Deep thoughts by Jack Handy?

Does anyone out there remember those silly Saturday Night Live skits "Deep thoughts by Jack Handy?" http://www.deepthoughtsbyjackhandey.com/ (No, I wasn't always Miss Holy and yes I'm that old...) But anyway, I think Jack needed deliverance... he had some pretty ridiculous thoughts.

But I guess my point is this. Don't we all? Especially when it comes to our relationship with the Lord. One thing I've had to learn is that true intimacy with God starts with thoughts. How you might ask? Well our perception of our relationship with God will always be what we experience. If we think God doesn't speak to us, well guess what, we won't be able to hear his voice. Or if we think, he's upset with us and feeling guilty, those condemning thoughts will actually serve to separate us from God. Not because he's separated from us, but because we believe that He is. What we believe or perceive will end up being truth for us, even if it's not really true. Did that make sense? Am I sounding like Jack yet?

Anyway, my point is this: Sometimes we feel like we are million miles away from God, when in reality that's impossible. Think about it, if you have confessed Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then he lives inside of you and you were joined to Him (1 Cor. 6:17) . How can you be far away from someone who is one with you? But if you are like me and didn't grow up in a good word teaching church, your head was chalked full of religious ideas. For years, I know that I always had this nagging feeling that God was mad at me or not pleased with me for some reason. I was so aware of my inability to keep his commandments that my conscience was constantly condemning me. I had no revelation about how to live by grace.

But then I remember, one day in prayer, the Lord spoke to my heart and said, "Schlyce, if you're going to spend quality time with me, you are going to have to press past the lies you've been taught and believed in the past. You are going to have to take me at my word. I love you and I love to spend time with you. I do not see your sin. Jesus became your sin 2,000 years ago on the cross. It's over. So get over it. Quit feeling bad about something that has already been dealt with. If I don't remember your sins, why should you." Man, that set me free. Here I was spending all this time thinking about my sins rather than Jesus.

Another lie that I had to press past is the one that it's hard to hear God, when in reality that is not in line with God's word. The word is full of scriptures telling us that God speaks to us. In fact Jer. 33:3, tells us that when we call upon him, he will answer us and show us great and mighty things that we knowest not. God isn't rude. He doesn't ignore us when we speak to him. He doesn't use caller i.d. to screen us when we call. He always hears and answers us. In fact, he lives inside of us so even if we wanted to escape him, it's impossible. Ephesians 1:23 says that we are His very body, the fullness of Him, that filleth all (KJV). That means very simply that we are one with Him and the fullness of His presence is everywhere.

But is that our perception? Are we looking for a "feeling" or a external "sign" to prove to us that God is with us, listening and yes, talking back? We serve Love himself. He lives inside us. He's in every breath we take. He's not mad, disappointed, or surprised by anything I say or do. One of my favorites Psalms to meditate on is Psalm 139. When you get a moment, check it out. Read it in the New Living Translation if you have one or visit http://www.biblegateway.com/ for an online version. I read this Psalm a lot in my quiet time to help me get my perception right about how to approach God - believing that he's right there with me, at that moment, excited about getting to spend some quality time with me. And you know, once I get my perception right, I hear the most amazing things from the Lord.

So I urge you to approach the throne boldly today knowing that the throne is actually in your heart. And I think you'll agree with me that deep thoughts from the throne are infinitely deeper than any Jack Handy ever had...

Love,

Schlyce

The Power of the Secret Place

Wow! Think about it for a second. We have access to God Almighty through the shed blood of Jesus. We can come boldly to the throne of God for help and mercy in our time of need. There is no separation between God and me. We are one. He lives in me and I live in him. We go everywhere together. He never leaves me or forsakes me. He never gives up on me, talks down to me, or gossips about me. He always has me on his mind and is always thinking good thoughts about me. I can approach him without fear because Jesus paid the full price for my sins and I no longer have to be afraid or ashamed. He's not mad at me and he's never in a bad mood. He doesn't care what I look like or if I was perfect today. He loves me the same today, yesterday and forever and is coming back to get me so that I can be with him forever. Wow! Nothing compares to the love of God. Nothing compares to his goodness. Nothing compares to his glory.

I am so blessed just knowing that I belong to him. I love the secret place of His presence. How about you?

Food for thought on a lazy Sunday afternoon...

Love,

Schlyce

Lily of the Valley....

Well, I couldn't get very far into this adventure without introducing everyone to my precious little girl Lily. She's 4 1/2 months old and definitely the apple of my eye. Motherhood is absolutely blissful! What more can I say... Except that I owe the fact that I even have a daughter to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I told you I couldn't talk for 5 minutes without mentioning Jesus... (smile). But for those of you who may not know, Lily is a miracle baby. You see, I only have one fallopian tube and the doctor's told me that there was a good chance that I wouldn't be able to conceive. But hey, what do they know? They sure didn't know or understand that I had placed my heart and future in the best physician around - Dr. Jesus. He's never met a barren woman that he couldn't heal. For Jesus, having Lily was no big deal. But as for me and my faith - that was another story. It was definitely a process. First I miscarried and then I had to endure a failed attempt at home birth and subsequent c-section after learning that Lily was breech and presenting hind end first. But all's well that ends well and all I can say it that she's more than worth it!

By the way, Lily's name is from my favorite chapter in the Bible - Song of Solomon 1:1-2.

"I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. As the lily among thorns, so is my beloved among the daughters."

Yes, my first name is Sharon (Schlyce is actually my middle name) and so this verse just meant so much to me as I stood in faith to have my little girl. I mean as I meditated and meditated on that scripture, Lily became so real to me, even before she was conceived. I just knew that I was going to have a little girl named Lily. As far as I was concerned, I was the rose of Sharon and the Lily of the valleys, so having Lily just had to happen! Which of course, Jesus (also known as the Word) was more than happy to produce.

So be blessed today and remember...

God is faithful (reliable, trustworthy, and therefore ever true to His promise, and He can be depended on)by Him you were called into companionship and participation with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. - 1 Corinthians 1:9

Love,

Schlyce

Hello World!

Well, I guess it's official. I tried to resist, but what can I say, here I am. I finally decided to hop onto the blogger bandwagon. I guess I finally got it - - what an awesome way to share the joy of knowing Jesus. I mean where else can you have a real, uninterrupted conversation with the world?

Of course, for those of you that know me, this probably is no surprise. You've already figured out that not only do I love to talk, but I'm crazy in love with Jesus. So much so in fact, that I just can't seem to keep him to myself. I mean honestly, just holding a conversation for 5 minutes without talking about Jesus is almost impossible for me. But even so, I don't think I'm weird, I actually think to live any other way isn't really living.

Ya know, the word says that those who have been forgiven much love much (Luke 7:47). So maybe I'm just one of those who realizes how utterly and hopelessly lost I'd be without Jesus. I'm just sooooo thankful that I know him and it's my heart's cry for others to know him too. I mean not just know of him, have read about him, or even prayed to him. I mean really know him - intimately - the way you know your best friend or sister or brother or mom or dad or husband or wife. I mean to know him so well, that you know, that you know, that you know, that nothing in all of creation can compare to him. And because of that he becomes your obsession...not money, not cars, not people, not the past, not your future, but him. Becuase once you know him that way, you realize that he's the only thing that will every really satisfy the longings of your heart.

So world, here I am. But readers beware, my heartfealt prayer is that whoever joins this crazy blog ride with me, becomes a crazy, love-sick, Jesus freak just like me. :)

Totally His,
Schlyce