Day 269 The Secret Path

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Matthew 5:17-18

Jesus came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. He accepted the difficulty and discipline of life in order to share with the lives of His followers.

Today's devotional touched my heart. I know we all have experienced suffering or difficulty in one way or another. But when we walk through it with Jesus we find comfort because He knows what it is like to suffer.

Jesus shared in our human suffering.

The two women who asked AJ Russell to publish their journals as the God Calling devotional book often write just what I need to hear. I quote what God spoke to them in today's journal entry:

"Beloved, you are called to save and share in a very special way. The way of sorrows if walked with Me, the Man of Sorrows, is a path kept sacred and secret for My nearest and dearest, those whose one desire is to do all for Me, to sacrifice all for Me, to count, as My servant Paul did, "All things but loss so that they night gain Me."

In my walk with God through the challenges of life on this secret path, I have found His unconditional love.

I feel accepted by my beloved Christ.

I have experienced forgiveness beyond understanding.

He has been my strength.

I hope He is your strength too.

God bless your heart with strength as you walk this secret path.

Gigi
http://www.gigimurfitt.com/

The idea for this blog post came from the September 28 devotion in God Calling by AJ Russell.

Day 262 See the Father

Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? John 14:8-9

Do you see the Father when you look at Jesus?

Our Father is the creator of the universe.

Sometimes we see the loving, caring Jesus but we have a difficult time seeing the Father God who reaches down to touch us through Jesus.

Is it perhaps because our own earthly father did not treat us with unconditional love?

Is it because we felt abandoned by our dad and we believe God will abandon us too?

Is it because we never knew our biological father?

Remember Jesus and the Father are ONE.

Jesus only did what the Father told him to do.

All the unconditional love we see in the caring and nurturing Jesus who went to the cross on our behalf is the Father love of God too.

I pray you will see the Father.

SEE is a theme for me this week. Yesterday in my Bible study we talked about how God sees us for who we really are and loves us. He sees our tears and even stores them for us. He sees our potential.

He sees YOU.

I do too. I see you reaching out and grabbing his hand.

God bless your heart.

Gigi

The idea for this blog post came from the September 21^st devotional in God Calling by AJ Russell.

Day 261 Taste and Trust

For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endures to all generations. Psalm 100:5

Oh taste and see that the Lord is good. Psalm 34:8

God truly is good…all the time.

• Even when I'm left fatherless at age seven? Yes, God is good.
• Even when I feel abandoned and misunderstood as a teenager? Yes, God is good.
• Even when my life choices lead to great pain and sorrow? Yes, God is good.
• Even when our son is born with severe congenital birth defects? Yes, God is good.
• Even when my loving, caring mom falls deep into depression and dementia? Yes, God is good
• Even when life transitions are prickly and challenging? Yes, God is STILL good.

God is not evil. Satan is evil.

I trust God.

His mercy and truth are everlasting.

God Bless your heart with trust in our Good God.

Gigi

http://www.gigimurfitt.com/
The idea for this blog post came from the September 20^th devotional in the God Calling book by AJ Russell.

Day 157 How Men See Me

But my God shall supply all of your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:39

Do you believe God supplies your need? Have you asked Him?


Is your want different than your need?

I try to focus on how God supplies the needs of others and it builds my faith.

But it is the never ending supply I've seen in my life that has made my faith strong.

Even in the lean times He has been faithful.

Life is hard.

There are things we don't understand. But I still choose to believe God is good.

It is when I see who He is in my life that my faith comes alive.

There is not one man - but God - who could be these things to me.

For me, I see God as…

The God – Friend

The God – Father

The God – Savior

The God – Healer of my broken heart

The God – Counselor

The God – Supplier of all of my needs (not necessarily all of my wants)

God Bless Your Heart with rich supply

Gigi
http://www.gigimurfitt.com/

The idea for this blog post came from the June 6 devotional entry in the book God Calling by AJ Russell. I'm posting a few of the older entries I made in my journal this week. It's always good to go back and see what God was saying weeks, months and years ago. That's why I encourage you to journal. I can always find a nugget of God's wisdom somewhere on the pages of my journal as I pour my heart out to God and listen for His response in prayer.

Day 256 Quiet Strength

The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Exodus 33:14

Are you stressed out? Worried sick? Worn out? Just plain tired?

I feel that way during seasons of change. It takes me awhile to adjust.

But then I remember to rest in assurance that God will give me rest when the world wants to hand me turmoil.

With rest comes peace.

With peace comes joy.

My worry for the future is given over to the peace giver.

Then His power flows through me and the peace flows like a river.

The Bible tells me in Isaiah 30:15 that "In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength."

Quiet confidence works for me.

How about you?

Today I'm praying that your weary soul will find rest. In Him.

God Bless Your Heart,

Gigi
http://www.gigimurfitt.com/


I am thankful for the way this book has guided my daily quiet time. It seems to be just right for the season. The idea for this blog post came from my devotional journal titled God Calling by AJ Russell published by Barbour Publishing.

Day 255 When Faith Fails

So watch your step, friends. Make sure there's no evil unbelief lying around that will trip you up and throw you off course, diverting you from the living God. Hebrews 3:12 (The Message)

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the father cried, "Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!" Mark 9:24 (The Message)

Believing can sometimes be difficult when the circumstances of our lives are far from what we expected.

