Set Apart

O LORD,
Whose power is infinite and wisdom infallible,
Order things that they may neither hinder,
nor discourage me,
not prove obstacles to the progress of Thy cause;
Stand between me and all strife, that no evil befall,
no sin corrupt my gifts, zeal, attainments;
May I follow duty and not any foolish device
of my own;
Permit me not to labour at work which Thou wilt
not bless,
that I may serve Thee without disgrace or debt;
Let me dwell in Thy most secret place under Thy
shadow,
where is safe impenetrable protection from
the arrow that flieth by day,
the pestilence that walketh in darkness,
the strife of tongues,
the malice of ill-will,
the hurt of unkind talk,
the snares of company,
the perils of youth,
the temptations of middle life,
the mournings of old age,
the fear of death.
I am entirely dependent upon Thee for support,
counsel, consolation.
Uphold me by Thy free Spirit,
and may I not think it enough to be preserved
from falling,
but may I always go forward, always abounding
in the work Thou givest me to do.
Strengthen me by Thy Spirit in my inner self
for every purpose of my Christian life.

All my jewels I give to the shadow of the safety
that is in Thee-
my name anew in Christ,
my body, soul, talents, character,
my success, wife, children, friends, work,
my present, my future, my end.
Take them, they are Thine, and I am Thine,
now and for ever.

-The Valley Of Vision

Posted in: Heidi, Refuge, Valley of Vision on Tuesday, May 5, 2009 at at 1:34 PM 0 comments Links to this post  

I found myself washing the bathroom floor recently. Instead of using a mop, I was doing it by hand with a blue rag and a bottle of all purpose cleaner. I have to say, that I found the task, initially, quite gross. But as I was on my knees, scrubbing away at the dirt and whatnot a thought popped into my head. God talks to people in lots of different ways, and I've come to determine that He likes popping into my private conversations with myself(which really aren't THAT private since He knows them...but anyway).

This thought was,"Jesus loves the floor cleaners". As cheesy it sounds at first, let me explain somethings. Being on ones knees is now, and never has been very glamorous. Red, ruddy knees are not a very often complimented attribute. Then there is a fact of does ANYONE look at floors anyway? Seriously thinking about it, when you go to a person's house you don't automatically examine their floors to see if they are clean. It really is a seemingly pointless task.

But,God loves the humble. And,I don't know about you, but when I think of the word "humble" and it's position,it's being on you're knees. People might not see me cleaning floors, but God does. And, I figured, this is what a humble servant looks like. It's not about being in the highest place to be seen and have people take notice of your actions. Sometimes, it's you, cleaning floors in a bathroom. Or, say watching kids on Sunday mornings. What you're doing might not be glamorous, but God sees, and God cares, and with the right attitude, you could be glorifying God just as much as you could be if you were doing it around others.

Posted in: Annie, Member on Monday, March 16, 2009 at at 10:31 AM 2 comments Links to this post  

We all have our own way of being encouraged on a daily basis. Bible verses are tucked inside a little notebook you carry around all the time. Your Bible itself is the size of a little notebook. Or numerous verses and quotes are plastered to your wall. The latter is my method.

Throughout the day, my eyes will wander over my walls and read a specific verse or quote I have pasted there. I'll nod my head and think it's a good verse, I'm glad to have put it up there.

But yesterday something changed. I sat in my chair and read all of the verses and quotes. Going from wall to wall. But God did something different this time. Instead of me going from each one to the other, after I read a verse, God would take me back to the moment to when I had put it up. Tears could have been streaming down my face when I put up a truth about God being a shelter. Or I could have been rejoicing to know no chains are worn in the courts of the Most High. Every quote and verse had a story.

Then God did something else. Not only did he show me my circumstances when I had put those notes of encouragement on my walls, but He also showed me how He had delivered me from them. Each verse tells a story of God's faithfulness. A time when He revealed something about Himself to me.

God is so faithful! Thank you Lord for giving me a reason to smile and worhsip you with my WHOLE heart! You are an awesome Heavenly Father who delights to serve His little children.

So take a look at your own wall, or highlighted Bible, or little notebook. Ask God to reveal what was going on while you highlighted that verse, or pasted that quote. Then pray He would help you remember how he was faithful in that situation. As you hear time after time God has heard your plea and helped you take time to praise Him! Shout at the top of your lungs about His goodness, dance around your room in praise. God smiles down as he watches.

Posted in: on Saturday, February 14, 2009 at at 12:37 PM 1 comments Links to this post  

The Christian's life is often difficult. But God's grace is sufficient, even for the biggest struggle, the strongest temptation, and the 'worst' sin.

I've often heard the analogy of the Christian 'walk' as the 'Straight and Narrow Way', opposite the broad but treacherous and ultimately fatal way of the world.

This morning God allowed me to see a picture of this; in front of our house a ditch and the driveway run parallel to each other. The drive way is wide, but as I have learned the hard way trying to back the car out it has many tight and unexpected curves where one can get stuck or wrecked.

