One thing I always found interesting about Jesus is that He never had to go and lure people to listen to Him . He never had to go and hunt people down to be have an audience to hear His testimony.. They always came to Him. Why??? Because His life was an open book. Basically, His relationship with His Father was on display for everyone. He didn’t try to hide the fact that H e loved God with all His heart, soul, mind , and strength. He lived according to His Father’s instructions and was not afraid to be bold about His faith. In fact, that was about all He talked about! He was a perfect representation of His Father and as God’s sons and daughters we should be striving for the same thing. We should do as Jesus did. Being gentle, kind, loving, loyal, faithful, hungry and passionate, on fire for God, saturated in His love, living out His plan for us in perfect obedience. We should show the world that there is a God who lives and He is living in each and every one of us as Lord and Master of our lives. He has set-us apart as His children and we are to be different from the world. It is our responsibility to show them how good it is to be a child of God. Is it possible to do that if we want to just look like the grass? If we throw away our calling to be different are we really content with the love God provides or are we looking for something the world has to offer. If we walk, talk, and act like the world then we must not know God like we should. Do we want more than what He can offer? Do we want more than freedom and life, love and loyalty, discipline out of love, kindness instead of hate, and compassion and grace instead of unbending grudges? This makes absolutely no sense! Why do we want what the world has to offer, when all is has to offer, is only a fraction of what we already possess as heirs of His kingdom? Why do we think that we have no freedom in Christ? Why do we look at His command to be set-apart as a death sentence instead of a divine calling of love? Can we show the world how great God is if we, His children, don’t seem to be satisfied with Him? If we are seeking what the world has to offer then why would the world seek what we have? It would be a waste of time. May God open our eyes to see that He is all we will ever need in this life and the next. As His children, may we realize that what the world has to offer is death to our souls and is really of no value. May God help us to see that our calling to be different should be obeyed out of our love for Him. Father, fill us with overflowing love for You! Help us to want to be different. To want to be dandelions and stand up for who You are and to represent You rightly. Help us to be an extension of You in all we say, do, and think. Help us to show that we are Your children today by allowing You to change us from the inside out. Let us not desire what the world has but let Your great love be enough for us. Help us to remember how deep and wide Your love truly is .

So, let me ask you now.......are you going to blend in with the rest of the grass today or are you going to be a bright yellow Dandelion for God’s kingdom? Sometimes it’s tough to be different, but just knowing that God will be pleased is enough to go through anything!

Happy dandelion hunting today!

May He be glorified in my life and yours forevermore!

Maiden Princess

"Into Your hands I commit my spirit, You have ransomed me, O LORD, God of truth." Psalm 35:1

"My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to You; and my soul which You have redeemed." Psalm 71:23

Captured- By Natalie Grant

It must mean somethin’

When I close my eyes

Visions of You come to me and flood my mind

It must mean somethin’

When my heart is true

All that I can think about is You

It must mean somethin’

When I’m standing still

Yours is the only voice I wanna hear

It must mean somethin’

That I’ve come this far

Lifting up my hands and offering my heart

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:

You are the sky

You are the sea

You are the air I wanna breathe

You’re everywhere

Your love lasts forever

And if I fall

You won’t let go

You hold me when I can’t hold on anymore

You reach out and rescue me

Repeat Chorus

As I sit here on my bed writing this post, my senses are going wild! I can hear pounding on the roof from the dime-sized hail hurling from the heavens along with the soft pattern of rain drops. The lightning flashes that split the sky and light up the dark earth for a moment are accompanied with ground-shaking thunder to add to the symphony. The dog is curled up on my legs, not sure of what’s going on. My family rushes to the windows to watch this spectacular picture of God’s absolute power and majesty unfold before their eyes.

Storms have always spoken to me. However, when I was young I used to be very scared of them, but now, they inspire me. Every time we get a thunderstorm I see it as God’s way of reassuring me that He is still in complete control of all things.

I am also caused to reflect on His majesty, mercy, and awesome power. Our God is truly amazing!

