Saturday, April 30, 2011

Time Speeds By....

We celebrated Maddie's 2nd birthday today! I can not believe how old she has gotten!mom made her Veggie Tales cakes - Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber! I made her smaller cake on which she blew out her candles! :) here is to 2 years of being blessed with Madison!

You are beautiful, Maddie and so smart. I am so honored and blessed to have you for a sister. I love you!

Pictured is a picture of the cakes and the birthday girl!




Thursday, April 28, 2011

For Such A Time As This...Part 2

Well now, it took me a lot longer to get to this second part than I originally anticipated. And I have so much more to write on other things as well, but I'll play "catch up" today and do this post before I get started on other things. Back to the Women Without Walls Retreat:

On Saturday we had break out sessions and had to pick 2. I went to Judge Cheryl Allen's session first where she had a powerful message also based in Esther about how your circumstances do not define your destiny because God equips those that He calls. I believe I covered a bit of that in the last post, so I won't get too in depth with it now.

The second session I went to was actually the "soak room" which was a time to bask in the presence of the Lord and pray. It was here that God called me to India. And really, it was an amazing time in God's presence. I highly recommend this! Surrounded by so many other Women seeking God. His presence was so strong around us. It was awesome!

Finally, we had our last community session after worship. Pastor Patricia Cherry was speaking and wow was the Word anointed! (As it had been all weekend, but still!)

The whole weekend we focused on Esther. After all, the theme was, "For Such A Time As This...". There is so much that can be taken from that book. I love seeing how even when the name of God is not mentioned in the entire book of Esther that throughout the whole thing you can see his sovereignty! Wow!

Predestined. Called. Justified. Glorified.
 If God is for us who can be against us?!

"For Such A Time As This..." Esther was called to a position. God had called her to her position as queen.

This is where we get to - What we think we know, gets in the way of who He made us to be.

Esther could have sat back and said, "I'll never be chosen",  or "I'm just an orphan". If she had focused on what she knew, she might have missed who she could be, and did end up being.

It took time. Preparation is a process. When Esther and the other girls were first brought to the palace, they had to go through  months of preparation and beauty treatments. Esther found favor in the eyes of the eunuchs. She also had a teachable spirit and she learned all that she could from them.

When Mordecai (Esther's cousin) sent word about the plan to destroy the Jews, Esther reached a pause. A pause. Not an arrival time. A pause - a hesitation moment, a transition.

Esther 4:11-15 -
 11 “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”
 12 When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, 13 he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” 15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”
It was here that Esther reached a pause time. She had to realize that she was not safe either.

Esther's next destiny step had arrived. She had to step ahead of her queen title which was obtained in beauty and favor, and she called for a fast (unity fast).

"If I perish, I perish" - With these words Esther took her next destiny step. She made her decision. She knew very well that she could lose her very life by such an act. But she took advantage of her "For Such a Time As This..." moment. And because of that, the Jews were saved.

Jesus had a pause time too in Luke 22 where he prayed in the Garden. And He took His next step when he said, "Not my will, Father, but yours be done."

It takes one person to bring about fulfillment.

God will position those he calls and He will order their steps.

In Esther 5 - this is Esther's posture time. She set her mind and obtained the King's favor.

What will you do with the anointing placed on your life? You need to move into your position.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

For Such A Time As This...Part 1

Last weekend I went to the Women Without Walls Spring Retreat at Antioch Village and Conference Center. It was such a blessed time in the Lord and in so many ways God met me there. The theme for this spring was For Such A Time As This... Speaking that weekend were Patti Carver, Pastor Patricia Cherry, Kathy Blythe, Honorable Cheryl Allen and Honorable Patricia McCullough.

Friday night opened up with Patti Carver bringing forth the message.There was so much that night that really hit me so I'll try to get into that as much as possible.

"And who knows whether you have not come to the Kingdom for such a time as this?" Esther 4:14 NIV


Just a background on Esther, she was least likely candidate to be queen. Think about it. She was a Jew and was orphaned at an early age and her cousin Mordecai raised her. Based on her circumstances, Esther was not a likely candidate for Queen. 

But Esther found favor with those who were around her. She had a teachable spirit and was gracious and she knew who she was in God. She was not afraid to be what God called her to be.

When Esther heard of the plan to destroy the Jews, she acted on it. She was willing to commit her life to the cause.

Obedience is key. If we don't do it , God will surely rise another up...but I believe that there are circumstances that we find ourselves in and there are moments that come that we were called to act upon. For such a time as this...God has brought us here. He has orchestrated our circumstances and people...He has orchestrated these "For such a time as this..." moments in our lives. But we have to submit to Him and we need to be confident in knowing who we are and be who God made us to be.

We need to stop letting others define who we are, how we act, and what we say.

We need to know who we are and be confident with who God made us to be so that when we come to those "For such a time as this..." moments, we can act accordingly.

