"I will exalt You, my God the King;  I will praise Your name for ever and ever.  Everyday I will praise You and extol Your name for ever and ever.  Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;  His greatness no one can fathom.  Ps 145:1-3

There are so many things to be thankful this Thanksgiving.  Even though things aren't like we may like them to be, God has blessed us with so many things throughout the past year.  One of those precious things is friends.  The following is a simple poem written by Margaret Slabach to express that thankfulness.

I was totally blessed by a you-tube video called "Inheritance" by Graham Cooke.  Please go check it out!  One phrase in the video really connected with my heart...and has been echoing in my mind ever since.

"Live as one who is outrageously loved!" 

What would our lives look like? Would they be different if we truly lived, worked, communicated and ministered to our families, work associates, clients, neighbors and friends from a place of KNOWING that we are OUTRAGEOUSLY LOVED? 

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but will have LIFE EVERLASTING!   John 3:16    Now that's some kind of outrageous love!

So I wonder...Am I living as one who is outrageously loved?  Are you?  Do you KNOW in the deepest recesses of your heart that you are outrageously loved by The Father or do you secretly wonder if He loves you as much as He loves others?  Do you strive to earn His love? Do you sometimes feel that you must be "good enough" "healed enough"  "spiritual enough" to receive His outrageous love? 

God is Love, He loves 100% and cannot love any other way...His love for you right now, right where you are is outrageous! So live today as one who is outrageously loved....because YOU ARE!

I love spring!  Especially because that is the season when everyone gets out and starts house shopping again and, as a Realtor, it’s good to have people looking again after a very long, slow winter! 

I was showing a cute young couple some homes the other day and we encountered several houses that were just not ready for showings.  We happened upon everything from the snarling dog at the front door, to liter box odor, to rooms so cluttered that you couldn’t see much of the room at all.  Of course we also saw homes that were bright, open, cheery and fresh.  Homes that had sweet soft music playing and just beckoned you to sit and stay awhile.   It’s funny…two almost identical houses with identical floor plans in the same neighborhood can be as different as night and day.  It all depends on how the owner cares for and organizes his chattel- those things that are his personal belongings, stuff that doesn’t go with the house. 

The Lord gave me a visual lesson the other day. It was so like Him to teach me in the classroom I find myself in most often…the classroom of everyday life!  

If The Lord was showing your “heart home” to prospective buyers, (otherwise known as unbelievers or seekers) what would they see when they walk through the door of your heart?  Would they find…  

A Cluttered House? Take a look around…is your heart chock full of past baggage, hang-ups, hurts and issues? Are your “heart rooms” bulging with the clutter of unforgiveness and bitterness?  Will your guests stub their toes on that relationship gone bad, have to squeeze past your judgmental attitude toward that certain person?  

An Unwelcome House?  Is that snarling guard dog of a judgmental spirit, pride, self reliance, and a hardened heart intimidating would-be believers?  Do they even feel safe coming in? How about that irritable old cat of pride and hard heartedness that claws and bites at anyone who suggests making changes in your “décor” Is that super sized religious spirit blocking the light from getting in?    

Smelly House?   Is secret sin or unrepented sin slowly rotting in that little space under the steps that you thought no one would ever find?  Is the foul odor of sin causing your guests to leave as quickly as they came?  You’ve been trying to convince yourself that it’s not hurting anyone as you spray a little deodorizer to try and mask the smell. You convince yourself that it’s not that big a deal but the odor of it has given you away and has spread through the whole house.  You haven’t noticed it before because you are used to it and kept yourself isolated from others who would tell you the truth. 

As a Realtor, after I show a house, I will call the other agent who is listing the home and give them honest feedback about the houses condition, appealing features, drawbacks and potential blocks to selling.  I run down the house’s strengths and it’s weaknesses so that the agent can relay the info to the seller and hopefully make the needed changes so that buyers will find their house appealing and attractive and want to take the next step to purchase it and move in. 