While I was watching the storm beginning to unleash this evening, a thought came to me: It is in the storms of our lives, in the darkest fiercest moments of blackness, we see, most clearly, the power of our Master, Savior, and Father displayed before us. Whether a spiritual or physical thunderstorm God’s power is enough to see you through. Rekindle your faith, refocus your eyes on Him, and calm your fears, for in the midst of the lightning and rain we can reach out to a God of strength and grace. He will take your hand, walk you through, and cause you to love and lean on Him all the more because of it. So, when your next thunderstorm comes will you hide in the curtains or see it as a chance to witness God’s awesome power in your life?

May God be glorified in my life and yours forevermore,

Maiden Princess

" Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth; sing praises to the Lord, to Him who rides upon the highest heavens, which are from ancient times; behold, He speaks forth with His voice, a mighty voice. Ascribe strength to God; His majesty over Israel, and His strength is in the skies. O God, Thou art awesome from Thy sanctuary. The God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to the people. Blessed be God!" Psalm 68:32-35

" For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all the deeps. He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; Who makes lightnings for the rain; Who brings forth the wind from His treasuries." Psalm 135:5-7

" I will extol Thee, my God, O King; and I will bless Thy name forever and ever. Every day I will bless Thee, and I will praise Thy name forever and ever. Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise Thy works to another, and shall declare Thy mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of Thy majesty, and on Thy wonderful works, I will meditate. And men shall speak of the power of Thine awesome acts; and I will tell of Thy greatness." Psalm 145:1-6

Impossible- Not able to occur, exist, or be done

God called Moses to deliver the Israelites from bondage under one of the most powerful men alive. Impossible? Moses thought so. "Then Moses said to the LORD, ‘Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in the time past, nor since Thou hast spoken to Thy servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.’ And the LORD said to him, ‘ Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him dumb or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say.’" Exodus 4:10-12 I love God’s rebuttal to Moses’ unbelief. With God, anything is possible. "And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weakness, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weakness, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 Even when we feel unable to do what God has called us to do, we must believe that if He has commissioned us with that task that He will provide enough grace and strength to see us through no matter how many obstacles stand in our way.

Do not be afraid to step out in faith and believe in the mission God has called you to. He will equip you perfectly. If you lay it all at His feet, He will use you in more ways than you could have ever dreamed of. God can use our obstacles and physical or spiritual deformities to show forth more of His great power. Obviously, we should all strive to be perfect in our representation of our Father, but none of us are, or ever will be, there because we are human. However, while we are striving and walking in His footsteps to the best of our ability God can still use us, if we choose to give our all to Him. There is nothing holding you back from completing the commission God has charged you with unless, it’s you yourself! Are you willing to give Him everything you’ve got and leave it all at His feet, entrusting it to His capable hands? "Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation." Isaiah 12:2 Just something to think about!

"Grace by with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an incorruptible love." Ephesians 6:24

May God be glorified in my life and yours forevermore,

Maiden Princess

Lately, I have really been fighting against giving in to the desires of my flesh. I know that, as a Christian, I have been delivered from the power of sin has and that it no longer has any hold over me except what I allow it, but for some reason I just keep giving in to the temptation of satisfying my flesh. I do desire to do the will of God and not be ruled by my flesh but, boy, it sure is hard! You see, my biggest fear in life is.......pain! For me to beat down my flesh is very painful but maybe God is asking me to suffer a little? In fact, from the beginning of the verse we see that by suffering we know that we are doing what is right. God never promised me that being His servant would be easy, painless, or fun; but it is very rewarding! Personally, when I say "no" to my flesh and "yes" to God’s voice in my life the sense of fulfillment and satisfaction far outweigh any pain I may have to endure for the present moment. So then, I suppose, as much as I fear pain, I will willingly kill the desires of my flesh to follow the will of God and count it all joy! For you see, His "Well done daughter" means more to me than any pain I may have to go through today, tomorrow, or my entire lifetime. What about you? Do you allow your flesh to hold you back from doing God’s will like I am struggling against? Then put on your armor and walk with me to the battlefield on this clear, sunny morning. It will be a bloody and gruesome and probably take more energy than anything you’ve ever done before but the rewards far surpass the casualties. So pick up your sword and let’s fight!

