Feeling Pretty With Lilla Rose {Review of Flexi Clip}

I'm letting my hair grow out - again. I don't know what it is about long hair, but it just makes me feel pretty...does that sound crazy? Maybe it's just me.

My hair has been THICK all my life and even as I reach 43 on my birthday coming up in July, I'm thankful that it still has that thickness I've always known. Now the gray that keeps popping up is another story! Maybe one day I'll stop the fight against those gray strands that the Bible tells us in Proverbs 16:31 are a "crown of glory...gained in a righteous life".

I am excited to share with you today my review of a Flexi clip from Lilla Rose that I have had the joy of wearing in my hair for months now! I feel so pretty with Lilla Rose! The medium Flexi clip is perfect for keeping my thick hair pulled back in a comfortable, easy, and pretty way!

Twist ties pull and break my hair and are uncomfortable to wear. They're not pretty either. My sweet husband took these pictures of me wearing my Lovely Circle Emerald Flexi clip from Lilla Rose.

The Flexi clip is so easy to use! I can get all my hair in it for a pony tail or simply pull back half of my hair. My favorite way to wear my hair with my Flexi clip is pulled up in a twist! You can use Lilla Rose's helpful Flexi sizing and hairstyle guide video to help you pick out the right size of Flexi clip for your hair and different styles you can do with your hair and the Flexi clip.

If you are tired of twist ties pulling and breaking your hair, then you will definitely want to try a Flexi clip from Lilla Rose. Contact my awesome consultant, Penny Raine, today to look at all of the beautiful Flexi clips available from Lilla Rose. You can also connect with Penny on Facebook. Let Penny know I referred you!

Have fun looking pretty, 

Laurie

***Chime In*** 

What's your favorite Flexi clip from Lilla Rose? Please share in the comments below so I can look it up.

Are You Engaged in the Battle? (Blogging Through the Bible)

Are you engaged in the spiritual battle that's raging all around you?

Do you have loved ones who have yet to call on the name of the Lord and be saved?

Do you find yourself spending less time in the Word of God?

What about your prayer life?

God desires for His children to be engaged in the spiritual battles of this life. The only way we can do that is by being in His Word daily to know the heart of God and by committing to a prayer life that comes into agreement with what we know is the will of God. Then, and only then, do we become actively involved in what God is doing to win the spiritual battles we face.

When God delivered the Israelites, Moses didn't just stand on the sidelines and cheer God on. Moses actively engaged in the battle by submitting to the commands God gave him. The simple actions of Moses in lifting his rod and stretching out his hand in response to God's command was used by God to perform the mighty miracle of the parting of the Red Sea!

Friends, we don't know what the future holds...but we know Who holds the future! Let's commit to being engaged in the personal battles that are raging in our lives. Our active engagement can be what's needed to see real revival in this world!

What "Red Sea" is God calling you to part today? 

How are you engaged in the battle?

Here are my SOAKs for Thursday and Friday:

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Exodus 14

Scripture:  Exodus 14:15-16

¹⁵ And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. ¹⁶ But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.  

Observations: It was time for action on the part of Moses. He had prayed to God and now God gave him instructions on how to engage in the battle he was now facing. Two simple actions “lift up your rod” and “stretch out your hand” was all that was required of Moses in order to witness the mighty miracle of God in parting the Red Sea. In faith, Moses responded and now has the honor of being remembered for his active participation in the deliverance of the Israelites.

Application: We actively engage in the spiritual battles of our lives by reading the Word of God to know His heart for our lives and by praying in agreement with His Word. The spiritual battles of this life are won through the faithful prayers we offer to God and by the ways we partner with Him to be His hands and feet. We need to be actively engaged in the spiritual battles of this life.

Kneel: Heavenly Father, it seems like the church is losing the battle as church attendance declines, lost souls continue to wander this world without you, and so much evil is now called good. Break our hearts with what breaks Yours, Father. Stir within us to become actively engaged in the spiritual battle that is raging all around us. Give us boldness to stand for Your truth, to speak Your truth when needed, and to pray fervently for the lost. Bring a renewed sense of urgency back into the hearts of Your people, O Lord. Give us a hunger and a thirst for more of Your Word – to sit at Your feet and learn more of Your heart. Help us to engage in the battle on our knees in prayer knowing that the weapons of our warfare are mighty through You! Help us to respond to Your call to go and make disciples of all nations so that revival will come. In the mighty name of Jesus I pray. Amen!

Friday, January 23, 2015

 

Exodus 15

Scripture: Exodus 15:20-21

²⁰ Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. ²¹ And Miriam answered them:

“Sing to the Lord,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!”

Observations: Moses’ and Aaron’s sister, Miriam is finally named and we find out she is known among her people as a prophetess – one that is inspired by His Spirit to proclaim the purpose and will of God. She leads the very first women’s choir “with timbrels and with dances” as they sing praises to God for how He destroyed Pharaoh and his army. Miriam’s words and actions were full of admiration for God as she led the other women in their praises to God for His deliverance.

Application: Am I being an encouragement to other women to praise God for what He has done in their life? How am I leading the other women in my life in their worship of God?

Kneel: Heavenly Father, I desire more than anything to be used by You to influence other women for Your honor and glory. When others are silent, help me not to be afraid to step out and lead with words and actions from a heart that is full of admiration and love for You. Give me the boldness I need in my own life to be a living testimony of all the good You have performed in my life so that other women will learn through me that there is power in our praises. In the wonderful name of Jesus I pray. Amen!

Friends, I hope you will continue to journey with me through Exodus. If you are just finding me, welcome! I hope you'll jump right in with me on Monday! We have some very important lessons coming up that will help us in our walk with God. Here is the reading plan we will start on Monday:

 

Walking in His Grace, 

Laurie

 

***I'm so excited to be joining Courtney Joseph at Women Living Well, home of Good Morning Girls for Blogging Through the Bible! Click on the image below to find her Friday post and more Blogging Through the Bible posts.

God's Faithfulness to Lead (Blogging Through the Bible)

In this week's reading I'm reminded of three examples of faithfulness that challenge, as well as inspire me to live a life that is faithful to God, to my family, and to my friends.

3 Examples of Faithfulness in Exodus

We are reminded of Joseph in Exodus 13:19. Joseph was a man of faith who, as he laid on his deathbed, held on to the promise of God that He would surely bring the Israelites back to the Promised Land of Canaan. He made the children of Israel promise to carry his bones out of Egypt when they were finally able to leave. Joseph died still believing in the promise of God! That is a powerful faith!

Moses was a man of faith who was faithful to carry out the long ago dying request of Joseph. Moses carried out the bones of Joseph on their journey out of Egypt. Moses walked in faith through all the plagues that the power of God would perform through him and his brother, Aaron, in order to free the Israelites.

God is our faithful God who always keeps the promises He makes to us. It is so important to remember God's faithfulness to us and to pass on to our children our stories of faith and how God has moved on our behalf.

Remembering God's Faithfulness Through His Word

I love to memorize Scripture! While we are reading in the book of Exodus, I'm joining Courtney Joseph of Women Living Well, home of Good Morning Girls in memorizing Psalm 77:11-20. Here are verses 11-12 of Psalm 77 that speak of remembering God's faithfulness:

"I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember Your wonders of old. I will ponder all Your work and meditate on Your mighty deeds.

Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God Who works wonders; You have made known your might among the peoples."

We see over and over again in the Bible God's faithfulness to lead His children. In the Exodus, He would lead His children back home to the Promised Land with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. He was always present with them on their journey.

He is present with us today even though we can see Him. He still leads us today through His Word, the Bible - and through His Holy Spirit living inside of us.

God wants to speak to us on every page of the Bible - His Word to us - so that we can know how to live as His children here in this world while we wait for the promise of our true home with Him. It is written to connect our spirit with His.

We are getting ready to finish up Week 3 of Exodus. Don't grow weary, my friends, in doing good by being in God's Word every day. He promises us that we will reap in due time if we do not lose heart (Galatians 6:9). Stay the course with me and together we will discover more of God's faithfulness as we continue to read His Word daily. We will grow in our confidence and in our faith of Who God is as we spend time at His feet learning more about Him.

I'd like to close this part of my post with a song by Matt Redmon, "Never Alone". I absolutely LOVE his song that speaks of God's faithfulness.





Here are my SOAKs for Tuesday and Wednesday:

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Exodus 12

Scripture: Exodus 12:27-28

²⁷ that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’” So the people bowed their heads and worshiped. ²⁸ Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

Observations: There was a two-fold purpose of the Passover. The first purpose was to strike the Egyptians because of Pharaoh’s refusal to let the Israelites go and for their worship of false gods. The second purpose of the Passover was to deliver the Israelite households who followed God’s instructions. The Israelites were told by God to tell their children these reasons behind the Passover.

The Israelites bowed their heads and worshiped upon hearing this. A heart of worship prepares us to walk in obedience to what God calls us to do. It’s an act of the surrendering of our will in order to line ourselves up with the will of God. 

The Israelites bowed their heads and worshiped in response to what God commanded them to do through Moses and Aaron. They did all that they were instructed to do for the Passover and because of their obedience they were delivered from the death of the firstborn plague. 

