Contentment

No matter how much we may try not to be spoiled, I believe it is inevitable while living in America. We have been such a blessed nation. We are so used to having luxuries that people in other developing countries couldn't even fathom.

When my husband lost his great paying job in 1989 and after I chose to work less and eventually quit working in the corporate world to focus on parenting, our income dropped close to the poverty level. God began restructuring our thinking. Those years of having very little income were truly a gift to us.

I learned that contentment comes deep from within the soul. 

Paul said it best... But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing we will be content with that (1 Timothy 6:6-8).
 
Today, I am content and I pray I always will be. I am content not because my husband has a great job now—and not because we have plenty of money coming in each month. I am content because every morning when I wake up I feel the love of Christ embracing my soul. I feel His Spirit consuming my being as I begin a new day of life. It's a contentment that can never come from any amount of money or stuff. It is eternal.

In a world where worth is defined by what we own and what we do for a living, we have been able to learn to put our faith and values in spiritual things.  

When I am gone from this earth I want to be remembered by my loving and generous heart. 

One of my all time favorite quotes sums up what's important in this life: "One hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of house I lived in, how much money was in my bank account, nor what my clothes looked like. But the world may be a better place because I was important in the life of a child."

I want to make a difference in the world.

I want people to say, "Amy lived a simple life, she poured herself out sacrificially to others. She didn't have too much materially but she was rich in love and spiritual wisdom."

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18

Live Abundantly!
Amy

God Shouts in Our Pain

I will be forever grateful for the way Jesus has turned my life around. But I am also grateful for the pain that has touched my life. Pain has undeniably taken me to my knees. And that is where I found a deep intimacy with Christ.
 
Throughout the past decade, I have learned that it is in times of trouble that we see the Glory of God the most. Whatever you are facing in your life at this moment, know that it is a beautiful opportunity to see the Maker of the Universe do a mighty work in your life. Seek Him with ALL YOUR HEART, and you will hear His voice shouting words of encouragement in the midst of your pain.

"God whispers to us in pleasures, speaks to us in conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf word. " C.S. Lewis

Be encouraged and listen intently for His voice. He is waiting to lift your heart up!

A Prayer

I lift up the Body of Christ to You today. I pray that each one would fall to his or her knees in submission to You and grow closer to You. Lord, will You draw the broken ones into Your love? Let them see Your glory in their lives. Let them discover the secrets of Your Kingdom and know You fully and completely. Turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous to make ready a people prepared for Your return. Let the Church rise up and be all it is called to be. I trust You, Lord, to do great and mighty things for Your Kingdom. Amen.

2 Corinthians 7:6 (NLT)

But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus.