Sharing my Faith...even when I don't want to.

We had an outreach event at our church today and I must admit that seeking and saving the lost...aka sharing my faith, has never been my strong suit. Sure I can share with people I already have a relationship with, people who I love, or already love and respect me. But it's so challenging to share with those random strangers God puts in my path.

 The truth is that I get so fearful and insecure about the whole thing and almost every bone in my body is fighting for a way to not do it.

So this morning I read Luke 9:1-9. Jesus sending his disciples out to proclaim the kingdom of God.

 Here are a few things I took away from this passage that helped me push through today.

1. Jesus gave power and authority to his disciples. - That means that he has given it to me as well.

2. Jesus wanted the disciples to have their needs met by God.- So, I can be confident God will meet my needs as well.

3. Jesus expected that their message would be welcomed by many.- I can expect this as also.

4. Jesus expected that their message would not be welcomed by some. - It helps me to know that and reassures me it's ok to move on.

5. Jesus made such an impact that people were talking and wondering who he was.- This is exactly what should still happen today.

While out sharing today we met some people who were gracious and welcomed our message. However, we also ran into people who were rude, nasty, and not at all open to our message. Irregardless of people's responses God is always glorified.

Luke 9 encourages me to push past my feelings and be obedient to God's commandment either way. It helps me to trust in my God and not worry about people or their responses. It reminds me of a greater purpose for my life. A mission we have been sent on by God to seek and save the lost.

It starts with me opening my mouth and being filled with courage, able to Proclaim the Kingdom of God.

This mission fills me with joy everytime someone proclaims "Jesus is Lord." I hope this helps you persevere and live happily ever after today.

Love Isca

*here are some pics from our event.

Shine Bright Like a Diamond... or Ruby :)

I recently had the privilege to travel to Washington D.C. with my family. We did the Smithsonian Museum's and visited The Museum of Natural History. One exhibit displayed various beautiful diamonds, rubies, and other rare and precious gems from all over the world. All of these were considered to be highly valuable and were the most shiny, bright, and sparkly gems I had ever seen in my life. They were so beautiful you could hardly look away from them. This exhibit was by far the most crowded with spectators pressing in to gaze upon the beautiful and bright gems.

I thought of this trip to the museum and recalled the sparkle of these gems when I read the following passage.

Proverbs 31:10 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.

The bible says that a wife with noble character is worth far more than these precious rubies at the museum, so it made me think then how much more brightly should she shine? I realize that as a wife striving to imitate the wife of noble character that I am to sparkle and shine brighter than those gems. I too, am called to shine like a precious gem reflecting God's light in my home to my husband and children. This is a high calling as it is not always the easiest thing to do. Especially when you are tired, frustrated, emotional, or just plain ole overwhelmed. Shining bright like God commands can be so challenging, but overcoming these feeling and pushing through to shine bright like a precious ruby is what makes us so valuable to God. This helps me not to give up, but to stay polished so I can reflect the light and shine bright for God everyday! This helps me Live Happily Ever After...I pray you live Happily Ever After too.

Lots-of-Love, Isca

Fun Family Devotional

Hi Everyone, A fun family devotional is a great way to connect with your family and set the tone and standard for Righteousness. We have a family devotional almost every week. This was one we did together that was pretty fun, sparked some great conversation, and taught a valuable lesson on walking in the light. I thought I would share.

Title: Light & Dark, Sin & Forgiveness

Text: 1 John 1: 5-10

Ice Breaker: 1. Take two people have them close their eyes and put them on opposite sides of the house. 2. Have them open their eyes and find each other. (In the light) 3. Then take the same two people and blind fold them 4. Place them on opposite sides of the house and find each other without removing the blind fold. (in the dark) • Do this till everyone has a chance to participate

Lesson:

Read 1 John 1:5-7 Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness 5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[a] sin.

Discussion Questions:

Q. What does it mean when it says “God Is Light”?

He is pure, sinless, and visible to us all

Q. Why is there no darkness in him at all? What does this mean?

There is no sin, no shame, no guilt. God has nothing to hide.

Q. What is the darkness?

Evil, sin, shame, guilt

Q. What does the word fellowship mean?

Dictionary Definition is A group of people meeting to pursue a shared interest or aim.

Q. Can God have fellowship with the darkness?

No

Q. Why not?

Light and darkness are in opposition to one another. If God is light he can not pursue or share an interest or aim with the darkness or anything in the darkness

Q. How can we walk in the darkness?

When we conceal or hide our sin. By refusing to bring it to the light out of our fear of man, judgment, persecution, and consequence.

