Friday {in focus} ~ Uphold My Steps

Friday {in focus} ~ Rest in Hope

O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;

You maintain my lot.

The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;

Yes, I have a good inheritance.

I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel;

My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.

I have set the Lord always before me;

Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad,

and my glory rejoices;

My flesh will also rest in hope.

For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,

Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

 You will show me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

~ Psalm 16:5-11 (emphasis mine)

Friday {in focus} ~ Be Filled

This morning, I found myself trying to drink more out of my coffee cup when I'd finished the last drop fifteen minutes before. I tried again fifteen minutes later, only to find my cup still remained empty. There wasn't any coffee left. I'd have to make another pot if I wanted more.

How many times in life do we reach for something that will only leave us empty when we should be turning to Jesus to fill our cup?

You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.

~ Psalm 23:5b

Friday {in focus} ~ Surviving Chaos

 

Sometimes life gets crazy. Things spin out of our control and chaos ensues. We desperately reach out and try to grab for those things, struggling to pull them all back in so we can organize them to fit perfectly into our day and find peace again.

And God doesn't let us.

Because He wants us to know, to come to realize, to understand that He has it all under control. It's His way of showing us that He is God and we are not. It's His way of saying, "You've got to trust Me."

I'm a control freak. I know it. God knows it. I like things neat and orderly and working properly. I don't like chaos, loud noises, and messes. I've learned that life isn't always going to go as I'd like it to. I have to take each day one at a time so I can allow God to show me those things He wants me to let go of in order to focus on what He has in store for me to do.

Sometimes we have to look at the bigger picture of eternity, taking our eyes off of the details of the day and allowing God to move us out of our comfort zone. What is God showing you today? What do you need to do for His kingdom, and what part of your world do you need to give up to make room to get it done?

Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

~ Luke 12:33-34

Friday {in focus} ~ Be Strong & Courageous

I'm not very fond of heights like these. My son is, however.

It's likely you'll find him on top of rocks, in the tops of trees, or on top of a mountain.

This world is full of scary things these days.

Wars. Rumors of wars. Famine. Sex trafficking. Drug cartels.

Pornography. Murder. Politicians. Shootings. Wild fires. Hurricanes.

Death. Destruction.

And for Christians, it seems, attacks.

Everyone else can scream about their rights. Their liberties. Their faiths.

But they want to shut us up.

I pray that my son is not only a tree climber and a mountain hopper.

I pray that he grows into a man of God who is not afraid.

Not afraid to stand up for His faith.

Not afraid to stand up for the Truth.

 Not afraid to defend women and children, widowers and orphans.

Not afraid to stand up to corruption and evil.

I pray that we can all be strong and courageous. Him, me, and you.

Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.

~ Joshua 1:7

Friday {in focus} - Cross Over

This isn't the prettiest picture. The light's a little to bright. The lines aren't even. It's not straight.

Just like obstacles in our lives. We're presented with ugly circumstances. We're blinded by distractions. The path is too crooked.

But we all have a promised land. We all have a call on our lives. We were all created for a God-specific purpose.

If only we would cross over. If only we would allow God to divide the sea, bring that wall down, or destroy the Goliath standing in our way. What stands in your way?

Jesus overcame all of it when He died on the cross. He conquered death. He provided abundant life.

And we, through the name of Jesus, have been given that same power. The power to speak to the mountain and have it move. The power to cross the Jordan. The power to slay Goliath.

It's time to cross over and enter into the life that God has called you to.

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying:

 “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel.

~ Joshua 1:1-2

Friday {in focus} ~ God Cares About the Details

This is one of my all-time favorite photographs. I love how the cardinal is looking at the camera as if asking any number of questions. "Are you taking my picture?" "What's so fascinating?"

It also reminds me of how much God cares about the smallest details of our lives, our hearts, and our desires. You see, I'd had a difficult time catching a cardinal with my camera. They always flew off before I could set the shot. Until this particular day. It may sound crazy, but God flew this cardinal right into our sliding glass door, knocking her silly. She fell back and landed on our patio furniture. While in her daze, I was able to open the door and take up close photos of her.

This isn't the only time something not-so-great has happened in order for God's blessing to follow.