May God be glorified in my life and yours forevermore!

Maiden Princess

A lacy, white snowflake floats to the ground to deepen the growing mass sticking to the ground. It is beautiful and unique, not other can match it. I look around to see millions of others, each different in it’s makeup but all equally beautiful. They cover the trees, grass, buildings, and fields in a heavy blanket. The sun is reflecting off of each flake makes them sparkle like hoards of tiny diamonds and adds a finishing touch. The scene unfolding before me takes my breathe away. It is a magnificent, lovely, and awe-inspiring testimony to our Creator. I look once again, wishing to remember this real-life painting for all of my days.

By now your probably thinking, "Ok, so what does this have to do with anything?". Well, here’s my analogy: (1) We as believers are like the snowflakes— beautiful, unique and gorgeous all alone, but when joined together with other believers we make an amazing big picture that can’t help but magnify the light from the Son to everyone around! In the body of Christ we all need each other to bring forth the gifts that God has given us to show forth a gifting in another piece. As in the snowflake analogy, we as believers should not only glorify our Creator on our own but all together as ONE BODY! As children of the King we should unite with our common goal, to glorify the King, and all sparkle together making each appear better than before. So from now on....let’s put aside our differences and come together for the purpose of furthering our Father’s kingdom. What do you say, shall we stick together?

May God be glorified in my life and yours forevermore!

Maiden Princess

By Maiden Princess

" And He said to them, ‘Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you." Matthew 17:20

If you have ever seen a mountain up-close, you know how impossible it would be to move it in human strength. How interesting then that Jesus would tell His disciples that they could move mountains! Maybe they thought He was crazy! Even crazier when He said that all they needed was a mustard seed of faith. Or maybe they just understood the deeper meaning........

I cannot even imagine being able to move a mountain, perhaps then, I don’t have enough faith. What kind of faith was Jesus talking about? I believe it was simple faith. Simple faith is believing God (because we know He is truthful and not a joking God ) no matter what He says, whether it be so extreme as telling us to move mountains, or just move to a new state, or moving into a different season of life. It’s simply saying "Yes Lord" and trusting He’ll do what He says He is gonna do. Not being naive to Satan’s deceiving voice but recognizing God’s voice and believing and obeying every word He tells us whether it makes sense to us or not!

Jesus never told His disciples that it was going to be easy or that it would happen right away. He just said it could be moved. What kind of mountains are in your path this year, this month, today? Have you been pushing but it’s just not moving? Have you given up because, with one glance, you know it’s impossible? Have you pushed for what seems like an eternity and nothing is happening, so you sit down and cry, what seems like, a river?

All of us will encounter mountains in our lives. Many of us may still be at the first one wondering if we’ll ever move on. The Bible says that the disciples were the ones with the littleness of faith but it doesn’t say what they had the littleness of faith in. Surely not themselves! For in our own strength we can do NOTHING. Therefore, my conclusion is, that He was rebuking them for their littleness of faith in God. How many of us if placed in front of Mount Everest alone, with only God there, would believe that when God told us to move the mountain we could do it through His strength? I hope I would. Think about it for a minute....God has placed mountains in front of us and told us to move them. Of course, we, being human, naturally assume that WE should be the ones doing the moving! Oh, how many times I’ve tried this one only to come back to God exhausted and spent and haven’t even moved that mountain 1 inch. It is then that God ever-so-patiently shows me that it was ME trying to move it and not HIM THROUGH ME. Isn’t that where most of us take the wrong exit? (Can you tell I’ve been traveling *laugh*) In this portion of text in Scripture (a few verses above) the scenario was of the disciples pulling Jesus aside and asking Him why they couldn’t cure this demon-possessed boy on their own. I believe Jesus’ answer could be interpreted like this, "Because you tried in your own power and did not allow God’s power to work through you because you were so filled with thoughts of how YOU could cast them out, that you forgot that God was the only one who could do it." How many times has our LORD had to say that to us? What specific mountain(s) has God placed in your life? Are you exhausted and spent from pushing in your own strength? Have you been so busy thinking about ways YOU could move it, that you have forgotten to ask God to work through you? It is SO EASY to forget who has the REAL power in this sinful world, but try on some simple faith for awhile and I think you’ll find that it fits quite well!

