a very important fact

Today, I felt compelled to share a very important fact:

God is here, present and ready to love you today!
So, keep your eyes on Him.
Follow Him.
He will see you through all your troubles.
Don't let Satan convince you otherwise.
God is real, alive and active!
Trust His promises.
He is our Shephard.
Our Rock.
Our Master.
Our King.
Our Comforter.
Our Great Redeemer!
Let's delight under His leadership, for He is good and we have freedom in Him.

Meditate on this truth day and night:

Those who receive Jesus will dwell in His house as joint heirs to Christ's kingdom... FOREVER! 

He has definitely blessed us beyond all measure!  YAY!

So, this lovely morning, walk with this awesome fact stashed in your pocket and REJOICE IN HIM ALWAYS!

Jesus said, "I will be their God, and they shall be my people." (2 Corinthians 6:16)

Yippee!

XOXOXO!

~Victoria

© 2014 The Devoted Woman | Victoria Anderson

o death, where is thy sting?

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? (1 Corinthians 15:55)

Yesterday, death visited again.
Chaperoning away my grandmother's warm soul,
Escorting her outside her big, beautiful heart;
Leaving a cold, empty, frail corpse behind.

I am no stranger to death.
It has taken away many I love.
It has loomed in front of me...  beside me... around me.
And I have walked multiple times nearby its shadow to recognize its presence.
Still, today I speculate when death and I will formally dance in rendezvous.
When my own human scales will fall away into the dust of this world.
Will it come graciously, tenderly... like it did for Grandma?
Or will it arrive suddenly, tumultuously, callously?

Ah, death.
Death is an appointment no man can thwart.
An avenue we each are destined to travel.
And yet joyously, I look past its sting.
I find peace in its purpose.
For death is merely a calendar keeper.
A hall monitor to God's perfectly planned timetable.

Death: a means to an end... 

Or rather, a beginning for those in Christ.
For holiness trumps all death!
And the Holy of Holies has triumphed with His own crucifying encounter...

With His victorious resurrection...

With Jesus!

The One who beckons us to know His New!

Grandma knew Him.

Grandma loved Him.

And yesterday, Grandma walked down death's isle,

Exchanging hands from death to her High Priest.

Taking on the Name of her eternal Husband.

Receiving the gift of her Heavenly Father.

With Him, she has finally escaped the confines of her corrupted shell.
She has become His New!!!

Yes, yesterday death took another whom I adore.
And yet today, I live joyfully in a peace the world cannot fathom.
Hear me, planet Earth...

There is hope past the grave!
I do trust my Savior's promises!

I live in assurance of His New!

Do you know His New?

Have you accepted His gift?

This is not goodbye, dear Grandmother.
This is only the beginning.

May all who belong to Christ Jesus rejoice alongside me!

For another in God's eternal family is home!

In His perfect timing, I too, will see you there.

And together, we will praise The Lord,

The Overcomer of all death!

Glory Hallelujah!

Blessings!

~Victoria

© 2014 The Devoted Woman | Victoria Anderson

all I see before me

All I see before me are things I take for granted;

Luxuries that God has given me;

Blessings that others do not have and are forced to live without.

Today, it was the ice maker built into the door of my refrigerator;

Connected with a clean line of filtered water;

Powered by a gentle stream of electricity;

A device intended to freeze every cube of which I so callously consume;

Used so that my thirst could always be quenched

With a seemingly endless and bountiful supply of cool drinking water.

Water that I will enjoy with the next meal of my day.

Water that I will regularly take for granted and run effortlessly from my faucets.

How rich I am... and I do not realize!

How poor others are... and how little I care to be reminded!

Forgive me, Father!!!

I am selfish and poor in Spirit;

Indeed, a much worse predicament to be in

Are with those who face the daily threat of Hepatitis, Typhoid, Malaria, Cholera... amongst so many other forms of disease and distress.

Forgive me, Father, and change my heart.

Make me beautiful from within;

Teach me to always be grateful and to see with Your eyes... to feel with your heart;

Guide my steps to boldly go where you call...
To always do what must be done;

To love in action.
To love in sacrifice.
To love in thanksgiving.

To love... like Jesus.

All I see before me are things I take for granted;

Luxuries that God has given me;

Blessings that others do not have and are forced to live without.

All I see before me are Your gifts I take for granted;

And lost souls still drinking from age-old contaminated wells that do not satisfy.

People famished and in great need of Your cool, refreshing, Living Water.

Indeed, the richness of Your love is more wealthy than life's pleasures.

The joy of Your fullness can satisfy every thirst forevermore.

Yes, teach me to see with these eyes - YOUR eyes, dear Savior!

Guide my steps to boldly do what must be done in Your Name;

To love in action.

To love in sacrifice.
To love in thanksgiving.

To love... like Jesus.

Today, afford me the honor of sharing a cool, redeeming glass of YOU to an arid, parched, and oh so thirsty world!

And teach me always to love... like You, my refreshing King, first loved me!
Hallelujah!

He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life." (Revelation 21:6)

Blessings!

~Victoria

© 2014 The Devoted Woman | Victoria Anderson

victory

Yesterday was Easter.  Or what I prefer to call Resurrection Sunday (omitting all pagan references).  Yesterday was the day in which Believers worldwide acknowledged the ultimate day... the ultimate triumph of our Lord Jesus Christ over sin and death. It is the most important of all Christian holidays (even more so than Christmas) because of the significance of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection upon which our Christianity is based.

So, yesterday as I logged onto the Internet and perused my usual social media websites, there were very few pages that didn't acknowledge that Christ had successfully risen. There were endless posts and acknowledgements of faith praising the Savior... the One and only Messiah who selflessly brought the gift of salvation to all mankind.  Yes, yesterday every Christian organization and Bible-believing church that I am aware of deliberately, publicly, unapologetically praised and honored Christ's Name.  We quoted God's Word.  We sang His blessings. We sent one another cards, and emails, and statements of encouraging faith.  We lived yesterday acknowledging the hope of all eternal days ahead... all because of Jesus' sacrifice.  All because He rose from the dead and conquered sin and death so that we might be with Him forever.

Yes, yesterday was Easter... Resurrection Sunday.  A holiday showcasing God's eternal love and protection for His people.  Yesterday was a beautiful gift!  But what about today?  Now that this new day has dawned, do we still claim that same victory?  Will we remain so bold, so public, about our faith?  Will we proclaim, no matter how politically correct or socially acceptable, our belief... our hope... our joy... our promised future is in His Name?  Or is that wide-spread Christian message only reserved for the Easter season?

In response, might I pose to you this encouraging truth as a new Monday morning rolls in and we each return to our regularly scheduled agendas...

Everyday, God is here - with us!
Everyday, we who claim Christ as Lord are living redeemed!
Everyday, the triumph of Jesus' death and resurrection frees us from all sin!
Everyday, we can live confidently in His victory!

Yes, victory!

Sometimes, I think we forget that.  I think it is easy to live in defeat and be bogged down by all that life throws our way.  We wade in our own man-made complications and allow our moments to be filled with self-appointed distractions and worry.  All of which Satan capitalizes upon in order to sway our vision away from Resurrection Sunday... from the salvation found only in The Lord... from the victory of Jesus.

Believers, we are free.  We belong to God.  And, we are facing our trials behind His shield so that we might trust His power, His strength, His ability, His love... so that we might lay down our old ways and become His new intended creation!  Yes, Jesus rose up from all death's muck and mire and freely gave us something better than the way of the grave.  And today, He calls us close.  He promises to never leave or forsake us.  He guides us through the thorns and reminds us that He has ordered where we step.  He is our God.  A good, loving, eternal, all-knowing Messiah that wins!  So we win!  Yes, victory!  This is the motto of our new day in Christ... of every new day!  This is why we must continue to be so bold, so public, so open about our faith!

So, be bold today, dear Christian!  Make Jesus public and share the good news of your faith.  The old is gone.  The battle is won.  The new has come.  The victory is ours!  Yes, in Christ we are His people, and we are here to proclaim His victory in every step, every breath, every stress that molds us closer into the comforting, eternal curve of His arms.