My husband injured his knees at work - each one in a different season of time. Although he had to deal with some pain and go through surgeries to repair the damage, God's blessing followed. Because the injuries were work-related, my husband was compensated. Enough so that we were able to purchase a Chrysler Town & Country van outright. No loan payments necessary.

God cares about the details of our lives. Down to the last miniscule point.

Don't be surprised when the cardinal comes flying into your door.

God sent her.

You open Your hand

And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

~ Psalm 145:16

Friday {in focus} ~ Created for Adventure

I've seen a lot of posts this week about stepping out of our comfort zones and living a life of adventure with God. Maybe these are a result of the down economy and a need to find new careers. Maybe these posts are about the evil occurring in this world and the need for Christian believers to take a stand for righteousness and truth. Maybe the authors are bored of the same-old, same-old routine of everyday life. Whatever the reason for the sudden flux of posts concerning stepping out, I wanted to post a reminder that God knows the path that He has intended for you and for me.

A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.

~ Proverbs 16:9

Friday {in focus} ~ Beauty from Ashes

There's nothing like a campfire to warm your soul. The smoky wood scent, the wisps of blue flame licking at the wood, the crevices formed as the heat gets into the heart of the log...

it's all so soothing to watch.

Yet it's an entirely other thing to experience. When the Holy Spirit sets your heart on fire

for the things of God, the experience is at first elating. There's an excitement, an expectation.

Until the flames reach the inner parts of our beings. Until refinement begins.

Then it hurts. Burns. Scorches. 

Leaving us charred and wondering what beauty could come of these ashes.

But God...He always finishes what He starts. And we find healing. Life. Freedom. Love.

And faith.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me

To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,

To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness, 

The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

Isaiah 61:1-3 

Wordless Wednesday ~ A Solitary Place

Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight,

He went out to a solitary place; and there He prayed.

Mark 1:35

Friday {in focus} ~ Desert Blooms

 

I love the red buds on this cactus. I wouldn't want to meet up with one of its spikes, though...

This photo reminds me of God's love for me. Jesus endured a painful death - lashes, mockery, a crown of thorns, sour wine, and the nails of the cross. But through His love and resurrection, I will never know the pains of a spiritual death. Because I am forgiven and covered by the blood of Jesus Christ.

For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Romans 5:10

Wordless Wednesday ~ A Glimpse of Life

I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings of old,

Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.

We will not hide them from their children,
Telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.

Psalm 78:2-4

Countdown to Christmas - Day 2

Once again, life took over my posting schedule. Between baking cookies, shopping, wrapping presents, watching school and church performances, working, sleeping, and enjoying four wonderful children and the blessing of my husband, blogging became a wayside thought. But, you, my readers, have continually been in those thoughts as I've geared up to celebrate my favorite holiday of the year. Because on this day, God blessed us with the Light of the World. I pray you all have a wonderful Christmas filled with love and many blessings and fond memories.

Where Did November Go?

Wow! Is November already over? I apologize for being MIA. Or MIW (Missing in Writing). Or MIP (Missing in Posting). I think that I will set up pre-posts or re-posts during November next year. It seems November always gets away from me...

That said, here's some evidence of what I've been up to this month:

I tried to accomplish NaNoWriMo for the third year in a row. So far, I've only made it to 50,000 words ONE year. The first year I tried. This year, I made it to 7,000 or so words amidst family happenings and editing work. Oh well, there's always next year. And, I'll continue working on my novel throughout the year to come.

As mentioned before, I've been editing. A lot. One devotional. One anthology. One novel. And multiple web articles. I love words!

This year, we traveled to NY for Thanksgiving week. It was great to see friends and family. Vic enjoyed his annual hunt (although he didn't shoot anything). I enjoyed spending time with my nieces and our kids. While there, I also enjoyed taking a few great shots with my camera. Frieda (my sister) also loves to take photos, and she helped us with our family photos. It's rare to get Zachary in a photo with us, since he lives in NY. I love how t Here's a sampling of the shots I succeeded at taking. (At least one of us succeeded, huh Vic?)

