Reflections; God's Consuming Fire

Hey readers,

Scripture states in Hebrews 12:28-9 in the NKJV...

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and Godly fear, for our God is a consuming fire."

Here's my reflection from this particular passage of scripture: We each have different things that we will have to face in our lives and may be facing even today. Sometimes it may feel like we are losing everything that matters to us. There are several different situations that can make us feel this way and many times it leads to a great discouragement that begins to destroy the things that are important to us.

I cannot count the times that I have personally let the things of this world take control and have had to face the consequences that follow. I am never going to be perfect and I hate to say this, but neither will you :-). We will have to work through these things many times during our time here on this earth. One thing though, we must remember that those times we have only come for a season, and that while they may come many times throughout our lives, what we have here on earth is only a prelude to what God has in store for us in heaven.

One final word, remember that God is your consuming fire and that no matter what waters may come to blow your fire out, He has promised you something great and that HIS fire will never fade.

Take and eat of what the Lord gives you today,

M.E.

A Journey Anew; Building Character(s)

Hey everyone,

Let’s see, in the past week character profiling has been something very present on my idea list. I've been trying to figure out just what our character profiles would look like for “A Journey Anew.” Progress has been quite a bit more than it was thought to be at this point. I mean, come on it's only been a week since the idea came, but it's progressing all the same. Maybe God does have his hand on this after all.

We are getting more and more excited about this vision the Lord has given us. It will be interesting to see what happens once we begin putting our heads together and writing down stories God will give us; and it will soon take place :-). There is just a little more work to be done still.

In many ways I personally have felt caught in the middle, with my dream of becoming a writer on one side and my dream to share the good news with as many people as I can on the other. Bringing me finally to this Journey, the Lord has shown me that he has this for both my wife and I to take part in. It seems too exciting to even contemplate right now, but where these two dreams seemed to be the only thing gong for me, now I have another one being fulfilled before my eyes in having a wife to share it with. Through her I have been inspired to begin building my character as a writer as well as a follower of Christ.

My hope is that as time goes by, the both of us will be in the midst of something great, knowing that HE is there guiding our steps and showing us the way. While he is building our characters as writer/editor He will surely begin revealing all the different characters to us for our stories. Also, on the other side of the fence, I feel as we build the character profiles for this series, we ourselves will be taken on “A Journey Anew” and become better followers of HIM who SAVES.

Side Note;

With God taking us on this “Journey Anew” I'm beginning to think we will actually have the words "A Journey Anew" in the title somewhere, but we shall see. :-)

Keep looking back to see our updates on “A Journey Anew”....

Take and eat of Gods blessings for you always

and, remember, keep the Faith…

Matt & Traci

The Journey Anew

Readers,

Today marks the beginning of a new journey for my wife and I. We have been praying for a time about what God has for us to do and he has blessed us with a little picture of what we feel is to come.

I have long desired to be a writer as you all well know, I have been praying for direction as to what to write and how to write it. Through the past few months I have tried writing several different aspects of literature from short stories, to classics skits, to science-fiction, to blogging, to letters, and even as far as writing poetry (which I have to say I really enjoy writing but I'll mention more about that at a later date), and nothing seemed to strike me as "This is me, this is what I'm gong to write."

After what seemed like years, yesterday something simply just came to my mind and Traci (my wife) loved it. The thought of writing Historical Fictional Adventures from the Bible Times, in other words intertwining the gospel into historical short stories about the life of specific people in the ministry of Our Lord and Savior.

Seems strange that I'd pick something such as this, but there you have it. All the studies that the both of us did in college or on our own will come in handy on this journey. It will be interesting to include the historical information as accurately as possible while retaining the fictional aspect of each short story, but as I've stated we feel this is from the Lord. As we continue to pray about this when time permits we will begin writing down these many adventures and compiling all the information we can to bring them to life.

I even have a starting point with two characters I created while I was in school in the form of Nathaniel and Marcellus, with the Lord's help along with Traci's amazing editing skills, hopefully we will have some rough drafts in the next coming year to work towards getting published.

We shall see what the Lord has for us on this new Journey, updates will be posted here on my blog for those that may be interested.

Please pray for us as we both embark on this journey we feel the Lord has placed before us, they will always be appreciated, thanks so much.

May God bless you in the days a head,

M.E.

Continued Blessings

Well,

It seems as though no one reads these any more :-(, I haven't posted on here for over 2 months maybe even three and not one comment has been made to challenge me to do so, well I guess God has other plans.

I will continue to post on here when I can for those that might be interested in reading but not as much as I used to. Many things have changed in my life and I have been so blessed to be apart of what God is doing in my life, kinda strange to say that, but you know God could have chosen anyone else to bless and he does. Right now I feel more blessed than I have ever felt in my entire life.

I have a family of my own in my beautiful wife, and am working in a ministry almost my own, we have financial blessings as well as practical blessings, and even some unpractical blessings :-).

I have so much more to share with the world if only they would look me up, but in Gods time more and more people will be able to read about just what the Lord has done in my life and in the life of those I love the most.

For now I will leave those of you out there that still have a since of journalling with this simple quote.

"Look at your past. Your past has determined where you are at this moment. What you do today will determine where you are tomorrow. Are you moving forward or simply standing still?"

-Tom Hopkins

Take and eat of what the Lord has given,

M. E.

Conversions

Well, In case you haven't notices I've been kinda a-wall in the past few months. It's been a difficult but extremely wonderful summer and I simply feel behind on my postings, I am working on getting back on board with them though.

I have been in a ton of prayer and solitude over the past few months about this posting and I finally feel I can write the words of my heart for you all to read. I will continue to post things up on this blog and continue to pray about what the purpose for this blog is.

I have some interesting news though. I have been working on a book all summer that is taking all sorts of twists and turns and Lord willing it will be a reflection of this Blog. I have tentatively been working on a title and maybe you all can help me with it.