Victory in Jesus!  Victory in Jesus!  Victory in Jesus!

Do not hold back.
Do not forget.
Do not reserve your worshipping and/or acknowledging of Jesus Christ to one annual holiday.
For He is the same yesterday, today, forever!
He is victorious... our VICTORY!
He is Savior and Lord... MESSIAH HAS COME!

Yes, everyday, God is here - with us!
Everyday, we who claim Christ as Lord are living redeemed!
Everyday, the triumph of Jesus' death and resurrection frees us from all sin!
Everyday, we can live confidently in His victory!

VICTORY!  Woo Hoo!

Today, I encourage you to fully devote this new day entirely to The Lord!
And be thankful, for our God wins!

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:57)

Blessings!

~Victoria
(How I love the meaning of my name because of His Wonderful Name!  Thank you, Lord Jesus!)

© 2014 The Devoted Woman | Victoria Anderson

waiting for God

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31; King James Version)

Waiting...ugh. I hate to wait.
It is such a nuisance, such an inconvenience.
We live in a "now" world.
We have an "express lane, fast food, pay-at-the-pump" mindset, and we justify it with the idea that our time is valuable.
But the truth of the matter is, valuable or not - our time is God's.

So, there it is in Isaiah 40. The statement, "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength..."

Read also in Psalm 27:19 where it more directly commands us, "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."

There is no getting around it, no matter how desperate we are for answers, no matter how helpless we long for relief, no matter how much agony we endure - there are times that God expects us to just wait for Him. And waiting, despite our impatience and our dislike for it, is a vital element of a growing life in Christ. The ability to wait on the Lord stems from being confident and focused on who God is and in what God is doing. It means that we place our security in His wisdom, love, timing, and understanding of our situation. It means knowing and trusting His principles, promises, purpose, and power.

But let's face it, waiting is not easily.

So, as frustrating as it may be, let's step outside ourselves and try to expand our perspective to His higher vantage point...

This is the same Almighty, All-Knowing, All-Powerful God who created time itself. He has worked out the events of this world down to the very second.
While we scurry about on the surface of the earth thinking only of ourselves, we rarely consider that God oversees the orbit of the planets around the sun.
He created this world to spin at a particular pace while exactly positioning us in the proper location of our solar system.
He oversees the rising of the sun everyday and the dawning of the moon each night.
Our days, months, years and the activities within these moments are all because He gave them to us and sovereignly reigns.
Every heartbeat, every breath - we callously take for granted our next beat, our next exhale.

Yes, this is the God who brings us color, taste, light, water, variety.
He offers us beautiful seasons with times to plant and times to harvest.
He oversees all weather and soil conditions to bring forth food that sustains all creatures.
He knows the number of hairs on our head, sands on the earth, stars in the sky.

Yes, this is the God who tells us to wait upon Him.
He is a good God.
A God that has thought through every detail of our life, and the lives of every creature that has lived - past, present and future.
So, His call to wait should not be dictated by our selfish questioning and inconvenient moment of discomfort, but rather based upon the hope of a perfect Creator’s character and faithfulness to see His plan through until the end of days.

Spurgeon wrote, "Call upon God, and spread the case before Him; tell Him your difficulty, and plead His promise of aid. In dilemmas between one duty and another, it is sweet to be humble as a child, and wait with simplicity of soul upon the Lord. It is sure to be well with us when we feel and know our own folly, and are heartily willing to be guided by the will of God. But wait in faith. Express your unstaggering confidence in Him; for unfaithful, untrusting waiting, is but an insult to the Lord. Wait in quiet patience, not rebelling because you are under the affliction, but blessing your God for it. Never murmur against the second cause, as the children of Israel did against Moses; never wish you could go back to the world again, but accept the case as it is, and put it as it stands, simply and with your whole heart, without any self-will, into the hand of your covenant God, saying, 'Now, Lord, not my will, but Thine be done. I know not what to do; I am brought to extremities, but I will wait until Thou shalt cleave the floods, or drive back my foes. I will wait, if Thou keep me many a day, for my heart is fixed upon Thee alone, O God, and my spirit waiteth for Thee in the full conviction that Thou wilt yet be my joy and my salvation, my refuge and my strong tower.'"

Waiting is a time that God wants us to seek Him. To do this, waiting means we must make time to study God's Word (seeking answers and claiming His promises); we must make time to pray about our issue (praying for discernment, clarity and wisdom); and we must make time to meditate further on who God is (getting to know Him as best we can). Included in this process might be our need to examine and evaluate our own motives and attitudes, our values and priorities, and our goals and objectives in life. By waiting and bringing everything before God in prayer and humility, we are taking the correct steps to actually be still and know God. We are to trust Him and stay on course to follow His perfect plan. We are to wait for His perfect timing to come. The exercise is intended for us to be drawn closer to the Savior, renewing the strength of our faith by stretching us to trust Him more, seeking only His will, His Way.

Ladies, remember when you must wait on God for answers (a husband, a child, a job, a dream, a direction, a change - whatever....), remember that God is always faithful and at work for your good. He is in control of EVERYTHING. Don't give into Satan's deceiving whispers that God might have forgotten you, or that He doesn't care, or that He isn't interested in listening to your desperate prayers. That is simply not true. If it were, God would not have bothered to give you life to begin with.

"To us, waiting is wasting.  To God, waiting is working."  (Lou Giglio)

We must always remember that God is trustworthy and hears our prayers.
He will act on our behalf and do what is best for us - but in His timing and for His planned purpose.
We must trust His promises.
We must trust His character.
We must trust His faithfulness, especially when we don't see Him.
We must always believe His Word.
We must establish our foundation on His good truth and nothing else.

Faith is the daring of the soul to go farther than it can see. (William Newton Clarke)

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.

I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. (Psalm 130:5-6)

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried.

Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied.

I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate,

And the Master so gently said, "Child, you must wait!"

"Wait?', you say, wait!," my indignant reply.

"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!

Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?

By FAITH I have asked, and am claiming your word."

"My future and all to which I can relate

Hangs into the balance, and you tell me to WAIT?

I'm needing a 'yes,' a go-ahead sign,

Or even a 'no' to which I can resign."

"And Lord, you promised that if we believe

We need but to ask, and we shall receive.

And Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry:

I'm weary of asking! I need a reply!"

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate

As my Master replied once again, "You must wait."

So, I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut

And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting. . . for what?"

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes wept with mine,

And he tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.

I could shake the heavens, and darken the sun.

I could raise the dead, and cause mountains to run.

All you seek, I could give, and pleased you would be.

You would have what you want . . but, you wouldn't know ME."

"You'd not know the depth of my love for each saint;

You'd not know the power that I give to the faint;

You'd not learn to see through the clouds of despair;

You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there;

You'd not know the joy of resting in me

When darkness and silence were all you could see."

"You'd never experience that fullness of love

As the peace of my Spirit descends like a dove;

You'd know that I give, and I save... (for a start),

But you'd not know the depth of the love in my heart."

"The glow of my comfort late into the night.

The faith that I give when you walk without sight,

The depth that's beyond getting just what you asked

Of an infinite God, who makes what you have LAST."

"You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,

What it means that 'My grace is sufficient for thee.'

Yes, your dreams for your loved ones overnight would come true,

But, oh, the loss! If I lost what I'm doing in you!"

(Author Unknown)

"They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength."

Ladies, let's renew our strength and be still in our Master's presence.
Let's pause as long as He requires, and take comfort that Jesus is Lord.
Praise Him as you remain close to His heart via His Word
He is with you through every storm, and through every drought.
Wait, and put your hope in His promises when He is silent.
He is capable and will bring solutions in His time.
So, just wait and trust He, who is Most High.

All glory and praise belong to our Lord Jesus Christ.  Who was, and is, and is to come.  Hallelujah!

Blessings!