Our family 2012...Merry Christmas and one Bah Humbug! Caleb didn't want to participate, let alone smile...

We discovered that Ezra finally outgrew Grandma. Here she is with Cara and Ezra - the two teens in our family.

Dad and I are Mom's biggest pumpkin pie fans. Here, we split one in half. Half for him. Half for me. ;) Actually, we did share it with others. But we got the first pieces!

I call this one "Thanksgiving Day Parade." These turkeys went all out to show off for the hens. Roxbury, NY - Thanksgiving Morning

I pray your Thanksgiving holiday was filled with things to be thankful for! Feel free to share your thoughts of how your week went. I look forward to reading them!

Coming December 1st - Countdown to Christmas. 25 Days of Jesus, Scripture, Devotion, and Christmas Music. Hope to find you here!

Autumn in the Blue Ridge Mountains

It's autumn in the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

Colors are starting to peak. Leaves are turning, falling.

The air is crisp and cool, and it's the perfect time to hike those majestic mountains.

Smoky Mountain Morning

I Love Autumn

Autumn River View

Autumn Update

As autumn rolls in and the holidays near, I understand that schedules (including mine) get busy with school and sporting events, family gatherings, outreach ministries and so much more. It's also a season where bloggers take breaks and readers read less. 

Knowing such, I am choosing to back down my posts for the months of October through December. Rather than work on new posts for these few months, I am going to do a few different things.

1. On Mondays, I will take a scripture God has brought to the forefront and use it in a devotion format to encourage us at the beginning of the week.
2. On Wednesdays, I would like to get to know you better. You, my readers, are important to me. I'm thrilled to see some new faces and hear some new voices leaving comments. Thank you for joining us! I will post a brief "Getting to Know You" post in which I will tell you a little bit about me. I would then love it if you would share your thoughts about you. Hopefully, this will be a lot of fun!
3. On Fridays, I will share a photograph I've taken or a graphic I've created. I hope these will inspire and encourage you, as well. They may or may not be attached to a brief post.
4. I will still continue posting book reviews on Thursdays. I have a lot of books I'm loving reading and/or promoting and will continue to share these finds with you. Please watch for posts concerning Mary DeMuth's October 16th release Everything. I will most likely continue blogging through this book and share the review with you on the 16th. I am hosting a blog tour for the release on October 30th. Please stop by and leave some comment love for Mary. She's an amazing woman of God.
5. Please be sure to visit my website, Inspire a Fire, for more encouragement to ignite that flame for God in your spheres of influence.

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey we call life. I appreciate you and hope my words continue to reflect God's heart and bring encouragement to your hearts. 

~ The Lily ~

Today I'll take a break from writing to bring you a sampling of my second passion - photography. Enjoy these shots from my Easter week...

~ Easter Eggs ~

Hinged...

 Dandelion in the Sky

 

Petal Dust

 ~ Azaleas and Dogwoods ~

All Photos Copyright 2012 Alycia W. Morales

Finding Refreshing When You Can't Get Away

Since I'm on "vacation," I thought I'd share some photos with you. I've been in Glorieta and Santa Fe. Whenever I go somewhere new, I always take my camera. I love trying to capture God's creation through the lens. I call it "God's Glory Photography." I hope you find a sense of peace as you browse the photos and continue to read between them.

"Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty..." Psalm 104:1

When I take photos like the one above, I am reminded of God's majesty. His creation is so beautiful to me that when I get out to experience it, it brings refreshing to my soul.
When's the last time you've looked at something in creation and felt that tug on your heartstrings for God?

 "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse." Romans 1:20

This is one of my favorite scriptures. Every time I look at the wonder of God's creation, I can't help but see Him in it. My spirit resonates with His. It's difficult to deny God when He paints such wondrous pictures for me in the night sky or the colorful mountain ranges or I see the expanse of the ocean.
Does the truth of God's majesty, His eternal power and Godhead, resonate with you when you experience His creation?