Application: Again, we see the importance of passing on our faith stories to our children. God instructs the Israelites to tell their children about the purposes of the Passover as they celebrate the Passover with future generations. Obedience is connected with worship. When we worship God with our lives, we are aligning our will to His as we surrender and bow to His authority in our lives. We will never be able to experience the deliverance of God in our lives if we fail to walk in obedience to what He calls us to do.  

Kneel: Heavenly Father, thank You for the deliverance You have provided to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I pray that we will walk in obedience to how You call us to live as Your children. I ask for the boldness to live as You are calling me to live. May the lives we live worship and glorify Your holy name so that others will be drawn into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Help me to remember to share my faith stories with my children and grandchildren so that their faith in You will be built up as they hear of Your power and faithfulness in my life. In the life-changing name of Jesus I pray. Amen!

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Exodus 13

Scripture: Exodus 13:19

¹⁹ Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.”

Observations: Joseph’s final act of faith with this request he made on his deathbed is finally being fulfilled! Even at death’s doorstep, Joseph trusted in God’s promise of leading the Israelites out of Egypt to return to the Promised Land of Canaan. Moses is faithful in fulfilling Joseph’s request to take his bones out of Egypt with them.

Application: Genesis 50:25-26 says that Joseph’s body was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt. What a sight that must have been to the Israelites for the last 400+ years of living in Egypt. It served as a constant reminder to them of God’s promise that He would bring them back to the Promised Land of Canaan. How does my life serve as a reminder that this world is not our home? Even in death, Joseph was still making an impact on his people. Will the same be said of me when I’m gone?

Moses was faithful in fulfilling Joseph’s dying request. Am I faithful to my friends in their time of need?

Kneel: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your faithfulness to do all that You say will do. We have seen the fulfillment of so many of Your promises as we have journeyed through the Bible, Your holy Word. May I live my life in such a way to remind those You have placed in my life that this world is not our home. Help me to be a mighty witness for Your glory in all that I say and do so that when You call me home my legacy will continue to live on in the lives of those I love. Help me to live as a faithful friend and to be available during times of need in the lives of my friends. Thank You, Father, for the example of Joseph and Moses, whose lives have spoken to my heart this morning. May the truth I have found in Your Word this morning take deep root in my heart and produce fruit worthy of Your name. In the life-changing name of Jesus I pray. Amen!

Here is our reading plan for the rest of the week:

I'll see you here again on Friday for another Blogging Through the Bible post!

Walking in His Grace, 

Laurie

The 10 Plagues of Egypt (Blogging Through the Bible)

Today I want to share with you something I never knew about the plagues of Egypt until our study of them these past two weeks. In my observations from chapter ten of Exodus on Friday, I shared with this you:

"There is a purpose behind everything God does. With Pharaoh’s heart hardened against the One True God, God was able to bring to shame all the false gods of the Egyptians that each plague was specific to, and to glorify His mighty name to all that witnessed His glorious power."

Back in chapter five, we see Moses' first encounter with Pharaoh. Moses tells Pharaoh that God has sent him to request of Pharaoh to let the Israelites go so that they can hold a feast to Him in the wilderness.

Pharaoh's arrogant response is, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.”

So God shows Pharaoh Who He is - and His mighty power - through the plagues that went against the false gods of Egypt.

Let's take a look at the plagues and the false god it went against.

The Plagues of God Against Egypt and the False gods They Shamed

The First Plague: Water Turned to Blood (Exodus 7)

The Egyptians entire life revolved around the Nile River. It supplied fish for food, watered their crops, and fertilized their land with its rich soil deposits. They worshiped the Nile River as a god because it produced life. The Egyptian (false) god Hapi was known to them as the spirit of the Nile because he supposedly controlled the water. The Egyptian (false) god Osiris was supposed to have used the Nile as his bloodstream. The Egyptian (false) god Khnum was the supposed guardian of the Nile River. However, not one of these false gods were able to stand against the mighty power of the One True God as He turned the Nile River into blood - killing all the fish of the Nile, causing a stench throughout the land, and taking away the Egyptians' source of water.

The Second Plague: Frogs (Exodus 8)

Frogs were a common sight to the Egyptians since they lived near the Nile River. They chose the frog to represent their false goddess Heqt who they worshiped as the goddess of fertility. The frog was a sign of fertility to the Egyptians. They thought this false goddess would help women deliver their babies. Since frogs were sacred to the Egyptians, they would not kill them when God sent them as a plague. Instead, when Moses prays on behalf of Pharaoh, God causes the frogs to die - putting to shame their false goddess.

The Third Plague: Lice (Exodus 8)

For this plague, God caused lice to come up from the dirt of the ground, proving that their false god Geb, had no control over the dirt or the land - only the One True God had control!