The Holy Spirit is giving us honest feedback all the time about the condition of our hearts.  He whispers comfort and encouragement about the rooms in our heart that feel comfortable and welcoming to Him and He also reveals where we need to allow Him to make some “heart improvements” Are you hearing Him?  Are you working with Him to allow Him to do any needed remodeling?   You see each day as you go out into the mission field of the world, you take your “heart home” with you.  As you interact with your neighbors, co-workers, friends, family, and strangers, you are in fact giving them a sort of “open house” to your heart.  What will unbelievers find there?  You know Spring is such a great time to tackle those Home (and Heart) improvements!    

Enjoy a beautiful springtime!   

Love,

Kim Dent

On Saturday mornings at Starbucks, a group of girlfriends and I get together and have been reading a book by Joyce Meyer called A Leader in the Making. The title of this book almost kept me from even opening the cover to read it because I don’t think of myself as a leader and don’t feel qualified to be one. I prefer to stay in the background and out of the limelight. But as I began to read page after page, I soon realized that to be a leader I don’t need to speak before crowds of people, be the pastor of a church or have my own television ministry. I can be a leader in my own family, within my circle of friends or at my workplace. To be a leader you need to be willing to be used by God and to love as He loves. Joyce tells us that in order to be effective we must have a "right heart attitude". As I read through the chapters dealing with our hearts, it got me to thinking just how important our heart really is both physically and spiritually. When God created us He put our heart smack dab in the middle of our bodies and made it the most important organ we have. Without it pumping blood, oxygen and vital nutrients to all parts of our body we would die. It keeps us alive and gives us strength. Physically speaking, with it, we live….without it we die. Just as heart diseases can cause this organ to fail and function abnormally and zap us of our physical strength, so to does having a wrong heart attitude. Our spiritual heart can become "diseased" and fail to function the way God intended it to function with a wrong attitude. Just as our heart is important to our physical body, a positive heart attitude is vital to our spiritual body, too. God created us with a heart not only to give us life but so that we can love as He loves us. Love is so important to him that we are commanded to "love one another" (John 15:17). We are also told that of these things "faith, hope and love – the greatest of these is love" (1 Cor. 13:13). Obviously, love is extremely important to God and to truly love as He does, our heart attitude must be right.

Now you might be saying to yourself - ‘my heart attitude is just fine’. That was my thinking until I began to read the chapters on the conditions of the heart. There are two kinds of heart conditions. A positive attitude is one which brings fullness of life to us and to others. It allows us to love others just as Christ loves us. A negative attitude causes our heart to become "diseased" and keeps us from showing Gods love to others. We tend to shy away from looking at things that don’t make us look so good. We push them into the background and hide them so we don’t have to deal with them. How much easier is it for us to point out the negative things in others than it is to see them in ourselves? The negative conditions of the heart take away our Christ-like love, our strength and our life, so to speak. They allow cracks and crevices to appear which give Satan an entrance into our hearts and our lives. We must constantly "guard our hearts" (Prov. 4:23) to keep the enemy from robbing us of the life God intended for us. So what do these negative hearts conditions look like you may be asking? They come in many forms.

These are only some of the conditions that can adversely affect our spiritual heart. Negative conditions of the heart produce negative heart attitudes which in turn keep us from being spiritually healthy. Take a minute and examine your own heart. Pray and ask God to reveal any negative heart conditions that are causing you to have a bad heart attitude. He is the "Great Physician" and can bring health and healing to your heart. Remember – God wants us to "have life and have it to the fullest" (John 10:10). Don’t let a negative heart condition rob you of a healthy heart and life.

Give sight to my eyes, Father.
Let my heart ache with what
Makes yours.
May my mind be clear as the
Mid-summer sky.

Whisper Your love in the
Stillness, Oh God.
Call me into Your countenance.
Enlightened in the shadow of
The Almighty.

Your wisdom, my delight.
Your will, my desire.
Your hand, my guidance.

Blameless in Your sight, Yeshua,
Gently restored by Your grace,
Chosen child of the King of kings.

