He is RISEN!

This is from my daily devotions I get, thought it might strengthen and remind you again of who Jesus is! Happy Easter!


The JOY of My HEART: April 11, 2009

He's Alive!
That you may know . . . the exceeding greatness of His power . . . which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead.

Ephesians 1:18-20, NKJV

God the Father split history in two when He flexed the divine, eternal muscle of His will and exerted His power on His Son's behalf! How He must have eagerly anticipated and rejoiced in the vindication and resurrection of His Son! His power was so mightily tremendous that Jesus was:

Raised up from the dead!

Raised up without our sin!

Raised up to life!

Raised up through the walls of the tomb!

Raised up past the guards!

Raised up through all His invisible enemies!

Raised up to a position of authority over the entire uNIVerse! Raised up to be seated at the right hand of God!

Jesus was raised up! He's alive!

Blessings,



Anne Graham Lotz

AnGeL Ministries Website
For more about The Joy of My Heart

A Restored Soul

This past week, God has brought a restoration to my soul. The weariness has been replaced with joy and appreciation for what God has allowed me to do. My focus has been on my Savior. The past couple of days with my postings about who Jesus is to me, was a huge part of bringing me back to my first love, Him! My daughter wrote on her blog a beautiful tribute and some wisdom from God that took my breath away and brought tears to my eyes. Please take time if you can to check it out at www.locachicagj.blogspot.com (It is the April 8th entry)

It was a reminder that what I am doing for Him IS getting through to my children. Although I am so far from perfect, God is using me and allowing me to see the reward of clothing my children daily in prayer. I am reminded to not discourage my children, but to lift them up and just let them know by words or actions, what a joy and a blessing it is to have them as my children and that they are valued. Sometimes, as Much as I hate to admit it, I just forget to daily look them in the eyes and tell them how much I love them. It always captures their heart! What an honor to be allowed to share with them that they are created by God and lent to me to care for and teach them about Him! Sometimes I wish He did not trust me so much!;) What an overwhelming thought! But with His wisdom and guidance, I have all that I need!

Remember moms, this is all worth it! It is hard, but God is using you to show your children glimpses of Him. Don't worry about the big stuff and don't sweat the small stuff. It is not for you to carry! Just look to Him, He is all you need!

Part 2- Who Jesus is to me

He is my ALL IN ALL!

His light:
- has made me whole
- has made my darkness light
- has made my path clear
- turned my mourning into dancing
- made my blind eyes see
- revealed His glory in my heart

I will not stop:
- loving Him
- serving Him
- showing Him my heart
- seeking Him
- praising Him
- pronouncing Him as my Lord!

My life is in Him, through Him and I love Him!


*This is something God laid on my heart to do. When I have had a rough day or am going through a battle, I look at my list of who He is to me, and I am soon reminded of Him and His constant love for me. Today, sit for a moment and start making your own list. It will encourage you and your focus will be Him!

Reflections of who Jesus is to me

As Easter approaches this week, I am contemplating who my Jesus is to me. Hopefully you can feel renewed and feel His presence as you read these thoughts.

I praise Him because He is:
-immovable peace
-irreplaceable joy
-constant love
-my "daddy" who welcomes me no matter where I have been
-He holds my tears in a bottle
-He knows my hurts
-He cares about my pain
-He endured GREAT pain for ME!

He never stops:
-loving me
-seeking me
-allows me to seek Him
-gives me His Word to search His heart

Because I can seek Him, I have:
-a reward in heaven
-the gift of sharing Him with others
-a place to lay down my burdens and someone to carry them for me

I have been set free!
I have nothing to fear!
Nothing to dread!
Nothing to worry about!
All I have is HIS!
I do not need to struggle and I lack nothing because of Him in me!

He is for Me so who can be against me?!

