A note from Lisa.........

Hi GEMS!!!

It's a crisp fall day as I look out my window. I had a bit of rough start this morning with my kids (it is a rare thing for us, but I'm sure you can all relate that it was "one of those days"). We were all good by the time they left, but it wasn't an easy morning. Just as I was gearing up to get really irritated at my son, I dug deep and threw up a "Please enter in here Lord - because I'm about to get ugly". And He did -- kept my tongue for going silly. This week, I was reading Psalm 141 and verse 3 stuck out....maybe God was getting me ready for this morning.....?

Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips.

I'm reminded that even when I want to put off ugly ways -- I have to replace that ugliness with the beauty of God's truth. It's not enough for me to "want" to be a good mom -- I need His help. When I am tempted to lose control of my tongue, I try to hold it -- but that's not enough. I put off the sin (hold my tongue) - but the Bible tells us that if we want victory over sin, we also have to "put on Christ" (Eph. 4:22-24, Romans 13:14)--in this case, I "put on" that Bible verse as my way of holding off losing my tongue. Because of His Holy Spirit living in me, we were able to navigate this morning with more victory than shame. That Bible verse running through my head was what I could focus on instead of getting wrapped up in my irritation. God is good - and He's an ever present help in time of need.

We need to know His Word so well that we can call up those verses we need when we need them! At GEMS next week, I'm going to outline something for those who want to have a structured way to read through the Bible in a year. I'm going to start on this journey again and I think it would be awesome if we did it together!

Last thing: Next week (Nov. 12) we will be talking about forgiveness. God has been leading me to some really wonderful teachings about forgiveness....and how we can walk in freedom from the burden that other people put on us. Every one of us has been hurt in some way in our lives. The Bible stands ready to teach us the way to live in freedom from those hurts.

I hope you'll be able to join us. I'm looking forward to our time together - please be praying for our next meeting. Lift up the message to God...for Him to communicate what He wants us to hear. Pray for your small group.

I daily pray for GEMS. It is a huge blessing!

Have a good rest of your week.
Blessings to you!
Lisa