Take heart, my friend, when God works through you, He’ll give you the strength to move that/those mountain(s) as long as you have a mustard seed of faith in your pocket. Always remember though, God has not promised it to be quick or painless but He will move it!

Have a blessed day and week with your mustard seed in your pocket and the Mountain Mover holding onto your hand.

May God be glorified in my life and yours now and forevermore,

Maiden Princess

I ask myself: What would He want with me?

I think what God truly wants of us is our moldable hearts. Really, he doesn’t need people going around doing His bidding ‘cause He could do that all Himself..He’s God. But because He loves us, He chooses to work in and through us...if He doesn’t have our hearts how will we ever really get to know His? Isn’t that what He REALLY wants? For us to KNOW him...not know of Him, but know Him. As I was looking up at the stars that night a portion of a verse form Psalm 65 came to mind, " How blessed is the one whom you choose and bring near to You."

I ask myself: God how can you want a sinner like me to draw near to a holy God like You? To come into Your holy presence and dwell with You?

He says: I have cleansed you and made you whiter than snow.

I say: Lord, I’m not worthy for you to love me, for my righteousness is as filthy rags before You.

He says: But I DO love you, so come and draw unto me for I long to hold you in my arms.

That night when I was outside looking at those glistening stars I was struck by the magnitude once again that God wants to draw me to Himself.

For rightly it is written, " How blessed is the one whom You choose to bring near to You to dwell in Your courts. We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple." Psalm 65:4

I hope this article has inspired you to live more passionately for Christ and to give your heart to Him so that you might get to know His. It truly is a marvelous thing!

May God be glorified in my life and yours forevermore,

Maiden Princess

One thing I always found interesting about Jesus is that He never had to go and lure people to listen to Him . He never had to go and hunt people down to be have an audience to hear His testimony.. They always came to Him. Why??? Because His life was an open book. Basically, His relationship with His Father was on display for everyone. He didn’t try to hide the fact that H e loved God with all His heart, soul, mind , and strength. He lived according to His Father’s instructions and was not afraid to be bold about His faith. In fact, that was about all He talked about! He was a perfect representation of His Father and as God’s sons and daughters we should be striving for the same thing. We should do as Jesus did. Being gentle, kind, loving, loyal, faithful, hungry and passionate, on fire for God, saturated in His love, living out His plan for us in perfect obedience. We should show the world that there is a God who lives and He is living in each and every one of us as Lord and Master of our lives. He has set-us apart as His children and we are to be different from the world. It is our responsibility to show them how good it is to be a child of God. Is it possible to do that if we want to just look like the grass? If we throw away our calling to be different are we really content with the love God provides or are we looking for something the world has to offer. If we walk, talk, and act like the world then we must not know God like we should. Do we want more than what He can offer? Do we want more than freedom and life, love and loyalty, discipline out of love, kindness instead of hate, and compassion and grace instead of unbending grudges? This makes absolutely no sense! Why do we want what the world has to offer, when all is has to offer, is only a fraction of what we already possess as heirs of His kingdom? Why do we think that we have no freedom in Christ? Why do we look at His command to be set-apart as a death sentence instead of a divine calling of love? Can we show the world how great God is if we, His children, don’t seem to be satisfied with Him? If we are seeking what the world has to offer then why would the world seek what we have? It would be a waste of time. May God open our eyes to see that He is all we will ever need in this life and the next. As His children, may we realize that what the world has to offer is death to our souls and is really of no value. May God help us to see that our calling to be different should be obeyed out of our love for Him. Father, fill us with overflowing love for You! Help us to want to be different. To want to be dandelions and stand up for who You are and to represent You rightly. Help us to be an extension of You in all we say, do, and think. Help us to show that we are Your children today by allowing You to change us from the inside out. Let us not desire what the world has but let Your great love be enough for us. Help us to remember how deep and wide Your love truly is .