It is a practical book that could be called A Spiritual Guide to Enjoying Life, it's purpose will be to use my life experiences as well a spiritual insights to write some kind of devotional of sorts. I'm not sure where this will lead me but I'm definitely praying about it and I would ask that you all pray as well as well.

So all in all I am going to attempt to convert this blog into a tool for all to see, as pages and chapters are edited I will post them here for your opinions and suggestions, feel free to share them.

As for now I'm checking out be looking back here in a while to get update about my book and if you have stories you think would add to this book feel free to e-mail them to me @ j.elliott222@gmail.com.

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

A New Phase

Man oh Man,

I have fallen way to far behind on this, I have been super busy though and a lot of things are happening that were unexpected but really Good, as you all have figured out by now :-)

I am not finishing my thoughts on how God is Faithful just yet, but I am working on some other things, that i Will bring up to you at a different time.

For now I just want you all to know just how amazing God can be if we let him, there is not much more to say than those words, but....

God has given each and every one of us a hope to hold on to, for me right now it is the wonderful promise of begging a new phase in my life, it can be scary sometime to know that in just a few short months I won't be living with my Dad in what has become know as the Bachelor Pad, well it will still be know as that, I just won't be one any more :-).

I will beginning such a wonderful part of my life with someone who is so much more than I ever should have been blessed with, and I'm so excited about that. So it is indeed a scary thought to know that I will be starting something completely knew, but it is also something that brings peace to my heart to know that God blessed me with It any way's.

I have a feeling that God has something amazing in store for each and every one of us, and I will post some more thoughts on this later this week. As for now, I'm just letting any and all know who might read this that GOD IS TRULY AMAZING, HE HAS SUCH A WONDERFUL PLAN FOR EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US.....

don't ever forget what he has promised you,

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope that you profess for he who has promised is faithful" Hebrews 10:23

Take and Eat of what the Lord has given you,

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

God is Faithful Pt 2

Hey Guys,

There is a song that has been playing over and over again in my heart and on the radio called Faithful and it is written by Steven Curtis Chapman....

It shows to me just how faithful God truly is and it is something that we need to hold on to. God gives us things that are spectacular but he also takes things from us when the time comes. Granted the time does not always come when we want it to but there is a reason for the timing.

To speak from personal experience, just over a year in a half ago my mother was taken from me and my world turned completely upside down and my path even though it seems easy was not an easy one to embark upon. Inside my heart cried out "I am Broken, I am Bleeding, I'm Scared and I'm Confused" but what I had to come to terms with was the Fact that God was Faithful to me. I had to begin to cry out "You are Faithful Lord, You are Faithful, I am weary, and can't believe this, PLEASE DEAR LORD HELP MY UNBELIEF, cuz i know that you are faithful"

I had to learn to proclaim to the world just how faithful God was in light of the traumatizing experience of Loving someone so close to me. My Mother was my Inspiration in life she was the one that helped me through everything in my life, personally I needed to Learn to depend on God for those things instead of my Mother, I had to step on a different path so to speak, embrace the Fathers Love and not dwell on the Love that was about to be taken from me. I learned such a valuable lesson from this experience...

I posted a blog from another one of my sites that told me to "keep singing and praising his name" no matter what was taking place I had to believe that God was Faithful and that this time of great sorrow and un-imaginable pain, that I had to work through. I had to learn that everything in side of me had to point directly to God, and to be honest I didn't want to. My life changed so much and it will never be the same again after that experience, to this day I still struggle with the reasons behind it but when those times come "I scream it into the Dark, YOU ARE FAITHFUL, and with everything is side of me I choose to believe that there was a purpose in all that took place....

Through loosing my mother I learned one of the most valuable lessons I will ever learn, "In Your hands you hold the sun, the moon, the stars up in the sky, for the sake of Love, You hung Your own Son on the cross...to die..."

God holds everything in balance in our lives and has a reason for everything under the sun as it says in Ecclesiastes, in many ways I needed to be released from the Love I had for my Mother so I could learn the Love of God and how to truly love those around me. For the longest time I couldn't figure this out because of my unbelief but through my more resent experiences I'm learning so much more about how "God is Faithful, and that all I have to do is wait for the rescue, that I know is sure to come and to believe that HE is indeed SO FAITHFUL, I CAN'T HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS, BUT HE IS FAITHFUL".....

With every thing is side of me I CHOOSE TO BELIEVE THAT GOD IS FAITHFUL....

Following the salutation are the lyrics one of the songs that have become so close to my heart....

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

PS (I still have more to say about this, so keep coming back...)

I am broken, I am bleeding,
I'm scared and I'm confused,
but You are faithful.
Yes You are faithful.
I am weary, unbelieving.
God please help my unbelief!
Cuz You are faithful.
Yes You are faithful.

I will proclaim it to the world.
I will declare it to my heart
And sing it when the sun is shining.
I will scream it in the dark.

You are faithful!
You are faithful!
When you give and when You take away,
even then still Your name
is faithful!
You are faithful!
And with everything inside of me,
I am choosing to believe
You are faithful.

I am waiting for the rescue
that I know is sure to come,
cuz You are faithful.
Yes You are faithful.
I've dropped anchor in Your promises,
and I am holding on,
cuz You are faithful.
God You are faithful.


I will proclaim it to the world.
I will declare it to my heart
And sing it when the sun is shining.
I will scream it in the dark.

You are faithful!
You are faithful!
When you give and when You take away,
even then still Your name
is faithful!
You are faithful!
And with everything inside of me,
I am choosing to believe You're faithful.

So faithful...

Though I cannot have the answer
that I'm wanting to demand,
I'll remember You are God
and everything is in Your hand.
In Your hands you hold the sun, the moon,
the stars up in the sky,
for the sake of Love, You hung Your own Son
on the cross...to die...

You are faithful...
Yes, You are faithful...
When you give and when You take away,
even then, great is Your faithfulness!
Great is Your faithfulness!