~Victoria

© The Devoted Woman | Victoria Anderson

twice saved

This story is so important and profound, I had to share with y'all.  I hope you will share it too.  Love!  ~Victoria

Twice Saved - A True Titanic Hero

If you saw the movie "Titanic," you know much of what took place 102* years ago tonight, when the ship that even God couldn't sink, DID sink. Of the 1,528 people who ended up in the icy water, only six were rescued. But did you know that one of those six was actually saved twice that night?

His story is an inspiring reminder that there's more to life than mere survival.

To tell this man's story, though, I have to first tell you about another man, a Scot named John Harper. Harper, a minister of the Gospel, boarded the Titanic with his six-year-old daughter, Nana. He planned to travel to the Moody Church in Chicago, where he'd been invited to preach for three months. When the ship struck the fateful iceberg and began to sink, Harper made sure his daughter was placed into one of the lifeboats. He then began what would be the last evangelistic work of his young life.

As the freezing waters began to fill the ship, Harper was heard shouting, "Let the women, children and the unsaved into the lifeboats." Survivors reported that Harper took off his own life jacket and gave it to another man. "Don't worry about me," he reportedly said, "I'm not going down, I'm going up!"

When the ship began to sink, more than 1,500 passengers jumped or fell into the icy waters. As they gradually drowned or froze to death, Harper was seen swimming from one passenger to another, pleading with them to accept Christ.

Only six of the 1,500 people struggling in the water were later rescued, including a man who later identified himself as Harper's last convert. This young man had climbed up on a piece of debris. Harper, who was struggling in the water near him, shouted out, "Are you saved?" "No," the man replied. Harper then shouted the words from Scripture: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." The man did not answer, and a moment later he drifted away on the waves.

A few minutes later, the current brought the two men back together. Again Harper asked, "Are you saved?" Once again, the answer was "no." With his dying breath, Harper shouted, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." He then slipped under the waves for the last time.

Then and there, the man he had witnessed to decided to turn his life over to Christ. Four years later, at a Titanic survivors meeting in Ontario, Canada, this man tearfully gave his testimony recounting how John Harper had led him to the Lord.

I don't need to tell you that this dramatic story never made it into the movie. We live in a culture that seems to be more interested in fictional stories of romance, illicit sex, and priceless jewelry than in the real romance between God and His people.

When the subject of the Titanic comes up, as it may this week* on the anniversary of the sinking, tell your friends the story of the young Scottish minister who witnessed to Christ with his dying breath. And make sure your kids know the story a well. John Harper reminds us of a great lesson, the secret of the ages: that there's more to life than mere survival.

Written By Charles W. Colson
*Note: Dates Updated to Current Time
Copyright (c) 1999 Prison Fellowship Ministries. 
Reprinted with permission. 
"BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

© 2014 The Devoted Woman | Victoria Anderson

come bend us, break us

O Wind of God, come bend us, break us,
Till humbly we confess our need;
Then in Thy tenderness remake us,
Revive, restore - for this we plead.

(Head)

© 2014 The Devoted Woman | Victoria Anderson

sigh! stupid Superbowl Sunday! go team!

I had many expectations this past Sunday... Superbowl Sunday!  Expectations that included my making an early morning breakfast for my family.  Expectations to attend and support our new church.  Expectations to hear my pastor preach on the topic of "Patience" - the next Fruit of the Spirit in our current weekly series.  Expectations that my small Bible study group would later meet at our dear neighbor's home to watch the Denver Broncos demolish the Seattle Seahawks in what I fully anticipated to be an epic football battle.  Yes, I had many expectations for Superbowl Sunday... stupid Superbowl Sunday!  And none of my expectations came to their desired fruition.   Sigh.

For me, Superbowl Sunday was a bust even before Peyton Manning stepped onto the football field - before the first snap sailed past his head.  Sure, it had started out great.  I got up early, adorned myself with a pink flowery apron, and was humming in praise to Jesus while baking sticky buns for my family.  February "LOVE" sticky buns!  Look out Julia Child!  I'm about to make a breakfast like no other!  WOO!!!  However, as those sticky buns began to rise in the oven, so grew my sciatic and arthritic pain.  The longer I remained upright, the lesser I felt in control of my limbs.  My legs started giving out due to my all-too-common pain problems.  Oh no!  I then noticed it was raining outside.  The kind of rain that brings atmospheric changes that tend to intensify the instability of my weak legs.  Sigh.  I guessed I wouldn't be making February "LOVE" eggs and bacon after all.  So, I set out the sticky bun tray to cool, covered my lower back in prescription Lidocaine patches, and took "the little" pain pill my doctor prescribed for such an occasion as this.  Note: I didn't want to take the "big" pain pill.  No, that pill knocks me out!  With the little pill, I could still make the 10:30 service at church.  Come on, little pill... kick in and give me just enough relief to walk upright!

Patience.  Now that's an important subject to talk about at church.  Patience is something I lack greatly.  It is definitely a gift from God.  Yes, I knew I needed me a good sermon on some "Patience" this past Superbowl Sunday.  But alas, because of my pain, I finally had to accept that I would have to patiently wait for the podcast version rather than sit in my favored middle pew.  Sigh.  Stupid Superbowl Sunday!  What a bummer you were turning out to be!  As the pain radiated in intensity down my right leg, so emanated my bad attitude.  No, I would not be going to church at 10:30.  I would not be going anywhere for a while.  Sigh.

My wonderful husband Chuck, with sticky bun in hand, decided it was best that we stay home and have "mini-church" together.  He kindly began reading to me about the things of the Lord and we prayed together.  (I married way up, by the way.)  Once finished, he soothed me with reassurances that later we would be going to the Superbowl party at our neighbors.  There Peyton Manning would do his job and the world would be set straight again.  Ah, Peyton.  I can always count on you to bring me a good game.  Yes, yes... Peyton would bring it!  This day would turn out ok.  I would just have to get a handle on my pain and change my attitude.  "Lord, you can help me with that right?"  (Nothing.)  "I mean now, Lord!"  (Still nothing.)  "LORD!?!?!?!"

The party started around 4:00 pm.  Everyone brought yummy munchies and sweets to enjoy.  The party was full and hopping.... or so I imagined.  For earlier I had decided that I needed the BIG pill.  And when I regained consciousness, the time on my clock read 6:30pm and my husband had walked four houses down without me, allowing me to sleep off my sedative.

6:30!!!!  AAAAHHHH!  I grabbed my cell phone and called my husband.  He answered in monotone.  "Is everything ok?" I asked.  "Yup."  he replied.  "How's the game going?"  (Pause.)  "Honey???"

Chuck quietly answered, "Denver is getting creamed by Seattle."

"WHAT????, I better get over there right now!"

Momba had decided to stay home and watch the game and keep tabs on me.  I scurried (yes, I scurried) to her room and announced, "I'm going to the party."  She replied without flinching, "Denver is losing."

"Yes, I know... put on your Steelers jersey if you are coming."  (We are really Steelers fans, but were rooting for Denver.)

Fifteen minutes later Momba was acting as my human cane and walking slowly with me to our neighbor's home.  When we arrived, halftime was just ending and everyone at the party seemed somber.  The game had just resumed and the tone of the room was all criticism towards Denver's poor performance.  Apparently, not even the commercials had lived up to their hype.  My husband helped me get comfortable in a cushy seat, and I expressed regret for my lateness to the group.

What followed was one disappointment after another.  Stupid Superbowl Sunday!!!  One commercial after another... some good, some not so good... nothing great, except (of course) Tim Tebow's.  (Ha ha... that guy cracked me up.)  The anti-climactic game spread a tone across our party like a dead fish.  Why even sit through it?  Why go on?  Why did this day have to be such a disappointment, Lord?  Why is everything sooooo frustrating???

At eleven minutes left in the game, we came back from ANOTHER bad commercial.  The cameraman panned a live view of the stadium.  Ever so briefly, I noticed the crowds, the players, the scores.  And then I noticed something else.  There they were: the Bronco cheerleaders.  And what were they doing?  Naturally, leading in cheer.  There in the midst of all this frustration and disappointment, they cheered on.  They did their job.  Their team would not win unless miracles happened on the clock.  Their fans would most definitely walk away unhappy.  But they cheered.  They motivated.  They offered hope in hopelessness.  Through playtime or timeouts, those Denver cheerleaders cheered, "Go team!"