Sometimes I don't need to get away in order to refresh my soul. Sometimes I just need to get my camera and go for a walk. Sometimes God will speak to my spirit through the smallest of flower buds to the tallest of trees. Sometimes God will refresh me through the sound of a bird's call, the gentle roar of the ocean, or the stillness of the forest. Sometimes He will remind me of His sweet scent through a whiff of a flower, the smell of a fresh spring rain, or the warmth of a fresh-baked pie. It does my spirit good to set aside the day's work, get out of my musty house and celebrate what God created just for me. Just for you. Just for His children.

We don't always need to get away from it all through travel. Most of the time I can't afford to. We need to find those things in life that bring peace to our troubled souls. Remind yourself how awesome your Father is today. Take a walk. Tour a botanical garden. Hike a trail. Enjoy His creation and allow it to bring that peace that passes all understanding. Reach out and touch God today.

A Photographic Journal

Have you ever experienced a moment when you've got so much going on in your thoughts that you can't single out one thing to share? That would be me this day. I wanted to share more from what God's showing me lately, but I can't stop thinking long enough to write a brief post. So, while I work that out in my mind and my heart, I'll share a brief photographic journal of my recent trip to New York. I pray you are blessed by something you see!

First stop: Canisteo, NY, home of the Living Sign.

I walked the kids to the elementary school so they could see the sign made from pine trees.

My mom grew up in Canisteo, and I spent my early elementary years at CCS.

The kids enjoyed the playground... And we returned to Great-Grandma's for some ice cream! While in Canisteo, we attended the annual Vance family reunion. 

Second Stop - Margaretville/Roxbury/Grand Gorge, NY

 

Dad and Mom celebrated their 40th Wedding Anniversary on June 20, 2011. We had a little celebration for them on July 12th.

Rebecca and Hannah are only 5 months apart in age. Since we don't ever get to celebrate together, we decided to throw a joint birthday bash while we visited. That made for two very happy girls! Here, they get ready to open Grandma's presents to them.

One of our favorite things about visiting NY is the opportunity to see big brother, Zachary. Spitting image of his dad, don't you think?

Our final weekend in NY included celebrating 20 years and 1,000 Sundays with Pastor Robert and Nancy Engelhardt at Catskill Mountain Christian Center. We attended a full-blown ball, entitled "A Night to Remember." Remembering all God has done and the evening itself brought us great joy.

On Sunday, July 24th, Catskill Mountain Christian Center continued its celebration with Sunday service. Families from various communities brought large rocks to church. Those rocks will be built into a memorial fountain as a memorial unto the Lord as to what He's done in the lives of the members of CMCC and in the church over the past 20 years.

In this photo: Apostle/Pastor Robert Engelhardt, Nancy Engelhardt, Victor and Alycia Morales, Jeanne Malaxos, Gina Barto, Elder Randall Johnson, and Elder Renard Barto

As part of the memorial celebration, Victor and I were ordained as ministers of the gospel. We don't take this lightly. It's a very humbling experience. Together Ministries loves to encourage covenant relationships. Our focus is marriage ministry and blended family ministry. We love to encourage men and women of God!

 

We are ordained by FaithConnect Apostolic Council 

Upon leaving New York to return to South Carolina, 

I snapped a few shots of the Schoharie Valley. 

Here's one for you to enjoy:

Friday Friends

~ My BFF Mary Denman and Me ~

Some days, I like to take a moment to spotlight others in my life for all of the wonderful gifts God has given them. I like to share the blessings they bring with others. Today is one of those days. Below, I've listed multiple links to various posts, blogs, and videos that have inspired me. Enjoy!

Alicia Bruxvoort - This is a post from a Mom whose children bless her with the things they say and draw her closer to God.

Glynnis Whitwer - Although I don't "know" Glynnis personally, I love reading her blog, Welcome Home. She is full of insight into the Word, and her honest transparency is refreshing. This article is about the importance of spiritual training.

Edie Melson - Edie is one of my close, personal friends. She is my encourager. Although her blog focuses on writing, she includes a weekly devotion. This post is also concerned with spiritual health.

Lynn Huggins Blackburn - One of my favorite things about Lynn is her candid sense of humor. She takes life and tells it as it is, and it's always funny. Here, she talks about being a hypocrite...

Mary Denman - Do you want to sit back and relax and take in some sites? Mary's photography is amazing! I wish she'd put more of her photos up for you to see...