Chronological Bible: Day 254

Reflecting through this medium was very refreshing... I want to try to start posting a bit more over the things that I am learning through blogging. I hope that as you read this, (whoever you are :) ) it encourages you even if its just a bit. 

Day 254: Chronological Bible Reading Plan
Ezekiel 46-48 (plus previous readings of Ezekiel 40-45)

Before anything, I have to confess that reading these last chapters of Ezekiel were a bit rough for me. (Especially chapters 40-43) Here, God is giving Ezekiel a lot of regulations down to every cubit! And... well, at  first, I was kind of bored. I'm terrible with reading maps of any kind, or looking a floor plans. So, yeah- it was hard for me to visualize what God had in mind for his temple. But I toughed it out, and through it I just kept asking myself and God: "Why is this so important?" I mean, there are many books in the Bible where God is giving VERY specific instructions about what his temple should look like, and the specific uses for all the rooms and things found in there. He is very clear as to who can enter, how they can enter, when they can enter, etc. And all these years it has been very easy for me to dismiss passages like this one with the reasoning that its just an old passage from which I can gain no practical application from. (Yikes!-- it sounds even worse putting these thoughts into words!) So as I read Ezekiel 40-41 yesterday, I kept asking the same question... Why is this so important? Why does God want us to read it now... in 2014??? 

Today, as I sip on my Starbucks H2O and eat my Classic Oatmeal...I open up my Bible (app) and I begin to dread having to read yet more instructions of measurements, rules & regulations. And BAM! God answers my question very clearly in Ezekiel 43: 10-12 & Ezekiel 44: 5-6.

Ezequiel 43

10“Son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their sins. Let them consider its perfection, 11and if they are ashamed of all they have done, make known to them the design of the temple—its arrangement, its exits and entrances—its whole design and all its regulationsand laws. Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations.

12“This is the law of the temple: All the surrounding area on top of the mountain will be most holy. Such is the law of the temple.

Ezequiel 44

5The Lord said to me, “Son of man, look carefully, listen closely and give attention to everything I tell you concerning all the regulations and instructions regarding the temple of the Lord. Give attention to the entrance to the temple and all the exits of the sanctuary.6Say to rebellious Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Enough of your detestable practices, people of Israel!

God's perfection and beauty are reflected in his plans for the temple, and really the plans for His People. Up to this point, the Israelites have ignored everything he has asked of them. And really all that he requires is for their own good. But they have traded HIM for the sake of their own desires. God is using these passages to bring them to a realization of just how far away they are from God's perfect plan. But what I love about this, is that God doesn't just want them to feel bad and stop there. He hopes that as they see their sin, they will repent. He hopes that as they marvel at the beauty he has in store for them, they can be given HOPE for a new tomorrow. He gives them a glimpse to the restoration that awaits them... if they just repent! 

Connecting it to us... to me, sitting here in 2014. Its amazing how specific God is when it comes to how he wants us to follow him & worship him. Jesus'conversation with the Samaritan woman in John 4 comes to mind. Sometimes just like this Samaritan woman, we get so caught up in our ideas of what it is or should be to come to Christ. What it is to follow him and how we are to worship him. 

For the longest I relied heavily on the examples that I had seen of people that went to church, what I felt was right or wrong, or what society deemed as acceptable and unacceptable. I never even gave a serious glance into what GOD had to say about what it means to follow him, what he expects from me, and what true worship is to him. But as I sat down and opened the bible seriously and intentionally looking for answers to the questions I had. I found that God has a very specific way that he wants me to follow in order to find HIM, the real HIM. The only place that I can find what pleases God is in the BIBLE. Not in what others, priests, ministers, mentors, parents, friends, or society (not even Christian society) say. But ONLY from the Word of God... Of course I am not saying that people can't help guide you. But, we cannot solely rely on their opinions and rest in peace. We have to DIG in the Bible, and let God speak to us directly.

23Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

John 4:23-24

Jesus' response to the Samaritan woman still applies to my life as well as the once dreaded chapters in Ezekiel. In order for me to truly worship God is by worshiping in truth. And where do we find truth? In others? In society? In opinions? NO. In the Bible. It is the only place to find him... but we must obey. Remember, all that he asks of us is for our own good.

XOXO,

Mariana 

Summer Recap & Ezekiel 37

Wow! This summer has truly come & gone! Sooooo many great memories, time spent with friends, birthdays celebrated, and a TON of great news to share! Here are some of the things that happened this summer and for which I am soooo incredibly grateful to God for!!

1. SUPER BIG NEWS & LOTS OF CHANGE COMING TO THE BREAUX HOUSEHOLD!

After the last day of school, I found out I was pregnant!!! It has been an amazing journey so far! Eddie and I are so anxious to meet our little munchkin!! I am just entering the 2nd trimester & everything has been going well! We made the pregnancy public 1 week ago, and we are so encouraged by everyone's love and encouragement. 