It was then that Holy Spirit's still small voice spoke back to me, "GO TEAM, Victoria."

Isn't that just like God? At the moment we feel we are at our greatest loss, when we are timed-out from the enemy's powerful offense and barricading defense... God still wants us to rejoice and cheer one another on.  "Go team!"  Disappointments will come and go, but we are still to do our job and rejoice!

Sure, this past Superbowl Sunday Denver lost BIG!  But that really won't change Peyton's standing as one of the all-time greatest, now will it?  Equally, we may have a temporary loss in life: a bad day... a broken relationship... unemployment... health discouragements.  But our value in Christ does not change, now does it?  The war is already won and our Quarterback definitely has delivered.  Our stats will always prove victorious for we are blessed with Jesus advancing our game.  So, who cares if we have to take one for the team every now and then?  What does it matter if the enemy walks away with a small trinket/trophy showing how he decimated a few of our moments? So what if we don't meet every expectation or feel particularly hopeful this hour?  We have an eternity with Jesus to look forward to, believers!  We ultimately win!!!  So, stop sighing in frustration and start encouraging one another.  Start motivating.  Start cheering on God's kingdom joyfully... always!

But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who long for your saving help always say, “The Lord is great!” (Psalm 40:16)

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Philippians 4:4)

It was a stupid Superbowl Sunday, folks.  Nothing went as planned.  Nothing turned out as expected.

But, in Christ... "GO TEAM!"

Blessings!

~Victoria

the body of Christ

How blessed to live as God's united people!
To be useful and encouraging to the body of Christ;

Chosen to live in harmony with the ways of our King.

Returning good instead of evil;

Loving instead of hating;

Serving instead of self!

Let us congregate in like-mindedness today.

Let us unify under the authority of God's word.

Let us exhale in awe and obedience as we lift up one another to live His perfect way.

This is our new life in Jesus!

Today, I am honored to stand beside you, dear Church, praising God's glorious Name!

WOO HOO for God's Church!!!  Let's set the tone and LOVE!

Blessings!

~Victoria 

may I be His!

May my words be His.

May my thoughts be His.

May my heart be His.

May my life be His.

(Victoria Anderson)

bless this piece (a prayer)

I paint with words

To express my life;

You created with Word

To showcase Your heights.

I share small ways

With little thoughts inside;

Your glorious Way

Became man to die.

I expose my being

Private, insecure;

You offer your Being

With everlasting cure.

Please bless this piece

And every note I've written;

With Your Eternal Peace

And all the hope You've given.

(Victoria Anderson)

be daring, and wild, and adventurous!

Considering the cold temperatures today, my cousin back in Chicago posted an interesting fact on his Facebook page.  It read, "The North Pole is currently 24 degrees warmer than Chicago. Have a great day."

To this, I immediately replied, "Be safe."

As I hit the Facebook post button, in my heart I started to reconsider my statement.  "Be safe."  Isn't that obvious?  Isn't it human nature to settle into self preservation?  Aren't comfort and safety usually the first things we consider if threatened or when faced with unknown, unusual circumstances?  "Be safe."  Blech.

In less than a minute, I responded again... correcting my original sentiment with, "Actually, I take that back... Be daring, and wild, and adventurous! But stay warm doing it!!! Xox!"

And that is how I think Christ calls us to live, folks.  Fully, passionately, courageously!  Like living lightning rods grounded in the Holy Spirit through our obedience and worship.  Praying for His uncertain, unusual, electric moments of grace to surprise us and charge us into a free'er and more trusting church.

When it comes to the human view of safety, I now realize it is overrated.  Safety is boring.  Sure, in the Western Hemisphere we are pretty much considered (obvious point ahead...) safe.  We live lives with no real surprises.  No risk.  No nothing.  (Again, belch!)

But what in scripture encourages us to live safe?  Ark building?  Vagabonding and grand exoduses?  Bloody battles?  Being imprisoned, mis-judged as a rapist, seen a liar, herolded a fool?  What about giant slaying?  Temple building?  Furnace walking?  Lion cuddling?  Eating bugs in the wilderness?  Giving birth without any medical aid near farm animal feces?  Living with the knowledge that one day you will suffer torture and ultimately die on a cross for someone else's guilt?

Safety is none of these things, is it?

No, our view of safety and comfort were never to be the primary focus of the human condition.  In fact, such a view is unrealistic, a facade, a mirage.  For the only safety that truly exists is the Lord.  He is the only certainty in life, because HE IS LIFE!

Before 2014 began, my husband and I found ourselves stretched in our comfort and safety.  Even today, we are quite aware that the Holy Spirit has enrolled us in His training and is leading us into places WAY outside of normal.  Some of these places are really, really exciting and good... and well, some are absoultely terrifying.  (Notice I didn't say bad.)  In response, we have prayerfully chosen to proceed ahead in faith.  Not fear... faith.  For both Chuck and I know that God desires for us to let go of everything in exchange for His daring, wild, adventure.  Instead of mourning inside prison walls of false security, the Counselor is teaching us how to live outside our self-made cell blocks.  He is proving that there is so much more joy to be realized, more Jesus to be seen and experienced.  But we must choose in submission to depend on God's promises and run toward Him in order to witness this.  He calls us to focus solely on His image and forget about the temptations that surround us.  In short, we are to look fervently for God's glorious, show stopping, splendor!  We are to pray for Him to dazzle us as we run obediently in our journey toward His throne.

Within the course of the Holy Spirit's training, Chuck and I have learned that uncertainty is something too alarming for most folks to embrace in real time.  (And, yes... I said embrace.)  Sure, we are capable of enjoying varying degrees of questionableness in the books we read and the movies we watch.  But why stop there?  Why not allow Jesus to do a great thing with our real life?

Don't you remember the times when your heart actually cheered inside a great storyline?  When challenges loomed around a hero or heroine, and unusual, insurmountable odds dramatically affected you to applaud them on - to overcome that obstacle!  Yes, in the make-believe we love the odds.  We relish every gamble that threatens a beloved character's life.  We cheer when the impossible becomes possible, or when underdogs overachieve, sparkle, and shine.  Heck, we give out Acadamy Awards for such stories and performances!  Simply, we love those fictitious miracle moments.  But why don't we love miracles for ourselves?  Why live as paralyzed cowards when God has something fuller, something better planned for us in real life?

I think that Satan is on full attack to convince Christians that miracles are much too stressful an occupation.  He argues that miracles are unrealistic, facades, mirages.  Wow.  Isn't that just like the devil to twist God's truth into a lie?  Yet strangely enough, many of us still choose to believe Satan's lie over God's call to action.  Our frightened, selfish hearts dare not show interest or be stretched even within the same continent of a spiritual breaking point.  No.  That is too much to ask of us, isn't it?  That is reserved for those special few, or even more for those stories found only in the Bible.  No... not today... not with me, Lord.  I like my comfort.  I enjoy being safe more than anything You want to do.  YIKES!

To this I say, it is nothing short of foolishness when we fail to wait upon the Lord.  Why not give Him the chance to dazzle us?  Why?  Because perhaps we believe we will be worse off - a people who cannot cushion or plan for every contingency?  So instead we cushion on our own.  We plan outside and instead of Him.  And in doing so, we rob God of showing off His miracle moments originally and exclusively designed for OUR LIFE.  We remove the threat of His glory in exchange for comfortable, sinful numbness.  Believers... is that real safety or stupidity?

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. (Joshua 1:9)

And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?  (1 Peter 3:13)

Our King has commanded us to be strong and courageous!
Our King tells us not to live in fear, nor to be discouraged!
Our King has assured us that He's got this!  He's with us always!
Our King has already won the war, and wants to dazzle our hearts so that we might joyfully cheer through the entire storyline of our life in Christ!