And with everything inside of me,
I am choosing to believe You're faithful!
Oh, oh, oh...
Oh, oh, oh...
When you give and when You take away,
even then still Your name
is faithful!
You are faithful!
And with everything inside of me,
I am choosing to believe...

...You're faithful...

Faithful PT1

Hey Guys,

God is always reminding us to be faithful to him in all things, God has been showing me tons of things and I'm so exited about them. It is simply amazing how God does so many wonderful things for us when we depend on him for every thing.

When it comes to times when we feel like there is nothing left to hold on to, God is there he is guiding us along the way just because he cares for us. He has so much love for each and every one of us, and it is a love that is beyond our comprehension.

In John chapter 10 we find the alliteration of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, and through that particular passage we can find something to hold on to when those hard times come in our lives. It is amazing to me to read just how much Jesus cares for his chosen people.

In devotions today there was a selection that caught my attention...

"Sometimes He guides us to the rest of the green pastures, and the quiet still waters. In Other words, we are left through happy months and years to fulfill the ordinary commonplaces of life, content to fill a little space, and receiving great increments of spiritual force for future service...The way is sunny, above precipitous cliffs, beneath the dark turbid stream, but this is well, we would not always be lying the pastures or walking softly by the waters. It is good to climb the heights with their far view and bracing air..."

I don't know what this would mean to anyone else, but for me it shares that there will be times when we have to go through struggles, but God will always guide us through them...

I have more to say about this but for know I'll leave with this,

"Walk boldly and wisely. There is a hand above that is guiding you every step of the way"

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

My Load is LIght

It seems as though I'm falling short of this Blog again, you'd think that with mot being in school any more that I would be content in updating this more. But other things are being show to me, and I have no words to describe how the make me feel.

maybe I just got to keep singing, and the words will come back to me. As they are not bad things that are taking place at all, in fact the are very wonderful things, I must say I cannot share them as of yet, because God has told me to hold them in just a bit longer.

I will say that where ever God is leading, I know big things are happening even in this very moment, God is placing the Bridges down one right after another, and is is a whole lot to bear, but I need not worry, because as the scripture say's ...

"Accept my teachings and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find rest for your lives. The burden that I ask you to accept is easy; the load I give you to carry is light."
Matthew 11:29-30

What ever is placed upon my heart I can give freely to God and not worry about it any more, I however must leave it before him and not pick it back up again, which tends to get harder as the days go on, but Gods love for us is so much more that the worries of the day and we cannot let those worries keep us from the promises that God has given us. A time will come when we will ask ourselves "is this really happening, God why, what do I do with this, whats the next step" and it will be OK, because God is in control, we need not ask those questions if we fully rely on God and let his hand guide us.

God is so big that if we were to place upon him all the worries of the word that every person had, he would still have plenty of room to double or even triple that, God is so big that the worries of this world are easy for him to carry, when our burdens weigh us down, all we have to do is give them to God. and his burden still will remain light.

Remember Gods Got his Hand on you, Never let Go, step out of the fear, and let God take your heavy burdens upon himself and make them light again....

Blessings & Shalom

M.E.

Continuing the Journey

It have been a crazy few weeks, some of the most emotional moments of my life have taken place and still are, but you know what all I can say is Thank You Lord for being with me through it all. I never would have imagined what has taken place in my life my last semester in college to ever take place...

I have had such a wonderful experience in school and it has formed much of who I am 2day. The Road has been long and hard but you know what, it is OK, because I know that what ever takes place next in my life will undoubtedly be even more amazing than what has already been given to me and it will last a life time. I also know that what ever he gives me in the future will be even better :-)...

For now all I can say is that this summer will be even more eye opening for me, I pray that through this summer I truly find more of what God has in store for my life, this bridge will be long and hard while I'm crossing over it. A milestone has been reached both in my Educational Career as well as in my Spiritual relationship with Christ. I'm so excited to see where God leads me over the summer and through out this next year. I just have this feeling that what ever God has for me will be even more of a life changing experience...

Until next time,

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

Bridges

Well,

Today has been an interesting day indeed, Graduating from college, meeting tons of new people, spending time with some of the most wonderful people I've ever met, and simply living life. It has been so much fun...

It's been such a long time since I've felt such happiness as I have felt today, with everything that has taken place today. it is as though it was truly meant to be one of the best days of my life. I have truly crossed onto another bridge in my life and began another journey all in its self. God has a strange way of doing things doesn't he, for me today was both a end and a beginning...

It was an end to the childish ways I used to follow and the beginning of a journey, I have waited for for such a long time, I look forward to where God leads me in the coming months and years. I know times will be rough and at times I won't want to do what I know I need to do, but with God by my side he will always help guide my decisions, and my desires. I have found such happiness in what I have been given that I will not soon forget...

God has a way of bringing things together in my life when I need them the most, and I praise HIM every day for all that he has blessed me with, for now I'm about to fall asleep sitting here typing, so I must say adieu, for the next thing God has in store for me is some well needed sleep :-)...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

Be Still My Child

Do you ever wonder why things are placed such ablaze upon our heart that we can't fathom what to do about it. It's hard to know what God is trying to show you when you don't seek HIS heart....

I'm learning that I need to take time to be silent before the Lord, thanks to a few very special people in my life. It is so hard for me to take time and be still before the Lord, I can't help but think to much when I try to be still. I know deep inside that it is something I need to do, and I owe thanks to those in my life that are teaching me these things...

I am going to take 2nite and give it to the Lord, with the exception of my phone for a very specific reason there will be silence in my house, I will take this time to pray for my self as well as for another, I will pray that God guide my ways, my thoughts and my dreams in a way that will be pleasing to HIM, and by 2morrow, I will have understanding some new insight into what God has placed upon my heart...

Be Still, my son/daughter and know that I am God, know that I will provide all thing for you in my own perfect timing, I know where your heart lies and I have placed things before you that are meant for my Glory, and for my Glory alone...

