A Psalm of Thanks~Living!

"Praise the Lord!

I will thank the Lord with all my heart

as I meet with His godly people.

How amazing are the deeds of the Lord!

All who delight in Him should ponder them.

Everything He does reveals His glory and majesty.

His righteousness never fails.

He causes us to remember His wonderful works.

How gracious and merciful is our Lord!

He gives food to those who fear Him;

He always remembers His covenant.

He has shown His great power to His people

by giving them the lands of other nations.

All He does is just and good,

and all His commandments are trustworthy.

They are forever true,

to be obeyed faithfully and with integrity.

He has paid a full ransom for His people.

He has guaranteed His covenant with them forever.

What a holy, awe-inspiring name He has!

Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom.

All who obey His commandments will grow in wisdom.

Praise Him forever!"  Psalm 111 (NLT)

Happy ThanksLiving!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn5CMSSAx_c  (Shout To The Lord - Darlene Zschech)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kta0lv6qpB8  (Thank You - The Katinas)



New Thanksgiving Tree!

John 15:5-8 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."


As we all prepare to gather together with our families this Thanksgiving, I Thank God for A Family Tree that is filling up with Branches of Believers....because God is Faithful!!

I wonder if you can relate to my life in Christ in anyway? You see, when I became a First-Generation Follower of Christ = A Christian, I began my walk with the Lord all by myself. But, God Is Faithful, and it wasn't long before He began to Bless my life with A New Family Tree! A tree that began to fill up with His Branches of Believers! 4 months after I became a Christian, my loving husband became a Christian (and it was the week before Thanksgiving when he gave his life to Christ, this is one of the blessings I thank God for, A Christian Husband that loves Him and loves me!)! It was amazing how God changed every relationship in our lives. As we began to learn how to share Jesus with others as His Witness, our family tree began to grow in so many ways! Did it happen quickly and overnight, NO it did not for us, as we also learned how to "wait upon the Lord & pray without ceasing"! But because of God's Faithfulness, He still keeps enlarging our new family tree! Our children have all become Christians and love God and we look forward to the next generation of believers that God Promises to reach as we strive to live for Him and share Him until Jesus returns or we go to live with Him in heaven forever!!

Below is a short picture of one of God's youngest witnesses, Josiah!!! He is one of my favorite role models in the Bible and I pray that his life will encourage you that God will grow His Family Tree through YOU, no matter what age you are and no matter what kind of family tree you were born into...God's Word says it best in Jeremiah 29:11-13; "For I know the plans I have for you,' "declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you HOPE and a FUTURE. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart."!!


Some of Josiah’s Family Tree

 Great-Great-Great Grandpa – King David 1 Kings 11:4, 1 Kings 14:8, Acts 13:22 (“…I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.”

 Great-Great-Grandpa – King Ahaz “DID NOT do what was right in the eyes of the Lord” 2 Kings 16:2

 Great-Grandpa - King Hezekiah: “Did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” 2 Kings 18:5-7

 Grandpa - King Manasseh: “Did what was EVIL in the eyes of the Lord” 2 Kings 21:2

 Dad – King Amon: “Did what was EVIL in the eyes of the Lord” 2 Kings 21:20


 King Josiah!: “Did what was RIGHT in the eyes of the Lord” 2 Kings 22:2


Meet Josiah: “he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord”
• God called Josiah when he was 8 years old...in Josiah’s day boys were considered men when they were 12 years old
• Josiah obeyed God 8-39 (killed at 39 by Neco, an evil king of Egypt), for 31 years Josiah obeyed God whole-heartedly (2 Chron.34:1)
• Josiah searched after God and had an open heart to God
• Josiah was a difference maker like his great-grandpa Hezekiah!
• Josiah cleaned out the temple of ungodliness and revived the atmosphere to following God’s Ways
• Josiah’s weakness and mistake that led to his death was to get involved in a battle that he had been warned against getting involved in (let God fight your battles!)
• Josiah made a difference for God because “he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord”!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_MyC6kJzPg&feature=related (Unfailing Love - Chris Tomlin)

The Season of Thankfulness to God!

♥2 Thessalonians 2:13♥ "As for us, we can’t help but THANK GOD for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. We are always THANKFUL that God chose you to be among the first to experience salvation—a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth."

This time of the year is one of my favorite! Attitudes of Gratitude are all around us as we Thank God for blessing upon blessing!

This time of the year causes me to thank God for saving my life from the dark pit of lostness! Generational Lostness!! As a first-generation Christian, I heard about Jesus for the very first time ever in my life when I was in my 20's and I RAN TO JESUS! I THANK GOD that He has totally changed my life in everyway! Then God began to reach my loved ones one by one year by year, even though some of the years of waiting seemed like FOREVER, but God is Faithful!! My husband became a Christian 4 months after I gave my life to Christ, but it felt like a long season of waiting as God taught me how to pray and wait on HIM!!