So why not stop "being safe" and instead relish in the unsurmountable odds that threaten you today? In fact, consider them joy!  Why not welcome in the Holy Spirit and ask Him to stretch your faith to His spiritual breaking point?  For your whole life belongs in the care of Christ.  You are His beloved!  And in Him, really... what harm will eternally come?  Impossibles become possible!  Underdogs overachieve, sparkle, and shine.  Yes, Jesus is the ONLY safe Way!  So be daring, and wild, and adventurous in His Name!

Considering the cold unknowns surrounding you today, allow me to encourage you to run hastily and vulnerable toward God's daring, wild, adventurous LIFE!  Yippee!  Do not allow fear to paralyze you any longer.  He has opened the prison doors and wants you to see His glory outside! So run home to Him!  Run to His warm presence! Nestle yourself in His promises.  Run as fast as you can to Jesus!  Do not hesitate!  Do not look to the right or to the left!  For there is no worse case scenario that He has not already planned for.  There is nothing He cannot overcome.  Be strong and courageous!  Be obedient in your faith.  For God is with you and ready to dazzle in His perfect, trustworthy timing!

The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. (Proverbs 18:10)

Have a GREAT day!

~Victoria

i need me my äppelkaka, people!

OK...  it's late January and today I'm officially cold!  COLD!!!... IN TEXAS!!!  Time to pull out my super-mega warm sweaters from those fond Chicago wintery days past.  Time to talk Chuck into bringing more firewood in from our backyard.  B, to the R, to the RRR...  BRRRR!!!  My toes are like little pink-painted ice cubes!  Thank goodness for warm blankets, knitted socks, and my snuggly Benny Beagleman.  (LOL - he is like a little snoring space heater.  Ha ha...  Patting that chunky tummy right now.)

Anyway, across the United States I think everyone would agree that it has been a very, VERY cold winter.  That being said, it is easy to forget that seasonal vernalization and climate changes are important and vital to all of us.  For without such cold periods of rest it would be impossible for us to enjoy many of the fruits and nuts we so easily take for granted in our daily lives... apples being just one.  NO!  Not apples!  That would mean no apple pie, no apple turnovers, no apple cobbler, no apple tarts, no apple butter, no apple sauce, no apple strudel, no Swedish äppelkaka (apple cake)... YIKES!  I don't know about you, but that would certainly be more distressing to me than having to put up with a few months of cold weather.  I need me my äppelkaka, people!!!

Just like plants, we humans also require scheduled times of winter.  We need stillness and dormancy alone with God... resting in solidarity with His Spirit so that later the Savior's yummy fruit can bloom generously out from us, and we can be used to feed and bless others spiritually.  In the plant world, most seeds require periods of cold and stillness in order to germinate.  In fact, without this crucial downtime, most will eventually rot out and fare useless.  The same is true for us.  Many well-intended Christians can easily "rot out" and fall away from intimacy with Jesus because they don't take the necessary time to rest in the stillness of His Divine.  Simply put, we each need time to break away from the many distractions and noise outside us and just let the snow fall.  Just be alone with Jesus.  Studying the Savior in pure calm.  Meditate on His truths, commands, words, peace.  Being mute before God's throne while resting, sleeping, snuggling, and burrowing close to His heart.  Truly, there is a time when our inactivity is the best activity of all.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.  (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

Yes, to everything there is a season.  A time for action and a time for pause.  So, to those well-intended believers of the Most High who have not paused in a long, long time... this blog is for you.  Take time out.  Do it today!  Embrace His season to stop.  Turn off the television. Close the front door.  Silence your cell phones.  Rest.  Simply rest and retreat to be alone in His Word.  For God promises to make everything beautiful in His time.  But you cannot become beautiful or useful in God's kingdom without first pausing and hibernating close to His heart.  As Samuel so correctly instructs at the end of 1 Samuel 9, "... stand thou still a while, that I may shew thee the word of God."

Take the time, folks.  It's important.  It's meaningful.  It's crucial and essential.  For we all need God's holy äppelkaka, people!  There is nothing sweeter than enjoying Jesus!

L, to the O, to the V, to the E (times three!)...  LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!

~Victoria

Victoria's Swedish Apple Cake (Äppelkaka)

3 tablespoons biscotti crumbs
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons sugar
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4-6 apples, pared and sliced into thin wedges
1/3 cup almonds, coarsely chopped (optional)
Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Preheat oven to 350º. Butter the bottom and sides of a 10-inch spring-form pan or cake pan. Sprinkle the crumbs in the pan, being sure to coat the bottom and sides as evenly as possible.

In a mixing bowl, combine 1 cup sugar with butter. Add one egg at a time until all are incorporated.

Sift together the flour and baking powder. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the bowl until a smooth batter is formed. Pour batter into pan.

Toss the apple slices in the cinnamon and 3 tablespoons remaining sugar, then press each one lightly into the batter to form a decorative pattern (pinwheel pattern is the prettiest). If desired, scatter chopped almonds across the top.

Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Dust with powdered sugar on top. (optional)

Bonus: Vanilla Sauce Topping (for Äppelkaka Med Vaniljsås)

1 egg
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon potato flour or cornstarch
2 cups whole milk
1-2 tablespoons vanilla sugar or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Heavy whipping cream (optional)

Combine egg, sugar, potato flour or cornstarch, and milk in a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Be careful not to let it boil. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.  Important note: Avoid using a steel whisk as it can turn the sauce a grayish color. (I always use wooden-made utensils when cooking.)  Once cool, you can serve the sauce as is, or fold in some homemade fresh whipped cream to thicken.  Mmmmmmmm.

Älskar det!

magnificent life

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me. The Lord will fulfill (his purpose) for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever - do not abandon the works of your hands. O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord. You hem me in - behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you. (Psalms 138:7-8 & 139:1-18)

It is true... how wonderfully made is the human body? I mean, really - who can look at the human anatomy without being amazed and in awe? Our frames are delicate and frail, made up of simple components, yet we are quite marvelous in design. I think of how often I take for granted my own heart, brain, eyes, ears, nose, limbs, nerves, sinus cavities, blood vessels, skeleton, etc. How observant of the Psalmist to admire the work put into our structure and issue his reverence to the One who assembled us together.

"The human frame is so admirably constructed, so delicately combined, and so much in danger of being dissolved by innumerable causes, that the more we think of it the more we tremble, and wonder at our own continued existence." ~ Spurgeon

Great Creator and God over all things... let us not take for granted the number of breaths you have bestowed upon us and have planned before we were even born. Our lives are indeed a gift granted to us by You, our great Creator. In advance of our mother even conceiving us, You were in control of all the events of the universe. You planned each planetary movement, each spoken word, each heartbeat, each sunrise and sunset, each blink of the eye, each and every circumstance - all for Your purpose, in Your timing and for Your glory.

"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" (Psalm 8:3-4)

Ladies, God admires the heavens and all that He created, but His affections and admirations are for mankind. He loves us over anything else that He has designed. Isn't that crazy - but awesome?!!! So, let us not forget the Potter who formed the clay. Let us be used as the instruments he created us to be. Thomas Adams said, "There is no workman but would have his instruments used, and used to that purpose for which they were made... Man is set like a little world in the midst of the great, to glorify God; this is the scope and end of his creation."

Let us remember that each morning when we awaken, God is still and will always be with us - ordaining us to be alive. Let us remember to praise Him for our individuality and ask Him to use us as He intended. For all God's works are admirable and unique and created to suit a specific purpose in His plan. We only must be willing to obey. We must remember that we stand distinguished from all other creation. We are made for eternity. This present life is only the introductory part of our existence. Let's make sure we live in reverence to our great God and thank him for His visible design that we may first hand see and experience His glory.

"Oh, my soul, tremble at thyself! Tremble at the fearfulness of thy situation; and commit thine immortal all into his hands 'who is able to keep thee from falling, and to present thee faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.'" ~ Andrew Fuller.

In each breath... the breath of life we have been given... let us worship He whose image we resemble. Let us be thankful for our magnificent LIFE. Let us praise our awesome Creator and Savior! Praise Jesus Precious and Holy Name!!!