Blessings & Shalom,

M. E.

In HIS hands...

Mann, have I been busy these last few days, My college career is almost over, well, for now, good friends will go back home for a while, and I'll be left behind, granted I'll get to visit some of my friends over the summer, but it will be difficult not to see them a few times a week....

People always say that this in the beginning for you, and I hope it is it just seems as though maybe a huge part of my life will be coming to an end. My world has been completely turned around thanks to my friends and teachers, when I began my life was an utter mess, and over the past three years it just seems like God has totally moved in my life, I've been through much pain and much more happiness, the roads been long and a lot of work, and you'd think I'd be glad that it was about to end, but there is a part of me that has no clue where the next step of my life will take me...

I wonder often what is Gods plan for my life and I have always thought I knew exactly what it was, and still do to a certain extent, but God could pull me any way he wants to pull be and in many ways that is kind of scary. I know though deep in my heart that he is in control of all aspect of my life. I know that HIS plan is best. There is a song that speaks of this and many who read this will know exactly what it is...

I'm in his hands, I'm in his hands, what ever the future holds, I'm in his hands, the days I cannot see, have all been planned for me, his way is best, You see, I'm in his hands

Stanley Dittmer- Phil Laeger

You see even though I have no clue where my life will end up someday, I know I'm in Gods hands, He has a plan for my life and I shouldn't be afraid of what he has for me to take on in life, where many of the great friends I have come to find will be going home, I don't have to fear that they will be lost forever, where I fear that I will not know what is next, God will...

It's really rather simple, I can find Joy in the fact that what ever happens next in my life I know I have a Savior that will always carry me in his hands...

Where were U?

Today seems as though it is going to be one of those days that I simply enjoy to the best of my ability, I woke up completely refreshed and even before my alarm went of, those are the mornings that simply just say, "Matt today's going to be a great day so don't let Satan get the best of you." This typically means one of two things, today is going to be a day where Satan is either going to work on your buttons today or God is going to do something simply amazing. I'm not sure what today will have for me but I know God is with me through what ever it is...

As I thought about this while laying in my bed this morning I began to think upon the other times I'm had morning that seemed just fantastical as well as moments that seemed dreadful. I began to ask God the questions "Where were you in each of these moments?" and low and behold God answered my question as they were given to him, I saw things I had not seen before as well as receiving understanding I had not received before. God has a way of sharing things with us in the midst of the good and bad times in life, this just goes to show just how amazing our God truly is, when we have a God who remains with us even in the dreadful times of our life, we have a God that loves us more than words can simply describe...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

Peaceful MindSet

Do you ever have those days when you just so at peace with the world that you just feel like doing nothing but enjoying the wonders that God has anointed for us to see?

Today was one of those days, and I'm really not sure why...

I woke up today with a very peaceful mind set and it just never left me the rest of the day. Of course I was a bit tired but I still felt as though I was being held up all day long by some crazy energy that I have not felt for quite some time. It reminded me of a quote that I often refer to to help me in troubled times "Walk boldly and Wisely, there is a hand above guiding you every step of the way" -Unknown

What a wonderful promise to us all, it reminds me that what ever is thrown your way to work through that there is always someone up there guiding you every step of the way. What peace that brings to my heart. My day wasn't the best of days and there were points when I simply wanted nothing to do with the world, but I was at peace with the fact that someone above is watching out for me today...

Take and eat of this wonderful promise God has given us, I promise you won't regret it...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.
.

Beautiful Magnificence

What an interesting Day it has been for me...

I will finish my thoughts on Who U gonna B soon and very soon, but right now my day is done but it was such an amazing day to have had...

I got to catch up with some of the people I've been friends with for a long time, as well as with my new friends. I was so blessed this evening by all we talked about, God is definitely good :-)...

N/E who, as my day began I opened up my window to find the most beautiful sun rise I'd seen in quite some time, it was just a blessing all in its self, all I could do was Praise God for his wonderful creation and the life that he has given me. As I went to school I was even more blessed by seeing the beauty of the world around me, all the way from the crazy traffic, to the slow construction workers, to the trees around me, and the smiles of the people driving they're cars to and from where ever they were going.

Seeing those things made me wonder, What Beauty do we miss each day my simply not observing our surroundings when where out and about driving? Granted we can't get 2 distracted or we'll get into a wreck but, simply seeing whats around us is a blessing God has given us, and we tend to simply over look the beauty around us because were always rushing from place to place trying to get things done...

The day was just as good as it could have been, and ended just as good, with a wonderful praise session to the LORD, what a magnificent world we live in when something as simple as singing a song, or taking time to observe our world can make a day so wonderful...

Well, it's time to eat so, adieu

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

Who U gonna B

Have you ever wondered why it seems as though the world around you just doesn't get who you are?

Its a very simple question to ask ones self.

I figure when it comes to a world that doesn't understand, who you are all you need to do is keep being your self, there will always be people that misunderstand or misinterpret your words or your actions, but as long as you know who you are inside and who God wants you to be that's all that matters.

No one will ever be able to understand you as well as you understand your self. Sure there will be times when people see things that you don't want to admit you see in your self but they are there. We just simply ignore them.

As we go about the coming days' just simply be who your gonna be, don't let the world around you keep you from that person God has created you to be, because when you do your world will inevitably turn upside down, :-)

Well, off to school, I have more to say about this but it will have to simply wait...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

Roller Coaster

Do you ever wonder why God places certain things in your life a points when they don't seem logical? I'm not sure what's going on when God does these kind of things but I have to say it sure makes life a roller coaster, LOL...

I have come to believe through many different experiences that God has a reason for everything that happens in our life. He moves in ways we simply cannot understand or comprehend. It make one wonder what in the world is God thinking, but what we can't grasp is the fact that God is always looking @ the bigger picture and he knows exactly what in the world he is doing...