This time of year is such a special opportunity to Thank God!! What would you like to Thank God for? Who are the ones on your life that you are praying and waiting on the Lord "to experience salvation—a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth." ♥2 Thessalonians 2:13b♥ I must encourage you to Keep Praying as I count it a privilege to pray with you as we NEVER GIVE UP because God Is At Work~His Timing Is Perfect!!

Dear God, Thank You for Being You!! Thank You for having a plan for each and everyone of those YOU LOVE and have a HOPE & a FUTURE for!! We trust You, we love You, we wait on You, and we THANK YOU for taking care of everything and everyone that is on our hearts and minds!! In Jesus' Name, AMEN!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xgxn9DW1ng (Thank You, Lord by Hillsong)!!!

A Psalm Of Thankfulness!

"Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! Know that the LORD, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His People, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him, bless His name! For the LORD is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations." Psalm 100 (ESV)

"On your feet now - applaud GOD! Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into His presence. Know this: GOD is GOD, and GOD, GOD. He made us; we didn't make Him. We're His people, His well-tended sheep. Enter with the password: "Thank you!" Make yourself at home, talking praise. Thank Him. Worship Him. For God is sheer beauty, all-generations in love, loyal and ever." Psalm 100 (MSG)

As we Thank God, Count Our Many Blessings, and Celebrate Thanksgiving this week; please read Psalm 100 - "A Psalm of Thanks"! What are you thankful for right now in your life? Let's "Count your many blessings, Name them one by one, and it will amaze us what the Lord has done!" Happy Thanksgiving!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xgxn9DW1ng (Thank You, Lord! - Hillsong)

Greetings Gifted2Go Girls!

I am Fired Up! WOW, we have been blessed beyond words with the launching of another Spirit-Filled vision from the heart of one of today's gifted evangelistic Christian woman leaders that is on the front lines of ministry, Jaye Martin! Gifted2Go evangelistic events and resources help equip those that know the Lord to share the Lord with those that need the Lord!! If we have accepted The GIFT of All GIFTS~JESUS, you are Gifted2Go...Can I hear a huge AMEN!!? AMEN!!!!

Gifted2Go Arkansas is THIS WEEKEND 10/21/10-10/23/10! Thank You for your prayers, we are fired up and excited to Share His Gifts as We GO!!! You can GO too as a Gifted2GO Praying Friend, thank you for praying as the Lord leads you!!

I am always humbled by Jaye's invitations to serve on her evangelistic ministry team!! When God put our lives together almost 15 years ago, He blessed my life one of the most special GIFTS that I could of every have been given and I will forever be grateful in ways that are too many to count!

It is an exciting day we live in when Creative Strategic Evangelistic Leadership for Women can take place over the Internet as it is used as a gift from God for an evangelistic tool for our postmodern lives! God is faithful to equip us in the Gifts He has given as we Go and share Him through our lives, think with me how He is using blogs, e-mail, websites, instant messages, texting, christian music videos on the Internet, social networks, and the list goes on!! What are some "postmodern" ways that you are seeing Him at work? In our evangelistic gifted2go lives, one way God reminds us and encourages us through His Word as each of us have been given at least one gift or more from God so that He can minister through us, here are a couple of promises that God has encouraged and equipped my life with: "Do not neglect the gift that is in you..." 1 Timothy 4:14a "Therefore, I remind you to keep ablaze (I LOVE that word!) the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment." 2 Timothy 1:6-7 (HCSB)

We are full of great anticipation and expectation as we have the privilege of being encouraged and equipped through these Internet blogging waves! As a first-generation Christian, there are so many "firsts" that God has lovingly poured out upon my life that I look forward to sharing with you in the blogs to come, but right now I am experiencing my "first blog" and I thank you for your input and patience with great joy! This BLOGasphere (God may even give us some new first words:-)!) is amazing, just to think, that we are connecting from all over the world as we share from a keyboard, Dear Lord, let this set us ablaze in a new fresh gifted way for your Glory!
We are looking forward in the days, months, years...until Jesus' return of the joy to serve you, pray for you, and cheer you on as The Lord "keeps ablaze the gift of God that is in you" (2 Tim. 1:6b) Please know of my constant prayers for you and my availability to you in any way as the Lord leads us through His Spirit & His Word! One of my prayers, as I close my very first BLOG that I think may have been longer than I expected, is that I pray that you will feel the freedom to share what God has on your heart to evangelistically encourage others or receive encouragement yourself as we are all Gifted2Go praying friends looking to Jesus = The Greatest Gifts for ALL! Go God!!

