Some People that Inspire Me and Why!

Conversation Topic:

Jesus invites us to follow him (Matthew 4:19). In Streams of Living Water, Foster writes about notable figures in Christian history who answered Christ’s call to follow him. Select two of these notable figures, research their lives, and then answer the following questions:

1. How did they answer Christ’s call to follow him?

2. What is it about their lives that inspires you?

The first person I am writing on is Paul. He was always a believer in God, he just doubted that Christ was indeed the son of God as the Apostles claimed. We are told he was at the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7:54 and that he approved of the mob action. I love Paul’s story. I love how God uses everything for something good. Saul loved God, studied his word and we are told he was “A brilliant student” (Foster, Streams of living water). We know that “he studied under Gamaliel, the well known leading teacher of the school of Hillel.” This foundation in the Old Testament gave Paul an incredible background and leg to stand on when he preached to the Jews. I love that he was considered a Roman citizen for that allowed him opportunities he otherwise would not have had. Imagine the bible without the Epistle to the Ephesians! This he wrote from prison. Paul followed Christ from the moment he realized the truth. He spent his entire life sharing the truth, inspiring and warning all that he could get to listen. He inspires me because of all the trials and tribulations he went through and yet he continued to proclaim the mystery of Christ. When he asked for prayers, it was for more boldness to preach come what may! I love his writing style and I often can hear him when I read his letters. I love that he shares with us how to protect ourselves in this world against Satan and the powers of darkness. My desire is to be a modern day female Paul. I blog, I write and I share my life story with anyone whose ear I can bend.

The second person I decided to write on is James. I find James most intriguing because he grew up with Christ and doubted who he was until after he was resurrected and then he followed Christ full force. (Foster, streams of living water) While James letter is short and to the point, it is truly to the point. The first time I read it, my soul leapt with joy and I was like “yea!” James truly inspires me because he calls it like it is. I also admire him for recognizing the truth when it came to the issue of circumcision in the early church and led the elders to the decision that there was no need to weigh down the gentiles with things the LORD obviously did not require them to do. I always reflect on James challenge regarding faith and works.

But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works." (James 2:18, NASB)

This verse always helps me. I know that it is by my faith that I produce works. I am thankful that I no longer believe it is my works that will gain me favor with the LORD. That is a trap I never want to be in again!

3. How are you currently responding to Christ’s call to follow him?

I pray daily. I seek His will. I read the word of God every day. I boldly speak about my faith and love for the LORD and I blog. Today I received a message from a girl I met over the summer who stated my blog is helping her learn how to talk to God. I cried when I read it and believe it or not I was laughing at the same time. All my life I wanted to share the love of God with others and for a long time I believed due to my personal failures I was not of use. I thought I had to do something to earn God’s love back and when I was smacked in the head with the truth, I wept like a baby and have been grateful for discovering the truth ever since. I will proclaim the truth until I take my last breath.

 

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Wendy Glidden, walks with God, Mom of many

© Wendy Glidden 2015

A Personal Reflection on Psalm 13 & Psalm 66

Session IV: Reflection Paper, Psalm 66

            Come see the works of God, Who is awesome in His deeds toward sons of men. He turned the sea into dry land; They passed through the river on foot; There let us rejoice in Him! (Psalm 66:5-6)

            I find myself swept away with joyful emotion as I read the first 6 verses of this Psalm. I so get the passion of wanting others to come see the works of God. I have witnessed amazing works in my own life. So much so that God called me out to share them with the world.

            He rules by His might forever; His eyes keep watch on the nations; Let not the rebellious exalt themselves. (Psalms 66:7)

           I have been rebellious a time or two in my life. As I read these words I reflected on my stance during my haughtiness. If I get real honest, in the past I would have thought this was a warning that God was out to punish those who exalted themselves. As I read that verse again today, I had a thought of Cain and his stance when it came to his rebellion. I knew in an instant that it is our own defiance and foolishness that blinds us to the truth and opens us up to sin. We are told by God, “And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at our door; and its desire is for you,” (Genesis 4:7b)

            Blessed be God who has not turned away my prayer Nor His lovingkindness from me. (Psalm 66:20)

            The end of this Psalm causes me to be ever so thankful. Like Paul, I too count myself among the biggest sinners. God did not turn me away when I prayed, He forgave me.