So, let me ask you now.......are you going to blend in with the rest of the grass today or are you going to be a bright yellow Dandelion for God’s kingdom? Sometimes it’s tough to be different, but just knowing that God will be pleased is enough to go through anything!

Happy dandelion hunting today!

May He be glorified in my life and yours forevermore!

Maiden Princess

"Into Your hands I commit my spirit, You have ransomed me, O LORD, God of truth." Psalm 35:1

"My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to You; and my soul which You have redeemed." Psalm 71:23

Captured- By Natalie Grant

It must mean somethin’

When I close my eyes

Visions of You come to me and flood my mind

It must mean somethin’

When my heart is true

All that I can think about is You

It must mean somethin’

When I’m standing still

Yours is the only voice I wanna hear

It must mean somethin’

That I’ve come this far

Lifting up my hands and offering my heart

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:

You are the sky

You are the sea

You are the air I wanna breathe

You’re everywhere

Your love lasts forever

And if I fall

You won’t let go

You hold me when I can’t hold on anymore

You reach out and rescue me

Repeat Chorus

As I sit here on my bed writing this post, my senses are going wild! I can hear pounding on the roof from the dime-sized hail hurling from the heavens along with the soft pattern of rain drops. The lightning flashes that split the sky and light up the dark earth for a moment are accompanied with ground-shaking thunder to add to the symphony. The dog is curled up on my legs, not sure of what’s going on. My family rushes to the windows to watch this spectacular picture of God’s absolute power and majesty unfold before their eyes.

Storms have always spoken to me. However, when I was young I used to be very scared of them, but now, they inspire me. Every time we get a thunderstorm I see it as God’s way of reassuring me that He is still in complete control of all things.

I am also caused to reflect on His majesty, mercy, and awesome power. Our God is truly amazing!

While I was watching the storm beginning to unleash this evening, a thought came to me: It is in the storms of our lives, in the darkest fiercest moments of blackness, we see, most clearly, the power of our Master, Savior, and Father displayed before us. Whether a spiritual or physical thunderstorm God’s power is enough to see you through. Rekindle your faith, refocus your eyes on Him, and calm your fears, for in the midst of the lightning and rain we can reach out to a God of strength and grace. He will take your hand, walk you through, and cause you to love and lean on Him all the more because of it. So, when your next thunderstorm comes will you hide in the curtains or see it as a chance to witness God’s awesome power in your life?

May God be glorified in my life and yours forevermore,

Maiden Princess

" Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth; sing praises to the Lord, to Him who rides upon the highest heavens, which are from ancient times; behold, He speaks forth with His voice, a mighty voice. Ascribe strength to God; His majesty over Israel, and His strength is in the skies. O God, Thou art awesome from Thy sanctuary. The God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to the people. Blessed be God!" Psalm 68:32-35

" For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all the deeps. He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; Who makes lightnings for the rain; Who brings forth the wind from His treasuries." Psalm 135:5-7

" I will extol Thee, my God, O King; and I will bless Thy name forever and ever. Every day I will bless Thee, and I will praise Thy name forever and ever. Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise Thy works to another, and shall declare Thy mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of Thy majesty, and on Thy wonderful works, I will meditate. And men shall speak of the power of Thine awesome acts; and I will tell of Thy greatness." Psalm 145:1-6

Impossible- Not able to occur, exist, or be done

God called Moses to deliver the Israelites from bondage under one of the most powerful men alive. Impossible? Moses thought so. "Then Moses said to the LORD, ‘Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in the time past, nor since Thou hast spoken to Thy servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.’ And the LORD said to him, ‘ Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him dumb or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say.’" Exodus 4:10-12 I love God’s rebuttal to Moses’ unbelief. With God, anything is possible. "And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weakness, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weakness, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 Even when we feel unable to do what God has called us to do, we must believe that if He has commissioned us with that task that He will provide enough grace and strength to see us through no matter how many obstacles stand in our way.

