silently in the trenches every day, I speak you at the foot of the throne as often or more than I speak of myself. Be encouraged my blessed sisters! Your day is coming! The head shall become the tail and that which was last, despised, rejected, and looked down upon, shall be first! Shalom beloved!~

Surrendered to Him~
~rose~

Yeshua’s Seat

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Yeshua's SeatLast week while studying Luke 14, the Spirit asked me quite the challenging question. In verses 7-11, Yeshua {Jesus} is evaluating and teaching on the way we pick our “seats” at the table of life. See at the time, and still in some places, protocol dictated that the guests were seated in order of their importance with the most important seated closest to the host. That means the host would be at the head of the table, making him the most important. Then the next in line would be seated to his right and the next to his left. This would continue on down the table until the least important position was reached.

Yeshua tells us in verse 10 to take the lowest place so that, in the spirit of Proverbs 27:2, if we are to be exalted it will come from another and if we are not to be exalted them we aren’t put to shame by our own arrogance. In this reading, however, it wasn’t my position at the table that intrigued me. It was Yeshua’s seat that caught my attention. The Spirit specifically asked me, “Where does Yeshua sit at YOUR table?”

We see the signs and signals everywhere. They say things like “God is my Co-Pilot” or “God’s got my back”. That mentality puts us at the head of the table and Yeshua to our right hand! But that’s not how this goes, that’s not what this walk in the Way is all about! God sits at the head of the table and Yeshua sits to HIS right hand! It is only through Yeshua that we even have a seat at that table. It is only because of His Sacrifice, His constant advocating, and the ministry of Ruach HaKodesh {the Holy Spirit} that we can keep our seat at the table. So how did HE become second chair to US?

Somehow along the way we have gotten the idea that we are in control of our lives, that we can do it all ourselves. Then when we fall short in our efforts we go ask God for help. THEN we plead the Blood of Yeshua! And we wonder why we are so exhausted and spinning around not really able to make sense of this life we live. It’s because we are living life backwards!

So here’s my new mindset. I’m God’s vehicle! I’m the instrument He drives through this earth bringing about His Will. I don’t go unless He pushes the accelerator, I don’t run unless He pours fuel into me, I don’t stop until He hits the brakes…regardless of what I think I see ahead. I proclaim this to be HIS life to live as HE sees fit! God sits at the head of my table, Yeshua to HIS right, and I am honored to simply have a seat!

When you are running on empty and grasping for a breath of relief, ask yourself that question. Where does Yeshua sit at my table? Who is at the helm? I have learned through this journey of being covered by Him alone that there is so much more to His desires than many realize. When He is actually given the chance to lead, without boundaries, without restrictions, without excuses, He steps up to the job with a force and enthusiasm that I can’t even begin to describe! Doors are opening, situations are resolving, blessings are flowing, and that’s just barely the surface of it!

If you have never given Him a chance to be completely in control of anything in your life, if you have always placed one restriction or another on what you would allow Him to dictate, I implore you…give Him a change today! I’m convinced that everyone has some area that the Spirit has been on them to release control of. Give Him the reigns to that area, step back, and watch! It is a beautiful sight to behold, to watch the Master at work! I pray you insight and faith beloved! Shalom!~

Surrendered to Him~
~rose~

24-Hour Conundrum

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24-Hour Conundrum“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” ~ Proverbs 16:3

 

God made plans for each and every one of His creations and, in His Image, we are to have plans too. Granted, these are not just plans based on our own will {James 4:13-16}, but they are plans nonetheless. In the world today, however, we are inundated with reasons not to plan. There is an instant solution to every problem it seems, a fix for every unaccounted for need.

We’ve got 24-hour stores on nearly every corner to for those last minute groceries or household items that we ran out of.  We’ve got DVRs to catch the shows we “can’t live without”, but yet have no time for. Same-day service signs hang out of shop windows and next-day delivery options abound at every turn. For just about every area of your day-to-day life, there is most likely a 24-hour, on-demand solution for every problem. But where does that leave the art and skills of things like planning, patience, endurance, foresight, and contentment.

With so many desires at your fingers anytime of the day or night, you may ask, why do I need those things? Well, the truth is 24-hour, on-demand, and at your fingertips works great when your lack of planning leaves you running short on toilet tissue, but it doesn’t work so great with things of substance like success, character growth, building intimacy with God, fostering meaningful relationships.

As women, as the glue that holds a household together, how we approach planning is vital to the success of our families. See when we don’t exercise these muscles in our day-to-day life, we find out in our moment of need them that they have atrophied and aren’t ready for action. Our overall quality of life suffers for it too. The things that matter most in life are thrown by the wayside in the hours we waste running back and forth to the store or the fuel we consume on trips that could’ve been avoided. The quality of the food our families eat, how far the money brought into the household reaches depends on how well we meal plan, how well we plan for bargains and are able to shop in bulk. But it’s about more than that.