-Julie Riffle

 Hello Girlfriends! I’ve got a great new year’s resolution for you! Don’t worry,  it’s not about removing sweets from your life but rather Adding something sweet!   This Year, resolve to open the door of your heart to a sweeter, deeper, more intimate relationship with Jesus.   Spend time alone in the quietness of early morning, be yourself with Him. Worship Him with singing, dancing, journaling, playing music, drawing or whatever way your heart longs to worship Him.  Share your hopes, fears, joys and disappointments with Him. Read His word to you, journal what your heart hears him saying to you, or simply be still in His presence.  Breathe in the sweet fragrance of Jesus. There is no right or wrong way to enter into His presence except that you must rise up and choose each morning to open the door to your heart.   He will not barge in uninvited. He is always the perfect gentleman. 

Know this, Regardless of how you feel or what you do…You ARE His beloved.   He is knocking on the inner door to the deep places of your heart. (“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”  Rev. 3:20) 

So, how will you answer the door when you sense Jesus knocking? 

1. Will you busy yourself with the concerns of the day and pretend that you don’t hear him and leave Him standing outside in the cold?   

2. Will you politely ask Him to come back another day while thinking to yourself:  “my hair is a mess, I’m angry at my daughter and I have nothing to wear!  I’m not prepared to be in His presence.” 

3. Maybe you will hurriedly open the door, motion for Him to sit and then proceed to jump up every few minutes to attend to something else? “Oh, just a minute, Jesus, the phone”, “whoops hold that thought Jesus, I need to check my email”.  “Oh, sorry to cut our time short but I need to make the cookies for the PTA meeting tonight”. 

4. Or will you choose to eagerly anticipate your time with Him…to prepare (even the night before) a special place to meet with Him to have your Bible, journal or music prepared…maybe a nice candle or flowers? To set your alarm (or better yet, ask Him to wake you) to get up early before the cares of the day invade your thoughts, to purposefully and lovingly plan for 30 min or more of uninterrupted time with Your King and Lover?   

I can tell you that I have answered the door in all these ways (and I have also left Him standing outside in the rain and snow more times than I care to remember!)  Yet the most intimate experiences with the supernatural presence of The Holy Spirit have come when I consciously prepare for and anticipate them and ask Jesus to meet me there. He is so very worthy of any extra effort on our parts.  He knows all about our busyness and distractedness and even our fear of intimacy…of being fully known by Him.  Yet He loves us wildly just as we are.  He longs to give us the power to know Him through His Spirit.  How will we know Him unless we spend time with Him?  

Action Plan!  

This year, develop the sweet discipline of an intimate daily quiet time with Jesus. If you already have a quiet time, than seek to go deeper with Him. Prepare a special spot in your home that is pleasant and quiet and set apart. Grab your Bible, a notebook, pen, maybe a devotional book and some worship music…then pray & ask The Lord to meet with you.  Visualize Him sitting there with you and begin to pray (no big words or flowery language required…simply talk to Him as you would a friend and share your heart, your questions, your fears and your joys.)  

 Don’t forget to allow Him some space to answer you back! (You wouldn’t do all the talking if you were meeting a friend at star bucks would you?)  Be quiet, think about Him,  read from your Bible and notice what verses seem to speak to your heart. Write them down and think about them.  Listen to worship music…any songs really seem to speak to your situation? Notice the words…these are some of the ways God speaks directly to us so learn the art of listening for God.  He often speaks in that still, small voice so listen intently.  

When we are filled up with His Spirit each day, when we take the time to know Him, others cannot help but notice the change in us, the Bible calls it a sweet fragrance of Christ in us. But you can’t buy this fragrance in a bottle, you can’t borrow some if it from a friend. You can only get it from being in His presence.  “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.” 2 Cor. 2:14 

Open the door to the secret places of your heart and see what He can do.  Once you do, be prepared to share with anyone who asks you about the changes they see in your life…they will want to know where you got that amazing and mysterious “perfume”. (“In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”  1 Peter 3:15)  

When someone asks, just smile knowingly and say “it’s a one of a kind, designer fragrance… I’d love to tell you about The Designer….I meet with Him every morning as a matter of fact!

Be blessed in your quiet times with Jesus and May the sweet fragrance of the knowledge of Him bring you delight in 2009!     Much love to the sisters of my heart