Blessings!

~Victoria

in memory of a godless man

Once again, the silent door of death has welcomed in another man's tragic soul. His last breath has dissipated. His last heartbeat has drummed a final farewell. From this moment on, all that surrounds him will be sorrow. For unfortunately during this man's fragile time on earth, he rejected the good news of life. He merely lived out each day his way - following the wide path that so many others walk, while reasoning that everything would work out in the end.

He was never approached by those who knew better... for they were convinced it was too risky. They believed they were inadequate, unprepared. They knew they would look foolish; so why make a situation uncomfortable or awkward? Rather to remain quiet and pray for God to help him figure it out. But alas, they never prayed. They never spoke. They walked away toward the rest of their days and ignored the still, small voice within.

So, he missed the gift.

Now, he will never see light again.
He will never hear laughter again.
He is damned in horror, separated from the King of kings... forever.

As the sun rises over the earth and a new day begins, please remember this man.
Then consider what you will say to the godless man you meet today.

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:18–20)

Blessings!

~Victoria

insert Handel's Hallelujah Chorus here!

Today, as my hubby was out interviewing for a new job, I had my final follow-up at the dentist for a BIG matter that had to be fixed.  It all started last month when one of my back teeth decided to crumble... yes, crumble!  Then it turned into a three-tooth-repair-thing once my dentist and orthodontist really investigated further.  (Apparently, I have soft teeth.  Sigh.)  Root canals, specialized work, temporary crowns, and now the final crowns were ready to be inserted and finished.  All without insurance covering everything except the root canals.  All with only my personal promise to pay a hefty (but generously reduced) dental bill just as soon as I was able - - once Chuck and I were back on our feet again.  How blessed to know those who are not only talented, but also kind, understanding and patient.  Thank you, Dr. Wambaugh!!!!  Thank you so much for getting my teeth back in working order.  I love you.

Anyway, after finishing the installment of my permanent crowns, Dr. Wambaugh asked me if I wanted to fix a small chip that I've been living with on my front tooth FOREVER!  Note: A few years back, a dentist back in Chicago had casually swiped some filler over the chip, but he (unfortunately) did it incorrectly.  The result was so annoying - with a front tooth that was never cosmetically or functionally right (a food trap, if you will).  But, I lived with this stupid flaw because... well, I don't know why.  I just lived with it.  For years, that poorly-filled front tooth just annoyed and annoyed me.  Blaaaahhh!

So, when offered to have it immediately taken care of today, you can imagine my mixed emotions.  Am I going to make it worse by messing with it?  Will Dr. Wambaugh really be able to fix this forever-long problem?  Will I have a weird smile?  Will I lisp?  Will it be pretty?  Will it cost too much?  Questions, questions, questions ran through my head while Dr. Wambaugh, and his lovely assistant (Rachel), patiently waited for my decision.  (They are so great.)

Suddenly I remembered that my friend, Shelene Bryan, has a new book coming out sometime in late April named Love Skip Jump (which I highly recommend, by the way).  In it, she talks about being open to saying "yes" to the opportunities that God presents to us in our daily lives.  To live in readiness, revealing His glory through us, in order to expose Jesus' great love.  Over the holiday I was blessed to pre-read and review Shelene's book, and last week she and I were chatting about how that concept of "yes, Lord" has already played out in so many astounding ways in both our lives.

So fast forward to today... when the Holy Spirit reminded me of Shelene and to say "yes" to Dr. Wambaugh's opportunity rather than worry over all the "what if'" questions surrounding my silly tooth.  Without further hesitation, I internally thanked God and robustly said "yes" to Dr. Wambaugh.  "Yes, please!  By all means!  Feel free to fix that annoying little chip on my front tooth that only I seem to notice but clearly hate!  Yes!  YES!"

Within seconds, the dental team was back in my mouth doing who knows what with their drilly-thing-a-ma-bob-ice-cold-spray-device... filling, smoothing, polishing.  It all sounded quite horrible, really.  But thankfully, I was in the best hands and felt only some mild pressure.  When finished, Rachel held up a mirror to my face and said with a big smile, "OK, look!"

(Insert Handel's Hallelujah Chorus here!!!)

"My tooth!!!"  I squealed with delight.  "It's... it's... BEAUTIFUL!"  Sure, the real necessary work had been done deep down in the back of my mouth where nobody would ever see.  (And that work was equally, if not more, impressive.)  But my front tooth... ahhhh, now it looked, well... perfect!  (I'm teary-eyed just thinking about it. Running my tongue over every tooth and thinking how blessed we are to have dentists, and friends, and all that God provides!  We must share this wonderful hope and love, you know!  We must bring the same joy of Jesus to all the world by sharing our own talents and time, peeps!)  Thank you again, Dr. Wambaugh... and thank you, precious Lord Jesus, whose glory cannot be compared!

Isn't that just like God?  He generously works deep within us - restoring and renewing the mess inside our crumbled, corrupted souls.  Rooting out all that is evil and broken, and making us into new, better creatures in Christ.  Then, once His Way is deeply established within our softened hearts, He further blesses us with the honor of looking more beautiful.  Why?  Because Jesus is apparent outside when He is firmly living inside!  Our chips are filled and corrected by His grace.  Questions are answered through obedience that awesomely then gives us the greatest privilege of exposing The Master's glory.  Sure, there is work to be done.  There is pressure to endure as we learn to abide in Him.  But isn't it all worth it?  And aren't we in the very best hands?!!!  People, we are desperately in need of God's filling, smoothing, polishing!  So please, trust me when I tell you that there is no greater joy than to look in the mirror and squeal with delight, "Jesus, you are soooo BEAUTIFUL!!!  You are faithful to restore and renew!!!  Let me take in everything you wish for me to reflect.  Let me always say 'yes' in order to expose Your grace and glory!  Let me showcase YOU in all that I say and do!!!"

(Again, insert Handel's Hallelujah Chorus and have a blessed day allowing Christ to restore your life to His beautiful NEW!)  LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!

As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart. (Proverbs 27:19)

For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.  And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:12-13)

Blessings!

~Victoria

let's choose Jesus, His way

I really hate when my sinful longings push their way to the surface and expose the ugly nature within me that remains in conflict with righteousness. I find that no Christian is immune to the relentless territorial warfare that exists between the forces of good and evil sparring for our hearts and minds. As children of The Most High, we claim to understand our problem of sin... we accept that Jesus remains the only way to freedom... we believe that He has the power to change us.... BUT in this life, we still remain at risk to stumble in our race toward heaven. This is due to our pathetic attention span and our default nature to keep company with the enemy.

It is hard to accept that while we remain on earth, we will never completely overcome our sin or be free from worldwide turmoil. Sin will always be a reality in this lifetime. The more we look at mankind, the more we realize that we are indeed sheep that need Shepherding! We are stubborn creatures that frequently forget God's ways are ALWAYS better than our own.

Instead of absolute, unending gratitude and submission to a perfect Master, many of us spend our time questioning the motives of our King. It is in this moment that we become annoyed with the inconvenience to do what is right in the face of trials. For if we do not succumb to accepting God's way in all circumstances, then we are faced to admit our fear to trust His plan. This truth will indeed expose our desire to shift power to our self and away from The Almighty. So, we look to each other to validate our need to question God's way - because we can always find company in sin. We begin to rationalize and compromise how important our faith and commitment to follow an "unseen" Savior really is by redefining what being a Christian really means to us rather than what it means to God. Why?... Because we feel sanctioned in our position to question His motives. For where is He? Why does He allow such bad things to happen in this world? Let's face it, we secretly feel safer trusting our own ways over God's. Satan has contained us in the familiar of our own bondage. Yes, it is corrupt... but it is also predictable. Here we live at the center of a cosmic holy war where our vision remains clouded with our own ego. We believe the underlying lie that we can view ourselves somehow equal to the Creator and thus consider ourselves bigger than we actually are. Oh Lord, help us to overcome such selfishness! Less of me.... more of YOU!