Q. Can we have fellowship with God if we are walking in darkness?

No,

Q. How can we walk in the light?

Confess our sins. Expose it. Own it. Be free from it.

Q. How does walking in the light let us have fellowship with one another?

When we are in the light as God is in the light we are visible and plainly seen by everyone. If we are in darkness we are hidden and unseen. People are not able to have fellowship with us because they can’t see who we truly are. Even if we fake it or pretend, no one is truly having fellowship with you because you are still in the dark.

Read 1 John 1:8-10 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

Q. Does walking in the light mean we never sin?

NO

Q. Should anyone claim to be without sin?

NO

Q. What do we do about our sin?

Confess to one another

Q. What happens when we do this?

The blood of Jesus can work to purify us.

Q. What are people who claim to be perfect or without sin actually saying about GOD?

That God is a liar and that we have no need for a savior.

Conclusion:

God is perfect, He is in the light and everything in all creation is very clear to him. Our sin is not what puts us in the dark, it is our heart to hide our sin and pretend to be perfect when we are not. Everyone sins, in fact if we claim to be without sin we are actually calling God a liar and telling him that we have no need for the blood of Jesus to cleanse us and make us righteous. In order to walk in the light as he is in the light we need to just be open about who we really are and know that we have a savior that came to purify us of all our sins so we can have fellowship with God and each other.

I hope this helps you live Happily Ever After today...Lots-of-love, Isca

Press On

Where do you start when you haven't spoken to a good friend in a long time? Starting from the beginning seems so far back, you almost don't want to talk at all. So I say instead of picking up where you left off, why not just begin right where you are. The good and the bad times come and they go, but we all move forward. It always boggled my mind how the world and everyone in it just keeps going. Even if things in your life happen to stop you in your tracks everything else keeps moving forward. That's true with me also. Thankfully nothing has stopped me in my tracks, although I have had my fair share of missteps and stumbles, but I continue pressing on. This reminds of Paul's words in the book of Philippians:

Philippians 3:14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

This scripture reminds me that I am not just pressing on toward some meaningless goal or insignificant prize or award that will sit on some shelf in my house collecting dust. But I am pressing on toward the goal to win the prize for which God himself has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. That is pretty amazing! So then, I encourage you to keep pressing on and live happily ever after today. Love, Isca

WELCOME BACK :)

So I'm hearing the song "Welcome Back" from the old show called "Welcome Back Carter". (You tube it if you don't know.) It's been a while since my last post and I'm hearing this song because I wanted to welcome you all back as well. Truth is I have been gone simply because there has been so many things going on. Update: My husband has now completed the Radiation therapy and is also out of the seven day quarantine. The whole experience has been exhausting to say the least. I'm hopeful we have reached the end of this journey and pending one final result from a body scan, are anxiously awaiting a cancer free diagnosis. So much has happened in such a short period of time and thinking back there were definitely moments where I thought we couldn't do it. Moments like when my husband was on his second week of the Iodine Free diet and on the fourth day of quarantine and he was feeling so nauseas. He couldn't stand to eat anything and I spent 2 hours preparing an iodine free chicken stew that would taste like the real thing and prevent him from barfing. Thankfully, when he finally ate it, he said it tasted so good he nearly wept. Then to top it off he was struggling with flu like symptoms the entire time and no one could come near him to comfort him. Not to mention I was super displaced and left bunking with my daughter for the week and all my clothes were in the hall. In addition to all this, I was still working a full time schedule and without fail had drama at the office every single day. And as if I needed more icing on my already loaded cake, I had to manage this household, deal with a flat tire, failed inspection on my van, passed due registration, speeding ticket, kids events, and do my part in helping with entertainment at my church's upcoming Women's Day. I can tell you I had many moments crying out to God in my car just for some strength to keep moving. All we could do was take it one day at a time until we finally got to today. Today my husband came to church with me and for the first time looked more like his pre-thyroid cancer self. He starts work again tomorrow and we are looking forward to moving on from this whole ordeal. Yes, he will need to take medication daily and follow-up with his endocrinologist regularly, that has changed but it doesn't mean we can't live a normal life. I hate to admit that I had my moments of doubt and discouragement but I did. I had those moments when I doubted Gods Love for me and my family and questioned whether or not He really loved me cause if He did love me why was he allowing us to go through all of this. This scripture came to mind:

Psalm 34:17-19 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all;

