“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. … John 15:1-7

Often I desire to be able to focus on one thing at a time. Everyday I feel like I am being pulled in a million different directions. Mental exhaustion at the end of the day is pretty typical for me, everything on my to do list seems too important to cross off.

I find myself playing catch up in almost every area of my life including laundry, money, housekeeping, bible study, and grocery shopping. Finding the best way to divide my time seems almost impossible.

Often I will go to God with my overwhelm, begging Him to please help. Help lessen the financial burden by helping us get caught up or help me to be able to manage it all. I want it to be OK to not have a clean organized home, or to eat fast food everyday. But none of this is good for my family so I work to change it.

I work to try and do everything on my to do list only to have stuff left on it and I end up playing catch up the next day. Or I try to work more in order to meet our needs and I avoid sleep so I can finally try to get caught up.

But no matter what I do the disorganization and the overwhelm that is in my mind and life never seem to be resolved…until I put my complete focus on God.

When I focus on His promises, or I focus on His provision, I’m not overwhelmed anymore. Or when I focus on the individuals and the relationships that’s when I’m not overwhelmed by the big numbers that equal success.

When I focus on God I take life one moment at a time. Of course my flesh wants to be the center of attention, but my focus needs to be on God and not on me.

I desire to be able to focus on one thing at a time and when I focus on God I am truly able to go throughout my day without being overwhelmed.

And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” Psalm 50:15

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for this beautiful day. Everyday I wake up to a list of things to do and it is truly overwhelming at times. Often I have no idea where to start because they all are important. I am so thankful to be able to turn to You and put my focus on You. When I do You are always there to guide me. Lord please continue to guide. Show me where to pour my heart into. Guide me in when I should say no, and motivate me when I say yes. Thank You for always being there even when my heart is resistant and selfish. I pray this in Jesus’ name. – Amen!

Copyright © 2012 Heather Bixler, All Rights Reserved

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

Do you freely come to God, no matter what is happening in your life? I don’t often enough. Especially when I’ve sinned.  When I’ve messed up with my kids, yelled or said something unkind, the last thing I do is come before God.

In fact, I’m more likely to stay away for a while until I feel worthy. This passage describes the throne as belonging to our gracious God. When Christ died on the cross, the veil in the temple was torn in two. The barrier separating sinner from our holy God was removed. Christ has made us worthy to come before the throne of God. We don’t have to purify ourselves or clean up our mess before we approach Him. Jesus already did that.

Even when my life is a mess and I struggle with sin, I can still come boldly. At the throne, I will receive mercy. He gives me mercy for my past sins and grace to help me through whatever is going on in my life.

We have so much to gain when we approach Him boldly–and nothing to fear. When the whispers of doubt creep in, we must remember His grace and mercy. He desires real relationship with us, not one where we withdraw in fear.

Will you enter His throne room boldly today?

For further reading: Ephesians 3:12, John 1:16, 2 Thess. 2:16-17, Matthew 11:28-30

Copyright © 2012 Christina Fox, All Rights Reserved

Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith. Habakkuk 2:4

What does it take to walk by faith? This is a question I have been pondering for a couple of months now and with the New Year here I feel God strongly impressing on my heart that the word FAITH is my word for this year.

Last year my word was healing, and 2011 definitely brought healing in every area of my life. It seems a bit strange to go from healing to faith because in my mind it takes faith to bring healing. However seeing God’s faithfulness in bringing healing to my life will definitely be fresh in my mind as I learn to walk in faith this year.

Part of me is afraid. The fear that comes with walking in faith is there because of the unknown. Faith means I won’t have all the answers, and right now I would LOVE some answers. Or maybe I will think I have the answers only to have everything fall out of place again only to leave me with more questions than answers.

Faith means trusting God when you can’t see past two feet in front of you. It means walking down a winding road in the fog with confidence and boldness only because you KNOW that you’re here because that’s where God has brought you.

Walking in faith is not easy for me, especially since I am pretty comfortable worrying and being afraid of everything. I like to have control and I like to plan and set goals. But lately my plans and goals seem to be falling through the cracks and all I’m left with is my faith in God and His promises – which really seems to be enough.

So in 2012 I plan to walk by faith so I can also walk in His grace.