The Fourth Plague: Flies (Exodus 8)

The Egyptians' false god of Khepfi was believed to control insects. This false god was exposed in the third plague of God when He sent swarms of flies upon the Egyptians. In this plague God went a step further in displaying His mighty power as He set apart the land of Goshen where the Israelites lived - protecting them from this plague - and showing the Egyptians that this false god had no control over the insects.

The Fifth Plague: Death of Livestock (Exodus 9)

In this plague, God killed all of Egypt's livestock: cattle, horses, donkeys, camels, oxen and sheep - to prove His power over their false god, Apis, pictured in Egyptian art as a bull. What good is a false god who cannot even save himself?!

The Sixth Plague: Boils (Exodus 9)

Painful boils appeared on the Egyptians and the beasts of the land when Moses scattered ashes in the wind as directed by God. This plague put to shame their false god, Sekhmet, who the Egyptians thought had power over diseases as well as another false god, Thoth, who the Egyptians thought helped with healing.

The Seventh Plague: Hail (Exodus 9)

The plague of hail was heavy at times - so heavy in fact - that men and animals who didn't seek shelter were killed by the large chunks of ice and fire that came down. Even the land was destroyed as every "herb of the field" was struck and the trees were broken by the hail. Once again God protected the Israelites and their land of Goshen from this plague that showed God's power against the Egyptian's false god, Nut, who they believed controlled the weather.

The Eighth Plague: Locusts (Exodus 10)

God sends swarms of locusts that cover the land and consume everything that is left from the previous plague of hail. These locusts are even in of the houses of all the Egyptians! With the crops of Egypt destroyed, God proved their false god, Seth, who they thought controlled their crops - was no god at all!

The Ninth Plague: Darkness (Exodus 10)

The ninth plague of God exposed the Egyptians most important false god, Ra - sun god to the Egyptians. They believed this false god to be the most powerful of their false gods. God sent a darkness so dark that it could "even be felt" proving that their false god had no power at all!

The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn

All the previous plagues up to now were performed by God in an attempt to make Himself known as the One True God to Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Remember I told you how Pharaoh had asked Moses in chapter five of Exodus, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.”

God answered Pharaoh's question by putting to shame all of his false gods. But Pharaoh still refused to acknowledge God as the One True God. 

We saw God's patience and mercy as He withheld this last dreadful plague in hopes that the other plagues would bring Pharaoh and the Egyptians to repentance. But we know that this is not what happened. Every firstborn (livestock too) in Egypt would die, including Pharaoh's son who was next in line for the throne. In that time, Pharaohs were considered to be gods by the Egyptians. So God proves once and for all in this plague that He alone is the One True God.

Sin can have far reaching effects on those around us. Pharaoh's sin of refusing to acknowledge God as the One True God destroyed an entire land and caused lives under his rule to be lost. 

God will have no other in His rightful place. He is a jealous God, meaning He desires for you to love Him above anyone or anything else in this world. 

What false gods have we set up in our hearts that need to come down so they do not take God's rightful seat on the throne of our hearts? I pray that we all will take time today to examine our hearts before the truth of God's Word.


Here is my SOAK for today:
 

Monday, January 19, 2015

Exodus 11

Scripture: Exodus 11:4-6, 9

⁴ Then Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt; ⁵ and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals. ⁶ Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again. ⁹ But the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not heed you, so that My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”

Observations: God had given Pharaoh warning after warning with each plague. With each new plague, God was giving Pharaoh the opportunity to come to repentance. But Pharaoh continued to let his pride stand in the way. With each plague refusal, his heart became less sensitive to God’s warnings (1Timothy 4:2) so much so that the warning of the death of his own first born son had no effect on Pharaoh’s hardened heart. God allows Pharaoh to choose this path of hardening his heart in response to His warning of this final plague.

Application: Don’t harden our hearts toward the truth God shows us in His Word. Every time we refuse to walk in obedience to the Lord, our hearts are harden one step further until one day our consciences will no longer find any conviction in the Word of God. We think we are fine when really we are just dead on the vine.

Kneel: Heavenly Father, may the truth I discover in Your Word penetrate my heart and convict me to respond in obedience to its teaching. Help me to remain sensitive to Your Holy Spirit at work within me so that I continue to grow in the example set forth by Jesus Christ while He walked this earth. Jesus, You are the vine, and we are the branches. Help us to remain in You and be sensitive to Your will for our lives so that we can bear fruit worthy of Your name. It’s in Your life-changing name I pray. Amen!

Here is our reading plan for this week:

I'll see you back here on Wednesday for another Blogging Through the Bible post! Have a great week!

Walking in His Grace, 
Laurie