Do not be afraid to step out in faith and believe in the mission God has called you to. He will equip you perfectly. If you lay it all at His feet, He will use you in more ways than you could have ever dreamed of. God can use our obstacles and physical or spiritual deformities to show forth more of His great power. Obviously, we should all strive to be perfect in our representation of our Father, but none of us are, or ever will be, there because we are human. However, while we are striving and walking in His footsteps to the best of our ability God can still use us, if we choose to give our all to Him. There is nothing holding you back from completing the commission God has charged you with unless, it’s you yourself! Are you willing to give Him everything you’ve got and leave it all at His feet, entrusting it to His capable hands? "Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation." Isaiah 12:2 Just something to think about!

"Grace by with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an incorruptible love." Ephesians 6:24

May God be glorified in my life and yours forevermore,

Maiden Princess

Lately, I have really been fighting against giving in to the desires of my flesh. I know that, as a Christian, I have been delivered from the power of sin has and that it no longer has any hold over me except what I allow it, but for some reason I just keep giving in to the temptation of satisfying my flesh. I do desire to do the will of God and not be ruled by my flesh but, boy, it sure is hard! You see, my biggest fear in life is.......pain! For me to beat down my flesh is very painful but maybe God is asking me to suffer a little? In fact, from the beginning of the verse we see that by suffering we know that we are doing what is right. God never promised me that being His servant would be easy, painless, or fun; but it is very rewarding! Personally, when I say "no" to my flesh and "yes" to God’s voice in my life the sense of fulfillment and satisfaction far outweigh any pain I may have to endure for the present moment. So then, I suppose, as much as I fear pain, I will willingly kill the desires of my flesh to follow the will of God and count it all joy! For you see, His "Well done daughter" means more to me than any pain I may have to go through today, tomorrow, or my entire lifetime. What about you? Do you allow your flesh to hold you back from doing God’s will like I am struggling against? Then put on your armor and walk with me to the battlefield on this clear, sunny morning. It will be a bloody and gruesome and probably take more energy than anything you’ve ever done before but the rewards far surpass the casualties. So pick up your sword and let’s fight!

May God be glorified in my life and yours forevermore!

Maiden Princess

A lacy, white snowflake floats to the ground to deepen the growing mass sticking to the ground. It is beautiful and unique, not other can match it. I look around to see millions of others, each different in it’s makeup but all equally beautiful. They cover the trees, grass, buildings, and fields in a heavy blanket. The sun is reflecting off of each flake makes them sparkle like hoards of tiny diamonds and adds a finishing touch. The scene unfolding before me takes my breathe away. It is a magnificent, lovely, and awe-inspiring testimony to our Creator. I look once again, wishing to remember this real-life painting for all of my days.

By now your probably thinking, "Ok, so what does this have to do with anything?". Well, here’s my analogy: (1) We as believers are like the snowflakes— beautiful, unique and gorgeous all alone, but when joined together with other believers we make an amazing big picture that can’t help but magnify the light from the Son to everyone around! In the body of Christ we all need each other to bring forth the gifts that God has given us to show forth a gifting in another piece. As in the snowflake analogy, we as believers should not only glorify our Creator on our own but all together as ONE BODY! As children of the King we should unite with our common goal, to glorify the King, and all sparkle together making each appear better than before. So from now on....let’s put aside our differences and come together for the purpose of furthering our Father’s kingdom. What do you say, shall we stick together?

May God be glorified in my life and yours forevermore!

Maiden Princess

By Maiden Princess

" And He said to them, ‘Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you." Matthew 17:20

If you have ever seen a mountain up-close, you know how impossible it would be to move it in human strength. How interesting then that Jesus would tell His disciples that they could move mountains! Maybe they thought He was crazy! Even crazier when He said that all they needed was a mustard seed of faith. Or maybe they just understood the deeper meaning........