Quiet time to grow with God, quality time to build and maintain relationships, pursuing education, building a business, growing a ministry….these things all take planning and intentional living. And it is in that planning, in that intentional living, that we give God something to establish! Nothing about what God did or does is sloppy or half put together. He makes plans and executes them with excellence…and we should too! It is beyond time for us to reclaim that image we were created in and to start walking and talking like our Father.

So this week, this month, first and foremost, plan time with the Father. Then take inventory of your household needs, look ahead in what your family is going to eat, look at the way you spend your time versus what you need to accomplish to reach the next level, and start planning. Try for the rest of the month to set yourself up for success, to get some consistency set in motion. Then next week or next month, depending on how ambitious you are, conduct your life during daylight hours. Set everything you can up to be taken are of between 7 am and 7 pm and take note just how much you have become dependent on the 24-hour things of this world. Take what you find to the Father and see just what needs to be changed and how. I know it may sound petty or picky, but I assure you it is a powerful shift! Give it a try. At the very least you will learn enough about planning to save yourself some time and who couldn’t use more of that!

I pray you willingness and fortitude beloved! Shalom!~

Surrendered to Him~
~rose~

Yearly Plan Upgrade

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Yearly Plan UpgradeA few weeks ago I was listening to a presentation by Peter Bregman based on his book 18 Minutes that really changed the way I looked at my yearly plan and goals. Typically I have a few things that I want to do such as read this many books, pay off this bill, learn about this topic, etc. I did, finally, this year learn to break each task down into workable sections and devise a plan of attack. However, I still am finding myself sliding into the month of Sivan and behind yet again! In his talk, I think I found my solution though!

He talked about planning your day, as in assigning dates and times to your calendar as we discussed last week, based on your yearly plan instead of your to-do list. The idea being that we always put off the more challenging things or the things that fall outside of our normal routine until later, and then later never comes. We schedule our routine things despite the fact we know we are going to do them regardless. Instead, we would be more productive overall if we scheduled our challenging yearly goals first and then filled our day in with the routine things.

In listening this talk I realized that my yearly plan was nothing more than a file on my computer and a piece of paper that went unchecked in my Home Management Binder. Well no wonder I am behind…I haven’t looked at the plan in five months! That all changes this week! I may not be able to get everything done, especially since the end of my year is now in September instead of December, but I believe I can make a dent and get back on track. I’m dusting off that yearly plan, giving it a makeover, and setting it on fire with intention and purpose!

Don’t have a yearly plan, you say? It’s not too late to start! Grab 5 key areas that you want to work on. It can be anything from digging deeper into the Word, to writing a book, to finishing school, to renovating a room, or anything in between. Then make a 6th area for your routine things. I had eight areas originally, but after listening to Peter Bregman’s talk I am sold on consolidating it down to 6. Then add to those key 5 areas the intentional things that you need to do to bring about that goal or improve that area. Each day look at that list and assign some aspect of each area a specific time to be worked on. Set an expectation of progress and hold yourself accountable to it. This is where that timer we talked about last week comes in handy. Check yourself each hour to make sure you are on task and doing all that you can to accomplish your goals.

He gave two questions to ask at each hour:

1. Am I doing that I need to be doing right now? {on task, in God’s Will, focused}

2. Am I being who I want to be right now? {kind, loving, relaxed}

I’m adding prayer to list as well. At each stop, take a deep breath and ask those questions in prayer. Let the Father answer them for you. Ask Him if you are doing what HE wants you to be doing right now,  if you are being who HE wants you to be right now. I will tell you though, be prepared to hear the truth. I found out there were quite a few things that I considered important that God considered to be side things. It has impacted my life profoundly though…and it’s only been a week!

I urge you, set intention for the rest of your year. Set goals, make a plan, and work that plan out daily. You will be surprised how much you can accomplish! I have come through some mighty storms and challenges this way and am looking forward to the boost this new method will bring! I pray you all organization and determination beloved! Shalom!~

Surrendered to Him~
~rose~

In The Background

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In The Background“She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls.” ~ Proverbs 31:15

Before you start wiggling in your seat let me assure you that I’m not going to dive into the “she gets up while it is still dark” portion of that verse in this post. Now take a deep breath and relax. There you go…all better!  It is the last part that I’m interested in today, “and portions for her servant girls”.