The ditch, on the other hand, is so narrow that only one can walk down it. I saw myself walking down the ditch. Sometimes I would wander towards the edge of the driveway or fell down, but a Hand always picked me back up and guided me straight on. When walking down the ditch I couldn't see what was ahead, but I knew that I could trust the Hand that guided me, the Hand of the Builder of the ditch that would lead me to His side.

"Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." Ephesians 5:15-17

Posted in: Heidi on Friday, January 9, 2009 at at 9:27 PM 4 comments Links to this post  

We hope you all had a Merry and Blessed Christmas!
This month marks the six-month anniversary of our blog,isn't God good!

Posted in: Heidi, Member on Friday, December 26, 2008 at at 7:14 PM 0 comments Links to this post  

Lenses. I'm used to standing behind them. I like taking pictures, and lenses are important parts of picture taking. If a lens is dirty, smudged, or broken it is difficult to take good, or even decent pictures.

As people, we are all born with busted lenses. Our view of the world is distorted. We can only see but so much through the the cracks and dusts we have received. Try as we might to wipe the dirt away ourselves or cover them, the defects are unavoidable and unremoveable. Left to our own devices, we would navigate the world as the rest of humanity, through messed up lenses.

But there is a Master Repairman. He's renown everywhere. He can fix your lenses for free, because His Son paid the ENTIRE cost for, not ONLY you but the WHOLE world, so you could get to go see Him. Knowing your great need for clear vision, the Master Repairman has given you an invitation to come into His workshop. However, this invitation is not mandatory, it's voluntary. There is few who choose to come and many who do not.

The few who accept and enter into the workshop are greeted warmly, as if they were family. Their lenses are taken out gently, and replaced with a clean and clear lens fitted especially for them. Along with that, they are given a protective covering for their lens to protect from any damage. Before they leave, they are given a life time guarantee to return to have additional cleanings and or repairs.

With new lenses in, stepping out of the workshop,one sees everything differently. What had once been blurry is now precise and clean cut. What one thought wasn't there, now is. Those who haven't been to see the Master Repairman think those who have are ,to be perfectly honest, crazy. But to the eyes of those who have been changed, being called crazy is perfectly okay. They would rather be called that then sane, if crazy is what they are. Returning to their prior lenses would seem more backwards then anything. They cherish the lenses they were given and the Master Repairman that gave them. And nothing anyone could possibly say or do will change that. For, if you haven't figured it out already, this is a story about US.

God is the Master Repairman. He can fix,alter or change ANYTHING or ANYONE. His Son, obviously is Jesus, who payed the ultimate price(His own death) for us to come to His Father. Those of us who went to the Master Repairman's shop are those of us who are Christians. Those of us who didn't, are the non-Christians.

I've found it interesting the different points of view of the two groups. And just how differently we see the world in comparison. Often we tend to think everyone thinks the same thing we do,or something similar to it. What we need to remember is that everyone is seeing the same thing differently. It would do good to investigate and try to understand others view points so as to get a glimpse into their own lenses. Then so after doing,compare those to a Biblical standpoint and discuss the differences between the two worldviews.

Posted in: Annie, Member on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 at at 12:42 AM 1 comments Links to this post  

We, the Set-Apart Staff, as not only authors of this blog,but also as friends, have a lot to be thankful for during this holiday of Thanksgiving, and here are somethings, in no particular order, off the top of our head things we are thankful for:

Savannah
- I'm thankful that this is the second Thanksgiving I get to eat what everyone else is eating.
- I'm thankful for my grandparent's taking the time to drive up from FL to be with us.
- I'm thankful for getting my driver's permit.
- I'm thankful for the growth that has taken place in my relationship with the Lord.
- I'm thankful that my whole house is healthy.
- I'm thankful that our house is clean.
- I'm thankful for the Lord's loving kindness to me and my family.

I could go on and on about what I'm thankful for but these are the biggies.



Heidi
* I'm very thankful for my wonderful Savior, Jesus and His saving work in my life.

* I'm thankful for my Sister being home this week.

* I'm thankful for my family.

* I'm thankful for God's grace when I need it most, every moment of every day.

* I'm thankful that God holds tomorrow, that I don't have to worry about what I'll do after graduation, or what will happen.

* I'm thankful for good health.

* I'm thankful for amazing friends who help me see my weaknesses and encourage me.




Annie
I'm thankful that God put the idea for this blog in Heidi's mind and heart, and that she shared it with me, and both of us together, with the addition of Savannah, created this blog.
I'm thankful God can work through us through our writings.
I'm thankful for the people who read this blog.
I'm thankful that God has been SO faithful to continue to teach me new things.
I'm thankful that I've survived, and prospered in my first ever college class, with God's obvious help, because, I'm pretty sure without His assistance, I wouldn't have done it.
I'm thankful for the church family God has provided for me.
I'm thankful for all of my friends, who have,and still do, challenge me in my walk with God.
I'm thankful,and humbled by the fact,that even though I totally don't deserve it, God loves me.




Psalm 100:1-5

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with singing!

Know the the Lord, He is God! It is he who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name!

For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever; and His faithfulness to all generations.

Posted in: Annie, Heidi, Savannah, Thanksgiving on Monday, December 1, 2008 at at 9:05 AM 2 comments Links to this post