Cheering You On In The Gifted2Go Blazing Joy Journey With Jesus,
Tracy
Ephesians 3:14-21
2 Corinthians 9:2b

RESCUED!

RESCUED FROM DARKNESS!!

"...for He has RESCUED from the domain of DARKNESS and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins..."! Colossians 1:13-14

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the One who called you OUT of DARKNESS into His marvelous LIGHT."! 1 Peter 2:9

The miners are ALIVE, RESCUED FROM the trap of DARKNESS, a confined pit called a mine, and raised into the marvelous LIGHT of FREEDOM!! Waiting for them are many people that have prayed continuously, worked tirelessly, and waited patiently for this day of RESCUE!

As we all watch the news reports we see many emotions that accompany the PRAISES of those that are being brought OUT of DARKNESS and into marvelous LIGHT!

As believers, when someone is RESCUED from darkness, the pit of sin, and into The Marvelous LIGHT of JESUS a TRUE MIRACLE takes place! For the first time some is capable of truly experiencing real LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, & SELF-CONTROL = THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT & LIFE IN JESUS CHRIST!!! (Gal.5:22)

A New Heart/New Life in Christ is contagious!! As we witness someone being RESCUED from Darkness hopefully we relive our moment of RESCUE~FREEDOM & HOPE, we shed tears of joy while watching others being RESCUED, and most of all we think about and are burdened for others that still need to be RESCUED from DARKNESS...NEVER GIVE UP ON THOSE THAT STILL NEED TO BE RESCUED & SAVED!!!!!!

What can we do as His "...chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the ONE who called you OUT of DARKNESS into His marvelous LIGHT" 1 Peter 2:9? LET'S GO SHARE JESUS & WHAT WE HAVE PERSONALLY WITNESSED (our story and the story of others) with PEOPLE THAT NEED THE LORD = EVANGELISM = GIFTED2GO!!

YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD!!!! WE HAVE THE JOY & PRIVILEGE OF SHARING JESUS TODAY!!!!

Jesus said, "I have come into the world as a LIGHT, so that no one who BELIEVES in Me should stay in DARKNESS."!! John 12:46

Thank You, God!

"Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Acknowledge that the LORD is God. He made us, and we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the LORD is good, and His love is eternal; His faithfulness endures through all generations."! Psalm 100

Autumn is in the air! All week I have heard people say, "Wow, I love this cooler weather after a very hot summer!" Everywhere we go we see the signs of our season of thankfulness called Autumn: Pumpkins, Pine Cones, Changing Leaves, Bales of Hay, Scarecrows, Candy Corn, Earth-tone Colors, and most of all signs of Thankfulness to God!

The psalmist teaches us how to thank God as we enter our daily attitudes with thankfulness and praise. As we walk in an attitude of gratefulness we have many opportunities to share the one and only author of blessings, JESUS, with others!

People, especially people that need the Lord, have voids in their lives that they are trying to fill with earthy worldly things. What are some of the voids in the lives of people that need the Lord? As a first-generation Christian that didn't hear about and accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior until I was in my 20's, let me share with you some of the things that were missing in my life as someone that needed The Lord; I was missing - peace, belonging, gratefulness, purpose, direction, joy, and much more!

As Christ's disciples and witnesses when we share simple things that we Thank God for, He can use our attitudes of gratitude to draw people to Jesus! What are 2 ways that we can do this?

• Worship God For Who He Is! Share With Others The Reason God is First In Your Life! (Always Present~Always Providing~Always Personal, etc.)
• Thank God For What He Does! Share With Others The Ways God Has Blessed Your Life! (Salvation~Forgiveness~Hope, etc.)

As blessings come into our lives, give thanks to God. Simply say, "Thank You, God!" When someone compliments you on anything that you know was from God's Grace working in or through you, give thanks to God. Simply say, "Thank You, God!" And be willing to share times in your life that you were not walking with Him or were not thankful so that those that we are sharing with can relate!

When we regularly thank and praise God for the good and difficult events in our lives, God inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3), an atmosphere of thankfulness which conversations about Jesus are more likely to take place.

As a new season of Autumn, let's ask God (pray) for an attitude of gratitude. Let's also ask God (pray) to help us count our many blessings daily. Let's ask God (pray) to remind us to be quick to acknowledge the One who is the Provider in our lives, the Provider of all our inspiration and creativity = Jesus!

God's Word promises that if we will openly acknowledge Him before others now, He will openly acknowledge us before God!! (Matt.10:32)