We want to have faith for something different but the scene is playing unfamiliar and uncomfortable.

So what does God ask of us in this situation?

• To trust.
• To believe anyway.
• To look beyond our circumstance and see His power.
• To believe He is our Helper and our Savior.
• To trust Him as Lord over every single one of our challenges.

Ask Him like the father did in Mark 9:24.

He hears your cry for help in your unbelief. His power will help you believe more and more.

Absolute trust.

Can you do it? I think you can and I'm praying for you now.

God bless your heart that cries out to God for strength and power. Just ask Him.

Gigi
http://www.gigimurfitt.com/

The idea for this blog post came from the devotional book God Calling by AJ Russell published by Barbour Publishing. I highly recommend it as a daily devotional tool to spur you on in the things of God.

Exciting Fall for Writing and Speaking

God is doing amazing things in my life with regard to my writing and speaking. Over the summer I completed a Writer's Digest course where I submitted 35,000 words from my latest manuscript for critique.

The biggest lesson I learned was that I need to be more authentic in my writing. I heard it from so many people - most importantly GOD - that I'm changing my manuscript a bit. No, I'm changing it a lot!

Rather than skim over some of the challenges I've faced in my life story, I'm sharing from my heart and telling more of the journey to wholeness and healing.

It's scary. I'm afraid. But I'm working it through.

The other cool things happening on the writing and speaking front involve a writing conference I'm attending this month and an intensive speaking class and one day workshop I'll participate in next month.

Here are the details of the one day workshop open to members and nonmembers who want to improve their craft:

October 9, 2010: One Power-packed Day, 2 Incredible Choices!

Both sessions run from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

BILL BUTTERWORTH - Finding Your Speaking Voice (http://www.billbutterworth.com/)

In this one day event, Bill will cover Putting Together a Successful Presentation, Humor, Storytelling, and How To Be More Persuasive in Your Speaking. The intent is to help you take your speaking to the next level.

Bill Butterworth’s extraordinary ability to blend humor, story-telling, wisdom and practicality has made him one of the most sought after speakers in venues throughout North America. Through his wit, warmth, insight, and realism, he brings help and hope to his audiences everywhere. Because of his remarkable abilities, Bill was awarded The Hal Holbrook Award by the International Platform Association, whose past and present members include Mark Twain, Theodore Roosevelt, Bob Hope, and Elizabeth Dole. They consider him one of the select few to be named a Top Rated Speaker.

In the writing world, Bill’s latest contribution is a series of business books with the overall title On The Fly. The first two books are called On The Fly Guide to Balancing Work and Life and On The Fly Guide to Building Successful Teams. They are being published by WaterBrook Press, a division of Random House. Besides the On The Fly series, Bill has written over a dozen books including The Promise of the Second Wind and When Life Doesn’t Turn Out Like You Planned.

REBECA SEITZ - The Publicity Process & Powerful Strategies

Part 1: Wanted: First Time Published Writers Who Have No Idea What To Do Next. What does it mean to publicize a book? How does a literary publicist let readers know your book is coming? What can you do to join in the process? Which things should you do and which will your publisher accomplish? For those who are just beginning their trek into the world of literary publicity, come have your questions answered and learn the process that most books follow from acquired manuscript to publicized book.

Part 2: Powerful Publicity: Building Book Sales. Do you have two or more books just sitting on bookstore shelves? Perhaps you’ve wrestled with the disappointment of not hitting the best-seller list right out of the gate and yet you’re certain this is what God created you to do—write. Agents and publishers have warned you if your sales don’t increase, you’ll be hard-pressed to continue finding book contracts. What can you do to help increase sales of your books? Publicity!

Rebeca Seitz, President of Glass Road Public Relations and author of five novels, has assisted a wide variety of authors from debut novelists to New York Times best-sellers. She’ll share strategies that you can employ to raise awareness for your books among consumers and get those sales numbers climbing. Also, if you’ve tried publicity tactics in the past but experienced lackluster results, be sure to bring your stories to this workshop! Rebeca will help you determine what didn’t work and why so that you can begin practicing effective, powerful publicity.

http://www.glassroadpr.com/about/seitz.php

NCWA Member Rate - $115 – Non-Member Rate $135 - includes lunch and snacks

Location: Northshore Baptist Church, Bothell WA

http://nwchristianwriters.org/events.html

I hope you feel God's touch on your life today.
 
God Bless Your Heart
Gigi

Day 252 A Generous Giver

For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. John 6:33

Gifts: Life, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control.

Could you use some of these gifts?

We receive them from the most generous gift-giver of all – Jesus. They are available to us when we stay grafted to the Vine.

He came that we might live life abundantly.

Staying connected is the key.

Are you living an abundant life filled with joy and peace?

Good for you. That makes me smile.

If not, then tap into the source of abundant life by connecting with Jesus through the Bible, prayer and hanging out with other like-minded people. It's the best gift ever.

We can't make ourselves loving and kind. At least not long term. We need to plug into the love of Christ which flows through us.

Plug in my friend. There is an abundant source of life and love waiting to touch your heart. It is real. It is good. It makes life worth living.

God Bless your heart with the generous gift of joy and peace.
Gigi

http://www.gigimurfitt.com/

The idea for this blog post came from the September 11 entry in God Calling by AJ Russell.
I pray for you every day….let me know of your particular need in the comments below.