Session IV: Reflection Paper, Psalm 13

            How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? (Psalm 13:1-2)

            As a child, I truly walked with God. I talked with Him day and night. He was by all means my best friend. However, when it was revealed to me the plan He had for me, I wanted nothing to do with it. You could say I ran from God with a vengeance. Much of my life I felt that He had withdrawn from me. It truly felt as if all those who plotted against me were indeed exalted over me.

            Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken. (Psalm 13:3-4)

            I know that when I got back on my knees after almost two decades of not building a solid relationship with the LORD, I wanted nothing more than for Him to answer me. With every fiber of my being, I called out to Him for help. I admitted my faults and begged for mercy and wisdom as well as help. Instantly He called me by name. I know today that the enemy had me bound in chains with lies. I am positive he was waiting to happily announce he had overcome me. By the grace of God, that will not be my ending.

            But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness; My heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, Because He has dealt bountifully with me. (Psalm 13:5-6)

            It was my faith in God that brought me back to Him and He has dealt bountifully with me!

Using My Inner Child to Draw For a College Class Assignment

Psalm 46 is my favorite Psalm. God is my refuge. I KNOW He protects me always, through all storms in my life, past present and future. I make sure to dress in my armor daily so that I am able to stand firm in my faith come what may. The girl in the picture is supposed to be me. As you can see, I am wearing my full suit of armor. I am singing praises with a smile on my face!

The mountains are slipping into the heart of the sea. I can be found at the river. I show streams of water, representing Jesus Christ, encircling me and I will not be moved! The sun is just coming up. I hope you can see the sunrise sky; my scanner is not being the kindest as far as the picture is concerned. Under volcanoes, you can see bows are broken, spears are cut in half and the chariots are on fire. I am standing still, firmly rooted in my faith like the trees I stand between. I shout out triumphantly as quoted in this Psalm: The LORD of hosts is with us, The God of Jacob is our stronghold. (Psalm 46:11, NASB)

I think this Psalm has a biblical world view in the truth that we have all witnessed such things as mountains quaking, and waves crashing onto the shore and changing the landscape. We are watching before our eyes a world in turmoil and at war. This Psalm reminds us that when chaos strikes as it is guaranteed to do until the end times, we are to be still and rest in the LORD. I believe we all need reminding that it is pointless to fret!

I am currently in my final week of Psalms and this week’s discussion assignment was to provide an artistic representation of our favorite Psalm. I was going to take a bunch of pictures and photo shop what God had given me in a dream as I prayed for discernment regarding this and I found myself without the use of all those tools. What I did find was white paper and a ton of broken crayons at my disposal. The mere fact that I was led to create a child like drawing cracks me up. As we know we are advised to become like little children in God’s word. With that being said, Here is my picture:

For those without a Holy Bible, below is Psalm 46 in it's entirety:

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; 3 Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy dwelling places of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. 6 The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted. 7 The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.

8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, Who has wrought desolations in the earth. 9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire. 10 "Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." 11 The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.

The Funny Thing About Life

It is Marvelously Magnificent Miraculous Monday!! Those that know me, know I talk in rhyme and make up songs at the drop of a hat. Lately the children have begun singing back to me when I sing to them which I have found absolutely hysterical.

My sister and I have often discussed how much more fun life would be if we all had to sing to each other instead of talk. Could you imagine it if everyone broke out into song and dance while shopping the clearance aisle at Wal-Mart? I'm cracking up with the scene that just flashed in my head. I'm weird like that, what can I say.

Lately life has been crazier than normal. I guess that is what happens when you decide to follow Christ for real. As I sit here in Colorado, I am amazed at all that has taken place in the last year.

My so called normal safe life began falling apart at the seems beginning with my relationship with my father and how I viewed how he viewed me. You could easily say he is not a fan of my blog or my books. I know this because of the conflicts we had over my writing this winter and again this spring. I also know it because of kind messengers who reported to me things that I would have rather not have ever heard. I would be a liar if I said that not having the support of my father when it comes to my writing never bothered me at all. It bothered me at first, but then I came to see that my faith is hard for him. Now instead of being hurt, I pray for him to discover for himself why my faith is so strong. I pray he comes to know Christ before all is said and done.

So here I was at ends with my father and summer was quickly approaching. I could truly feel things beginning to change, I just wasn't sure what was going to happen so I kept praying for wisdom and signs I could easily see. Before long, God pointed me back to school and just prior to classes starting, I found myself unemployed as well. I had been doing the same thing Monday - Friday for almost 8 years when that too came to a halt.