You would think that after we accept Jesus as our Savior, everything would be easy and perfect and we would be transformed to be just like Him instantly... but alas, that is not how God chose to make life work. Instead, He uses our time and experiences here on earth to mold us to become more like Christ while we deal with the aftershocks caused by sin. This is where we learn true humility. I am certain that we need a Redeemer that can take our souls out of orbit from the planet "Me" and oversee our spiritual healing process. But this process is indeed just that... a process. God wants us to go through the effort of daily sacrificing our self to follow His ways. We must lay all that we have at His feet and ask Him to change us... to teach us His path. His ways are straight, correct, just, right....good. In short, if we are not following Him, we are sinning. It's that simple.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8-9)

Ladies, I challenge each of you to look at how you view yourself in contrast to how you view God. I further encourage you to look at how you react to trials and tests in your life. Circumstances, both pleasant and difficult, are intended to teach us how to live godly... meaning, how to live like God. We must accept that we are not God. We will never be God. We are, however, made to be like Him - created in His image. God is eternal, infinite, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. We are not. To be like Him, we must always strive to know Him... to follow His ways... to be with Him always.

Human beings cannot expect to be able to fully understand God’s ways and why He allows bad things to happen. But God has given us every reason to trust Him. God makes it abundantly clear that all of mankind is tainted, infected with sin (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 6:23; 1 John 1:8). Because of this, at this very moment each person on this planet deserves instant death. Every second we spend alive... every breath of oxygen we enjoy is only by the grace and mercy of God. He is good. Even the most terrible misery we may face on this planet is still merciful compared to what we really deserve due to our sin. Without His love, we all would be doomed to eternal hell in the lake of fire. He has made it possible for us to have hope to move past the muck and mire of our corruptness. He has given us our Messiah... our Savior. God is faithful and just to those that accept Jesus as Lord. He will deliver us from sin and purify us if we accept His ways over our own. To become a new creature in Him, we must own up to our humanity and accept that we are plagued with sin. Then we must choose Jesus. We must ALWAYS choose Jesus. Let's believe His promises over everything we know until we are one day blessed to see Him face-to-face. With every decision to trust and follow Him, it becomes easier for us to grow closer to God. All because He first loved us. All because He is love.

We are special to God. Outside of Him, we are nothing. God allows all things on earth to happen for His reasons, whether we understand them or not. Often things happen to us that we simply cannot understand. Instead of questioning His motives, let's lay down our lives for Him to use. Let's remember that His ways are good, just, loving, and merciful. Let's love Him with all our heart - for he sees what we cannot. He rules where we cannot. He is in control of everything... and, thankfully, we are not. His Kingdom Come... His Will Be Done! Amen.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Blessings!

~Victoria

to those hanging on by a thread... an invitation

What do you do when life becomes too hard?
Where do you go when there seems to be no place else to turn?
What do you do when death looks more attractive than life...
When the thought of leaving this cruel earth seems the easiest solution to escape your depression, hardship, sickness, rejection, hopelessness, failure, loneliness, emptiness, etc.?
What do you do?

Perhaps you have family/friends who claim to care about you? 
Perhaps you have no one at all.
Either way, you now stand at a crossroads.
You have reached depletion and nothing really matters anymore.
You are numb.
You have nothing left inside - no desire, no purpose, no point.
You are empty.
Stress is at an all time high and hope is at an all time low.
You heart is broken.
In fact, your whole life is broken.
So, why continue to maintain a place in this world and live with these overwhelming feelings of despair and disappointment?

Deep down, you wish someone would hear you, save you.
You wish someone would love you enough to intervene and carry you out of this tragic pit.
But really nobody cares. Do they?

So, what do you do when you can no longer rationalize a logical reason to continue forward to the next moment?
What do you do when you start to believe the nagging voice in your head that tells you that this world would be better off if you just stopped existing and disappeared forever?
Do you give in?
Do you pull the trigger?
Do you overdose?
Do you step off the ledge?
Do you drive off the cliff?
Do you do the unthinkable... the unspeakable... the irrevocable... the unchangeable?
And if you did, then what?
What would await you after this horrible, difficult life?
Isn't there something more to this life than sadness?
Isn't there???

Before you answer the above question... would you pause for a moment and allow me to introduce you to some valuable evidence?
Would you stop and take a deep, full breath, and permit me to present a real solution to your sorrow?

BREATHE. (Fill up your lungs and expand and retract your rib cage as you allow air in and out... in and out.)

As you continue to breathe... trust me when I tell you, there is indeed MORE to this life.
There is a solution for your despair.
There is a rational and logical reason to continue living and a real hope to find pure joy.
Most importantly, there is someone who cares for you exclusively.
There is someone who always hears you.
There is someone who wants nothing more than to save you.
Someone who loves you more than you can imagine.
Someone who is ready and able to change your depression to devotion... your hardship to blessing... your sickness to health... your rejection to acceptance... your hopelessness to promise... your failure to success... your loneliness to companionship... and your emptiness to complete satisfaction and fullness.

Would you be interested in knowing more?

If so, I invite you to join me first in breaking down and confirming a few unspoken truths about this physical world in which we live. (Warning: this conversation will get worse before it gets better - so be prepared, and keep breathing in and out.)

OK. It is undeniable that this earth is messed up. Sure, as a race, mankind can discover and invent some pretty amazing things... but regardless, you and I both know something just ain't right with us. Our underlying core is corrupt. Evil runs rampant everywhere and in everything. Politics, religion, corporations... even our homes, schools, and local communities are a mess. Of course, many folks do strive to make a difference... to make the world better. Many even contribute all sorts of time and money to charities, churches, and programs that are supposed to improve. But have we really improved? Is our world better?

The world media is peppered with horrifying news stories each day. It counterbalances these messages by bombarding us with commercials and information about the beautiful "it" people - the put together celebrities who promote the idea that a better life is out there. They encourage the mindset that more must always be attained to find true success and happiness. We are told to "acquire what we desire" and discard and reject what makes us uncomfortable. But what do we really desire? Money? Possessions? Status? Yes, those are all nice. But even people who have attained these things still are unsatisfied.

So, what do we REALLY want... true love, balance, peace, security, joy? To get these things, we are told by the "it" people to dig deep into our own spirituality and "find" ourselves. Here, we'll hear a lot of buzz words about self esteem and inner peace and are introduced to advocates who promote the power of positive thinking. But since there is not too much positive out there to think about, they will then go so far as to suggest ongoing psychoanalysis and perhaps the prescribing of antidepressant medications that we may or may not really need.

All these things still seem to leave us without answers. We now find ourselves clinging to anything that makes us feel good and builds up our ego, yet we are still hanging on by a thread. Are these self-help methods really the answer? If so, wouldn't we all be healthy by now? Wouldn't we have all found our "bliss"? Wouldn't we have evolved into the perfection we all seem to think is attainable by being the fittest and smartest?

(Keep breathing.)

The truth of the matter is that people (ALL people) are selfish, corrupt, unstable, unsettled, and destructive creatures struggling to survive on a dying planet. We have convinced one another that our best life is NOW. But clearly, it is not. Even those who have everything you could dream of are hard pressed to find satisfaction or peace on their own. Why? Because this world cannot promise peace. On our own, we can never be settled in this volatile environment. And when we try to pretend we are at peace, we set ourselves up for devastation. Our hearts ultimately break and we question "why bother at all." We realize that this life is indeed lacking... that we are hopeless on our own.

OK, now let me begin to share something with you that will refresh your soul!
Let me start to share with you the real plan... the real reason you are here on this earth.
You see, the Holy Bible says that mankind was originally created by God.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so. (Genesis 1:1, 26-30)

In the beginning, our original and only purpose on this earth was to relate closely to our Creator while overseeing His creation. We were made to be refreshed by His good presence while enjoying the honor of supervising all He created on earth. Made in His image and offered the opportunity to have it all, mankind was fashioned with the purpose to live a blessed life worshipping a loving God. And being made in the image and likeness of God (according to Genesis 1:27), we each have the ability to know God and therefore love Him, serve Him, and fellowship with Him.