So, I encourage those of you, if any of you, that read this to take those wonderful moments that God blesses you with and enjoy them just as you would enjoy a roller coaster, and for those that don't enjoy roller coasters, enjoy those moments any way, LOL...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

Road Trip P2

What an exciting time we had in Shawnee, the trip was simply amazing, driving down to Shawnee we saw the beauty of our grand state, we took a way that we don't normally take to avoid the turn-pike, and we were completely stunned by what was all around us. Sara takes this way when she travels to and from school, and we are probably going to take this way from now on it was that stunning...

Once in Shawnee, we went to our Hotel, which was very different from other hotels I have stayed in. The Hotel was amazing, but I had a hard time sleeping due to the really fluffy pillows that were on the bed I slept on. It was right near the Mall, Wal-mart, pay-less, and the Dollar Tree, so there was so much stuff around to keep us occupied when Sara was in practice or @ work...

It was an amazing experience to hear Sara & Valerie play their instruments, they both did such a wonderful job and worked so hard, I was a very proud brother x2, I'd have to say. Both of them have so much talent its not even funny...

After spending time doing a little shopping, and with family Dad & I began our tour back home. It was a beautiful trip home as well, we got back in town around 10:30pm Sunday night...

Well, I'm off to bed, hoping to cream of enjoyable experiences just like the one I just blogged about...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

Road Trip P1

Well,

Dad & I are about to embark upon a trip of a life time in his new truck. It will be interesting to see where this trip takes us this weekend. I begin to wonder will we get lost, probably not. Will we get frustrated with each other trying to figure it all out, hopefully not. With this being our first real road trip since Mom passed away, will there be tears, Maybe but who knows? What ever the case I'm looking forward to it...

I'm really looking forward to seeing Sara again and watching how far she has come in her quest to become the best Trumpet performer she can be. I am also looking forward to spending some quality time with Dad, it's been forever since we have spent any time together really, as well as spending time with some of the family. I think that this will be good for Dad and I in the long run. We've needed some time together for a long time and hopefully by the end of this trip the imaginary wall that seems to have been built up between us will completely dissipate...

Well, we're about to leave so keep us in your prayers, I know that this trip will be a great one for us, and I know Sara will do such a wonderful Job with everything that takes place. Keep looking here this weekend & will try to update you all on the trip and on my Grandma's condition...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

Seclusion Memior

I have been playing the song "Here I Am" over and over in my head so many times since it was written, I just can't believe that it finally came out. I can't wait until the next once come what ever it may be...

Reflecting back upon my weekend of Solitude I have come to realize that I need to Seclude my self more often from the world around me. I have such an over whelming feeling of peace all week and things just seem to be a whole lot easier to deal with. I can think more clearly and I just feel so much energy every morning when I wake up...

It is simply amazing what happens when you let God move in your life. When I decided to dedicate Easter weekend as a weekend of Solitude I had no clue what was in store for me. I found something I had been searching for for quite some time, and I'm glad I chose to Seclude my self for a bit...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

"Here I Am"

Hey everyone,

I am so happy that this song, It is most definitely a God given song...

To elaborate on what is all about,

So many times in life we run into things that push us to our limits and we loose sight of what God has for us. He sees our suffering and leads us into and through the wilderness of the world around us. He stands waiting for us to commit to him our hearts in worship & his love remains true to us all the way through it. He is ready and waiting for us to accept is calling for us in this desert place and builds us up with strength that is always soaring just like the eagle, He fly's to the open door laid before us and calls us to walk right on through.

I hope you all get something out of this song, I know I sure have and I know God is so true to each and everyone of us...

"Here I Am"
Written by Matthew J. Elliott
April 1st, 2010

Here I Am, Here I Am
Here I Am, Here I Am

The Roads marked with Suffering
The Paths are stained with Tears
The Love of God is Sustaining
I feel The Open Door
I Know your Right there Waiting
For My Solemn Prayer

Here I Am, Here I Am
Here I Am, Here I Am

Send Me through the Wilderness
Lead Me through that Door
Teach My Heart to Worship
I Await your Holy Call
I Feel your Presence Sounding
For My Solemn Cry

Here I Am, Here I Am
Here I Am, Here I Am

Your Love remains so true
It assumes the best of forms
Your Strength is always Soaring
I See the Eagles Wings
I Know your Heart is Flying
Towards the Solemn Door

Here I Am, Here I Am
Here I Am, Here I Am
Here I Am...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

God is so Good

You guys are not going to believe this,

I just played through the song I wrote for my Mom when she past a way last year, and after I was able to play through it all, (It took a bit, its a really personal song)... The song that I have been struggling with for so long, just flowed out of my heart, MY GOODNESS GOD IS AMAZING...

I have been trying to write this song for so long almost 2 months, I'm so happy right now :-)...

The song is called "Here I Am", and it is written as a prayer some one might pray when they are seeking Gods guidance in making a huge decision that can change the course of someone life...

For quite some time now I have felt as though I have been in a desert trying to find my way through the wilderness of life, I have been faced with trials of all kinds, stress beyond belief that has pushed me to my limits, countless nights of little to no sleep, and I knew that I couldn't write this song because I simply was just stressed out like crazy...

Tuesday night in praise and worship practice we spend an hour in solid prayer for each other and it was revealed to someone what I had been going through and they told me that God was waiting for me to come back to a place of worship, I thought nothing really of it until Wednesday in chapel when the speaker spoke about the persecuted church and how they are suffering for humanity. Then 2night at the Passover Seder the special music was "The Old Rugged Cross" which reminded me of the song I wrote for my mother last January and when I got home I worked my way through it remembering mom and the lessons she taught me and after I was able to play through it The song "Here Am I" was born...

Check it out in my next blog...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

bEAUtiful day

Today was an absolutely bEAUtiful day,

I had a wonderful day, I went to work just for a little bit and then the kinda boring part came in. I had to go to school and learn a little bit, but after everything just seemed to be much more fun...

