Faith Filled Fridays From Croley’s Corner of Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

“But Master”...Simon answered, “We’ve worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets" Luke 5:5 NIV

Good morning to all our coffee hour friends. What a great glorious Friday to be alive.  Grab your favorite beverage, journal and let’s get started.

Have you ever found yourself arguing with God or for that matter tried to state your point?  If you’re honest, you can assuredly, maybe even sheepishly, answer yes!

We spent a weekend with our son and his family recently and certainly had a great time, until trouble brewed with the grandchildren. As grandparents, boy is it hard not to interfere. And for the most part, when being corrected, they will surrender to their actions with no further arguing. However, this time I overheard one say, “But dad!”  When it was all said and done, daddy’s insights were spot on and then the blessings took over.

We will find today in Luke 5:1-11 that there was one man named Simon who is later known as Simon Peter, who figured he could argue with Jesus. Really, argue with Jesus?  Let’s take a look into this passage and see what’s in store for Simon Peter and for many others included.

One of the first sermons Jesus ever gave was from a boat. It was Simon’s boat. You see, Simon’s fishing business was in a slump. They had just fished all night and caught nothing.  When Jesus arrived, He picked Simon Peter’s boat to teach to the multitudes and asked him to push out a little from land. When He had stopped speaking, Jesus said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” But Simon answered Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”

You say to yourself, really, Simon; you just witnessed Jesus healing your wife’s mother and you question Jesus’ ability? Sure enough, when Simon let go, Jesus blessed them. They caught so many fish their nets were breaking. Jesus knew, yet pressed Simon to go beyond what his eyes were seeing.

We all, at one time or another, have felt the pressures of life. We’ve had our share of wearisome times, wringing our hands wondering where the next provision was coming and the “needs list” just seemed to grow, like a Chia pet.  We must find ourselves at a place in our lives whether to trust God and then determine that God’s word never ever fails. Simon Peter had to choose to either trust in the very words of Jesus or argue and deal with the consequences of his unwise decision. Simon almost missed a blessing not only for himself but for others as well.

Do you see here the perpetuation of God’s blessings? When there are times of drought in our lives…we must press in. We must hear what the Master is saying and not be so eager to argue:”But Master!”   When Jesus is requiring something from us we must be willing to let go of what we hold so closely to our hearts. Just like when Simon Peter fell at the feet of Jesus with sorrow, and Jesus with His sweet words responded to Peter: “Don’t be afraid.”

He is our source of everything and knows our situation. He is more than willing to bless His children when we say “Ok, Master”!

Hope your weekend will be full. Until next week, Love,

Deb

Jenn's Journey from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Happy Monday! I hope that your weekend was filled with rest, relaxation and some fun! Thanks for starting your week here with me. Grab a cup of coffee or some tea, and enjoy.
There was a time in my life when I did not want children. I am not sure of all the reasons I had in my mind then, but I know I was not sure I felt up to the task or the responsibility. After a few years of marriage though, I did change my mind. Then came five years of infertility. :( Those were painful and disappointing years, and then …God answered my prayer to become a mom in a most amazing way: through the gift of adoption.
The past six years of being a mom have been like nothing I have ever imagined. I am thankful every single day for this beautiful child of mine. One thing that has surprised me in the parenting journey is how much she has taught ME!
The other night as I was tucking my daughter in for the night, she threw her arms around my neck and said "Mom, I have so much love inside of me and I saved it all to give to you!" My heart melted; how could it not? What innocence and utter abandon, love without strings.
I have thought of this over and over through the week. It made me think of Matthew 18:3 when Jesus told His followers: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." I've always understood this verse to be talking about childlike faith, and I believe it is. But, I'd like to point out that we can take more from this than that.
Children give love easily and they accept love easily. As adults we become jaded through years of disappointments, hurt and pain. I have a very hard time accepting that love is real so I often push it away...yet I long for it! I've recently understood that I do this to God as well. There is always the lingering thought that perhaps He doesn't want me to come to Him since I've messed up yet again, or how could He possibly love me as much as I've always heard He does?
Remember the story of mothers bringing their children to Jesus and His disciples turning them away? You can find that story in Mark 10:13-16. Jesus was very upset with His friends and called those kids right back. He picked them up in His arms. The commentary says: “He brought them into the closest possible relationship to Him as an unspoken rebuke to the disciples for trying to separate them from Him."
Can you imagine being hugged by Jesus? That thought brings tears to my eyes.
This is what He longs to do for us though! He longs for us to become childlike so we can accept the gift of His love.  He is saying "I have so much love inside to give and I saved it all to give to you"
This week, let's challenge ourselves to be more like little children..let's accept the love God has for us..and then go share that with others.
Until next week, be blessed.

 Jenn

Power Fridays-Fan or Follower-from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power…

I just love Fridays, don’t you? For most of us, it’s the end of our work week, and around the corner is some sleeping-in time, maybe a fun activity or two with friends and family, and of course, time to breathe while doing all the duties of a wife and/or mom. For those of you who have been joining us on Fridays, we will be returning to Power Fridays for a while and putting Jeff’s Java Hour on hold until he’s feeling more settled and less overwhelmed!  Grab your coffee and come on in so I can share from my heart to yours from a book called Not A Fan, and how the author, Kyle Idleman, has pierced my heart and inspired this power thought.
So my husband was actually given this book by one of the owners of the company he works for, who obviously doesn’t really know my honey very well, because the only thing he reads with any consistency is the Bible! And that’s not a dig on either of them, by the way; I’m just sharing that my husband doesn’t usually read “books,” including mine!
Anyway, it was sitting in his truck for a couple of weeks and one day on our way to somewhere, I began to flip through the pages. What I read caught my attention, immediately! It was as though the book was just waiting to be opened so it could literally reach out, grab a hold of both of my ears, and then come back for my heart, too, and … all I can say is oh, em, gee, it has done all of that and more so I have to share!
So for a while, I will share thought-provoking lessons from this book, paraphrasing it so as not to plagiarize but also share how his words spoke to me. I just love how God does that; gifts people to write/teach and though we as authors may feel as though we are merely a needle in a haystack – this guy’s a huge needle and I’m oh, such a tiny one! — and it is up to Him to pluck us out and pierce the hearts of others. I pray what I share pierces your heart in such a way to cause you to think about your relationship with the One who loves you like no one else can!
This book is really piercing my heart and making me think about things that I don’t know that I’ve thought too much about, and also challenged me in areas where I thought I was okay with. For now I’ll leave you with this first thought that captured my ears, heart and mind which is based on the miracle of Jesus feeding hundreds with just a few loaves of bread and fish [Matthew 14:13-21]: What is it you show up to church functions for? Is it the free food? Do you just go for social reasons? Are you part of the crowd returning to the next event for more of the same, just like a fan, or are you a follower?
So many churches, and ministries, are so “seeker-friendly,” caught up in making Jesus look as attractive as possible so others would come to have eternal life, with the best of intentions in mind, but in the process, we are creating fans and not so many followers.
Share your thoughts. What do you think the difference between the two is?
Yearning to follow after Him,

Evinda