Faith brings us grace because when we walk by faith we find our self in a vulnerable place where we let go of control and surrender to Him. We can’t walk by faith if we have a heart of pride. Faith brings us to a place of humility because we finally find our strength in Him instead of what we can accomplish on our own.

Faith is enough. God is enough. His promises are enough, and He always keeps His promises.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for another hour, day, week, year. It is a wonderful blessing to be alive and well. Thank you for your provision and healing. So much has happened last year, and I look back on it with gratitude in my heart. Right now it’s difficult to find that gratitude, joy, and confidence simply because things aren’t going the way I had planned, and I have no clue where things are going really. I am grateful for the rainbows You send me, they remind me that You always keep Your promises. I think I can walk down the path You lead me with confidence and boldness this year if I can get a little glimpse of Your promises and a rainbow every once in awhile. Lord, even though it’s not easy to walk by faith, I also know it is a blessing because it keeps me focused on YOU and YOUR strength and provision in my life. And for that I am grateful. I pray this in your might son Jesus’ name. – AMEN!

Copyright © 2012 Heather Bixler, All Rights Reserved

Today I am linking up with “What is Your Word for 2012?“

“When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” Luke 2:16-20

The word Advent means coming or arrival of something long anticipated. The Messiah had been long anticipated for thousands of years. No wonder the excitement of the shepherds!

The season of Advent is a time of waiting and preparation for Christmas Day. It is a time to slowly consider and meditate on the wonder of the plan of redemption beginning in a stable. Remember the promise God made to Abraham and confirmed throughout the Old Testament. Read again about His faithfulness and love for His people. Meditate on the glorious truth that God became man. Be humbled as Mary was that God uses broken, imperfect people to fulfill His plan.

Waiting doesn’t come easy to most of us. In fact, it’s become an obsolete skill these days. This time of year it is even harder to quiet our hearts. Be intentional about meditating on the story of Christmas and expect your soul to overflow in joyful response.

This Advent, be filled with wonder and amazement as the shepherds were. Take the time to “treasure up all these things and ponder them” in your heart.

For additional study: Luke 1:46-55, Luke 1:68-75, Colossians 1:15-20

Copyright © 2011 Christina Fox, All Rights Reserved

“One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.” Psalm 27:4

Is the Lord your delight or is your relationship with Him more of a chore? Do you desire and seek to be in His presence or are you just going through the motions?

When our faith is brand new, it is exciting to be in His presence. Like a young couple in love, we can can’t bear to be apart from God. We read His word, drink it in, and can’t seem to get enough of it.

But then the details of life get in the way. Our private and corporate worship becomes dry. We put all our energy into our responsibilities in our daily life and little is left over for God. Half hearted prayers are spoken. Like a couple who have been married for years and have forgotten the joy they once had when first dating, our relationship with God can become dull and boring.

How to return to our first love?

The psalmist knew how to find joy in the Lord–by saturating himself in the Word. David says in Psalm 119, “Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.” (vs. 97) Focusing on God and His Word each day brings Him front and center. When God is placed at the center of our daily life, He becomes the focus and purpose for all that we do. We can then delight in Him while folding laundry, doing dishes, taking care of kids and all the other responsibilities of day-to-day life. These activities can in fact become an act of bringing glory to our Creator because we do it for Him.

When we soak up His word, we come into His presence. God speaks directly to our souls through His Word. A soul saturated by the Word of Truth will ooze joy from its pores and the aroma will sweeten everything that we do–including laundry, cooking and cleaning.

The Word is powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrew 4:12). It changes us from the inside out. The more we read, the more we desire to read. The more we are exposed to His Word, the more we see the grace of God, and the more we delight in Him. This transforms our personal worship, our corporate worship and our day-to-day lives.

For more opportunities to taste and see: Psalm 42:1, Zephaniah 3:17, Psalm 100 and Jude 1:24.

Copyright © 2011 Christina Fox, All Rights Reserved

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1-3

Often our heart and motivation to do something can be wrong.

A lot of times we can be motivated by our fear and desires, rather than our motivation to serve others and God. When we are motivated by our fear or our desires to do something the result often leads to control, anger, and frustration. We may even lose the trust of those around us. But what else can we expect when we ourselves do not trust in god?