I got to go out to lunch with my Dad, I got to walk the dogs, even if one of them hadn't went to the bathroom on this one ladies yard, it was a total "waste land" Just kidding it wasn't that dad, although we when we went back to clean up the mess, it had magically disappeared. It was TOTALLY CRAZY...

Once the walk was over I went home and started the long process of getting my graduation invitations ready, which was not at all boring, I am having absolutely the bestest time ever :-)...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

VBS: What a Sucess P3

Those were some pretty awesome visits that the Children were able to take part in. But the last two days are even more exciting. Encounters with Josephs long lost brothers had left him in utter confusion and chaos...

Day 4

Continuing our journey in "Ancient Egypt" the found Joseph in a "pit of dispare" His long lost brothers had come to visit "Ancient Egypt" from "Canaan" wanting to buy some grain with the same money that they had sold him to slavery for so many years before. This left Joseph so confused about everything it wasn't even funny. He was indeed flustered. However the children were able to help him out a bit, they were able to show him the true path, but would he follow the true path we will have to find out out latter...

Day 5

The verdict was in, Joseph had made the decision that would define him for eternity. After a whole lot of drama, and some very close calls Joseph was able to over come the humanity of wanting to do the wrong thing and take the true path and make the right decision. On top of all of the drama that took place Joseph was reunited with his family...

More importantly though, we had a wonderful closing the children were given the opportunity of a life time. They were given the opportunity ask the Lord Jesus Christ in to there hearts. We had so many more children than expected that made this decision. It was indeed an experience of the lifetime for each and every one of the children that chose the true path. God was so good to us during our visit to "Ancient Egypt". It is one that this author will not soon forget....

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

VBS: What a Sucess P2

So, now that I've posted my little writers block, maybe you'd like to hear more about VBS during spring break...

last time we finished with ending of Day 1, the rest should fit into this blog or the next one...

Day 2

It was such an interesting day, the flow went so much better and the Children were so much more behaved. The Children arrived back in "Ancient Egypt" to find that the Pharaoh was having some difficulties with some dreams that were keeping him up all hours of the night. When the children could find nothing to help the Pharaoh he sent them to prison. After they were thrown into prison they came to find that Joseph was still in prison and some new things had taken place in his life, he meet some new people, two of which had dreams that needed to be interpreted. Joseph interpreted them only to find that he would soon be in for what seemed to be a world of pain...

Day 3

Day three was probably one of the biggest days of the entire week in "Ancient Egypt" it was an epic event that was thousands of years in the making. Our very own version of the colossal encounter that took place between The Pharaoh and Joseph. it was an experience of a life time for each and every person involved in this eventful day....

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

Anybody Home

I wish I had some more support in this blogging commitment I made back in January. It is getting harder and hard to keep up with everything. I know I want to complete this adventure but how can I when it seems as though no one is out there...

But I have no intentions of giving up any time soon, what is it that this Blog needs I wonder?????

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

VBS; What a Success P1

Oh My Goodness,

Our Spring Break VBS was so amazing that it might just take more than 1 post to tell you all about it... but we shall see...

Our theme this year as you all know was "Egypt: Josephs Journey from Prison to Palace" and it was so much fun...

I was worried that it would not be as much as a success as it was because there was absolutely no response from the community, and we thought the RSC was going to only have like 20 kids show up, so we were thinking that there was only going to be 20 kids for the whole week. Boy was I completely wrong...

On Day 1, we were so flooded with registering children that we didn't even get started until almost 45 minutes after we were suppose to, IT WAS INSANE, by the time we started we hardly had enough room for all of them, I was so blessed, and reminded for just how much our God can prove HE will provide for us when we are faithful to HIM...

After we finally we got started we made introductions and the adventure had begun, the High Priestess; Adriana began teaching the children all about how God gives us Hope, we had a games room, a movie theater, a craft room, and an interacting story room. it was so much fun... the kids got to get introduced to Joseph and his guards Danaan & Tanaan who were in prison, and he got to tell them the beginning parts of his story, and how he got into prison in the first place. The Children so enjoyed getting to talk with him and learn so much about who he was. They got to create their passports for Egypt with Latia and Kita. They wrapped up the Games-master Rasiu like a crazy mummy as his assistant Ramses looked on laughing, and saw part of Josephs story through a moving picture with Sharia and Maria. It was so much fun, in the end Adriana had a celebration of a life time that the kids so loved...

To Be Continued...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

Preparing 4 VBS

Preparations for VBS were so much more than I thought they were going to be, In the beginning I was getting to a point where my head felt like it was going to blow up, which is probably the reason I could not remember to Post on my own as I usually do, life was so hard, but I was soon to find out that God had something bigger in store for VBS...

As I was getting to a point where I just wanted to give up, God provided all the help I needed to make the preparations complete, a lot of my church family just started stepping up doing things, and everything began to work out and even though we were all working until the Sunday night before VBS started we got it all done and everyone had a ton of fun...everything turned out great...It was totally fantastically terrifical... :-)...

I was so relieved and blessed that God provided everything and even more for VBS to be a success and it truly was...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

Mid-Term Week

Mid-term week was probably was probably the most stressful week thus far in my college career, my car broke down, problems kept coming up for VBS, my mid-terms didn't go as I wanted them to and I was very sleepy the entire week. Finally on top of all that I couldn't figure out how to do my crazy taxes, so much going on, It was such a hard week for me. but you know what... in the end it didn't turn out as bad as I pictured it would be...

It turns out that my car only had a very minor problem and it cost only $25.00 to get it going again, things began looking up for VBS (which you will find out about later) I'm still really tired but today I got to sleep in for the time in about 2 months, Most of my Mid-Term grades we A's, and I get more back in my taxes then I thought I would. All through it I was forcing my self to do my daily devotionals and they are the only thing that got me through it...

So all in all even though it was a pretty hard week for me I found God and he kept looking out for me the entire time, sending me help, giving me encouragement, and guiding me every step of the way...