2. WEDDING BELLS ARE RINGING! MY BEST FRIEND IS GETTING MARRIED!!!! YAY!!

3. I LAUNCHED MY 1st #instasale ON FB & INSTAGRAM TO COLLECT MONEY FOR SPECIAL MISSION!

I did it! I had been writing, thinking, dreaming, and praying about it... and I went for it. I felt sooooo encouraged by everyone's support! I plan on continuing! God is faithful! 

4. WE WENT TO VISIT OUR FRIENDS IN NEW MEXICO 

5. I AM 60% INTO MY PLAN TO READ THE CHRONOLOGICAL BIBLE IN A YEAR! 

Which is really what I wanted to write about today... 

God,

 You have  been so great to me this year... I am so excited to be entering my 29th year of life, the hope of meeting our baby in January, seeing my best friend get married, and continuing to deepen my walk with you. One of the challenges that I am facing is surrendering all these things that are pretty much out of my control, especially when it comes to the baby. The old testament has been such a refreshing way of getting to know you, who you have always been and continue to be. I have learned so much of your character. I once thought that the God you were in the Old Testament was a harsh, unmerciful, cold, and distant God. As I dig into books like Jeremiah & Ezequiel, I am seeing just how wrong I was all along. You are such a LOVING and MERCIFUL GOD! I see your heart and character all throughout my readings. Thank you for showing your true self to me. 

Today, I read Ezekiel 37. A lot of us are probably very familiar with this account. The Valley of Dry Bones. I remember reading this scripture before, and thinking how odd and cryptic it would be to do something like that or even to witness it. But today, in this point of my life I am AMAZED by what happened there... and better yet, God's heart behind it. 

1. Ezekiels Response

I am blown away by Ezekiel's obedience to God throughout this book. But in this chapter his response to God's question in verse 3 really stood out to me. WOW.

He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” 

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

WOW. Sovereign LORD, you alone know... Those words keep resounding in my mind and whispering peace into my heart. I think that if I were Ezekiel, and God asked me that question about the bones... I would have probably answered... "No, they're bones... how can bones live?" But the reality is that I hear God asking me that same question every single day.. maybe not in the literal sense, but... I don't know... kind of like he is constantly asking me "Mariana, do you think I can do this? Do you trust me? Do you trust my heart? My intentions? My power?"

    

 I definitely hear him asking me this question when I think of the baby that is growing inside of me. Every single day I am filled with questions & fears over something I cannot control... I can only eat and rest (and pray). That is about all of the control I have over this pregnancy. I also hear him asking me these questions when I think about going back to work, working with the teen ministry, my marriage, my friendships, my family, and my plans for the future. And what I am trying to get my hear to answer is that Ezekiel responded... "Sovereign LORD, you alone know." Not with the heart of "Well... who knows... maybe you can or maybe you can't." but with a heart full of faith and trust that everything is in HIS HANDS, HIS DOMINION, HIS CONTROL... I want to rest in peace knowing that HE knows what he is doing... his character is trustworthy and perfect in love. When I focus on that, everything seems bearable, doable, a joyful pleasure. 

2.God's Message to His People 

After bringing the bones back to life and giving them breath... I love God's way of relating it back to his people. The Israelis were in a tough situation here. Their state of mind (heart and spirit) is described in verse 11. 

‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 

God was definitely disciplining them... and they had hit rock bottom. Tired, hopeless, cut off... done! But God offers them sooo much hope in verses 12-14. He offers his people a new perspective. He will refresh them, restore them, bring them back. This passage has helped me to see the power that God has... and how he wants to use that power to redeem us. But not only that, but everything he does is for us to SEE HIM.
          Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.

     He wants us to TRULY see him. To see who he really is, what he really can do for us. He doesn't want everything to be *perfect* (as we often want), but he wants to SHOW us WHO HE IS. He wants to be known by us and be with us. So, I'm thinking that all that happens, good & bad... he allows hoping that through it all we can see him, know him, and want him. 

Go and read Ezekiel 37... its AH-MAZING!

XOXO,

Mariana 

Who am I?

A few Sunday's ago I heard one of the most touching lessons over a scripture that most of us may be very familiar with. This lesson spoke dearly to my heart as it addressed something that has been tugging at me for some months now. 

In Matthew 16:13-20 is the famous scripture where Peter declares for the first time that Jesus is the Messiah. Such a powerful scripture!!!!  And as Jason (one of the evangelists from my church) stated, we can often look at this scripture and derive an obvious lesson- Jesus identity is being revealed (which is also pretty awesome!)