Without a job holding me in place and school being over, I followed the direction in which God seemed to be pointing me in. As a family, we packed up and headed out west to what is often referred to as "God's Country". It is truly beautiful in Colorado. As I look across the terrain, I cannot help but often be moved to tears. I cannot believe that God has given me such an amazing life to live. I get to hang out with my youngest five every day. No one else is being paid to take care of them. I get to enjoy it all.

Being without a job has also made me have to depend on God even that much more. He is after all my true provider and protector. Without a weekly paycheck coming in, I have been blessed in multiple ways. Recently I wrote about less often being more and it is so true. When you have more than you need, you often take the basics in life for granted. This is not the case when you barely have enough. I guess that's the funny thing about life.

Jesus told us it is hard for a rich man to find his way to heaven. I think that may be because a rich man blindly believes he has all he needs due to his financial wealth. He is blind to the truth. The only thing any of us truly needs is to know our Lord and Savior. When we have that knowledge, nothing can bring us down. Not the biggest battle that Satan can wage. For in knowing Jesus, we know that this world is not our world and we are confident in our hope.

I began this blog thinking about musicals and how great life would be if we all sang to each other. I was trying to think of something light to write about because lately my studies have been brutal in not only the assignments I have had to write, but also in what I have had to read prior to writing. One story particularly haunted my thoughts for the entire week. I am pleased to know it was a fiction story however the theory behind it was quite chilling. Almost in a Stephen King sort of way. I have had to take some serious time to recover from it all. I truly don't know why this was required reading. That is how horrible the short story was. I used to love reading thrillers when I was younger, now I just don't care for the brain warp if you know what I am saying. Perhaps that is because I have come to learn what you put into your mind truly matters. This is why I chose to fill my head with the Lord's word every day. It keeps me prepared for the days battles.

I guess I accomplished what I wanted to. I proved if I sat in front of a blank screen without a thesis to create or a certain topic I was forced into writing on or about, I could still write at will. Who knew English Composition would be such a hard course for me! Certainly not me lol. I guess that is just another funny thing about life. The future is never certain but that's what makes it so interesting, right?

Today I pray that anyone who is not happy with their life as it is playing out is brave enough to step out of the slave mentality. I pray you come to know who you are in Christ and understand that the Lord is your protector and savior. Once you do, you will have nothing to fear. I pray you learn to listen to the Lord's voice and recognize his direction and your purpose. You were born to be more than a survivor, you were born to be a warrior. I pray more and more followers of Christ wake up and begin to get busy not for their own glory but to show the glory of God at work. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Wendy, walks with God, mom of many

© Wendy Glidden 2014

How Good is Good?

Today is Marvelously Magnificent Miraculous Monday. Have you considered the miracles that have taken place in your life? Many of us don't give credit where credit is due. We decide to instead believe in a thing called Karma. Bad things happen to good people so how does that work in the Karma formula? Do you believe that if you are good enough, good things will happen to you? If so, I ask you, "How good is good?"

Jesus once asked a man why he called him good; allow me to share that conversation with you:

From the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 10, verses 17 -

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good - except God alone. You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother."

"Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy."

Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

We all have heard the saying 'love of money is the root to all evil'. Some shorten it to just say money is the root of all evil but it is truly the love of it. Our God does not like us to worship false idols. Money is a false idol and it rules many lives. It is even said that God is a jealous God, but we think in human terms when we hear that word. When God is jealous it is out of a form of protective love. When we love or think of things, money included, and put more importance on that thing than on God we lose out big time. Not so much because He stops communicating with us. He is always chasing us. It is because we have stopped seeking, listening, asking. When this takes place, we also begin to lean more toward sin than righteousness because we are no longer walking in step with the Holy Spirit.

The truth of the matter is, you can't be good enough on your own. We are all sinners. I sinned just this morning by allowing impatience and irritation to take the wheel for a moment and I was not exactly kind to my husband. I should have immediately stopped realizing where I was headed but I did not. My morning started before I had a chance to read even a snippet of God's word and I read it daily! But today was a new day and mine began before I had even dressed for battle. This is how quickly we are capable of sliding out of our righteousness into our flesh. This is why we need Jesus and this is why we need to wear our daily armor. The plain truth of the matter is we are never going to be good enough without Christ at the wheel.

The devil hates Christ and he hates freedom. He wants to bind you up in sin and tie you down with laws. He wants to convince you that there is a chance you can be good enough but lets face the truth, for that is what Jesus teaches. In Galatians 5:1, we read this:

So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law.