Courtney over at Women Living Well brought out a point that I had never really considered in that verse before in her eBook The Proverbs 31 Woman One Virtue at a Time. She identified our appliances as our servant girls. That sparked a whole different line of thinking in me that has greatly increased productivity in my house.

Far too often we dedicate our time to tasks that could be very easily run in the background while we give our attention to something else. That is, after all, what having these modern conveniences is all about right? The goal is to increase productivity and efficiency so that we can spend more time taking care of our families. Yet we still waste time babysitting tasks that don’t need our undivided attention, typically for a lack of planning.

With this in mind I looked around my house and decided if I was working, EVERYTHING needed to be working. Part of my daily schedule includes a timer that goes off every hour to help me stay on task, remember to relax, and to pray. Well, I added a duty to that timer. Whenever it goes off I now also get up and move a load of clothes or send another kitchen appliance into action. Then I go back to whatever I was working on for the day. Now, by the time I finish my work day the laundry is clean and ready to be folded, dinner is just about done, and most of the house is clean.

I came to realize that every major production has foundational elements running in the background. Most people never know that they are there, but the production wouldn’t go off with them. From the theater, to music, to movies, it is the detailed working going on behind the scenes that allows for the beauty of the finished product to be enjoyed.

Homemaking is a production just like the rest of those. It is art and a science. There is method and, praise God, there is grace. The finished product, however, is priceless, ordained by God, and worthy of the best that we can provide for it. The question then becomes, is your support staff working at its full potential to make your production go off as smoothly and beautifully as it possibly can?

I urge you, take stock of your servant girls. Provide them portions daily to run your home at maximum efficiency. God has blessed us with all of this technology to lighten our loads. Let’s make the best of it and bring forth a performance of excellence for sake of the Kingdom!

I pray you inspiration and diligence beloved! Shalom!~

Surrendered to Him~
~rose~

Psalm 53

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Psalm 53Chronological reading plans place Psalm 53 after 1 Chronicles 18 which tells of King David’s great victories over the enemies of the Kingdom. It tells more than that though. It tells of dedication and acknowledgment. All the spoils he received from war He dedicated unto the Lord. Some were even used by Solomon in making items for the Temple {v.8}. Verse 6 tells us that “The LORD gave David victory everywhere he went.” It is in those moments of supernatural victory that we dig into ourselves and truly come to KNOW that HaShem {the Name, Yahweh} is on our side! It is also in those moments that we come face to face with the devastation the evil one has brought into the world through the disobedience of God’s people.

So out of the heart of one who has been blessed with spectacular victories that would not have gone my way had my Master not fought for me, out of the heart of one who laments over what I sees arising in the world around me, I pray:

Abba, how can one of Your beings look around at all You’ve created and say there is no You? What callousness must cover their hearts for their eyes to remain that blind? They set their hearts to do wrong as if it is their only pleasure. They hurt on purpose and pass blame to and fro, making sure never to let it settle on them.

I know You are watching, searching the earth for Your remnant, on constant watch for anyone who understands Your love, who understands Your anger…who understands they are Yours. You search for those who are seeking You diligently and love You with all their heart, all their soul, and all their strength {Deuteronomy 6:5}. How You must long for that fellowship You created us for!

I pray for the eyes of their heart to be enlightened O Lord, so that they may come to learn the hope that lies in trusting in Your great power and the working of Your mighty strength {Ephesians 1:18-19}. May they learn the truth of their wickedness and come to call on the Name and acknowledge You as their Source.

Abba, I pray for Your mercy upon them! Do not overwhelm them with dread or scatter their bones. Put them not to shame Master I beg of You! Bless them Abba! Bless them so abundantly and in such a way that there is no mistaking that it came from You! Heal their broken places and tormented souls. Win them with Your love so that Your Name may be praised through the earth! Let no doubt remain as to who You are and Whose they are! {Luke 6:27-36}

Restore the fortunes of Your people and set them apart, marking them ~BLESSED~ for all the world to see. Let salvation spread through the earth as the abundant fruit produced through the sharing of the Gospel! Make Yourself a Holy nation out of those who adore You and long for Your Presence.

O Lord, lest I be put to shame by my own disobedience, search me deep down in the depths of all I am. Highlight all the wickedness that still has root in me. Give me the tools to dig out those roots and bless my efforts through Your grace and provision. I lay before You on the Threshing Floor! Remove all the chaff still clinging to my spirit, dust it off to blow away in the wind. Fill my empty places with the purity of Your Presence and abide in me forever more.

In the Name of Yeshua I Pray, Amen~

Surrendered to Him~
~rose~

This post is linked to the #PsalmsJourney at Everyday Awe! Be sure to head over and check out the rest of these delicious posts! You will leave with a brand new vision on where the Psalm can take you!~

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