He also explained that there is a less obvious identity being revealed- Peter's. In order for Peter to make this amazing declaration about Jesus, he had to see himself in the right perspective. You see, if I could put myself in Peter's feet... walking alongside Jesus, witnessing all the miracles, seeing people being raised from the dead and cured from leprosy... there would be no doubt that He truly was the Messiah... but as Jason put it, the one stumbling block that might keep me from declaring such a wonderful truth is in fact that he- THE MESSIAH- THE PERFECT ONE- would choose ME! Someone sinful, selfish, far from perfect. 

This is something that I have been wrestling with for some time now.  Especially in the last few months. A lot of things have changed and my identity has been compromised with insecurity. 

A little background...

 The latter half of 2013 was a period of transition. Eddie and I transitioned from being a part of the Married's Ministry at church to helping with the Teen Ministry This school year I went from having taught 1st grade for 3 years, to teaching 3rd grade and having to prepare my students for the STAAR test. I have been really busy and a bit stressed both in and out of work as I have been adjusting to the change in my life. Prior to all this, I embarked on a health and fitness lifestyle change. Training for my 1st half marathon and trying to eat healthy in order to grow in my self discipline and losing weight.  I lost 30 pounds and since all this transition began I have been in a weight-loss  plateau.

 So... to say the least, I have been feeling insecure in almost every area of my life.  in my job performance (as I am learning the 3rd grade curriculum), my abilities in shepherding the teens in our region, making new friendships while maintaining old ones, my weight-loss goals, half marathon training, and now, this new dream of starting my own Etsy shop. 

Which is why this lesson has become so special to me. Who I am should not be defined by any of those areas. My identity should come only from what God says about me. He should be the only one that I should listen to. He created me and therefore is the only one that knows my value. This lesson opened my eyes to another truth. Satan also knows my value. He knows that if I truly believe and embrace my TRUE identity, I would live a powerful godly and holy life. Knowing this, he tries to distract me and confuse me... making me forget the truth. He doesn't want me or you to really understand and embrace our true identity   

So, who am I? A good place to start is here: 

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

1 Peter 2:9-10

I want to hang on to this scripture, as it reveals my identity. This is who God says that I am. When God looks at me, this is what he sees. I am chosen. I am his princess. I am holy. I am His special possession. I am precious to him. He loves me. He sees me as His and lavishes me with mercy upon mercy. 

I am not defined by my career, or even my role in the church. I'm not defined by my economical status, the number on the scale. It doesn't matter if I run 10 marathons or if I am a successful Etsy shop owner. What defines me is my relationship with God. Who he says that I am and how I live my life in response to that. 

I desire to grow in my knowledge of His love for me. I want it to be the thing that drives me, motivates me, propels me. As I type this, Ephesians 3:16-19 comes to mind. As I read these verses, my eyes filled with tears... I so desperately desire to internalize these truths. This is my prayer for you also.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:16-19

xoxo
Mariana

Encouragement 101

So excited to post a devotional that I shared last Friday with the Teen Girls from my region. We had a great time learning a new cup cake recipe! (Neopolitan Cup Cakes... yummm!) While the yummies baked, we spent some time in God's word learning about what it means to encourage each other. We also took a Love Language Quiz to learn each other's love language in order to be effective in our encouragement. 

Here is a bit of what we learned! 

Once the oven timer rang, we iced the cup cakes and packed them up in cute Easter baggies. We decided to use the cup cakes to encourage the Ushers, Song Group Leaders, & Kids Kingdom Teachers in our congregation the following Sunday. The girls were excited to make some adorable cards filled with words of gratitude and appreciation. 

It was such a great time seeing these young ladies focused on giving to others! I was reminded of Proverb 11:25 "She who refreshes others, will herself be refreshed."

Who will YOU encourage today?

xoxo

-Mariana 

Challenge Accepted!

Good question! 

A few weeks ago my sweet friend Nikki shared this website with me as we chatted over delicious fro-yo (yumm) & discipling time.  She was so psyched about this idea, and she totally inspired me to try it out! 

But my curiosity went a bit deeper & I began to think about the idea of being happy. 

The website states that 71% of people who attempt this challenge, fail! So this joy thing must be harder than it seems!

And it makes sense, right? I mean, come on, think about it... Being positive or happy doesn't come naturally in this world. And truthfully, this world has nothing of true value or pure  joy to offer. That, my friends, is something you can count on. As I thought about this, Jesus' words in John 6:33 resounded in my mind. He puts it simply:  In this world you will have trouble. Trouble and discouragement is something you can count on. But what about joy??