Easy Empty Tomb Easter Snack for kids

1 Roll of refrigerated crescent rolls
1 large marshmallow to use for each roll

I begin by telling the Easter story found in Luke 23, (for younger children, I summarize until I reach Chapter 24). As I am telling the story I pass out the crescent triangles and 1 marshmallow to each child and myself. I then place the marshmallow on top of the triangle and roll it just as I normally would with the mallow inside. (Little ones may need a help). I Then put them in the oven at 350 degrees until done. Take them out and let them cool! Finish reading with 24:6 and give them each their cooked crescent roll and have them open them up. To their amazement, the "tomb" will be empty! They love it! It is a tradition and every year it is so fun for them!

The love of a mother

I am reminded today of the true blessing and inheritance my children truly are to me. Only a gift God can give. As it says in Psalms- ..."the fruit of the womb is your reward." How undeserving I am! I am thankful for His grace and mercy!

Don't forget how important your job is!

The past few days, God has been so gracious to me. I have been worn down and just plain tired! I have had guilt because of my lack of appreciation for my job as a mother and help-meet for my husband. Some days, it was just hard to greet their little faces with anticipation. It was more, when is bed-time?! I have felt like a failure. That is when, once again, Jesus showed up in very subltle ways at first, then more obvious ways. Through some other wise women who have been there before, prayer with just plain crying out to Him, and just feeling His love in my heart.

Motherhood is hard, demanding and a dying of yourself everyday. I get tired sometimes of dying to myself! Maybe you have had times like this. Please let me encourage you as I have recieved encouragement this past week. Mothers, your job is the most important and sacred thing you will ever do! You are a very important part of God's one soul desire, to love others. You are helping Him fulfill His plan on this earth! Sometimes it seems as if what we do has little value. Changing diapers, wiping noses, cleaning dirty fingers and faces, many times a day! Those things to God are just as important for His kingdom as missionaries who go to lands far away preaching the good news to thousands of people! HE notices the tedious things you do. HE appreciates the little things that you day in and day out. When you feed those little mouths, you are feeding the hungry just as The Word says. God is holding you and cares about your fears. He sees when you are totally exhausted and yet you stumble out of bed to comfort your little one who is sick. Even if it seems nobody else on this earth ever appreciates the things you do as a mom, God does! You are honored in His eyes and someday when you see Him face to face, He will say, "well done my good and faithful servant!" To all you mothers out there, keep going, He is with you and will never leave you or forsake you!

Blanket time

I have had some people wonder how I do blanket time. They tell me their children would never do this. Here are some tips:
-Start when they are young, about 6 months is when I start. for about 15 minutes 2x a day I put them on a blanket with toys or in a playpen. I don't talk to them, I just let them play by themselves.
-Use a blanket (not to big, fold if necessary. If you get the area too big, the boundary lines are to big and they start wandering as if they were not on a blanket) Carpet squares work well too!
-Gradually increase their time alone by about 5 minutes each month until they are at a half an hour. Until they reach about the age of 3, I never have them on a blanket for longer that 30minutes. 2x a day.
-Be consistent! If you start this when they are older, just stick with it and continue to direct them back to their blankets if they get off. At first, stay in the room with them and quietly read to yourself so they see your example.
-Eventually, you should be able to leave the room momentarily and they should stay on their blanket without problems.
-The single toy that you give them to play with, (I do not let them pick, show them that you decide otherwise they can be indecisive) will become fun for them when they learn to focus.
-My children actually look forward to this time and when I need to accomplish something, it is very useful. Our morning blanket time is 45 minutes- 1 hour, in the afternoon around my dinner prep time, it is 30 minutes. I try to let them up about the time dad gets home so there is peace in the home when he walks in the door.
-I usually read them a book of their choice after blanket time is over. They look forward to this every time.

I hope this helps. I encourage every mom to do this. It is so good in teaching your children discipline and encouraging them to focus. A very important thing to learn as they grow! And it is good for mom to have a few minutes to collect thoughts and regroup!;)