Being a wife and mother takes a lot of faith. So often we feel the call to be perfect, but God never asked us to be perfect. In Ephesians 4:2 it tells us that in order to have the right motivation when it comes to answering our call we need to keep a humble heart. In other words it’s OK you’re not perfect, that’s the whole point!

Recently I have been noticing where I am weak. Often I like cling to my successes and forget my failures. But now I see where I fail God succeeds. If we are ever going to live a life where we are being led by the Holy Spirit we need to embrace the truth, and the truth is we are weak. However the good news is that when we are weak we are also humble, and the Holy Spirit is able to work in our lives. Then we are motivated to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord.

Sometimes our motivation isn’t always right, but humility comes when we are able to confess that our motivation is wrong. Humility doesn’t try to make things better or perfect, humility surrenders their weaknesses to God. Humility opens our heart to be motivated every day by the Holy Spirit…

Prayer:

Dear God, Thank you for bringing me to a place where I can recognize my weaknesses and surrender them to you. Even though I know bringing me to this point is never easy. Lord I will continue to seek You so that truth will always be revealed to me. Sometimes all I have is my love for You that brings me to the point of seeking Your truth, and I am thankful for You always being by my side, teaching me, and guiding me. Lord be my strength where I am weak. I pray this in Jesus’ name. – AMEN!

Copyright © 2011 Heather Bixler, All Rights Reserved

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 (ESV)

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 (ESV)

A brain fuzzy from lack of sleep, I try to handle a sibling conflict. Impatient, I speak harshly. I enforce unnecessary consequences. Later, I realize I had made matters worse. I wasn’t Christ-like in my interactions with my children. Instead of pointing them toward Christ, my behavior turned them away.

Some days, my failures as a mother point an accusing finger straight at my soul. It tells me I am no good and a failure as a Christ-follower.

Do you have days where you feel like you’ve failed in your walk with Christ?

Scripture challenges those lies that I am a failure. Instead, it tells me that while I was yet a sinner, Christ died for me. (Romans 5:8) When I stumble in my walk, I remind myself that he bore those very sins on the cross. His grace covers me each time I fall.

Not only that, the Bible tells me that the path to holiness has already been paved. The righteous life Jesus lived is given to me. I just need to walk in it. He will complete the good work he started. Christ paid a high price for me, He will not allow me to fail.

I rest in that promise and it strengthens me.

On those days where I stumble in my flesh, He pulls me back up so that I may stand on the road of grace. And I remember anew the Love that died for me. It was His grace that paid for me, His grace that gives me His righteousness and His grace that helps me to continue my walk with Him.

Do you sense His grace today?

For further reading: Hebrews 4:16, 2 Peter 1:2, Romans 5:10

Copyright © 2011 Christina Fox, All Rights Reserved

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

As a mom most of my daily, or weekly, chores includes laundry. Laundry in a family of five is never ending, there is always laundry that needs to be washed, folded, and put away. I spend a lot of time washing clothes because I want to make sure my kid’s have nice clean clothes to wear. I go out and spend money on new clothes because I want my children to have clothes that fit them, and again I want them to have nice clothes to wear.

I try not to complain about doing laundry, even though it really is never ending. I try not to complain because having a lot of laundry is truly a “side effect” to the many blessings we have in this house. Lots of laundry means I have a family, we have clothes, and I have a washer and dryer to clean them in. It’s hard to complain about laundry when you look at it from the perspective that a lot of clothes equal many blessings.

However with all of the many blessings, there is one thing that irks me when it comes to laundry. The one thing that upsets me the most about doing laundry is when my children put clean clothes in the dirty clothes hamper. They have a couple of reasons for doing this:

1.) They put clean clothes in the dirty hamper because they don’t feel like folding and putting away their clean laundry.

2.) They don’t “like” the item of clothing so they just keep throwing it in the dirty clothes hamper.

This is a huge problem with me when they do this. Whenever it does happen I get upset. I wonder WHY buy them new clothes and put myself through the struggle of separating, pre-treating, washing, and drying their clothes so they can have clean clothes to wear, if they are just going to put on the same clothes again and again?