In Ephesians 2:10 it tells us that we are created to do His purpose for us. We were created to do good works with God had prepared in advance for us to do.

God is positioning His people "for such a time as this..."


Another thing that was talked about at WWW was how we need to have haves. Stay with me here - this really got me! In Acts there is a very familiar passage of scripture where Peter and John are going to the temple and they pass this beggar who is asking for silver or gold.

Peter says to Him, "Silver and gold I have not. For such as I have I give to you.." The lame beggar walked again.

What did Peter have there? He had haves...for such that he had he gave....

You get a "have" by being in the presence of God and by being filled with His Spirit.

What do you have?

We need to spend time in His presence for when those "for such a time as this" moments come that we have haves to pull out and use. We need to be filled with the spirit and constantly in the presence of God.

Lastly for Friday night, we went over the parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25. You see in this passage that  these women had a lot in common.

-They were all virgins.
- They were all going to the wedding.
- They all had lamps.
- They all had fire in their lamps (at one point.)
- They were all tired.
-They were all waiting.

BUT
They did NOT all have extra oil.


Why is it that they didn't have extra oil? It doesn't say. But maybe they were too busy? Maybe they didn't think they would need it? Maybe they thought it was too expensive? But whatever their reasons, they did not have the oil.


Can you picture this? The ten virgins are waiting for the bridegroom to come and getting very tired and suddenly they hear that the bridegroom is coming! And then they go and turn up their lamps and those of them who didn't have extra oil realized that they wouldn't have enough and are asking their friends, "Hey, can I borrow some of your oil?"

And they respond, "If I share my oil, I won't have enough. Go get your own oil!"

We need to get our own oil and not be feeding our flame off of other people's experiences. We need to have haves and to get into God's presence so that when those "For such a time as this..." moments come, we have a have to pull out and we will be ready.

I'll sum up the weekend later, but this is all for now! Friday session was amazing!

Dancing in the shadow of His cross,

Brittany

Friday, April 1, 2011

A Rare Beauty [And a SheSpeaks Scholarship Opportunity]

Today is one of those rare days where I did everything right.
  •   -My hair went the way I wanted it to go.
  •   -My makeup went on nicely in a fun way I decided to wear it today. (Bonus: it covered up my blemishes and spots on my face.)
  •  -I wore the "right outfit" that is both modest and complements my looks and personality.

This is a rare day where everything I wanted to go right with my appearance did. But when it came down to it, I remembered my verse I sign next to my name, 1 Peter 3:3-4:

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”

I am quite happy with my appearance today; but at the end of the day when I’m sitting in my big comfy chair in my sweats and an over-sized T-shirt with my hair in a messy ponytail on top of my head and my makeup washed off, I want to be beautiful. I’m not talking about the outer beauty that is here today, gone tomorrow, and ever-changing by the world’s standards. I am talking about the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit – a young woman who is humble, loving and compassionate to others. And whose outer character is a reflection of her inner character. I want my beauty to be genuine, and a reflection of who I really am and who I am in Christ. 

In our world, people constantly are saying how you have to look and dress and act. They are constantly pressuring us to conform to what they say is beautiful. Please, tell me, who are they to say what is beautiful? Who are they to say who or what is worth more? God’s creation is beautiful, and He doesn’t make mistakes. When you start thinking along the lines of what the world says about beauty and putting your appearance down, you are saying that God did a bad job - which is anything but true! God knit you together in your mother’s womb and ever so perfectly he formed you with great intention. From your eye color, to your hair color to your personality, your genes, God purposely created you this way, and you know what? He is enthralled by your beauty. (Psalm 45:11) [Emphasis mine].

Do not believe the lie that your worth is based on your looks. But know the truth that when you realize just how beautiful you are and see who you are in Christ - that is true beauty. 

1 Samuel 16:7 says:

"The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 

Your beauty is found in a heart that serves God and that is sensitive to His presence and obedient to Him. It is found in a heart that follows God's leading no matter what feelings may be present. If He calls you to stand, you stand even if you do so alone. If He calls you to write, He will give you the words. If He calls you to speak, open your mouth in faith that He will speak through you using you as a vessel. There is such a beauty in obedience. There is a beauty in having a quiet heart. There is a beauty in stepping out in faith and knowing that God orchestrates everything so beautifully. The beauty is in fearing God. 

In Proverbs 31:30 we find, "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting: but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." 

I believe with all of my  heart that God has called me to speak and to write. He has already promised that He would give me the words. All that I have to do is listen for Him. In July the SheSpeaks conference is in North Carolina. SheSpeaks is all about women connecting the hearts of women to the heart of our Father God.  

Check out the scholarship opportunity by clicking here
Also, take a look at the She Speaks site by clicking here.

My prayers and blessings go out to all of you. 

Dancing in the shadow of His cross,

Brittany L. Ketter