For by him (God) all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. (Colossians 1:16)

It's important to note that God did not have to create human beings because He needed companionship. As God, He clearly needs nothing at all, for He is complete. Furthermore, in all eternity past, God never felt loneliness. So, He did not need to create us because he lacked a friend. All that said, God still chose to make mankind. Why? The answer is, because it pleased Him to create and love us. When God made the universe, He did what pleased Himself. And since God is perfect and good, His action was also perfect and good. As stated in Genesis 1:31, “It was very good."

Knowing all this... we can surmise that your life, specifically, was planned out by God in order for you to enjoy that same genuine and fulfilling relationship with the Almighty One who made you in order to love and relate to you. As such, the only way you can be refreshed and made whole is by seeking His good presence. To be fulfilled, you must be close to God. For God wants you to enjoy your life and embrace every blessing He has bestowed upon you. The Bible says that Jesus is the only Way to be close to God.

Have you ever really thought about this?
Have you ever considered that this world is not quite right because men have chosen to turn away from their original purpose... away from God's relationship and love?
How can we possibly know real peace if we continue to deny the One who created us and the life He originally intended for us? Whether men will admit it or not, it is impossible to live a healthy, happy life if we choose to walk outside of God's loving plan.
Can a fish live outside water? No, not for long.
Can we live without God? Clearly, no, not for long.
Without God, we are all gasping for breath here, aren't we?

With this news, will you continue to breathe in and out for just a while longer?
Will you make a commitment to join me here every day and deliberately seek His truth in order to restore your health... your heart, mind and soul... and begin to live according to His good Way?
Rather than simply give up with no hope, I invite you to take a joyful life journey with me here at The Devoted Woman website.  A journey of hope, peace, satisfaction, truth, and love!  Trust me when I tell you... I've been where you are, and God's Way is SO MUCH BETTER and SO WORTH IT!

To start immediately, take my advise: get a Bible of your own and begin praying to God for everything you are feeling, thinking, and desiring.  Then keep praying to Him all the time.  Talk with Him.  Share honestly with Him inside your heart and mind... He will hear you and really does want to give you everything good! And while you consider what you are praying for, perhaps write it down and compare how your prayers parallel to the prayers written in the book of Psalms.

Secondly, that Bible you just got yourself... read it... read it a lot!  (I recommend the King James or more modern English Standard Versions.)  Read a chapter or two both morning and night - no matter how difficult it may seem... just make time and read it every day!  Turn off the television, or radio, or computer, and read the Bible.  Get a Bible commentary to help you understand it better if necessary.  But don't give up or be discouraged if it is hard at first. Just keep reading it. Intake and do your best to comprehend God's Word as best you can!  You see, whether you know it or not yet... prayer and reading God's Word are more important to you than even food, water, or sleep!  Sure, you need those things too, but your eternal survival and nourishment can only come from the Lord who made you.  In fact, His Word actually spoke our whole world into existence!  His breath is what gave you LIFE!  Are you still breathing?  That's God's breath of LIFE you are breathing RIGHT NOW!!!

Lastly, I encourage you to get involved in a Christian, faith-based church.  Please don't forget or ignore this last step as God intends for each of us to live our days loving and serving alongside others - growing as a family and community according to His law.  Pray to God and ask Him to lead you to exactly the right church to attend.  And if it seems too overwhelming... feel free to email me personally at victoria@thedevotedwoman.com and I will do my best to pray for you and help find a church in your area.  (Please understand, I do receive a lot of emails, so I will respond as quickly as possible... but I will respond!)  OK, so now... here are some key statements that you need to look for in your new church.  Check out their website or talk with their pastor to insure their mission statement coincides with these truths:

God's Ultimate Authority

• The Bible is the infallible Word of God.
• The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are co-equal and co-eternal God.
• Jesus Christ is the Son (God in human flesh) and our only Lord and Savior.

Sin & Death

• Without God's forgiveness, sin insures mankind of eternal death and separation from God.
• All people have sinned and need to be forgiven by God.  There is none righteous, no not one.
• God is perfect and holy.
• God loves people and longs to be with them, but God cannot tolerate man's sinfulness.

God's Loving Solution

• Jesus Christ died on the cross after living a sinless life to take the punishment for man's burden of sin. 
• Jesus Christ overcame death by rising from it, proving to the world that He is God - the Way, the Truth and the Life.
• Jesus Christ is alive today in heaven, preparing a place for those who believe in Him.
• Jesus Christ has the only authority to forgive us of our sin and transform our lives forever.
• Salvation is a gift of God by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ.
• People who choose to accept and follow Jesus Christ will find new life in Him and never be separated from God and   His infinite love.
• Christians are followers of Jesus Christ.  (Note: People who profess to be a Christian but do not accept and follow Jesus Christ according to His authority are not truly Christians.)

What a Redeemed Life in Christ Looks Like

• Christians are responsible to love God with all their heart, soul and mind.
• Christians are responsible to reflect the love of Jesus Christ to all the world.
• Christians are responsible to disciple all nations by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Friend, I hope you will move forward as I suggest, because there really is a good plan for your life! God loves you!!! He has provided the solution of Jesus to save and restore you and make you whole again. With Jesus, you are promised a new, wonderful, fulfilling life forevermore!  So don't give up!  Instead seek Him!

Yes, we all know that this world has a big problem that nobody wants to admit. We also know that it's getting worse and worse. Yet still, people don't like to talk about the big "elephant" of sin sitting in the middle of the room. Instead, society would rather dance around the issue and make excuses while seeking false gods and fake fulfillment... which are clearly NOT solutions!

Isn't it time to give up the world's broken way?
Isn't it time to instead know the real joy of JESUS?
Isn't it time to embrace God's real solution for your life?
Isn't it time to stop trying to live your old way and instead live the healthy way your Creator intended for you?
I think so!  Don't you?

I invite you to join me here at DW each day and let's share what is happening in this walk together. This is a safe place with likeminded individuals who also are seeking after Jesus to rule their life. Really, let's grow together in Christ and take the necessary time to study, obey, and praise the One who is ready to hear every problem AND BRING US SALVATION.  Receive the One who is ready to lift you out of despair.  Relate to the One who loves you... yes YOU, enough to intervene and carry you out of this tragic pit.  He is able.  And He will make you whole and happy if you allow Him headship in your life.

Friend, God is the solution.
God alone can help you out of whatever you are burdened.
His Word is indeed Life.
His breath is what we are all gasping for - whether we know it or not.
So, keep breathing.
One breath at a time.  
And join me!
Let's seek His way together.
Let's receive His Son and be restored by our Creator!
I don't claim to have all the answers to everything..., but I do know God does!
He will answer anyone who seeks after Him sincerely and always!

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. (James 1:5-8)

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:16-17)

This is promised truth you can rely on with no hidden agenda.
GOD LOVES YOU!
Yes, Jesus is the Way to peace!

I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.  O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. I cried to thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made supplication. What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me: Lord, be thou my helper. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever. (Psalm 30)

Wouldn't you like to have an intimate, eternal relationship with the One who made you and loves you unconditionally? If so, I encourage you this very day to devote yourself to Him (either in your own words or use and believe this simple prayer below) to receive Him as your only God and King:

"Father in Heaven, until now I have been living life my own way, but I want to start living for You. I trust You. Through the working of Your Holy Spirit, I realize I’ve sinned before You and come to You in repentance. I believe that You loved me so much that You sent Jesus, Your Only Son, to fully pay the penalty for my sin by dying on the cross. I receive the sacrifice Jesus made on my behalf and trust Him as my Lord and Savior. Because Jesus rose from the dead, I will live eternally in Your perfect, glorious presence. Dear God, thank you for forgiving me, making me Your child, and preparing a place for me in Heaven. Amen.”

Until tomorrow... BREATHE!  Inhale.  Pray.  Exhale.  Seek and obey God's Word.
(Keep repeating and He will deliver, defend, and restore you!)

Many Blessings in Jesus Name!

~Victoria Anderson