I know that God doesn’t doubt His sacrifice of His only Son when I put on my old dirty clothes. You see just like my kids, when they don’t feel like taking care of their new, clean clothes, we sometimes treat the new person we are in Christ the same way.

We have been clothed with glory by the King of Kings when we become believers, but too many of us are living our new life in dirty old clothes. Too often we cling to the lies that were told to us long before we became believers instead of living a life glorifying God.

I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61:10

Why as believer’s are we always taking off our robe of righteousness in order to wear the dirty old clothes? Why are we instead throwing our garments of salvation into the dirty clothes hamper?

One day I will learn to walk this earth wearing my robe of righteousness proudly all the while sharing the glory of God with everyone around me. I think for a lot of us we get comfortable in our old clothes. Everyone has that old t-shirt or sweatshirt that is soft against your skin. It may have holes in it, but it sure in comfortable.

Comfort and safety is what we seek when we wear our old dirty clothes. But the truth is comfort, safety, and the peace we seek only comes from the One who has blessed us with His grace and mercy. If we want REAL peace then we need to learn to wrap ourself with the robe of righteousness every single day, even if it is just a robe that hides who we truly are underneath. Only in Christ can we walk around this earth as royalty and a servant leader.

Prayer:

Dear Father God, Thank you for this beautiful day. God I am tired of wearing old dirty clothes. God, I am tired. Every day instead of putting on my robe of righteousness I put on my old dirty clothes. But not now. From now on I will wake up and put on my beautiful golden robe of righteousness, the gift you gave me through the sacrifice of your Son Jesus. I will walk this earth, imperfections and all, with confidence because I know that wherever I am weak Your grace will cover me. When there is less of me, those around me see more of YOU! Lord cover me in your grace. Today and tomorrow, and the next day, I will walk through doors and open my heart up to the life you have set for me. It won’t be easy, but I know you are right there with me. I pray this in Jesus’ name. – Amen

Copyright © 2011 Heather Bixler, All Rights Reserved

“Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58

Vain: Producing no result; useless

When I first started online with the desire to make a difference and serve the Lord through my writing, I often held onto the scripture above.

Often I ask myself “Why am I doing this?” Sometimes this is in reference to homeschooling my three kiddos, being a stay at home mom, or even my writing. Recently I spoke out loud about my frustrations to my family and my youngest wisely spoke up and said: “Mommy, DON’T give up!” and my husband followed with: “Wait on God’s timing.” These words are truly encouraging words, and in this scripture God is encouraging you to do the same thing with whatever it is you are doing for HIM!

SO many times in our life we can often wonder if what we do is really making a difference. Especially if we have yet to see any fruit from our labor. But this scripture is so encouraging, it’s one of God’s many beautiful promises that EVERYTHING we do for Him will never be in vain. Whether it be holding our tongue out of respect of the other person, or even the mundane tasks associated with being a mom, like dishes and yes even LAUNRDY, everything we do for the Lord has meaning. Everything we do for Him, and because of Him, will one day produce fruit. This is God’s promise to you.

So when you begin to wonder if what you are doing to serve Him really matters, just remember His promise to you in this scripture, and know that God is telling you to NOT give up, and wait on HIS perfect timing.

Prayer:

Dear God, Oh how impatient I am. Oh how restless I get. You know this, and yet you never get restless or impatient with me. Lord I am hanging onto your promise that everything I do for You and because of You will never be done in vain. As I work through my desire to give up and pursue something easier, more profitable, more about me, I pray for Your loving guidance and direction. Lord show me the way. Let me know in my heart what You know. Lord I ask for you to once again line my heart up with Yours. I pray this in Jesus’ name. – Amen!

Copyright © 2011 Heather Bixler, All Rights Reserved

“Desires of My Heart” is a powerful eBook that will help you work to get past any barriers you may have that is inhibiting your walk with the Lord, while also encouraging you to live a life guided by The Holy Spirit.

“I encourage you to prayerfully read this book. It could change your heart.” – M. Sheldon

This eBook is great if you struggle with:

• Living a life that is delighted in the Lord.
• Feelings of Failure.
• Feelings of not being good enough.
• Contentment.

The Desires of My Heart eBook is available in PDF, Kindle, and nook format. You can download your eBook and begin reading today!