What does that verse mean you may be asking yourself. It means this; when you judge your brother by the law, you are also placing yourself under the law. We are not here to judge one another but to love one another. Not one of us is perfect and without sin in our lives. Don't be picking the speck of dirt out of anyone else's eye when most of us wake up with a few specks of our own each morning. Jesus covers all of this in the Bible as well. Just flip to the Book of Matthew, Chapter 7, verses 1-5:

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

Do you see how clearly it is stated that if you decide to govern others by the law, you are also yourself under the law and the law will bind you quickly when you are also seeking to please God with your life actions. Again, we will stumble, we will fail, we will have wicked thoughts, the evil one will use all this non good to cancel out your own good even in your own eyes and you will begin to have thoughts of doubt as to your goodness and the wheel of self doubt will begin. You of course will need to go out and do good to make up for your bad and soon you will discover yourself running in a senseless circle. Just realize today that no matter how 'good' you are, you are not good enough to enter into the kingdom of heaven on your own. Christ is the key to true salvation and an abundant life on earth.

I know this because in 2009, I began banging on God's door and as he is faithful, he opened the door and showed me many truths over the last 5 years. Now I am in college going for my degree in Biblical Studies. I am almost at the end of my first class which was 'An Introduction to the Bible'. When you ask God for knowledge, you just never know how he is going to give it to you!

God also has been giving me the desires of my heart as is also promised within the pages of the Bible. I did not seek him to have him grant the desires of my heart, I sought him because I was at the end of myself. Everything did not happen overnight. God certainly has things timed out and for a purpose that we may not always understand. I love what he has done through me. I love what he is doing through me. To date, I have written three books and I am working on my fourth one now. While all three can be read separate of one another, they are truly a wonderful collection that has a much deeper and fuller meaning when read together.

Today, I encourage you to help yourself by helping my ministry. Whether you prefer print books or e-books, all three of my published books are available on Amazon. In print, they will cost you $25.00 in electronic format, they only cost $13.00. My ministry receives the same margin of profit either way. In return, You will receive a priceless gift as you enjoy a true life story of a girl, her dreams, her failures and her finding her way back home. What are you waiting for? Buy your copies today!

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Wendy Glidden, walks with God, Mom of Many

© Wendy Glidden 2014

How I Ended Up Going Back to College

Colorado Christian University

Required Writing Essay

Written by: Wendy Glidden

Writing Prompt: Describe an event or an experience in my life and how it will influence my work and goals at Colorado Christian University:

.

In April of this year, God began preparing me for something big again. My world as I knew it seemed to be crumbling around me. I knew God never closes one door without opening another.

In the last few years, I have come to know that my best defense against the world is prayer and lots of it! I begin each morning talking with God and seeking his input. This particular April morning was no different.

At this point in my life, the place I was living in had given me notice that I had to move due to the fact that we had one too many members in our family living there according to government standards. We had until April 29th to move out.

God had given me an RV just two years prior. We had decided to move into it and see where God pointed us to next. I knew when he gave it to me it meant I would be traveling, I just wasn’t sure exactly when the traveling would begin.

Along with my notice from the apartment complex, I had not been able to hire a sitter whom I could entrust my five children with during the summer. I truly felt God was preparing to take me away from the family business; I just had no idea how it was going to play out. That was what I was praying over this particular April morning.

As I conversed with God, I said something like this, “Father, I know you are getting ready to move me; in that I have no doubt. I just want to make sure that I follow your will and not mine. You know how blind I am; please make your will obvious so that I have complete faith in your direction. In Jesus’ name I pray.”

When I sat down in front of my computer that same morning, I found K-loves encouraging word and I clicked on it. Instead of opening up to the word of the day as it has for the last couple of years, I was introduced to a contest awarding a $10,000.00 scholarship to attend Colorado Christian University. I looked to the heavens and asked, “You want me to go back to school?”

I knew in an instant the answer was a resounding yes. You see, over the course of the last year I have been studying God’s word and praying for greater understanding. I wanted time to dive deep into the Bible but my life was hectic to say the least! When God began removing the hectic out of my life, I knew something was up. I know he has big plans for me. This is why he sent me back to school. It is my intention to receive no less than an A in all my classes. I am grateful for the gifts my Lord has given me and I am determined to show my appreciation.

Wendy Glidden, walks with God, Mom of Many

© Wendy Glidden 2014