I cannot even imagine being able to move a mountain, perhaps then, I don’t have enough faith. What kind of faith was Jesus talking about? I believe it was simple faith. Simple faith is believing God (because we know He is truthful and not a joking God ) no matter what He says, whether it be so extreme as telling us to move mountains, or just move to a new state, or moving into a different season of life. It’s simply saying "Yes Lord" and trusting He’ll do what He says He is gonna do. Not being naive to Satan’s deceiving voice but recognizing God’s voice and believing and obeying every word He tells us whether it makes sense to us or not!

Jesus never told His disciples that it was going to be easy or that it would happen right away. He just said it could be moved. What kind of mountains are in your path this year, this month, today? Have you been pushing but it’s just not moving? Have you given up because, with one glance, you know it’s impossible? Have you pushed for what seems like an eternity and nothing is happening, so you sit down and cry, what seems like, a river?

All of us will encounter mountains in our lives. Many of us may still be at the first one wondering if we’ll ever move on. The Bible says that the disciples were the ones with the littleness of faith but it doesn’t say what they had the littleness of faith in. Surely not themselves! For in our own strength we can do NOTHING. Therefore, my conclusion is, that He was rebuking them for their littleness of faith in God. How many of us if placed in front of Mount Everest alone, with only God there, would believe that when God told us to move the mountain we could do it through His strength? I hope I would. Think about it for a minute....God has placed mountains in front of us and told us to move them. Of course, we, being human, naturally assume that WE should be the ones doing the moving! Oh, how many times I’ve tried this one only to come back to God exhausted and spent and haven’t even moved that mountain 1 inch. It is then that God ever-so-patiently shows me that it was ME trying to move it and not HIM THROUGH ME. Isn’t that where most of us take the wrong exit? (Can you tell I’ve been traveling *laugh*) In this portion of text in Scripture (a few verses above) the scenario was of the disciples pulling Jesus aside and asking Him why they couldn’t cure this demon-possessed boy on their own. I believe Jesus’ answer could be interpreted like this, "Because you tried in your own power and did not allow God’s power to work through you because you were so filled with thoughts of how YOU could cast them out, that you forgot that God was the only one who could do it." How many times has our LORD had to say that to us? What specific mountain(s) has God placed in your life? Are you exhausted and spent from pushing in your own strength? Have you been so busy thinking about ways YOU could move it, that you have forgotten to ask God to work through you? It is SO EASY to forget who has the REAL power in this sinful world, but try on some simple faith for awhile and I think you’ll find that it fits quite well!

Take heart, my friend, when God works through you, He’ll give you the strength to move that/those mountain(s) as long as you have a mustard seed of faith in your pocket. Always remember though, God has not promised it to be quick or painless but He will move it!

Have a blessed day and week with your mustard seed in your pocket and the Mountain Mover holding onto your hand.

May God be glorified in my life and yours now and forevermore,

Maiden Princess

I ask myself: What would He want with me?

I think what God truly wants of us is our moldable hearts. Really, he doesn’t need people going around doing His bidding ‘cause He could do that all Himself..He’s God. But because He loves us, He chooses to work in and through us...if He doesn’t have our hearts how will we ever really get to know His? Isn’t that what He REALLY wants? For us to KNOW him...not know of Him, but know Him. As I was looking up at the stars that night a portion of a verse form Psalm 65 came to mind, " How blessed is the one whom you choose and bring near to You."

I ask myself: God how can you want a sinner like me to draw near to a holy God like You? To come into Your holy presence and dwell with You?

He says: I have cleansed you and made you whiter than snow.

I say: Lord, I’m not worthy for you to love me, for my righteousness is as filthy rags before You.

He says: But I DO love you, so come and draw unto me for I long to hold you in my arms.

That night when I was outside looking at those glistening stars I was struck by the magnitude once again that God wants to draw me to Himself.

For rightly it is written, " How blessed is the one whom You choose to bring near to You to dwell in Your courts. We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple." Psalm 65:4

I hope this article has inspired you to live more passionately for Christ and to give your heart to Him so that you might get to know His. It truly is a marvelous thing!

May God be glorified in my life and yours forevermore,

Maiden Princess