What a crazy week it was, and what wonderful memories have been formed...Life can always be enjoyable...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

My Apologies

I feel so horrible,

2 full weeks in my commitment, I have failed, How am I going to make up for this, man oh man... I really need all my friends to hold me accountable to do this, other wise I won't do it...

N/E ways a whole lot has taken place in the past weeks, some stressful things and some non stressful things, wonderful things and other things...

All through out these past two weeks God has been showing me some amazing things.

VBS was great, so many wonderful things took place, mid-terms went pretty good to, and life has fully been enjoyable...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

God Knows

It was some kind of day, I spent all my time at work putting together one of the rooms for the upcoming Egypt VBS, it is going to be great. Honestly though Satan is attempting to foil the good that is going to come of this. He is attempting to place doubt in my thoughts saying what if kids don't come, or what if your staff drop's out at the last minute. I can't let these thoughts keep me from singing praises to HIM.

I know he has this all taken care of already, God has a plan for each and every person that comes to our VBS. He knows who he is going to bring and who is going to be changed....

Lord Jesus take this VBS completely from my hands yet again, and bend it to you will, guide us in this last week of final preparations in the way that you would want us to go, bring your Spirit down upon us all as we step into YOUR plan for YOUR VBS, come and take over it all make it yous, bring those whom you want to be here, teach us all what you want to teach us, show us your wonders through this event and leave no person volunteer, staff, parent, or child un touched my your mercies, your compassion's, your love, your will. Move freely through each and every aspect of this event, take all doubt from my mind and fill it with hope, for you and you alone can make this VBS what it needs to be, guide my ways dear Lord, guide our ways...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

Trash Bag Anthology

2day I got to play with trash bags, LOL. these things are so useful it is not even funny. They don't have to be used simply to put trash in, you can us them to create things. I cut 1 trash bag up and it covers almost the entire wall in my office @ work. I can use them to make fake walls, a dense cell like room, or even a costume if your desperate, LOL (I"m not by the way). They are really rather cool.

I love it when one can take something simple like a trash bag, and use it in so different many ways. Life can be so stressful some times and then a trash bag can coma a long and make the day worth while. An amazing concept can be drawn from our trash bag. When the world around us is coming down upon us and things just seem to pile up and make things harder to deal with, one of the most overlooked things around us can change our whole out look. Whether it be a trash bag or something small that just gave us that little nudge of Joy, we always have something to help relive the stressful aspects of daily living and it doesn't have to be something horrible or even un heard of. What we world we live in huh!!!

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

God's Blessing's

To keep up I must post another post, LOL...

After a great day of painting VBS back-drops, they look totally awesome by the way thanks to the abilities of the Teens in the Church, we have completely finished them. I can't wait for everyone to see them during VBS week...

All the costumes are ready and all the preparations have been made. We have been bathing this in prayer and all that's left if for God to answer them, and we know he will. It is going to be a wonderful experience for everyone to come and enjoy, 2morrow after the Teens and I go pass out the flyer's 2morrow after church we'll have a better Idea as to who will be attending...

I can't wait, it is pretty exciting this being my first VBS ever, but extremely nerve wracking at the same time. It's kind of a very weird feeling being excited and nervous at the same time, ya know...

but I know God is in control and that he is going to move in a mighty way, VBS is always a huge out reach for the community and I have this feeling that I can't describe , all I can come up with is that It is Gods blessings he's given us each and everyone to take hold of for all eternity...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

My Motivation

Well, I kinda waited until the last possible moment but I can still keep it up...

This weeks been extremely busy, I had so much to do and so little time to do it in, I am ready for some down time I think. staying up late and getting up early just ain't cutting it any more for me. It's time for some a reworking of my motivation.

I must work harder to get school work done a little bit earlier and not always wait until the last moment to get it all done, it effects my sleeping arrangements, and makes me tired all the time...

When it comes to work I always have things done early in the game, but when it comes to school, 60% of the time it is procrastination. Where in the world does the motivation go when it come to school. I must find out because, it needs to come back, LOL...

What is one to do? I hope that I'm not getting the legendary SENIORITOUS , that we all get when we're coming to the end of a journey that seems to take a life time...

For now all I can say is LORD, please help me, LOL...

but you know my motivation could simply be that I only have 2.5 months of undergraduate school and then I'm done...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

Home Again

It's been quite some time since I have been able to spend a Saturday night simply watching the telle or watching a movie. I'm so glad that I am finally get a chance to do so. I've been home from camp since around 6:30 and have been having a great time simply relaxing.

Here's something funny, when I was @ camp last night the cabin I stayed in was like an ice burg, we turned the air up and within hours the cabin unexpectedly rose to around 81 degrees Fahrenheit. We could see the steam all over the room, it was like a sauna and very hot, the funny thing was that the Bathroom was like 20 degrees lower then the main room, and like 30 degrees warmer than the bedroom, it was very strange...

N/E ways I got back safe and sound, and now I'm going to bed way early because I'm exhausted, see you all in the morning...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

A First for Me

The past two days I have been getting a crash course in learning to use a sewing machine. Boy has it been a very interesting turn of events, if I my say. I can't believe how complicated the sewing machine actually is, you have to have everything in a certain spot, the thread has to be put trough the machine in a very special way, man I wonder why it is so very complicated...

N/E way after my crash course in sewing I sewed my very first thing ever, I can't tell you all what it is just yet because it is a surprise but I can say it took about 5 tries to get it the way that it needed to be to work the right way. It's amazing how something so helpful can really make a person loose their mind. I would say it is kind of like problems that we run into on a daily basis...

When is comes to a sewing machine one has to patiently follow through with each and every step otherwise it won't work the way it is meant to. Similar to daily problems that come our way, we must follow through with every step of working through it or we will never find the answers we are looking for or the answers that we need in order to over come the problem that is in our way...

Pretty simple huh!!!