This Scripture reminded me that no matter what I'm going through I am not alone because the Lord is close to me and my family. This scripture brings me encouragement and gives me the courage to be faithful during times of trouble having faith and confidence that the Lord will deliver us. I now know that God allowed us to go through this time to show me His glory, power, and faithfulness. In the future when troubles come my way I know that I can count on My God to be close to me and I will wait on him to deliver me from them all. This helps me live Happily Ever After no matter what I face. I pray you live happily ever after too. Lots-of-Love, Isca

FOR BETTER or worse

Whoever wrote these wedding vows definitely knew what they were talking about. They must have known that EVERY marriage was going to face periods of “better or worse, richer or poorer, sickness and health” Even still there is a part of me that foolishly thinks that after 21 years of being together and 12 years of marriage that we have moved past the worse, poorer, or sickness part of the vow. Then I realize we haven’t. This past weekend my husband and I had the privilege to get away for a whole weekend marriage retreat. He and I have been so super excited about this little get-a-way for weeks. The weekend together had been all we have had to look forward to since the thyroid cancer diagnosis. Over the weekend we definitely had some great moments where we were able to reconnect, talk, and just have some fun together (Better). We also had some moments were we struggled with one another , were less than patient, and even had some hurt feelings(Worse). Over the weekend I kept hearing the following scripture being read in the classes: Ephesians 5:21-24

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Vs33b and the wife much respect her husband.

I must confess that as a young disciple I did not appreciate this scripture at all. I viewed submitting to my husband as something only a stupid, weak women would do. Not me. I realized over time and through the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ that it takes so much strength and wisdom to be able to submit. I am still growing in this area and was reminded of that this weekend. The amazing thing is that I have begun to see my faith in God built up whenever I let go of my will and submit to Him by submitting to my husband. Knowing that by submitting to my husband I am submitting ultimately to God helps me to speak to my husband with respect in my word choices, tone, and facial expression. This scripture empowers me with the tools needed to allow my husband to feel respected and in turn I can feel my husbands love for me grow more and more each time I show him I respect him. Respecting him is my choice. I once read that in the heat of the moment, I can choose to stand up for my rights or I can stand up for what is Righteous. One will probably make my husband resent me and the other will help him to love me as Christ loved the church. Over the past years all I continue to learn is that in marriage we will always have our ups and downs but ultimately its not about giving up on our marriage but rather giving up on my will and submitting to God so that through Him, we can have so many more days of "Better, Richer, and Health" and live happily ever after. I hope you lived happily ever after today too. Lots-of-love, Isca

WHO YA GONNA CALL?

The famous response to anyone who says "Who ya gonna call?" has always been "Ghostbusters", but lately I find myself asking myself that same question..."Isca, who ya gonna call?" It seems that recently my life has been giving some truth to the saying "it gets worse before it gets better", because this week has gone from bad to worse and then back to ok again. My Husband is now on a low iodine diet which is basically the step before they begin radiation therapy to kill the remaining cancer cells. As a result of this missing element in his body he will begin to feel very fatigued, dizzy, and disorientated among many other symptoms. This is the last phase of it all (Lord Willing) and then we will be able to stabilize his thyroid levels and hopefully get back to our normal life. In the meantime, and in the midst of all this, God has allowed some pretty major heart issues like pride, selfishness, arrogance, disrespect and foolishness to be exposed in some of my daughters. I know that God has allowed these things to be exposed so they can get their hearts discipled early on these heart sins and for that I am very grateful. But all of these issues can begin to make me think that although we are not out of the woods, shouldn't we at least start to see the edge of it? Every time I think I see the edge of this scary and unknown forest, something else happens and reminds me that the edge is still far away. It is during these times that I am reminded of the scripture in 2 Corinthians 5:7

For we live by faith, not by sight.

I think it's very easy for anyone to get lost in the forest of life that is often filled with scary things. This scripture reminded me that it's not about what I see because what may seem like an obstacle will probably end up being a blessing. I find comfort in knowing that "when there is something strange in the neighborhood..." (like it says in the Ghostbusters song) who I'm gonna call is on God and on my fellow brother's and sisters in Christ whom God has called so we may help one another in our time of need. Fortunately, I not only have a very strong family unit I also have a very strong church family unit with many sisters willing to step in and serve my family. We have received so many meals and calls it was almost overwhelming in a positive way. But even more than that I find comfort in knowing that I can call on sisters to help me get to my daughters hearts and who will work with me to ensure my family is walking on the narrow path. So when push comes to shove, who Isca is gonna call will not be Ghostbusters but my God in heaven who is not only a fear buster but a faith builder. May you live Happily After today. Love Isca