I went ahead and did a simple search on Bible Gateway (click to see the search results) and found that the word rejoice appears in the bible 154 times. (NIV version)  & joy appears 242 times. I'm sure some of those scriptures may over-lap, but... yikes! It seems like God has a lot to say about JOY... and something tells me its very important to him.

Here's a peek of what I found: 

Joy (happiness) on the other hand... well those are things that you have to FIGHT for. We must fight for joy. Not just for the sake of being joyful ... but as I dug deep in the bible, I saw that being joyful is actually a command from God! 

The 1st time it appears (according to Bible Gateway) is in Leviticus where God clearly and specifically commands his people to be joyful for a determined period of time. 

Leviticus 23:40

On the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees—and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 

As I looked deeper in the verses, I began to see God's heart. He wants to rejoice over me. (Isaiah 65:2) He delights in my joy. (Isaiah 65:19) He's happy when I'm happy. In fact, he will shower me with amazingness to bring me joy! (Jeremiah 32:41) But what he loves the most is when I rejoice in HIM. (Philippians 4:4) As Jesus said in John 6, this world cannot offer me joy. My circumstances cannot offer me true joy. Even the people that  love me back cannot complete my joy. I loved reading what Jesus had to say going a bit further in John 15: 9-12

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 

How will I  be able to successfully complete this challege? How will my joy be made complete? Simply by remaining in His love. By obeying his commands to the best of my abilities (and being open when I stumble). 

And two of the commands that I have been focusing on for the last year tie right into it all... 

Philippians 4:4-7 

 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus

AND

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18  

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will for you in Christ Jesus.

Needless to say, I am so looking forward to this challenge. Not just to be a part of a trend, but to really focus my mind and spirit on the amazing things that God does every single day! My hope is that through seeing those things, my heart can rejoice and praise Him 100 days and beyond!

XOXO
- Mariana 

P.S. Here's my 1st post! #100happydayson Instagram!

My Heart on the Line

So its February. The New Year doesn't seem as *new* anymore... but in my heart there are soooo many hopes and dreams! One of my dreams for 2014 includes stepping out in faith and putting my art out there with the intention to raise money for my Special Missions Contribution in June. At that time my wonderful church family and I pledge to give 10 times our weekly contribution. The money collected goes to many churches in other countries (to help them continue to advance the gospel), to our church (in order to hire interns and ministry staff members to serve our congregation), another part of the funds collected go to HOPEworldwide (an organization that is serving and ministering to people all over the world). Its such a privilege to be able to give. 

Lately I have been thinking about the Parable of the Talents found in Matthew 25:14-30. I have been reflecting on the talents that God has graciously given me and how I can use them to serve my master. One of those talents I believe is my creativity, and in this case my "artistic" creativity. As I type this and reflect on this parable, I feel so much like the last servant. In verse 24, when the master comes back and is demanding an account for the talent he entrusted to him, the servant replies: 

24 ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

Up to this point, I have been using my art as a therapeutic and relaxing way to connect to God. I have enjoyed water coloring and scripture doodling throughout my quiet times and also as a way to meditate on scripture. I have heard from others (many times) that I should sell my art... and I have thought about it. A lot. But every time I think about it fear grips my heart. I begin to think, and think, and think, and think... 

       Is my stuff really that good??
                          What if people don't really like it?!?? 
                                              What if they don't buy it?!? 
                                                           What if I can't do it?!? 
                                                                       What if I fall flat on my face? 
                                                                                              Will I have time to do it????

I am afraid. I am afraid of not succeeding. I am afraid of putting myself out there and being rejected and my dream being crushed. I am afraid of getting the dreaded answers to those questions. 

I am so scared, that I'd rather hide this talent he has entrusted with me in the ground.
Upon this realization, the Master's response  to the servants lack of action due to his paralyzing fear, resonates in my heart and mind. 

26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

God was not pleased. (to say the least) I see here that He just expects me to do something... anything, really. He doesn't want me to let my fear rule over me. He wants me to step out in faith and trust him. So... trust him I will. I'm not 100% sure as to how I will do this. But I do know that I will do something. I'm looking into different websites that offer selling platforms... Etsy and storenvy seem like great places. I have also seen some cases where people sell their products through social media websites such as Instagram. 

I am nervous. I am still a bit afraid. But, I am excited! I cannot wait to get started and see God's hand move. Even if all I raise is $1... or half of that, I know in my heart that God will be pleased.  

Please keep me in your prayers!!!

XOXO
- Mariana 

Happy New Year... again

Hello! It seems like I only blog during the 1st week of January. Maybe its my New Year tradition! Hopefully this year I can do a better job at updating this blog... I'm not saying its a New Year Resolution or anything like that... but I do want to attempt to blog more often. Any who, so excited to share our holiday pictures! Here's our card with some of our favorite images. Yay!

XOXO,

-Mariana