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

Peaceful Feelling

It has been an interesting few days, VBS preparations seem to be going very well Thursday my teens painted the biggest backdrop for the VBS week. We got most of the equipment and material that we needed for VBS as well...

I really have nothing really to write about 2nite, I've been very busy with school and work and I'm really enjoying most of what I've had to do for both work and school, been reading a few books that have really been teaching me things about the peace of God, it is an absolutely beautiful thing Peace, when we have peace it just seems as though life is simply even more enjoyable...

As for other news, I am simply taking life one step at a time and having a great time looking forward to a few lighter days this week, it will be nice...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

Simply Another Day

Man, I am totally slacking on this, usually I have posted twice already this week, forgive me everyone if anyone is reading this for slacking off. Although I've kept with my commitment 2-3 blogs a week...

N/E way's this we has been a bit hard for me but I think that I'm getting the hang of this extremely busy daily schedule, well at least 2day was a pretty great day. I've got most of my supplies for VBS @ my church this year & I am totally getting excited about it all. I can't wait to give you all some Details, I'm moving what I've seen thus far. School seems 2 be getting a bit easier now that I'm caught up on all of my work, 2nite was the first nite I didn't HAVE 2 do HW in about 3 weeks straight...

I'm sleepy right now so this is all I'm going 2 write, but a word of encouragement before I go...

• Even when we feel as though life is totally taking advantage of our weak humanity, we always have a hand above that is guiding our steps and even caring us 2 a certain extent in God our Father. So give HIM a smile and a hug 2day and simply say I Love you Father...

I hope that each and everyone of you have a great and wonderful day 2morrow in the KING...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

Just a Day

Today was another one of those days where everything just seems to go great for you...

I had a great time getting VBS stuff ready for spring break in the early morning, a pretty decent time in classes and an even better time continuing my music lessons with the children, and with my teens...

It was just a great day, even finishing a crazy book report this evening wasn't that bad, ya know. I hope that 2morrow is one of those days as well, I have a huge lock-in that I'm putting on for the after school program @ work, not sure how it's gonna go down, but who knows...

I feel as though things might just be changing for the better after this weekend is over, maybe Spring is finally coming, well at least in my life, LOL...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E

Season's

I've been truly way to busy this week, catching up on HW getting some big things taken care of work, and in other things. I Can't believe that my last post was Friday...

I was reading my devotions last night and something sparked within my soul, the devotion was focused around Ecc. 3:1 "For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven." and what sparked was that life in its self has different season, as I was telling one of my professors at school today about it he asked a very valid question "what season do you feel your in?" and it hit me, I feel as though I am in a season of winter which means that it's a bit of a rough patch for me right now, its like I can see new and wonderful things on the horizon but I simply can't reach that horizon...

I've been meditating on this all day long and I feel as though God is teaching me more about reliance on HIM, I can't let this wintery season in my life get the best of me, I must continue to press into the promises that God has given me. I my feel as though I'm loosing steam, but the great thing is that God promises that Spring will soon come and all I have to do is press into HIM let him guide me and give me the strength to make it through this wintery season in my life...

After thinking about this all day, I have been reminded yet again that no matter what is taking place in my life or what season I'm in I can be content and enjoy my life, I need to take hold of the good things during this season and keep coming back to them, when life try's to get me down. God promises that every season in life will pass by, and as such I will soon find my self in a new season...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

An Inspiring Tale

I just read this interesting story from an e-mail about an 13 year old girl who is like a singing prodigy in the vocal department, I believe her name was Anna Margaret, anyone hear of her before. It was a really inspiring story, due to her young age no one wanted to listen to her uncanny ability to sing a note or two and when they did they tried to force her to act instead of sing, she went through Hurricane Katrina and lost everything, and slowly things have beginning to look up for her. After going through like 7 Managers she was in her home with her family singing to a ma,n who unbeknown to her and her family was the producer for Yolanda Adams, feeling lead to sing her hit "Open My Heart" the producer was left in tears and every since he's been her manager. Now apparently shes got 1 record out and another on the way. What an amazing tale of over coming everything around you that's holding you back and amounting to New Heights...

After reading that story I have been inspired, and I'm sure I'll be writing a few more songs in the coming days, ones already on its way, I'm titling it "The Calm before the Storm" look for the lyrics in a couple of weeks or so...

In other news, I'm really loving this long weekend that we got, I'm getting caught up on a whole lot of HW and personal devotional time with my LORD. While your all enjoying this wonderful weather, take time to thank the LORD for all he's done for us, and read a chapter or two in you Bibles, who knows maybe you to will be inspired by something...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

Beauty and the Snow

It seems as though we are being blessed with limited Ice, at least for now, LOL
I'm looking forward to a day of simple snow and happiness. However I am a little concerned about my little sister who is stuck in Shawnee. I haven't heard much from the weather guys about Shawnee so I'm going to assume she doing fine, at least for now...

The last few days the whole state of Oklahoma has been totally freaking out, I was in Wal-mart getting some stuff for this weekend and the shelves were almost empty, I couldn't believe it. The place was packed with a ton of people and the parking lot was almost completely full...

As for now, I'm simply going to sit at home in front of the lighted fire place watching the telli, and going to bed after a while, and dream of the beauty of the snow that will be all over the place 2morrow...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.

Interesting Day huh...

I was going to post last night, but I got side tracked with a ton of home work, figures huh, LOL...

It has been an interesting past few days, the weather is suppose to be pretty bad and I'm totally not liking that, maybe I can get a way with simply staying home when it comes, LOL. It seems as though its just about as bad as the Christmas eve storm that lasted until after new years....

What ever the case, I had a pretty great day, I loved having a happiful approach to the world today, I usually do but yesterday and today it payed off, I got to talk to my older brother who lives in England, and eat out with a very good friend as well. I got a ton of home taken care of to catch me up in all my classes today as well as cooking dinner...

It was a pretty good day, I was bored at one point but home work soon rectified that, LOL...

Blessings & Shalom,

M.E.