Masterpiece

"For we are Gods masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Ephesians 2:10 

When you read that, do you let it sink in? I mean really soak in deep, reaching every last fiber of your being. 

When I read this verse the other day, it really struck me that I am God's masterpiece. His masterpiece. I am His work of art! And not just any piece, His finest and best! Do I believe that?! 

This life is hard. And it can drag us through the mud, mucking up the beauty that God always sees within us. We believe the lies of the world...we are not good enough; we have messed up one too many times; we are unlovable.

Those.are.lies.

We are loved, we are enough, we are valuable! He gave His life for you and me! We are worth so much more than the finest piece of art you can find in this world.

Believe it, Sister!

You, yes you, are a beautiful masterpiece!!! 

Walk in that Truth today!

Via

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Linking up with Rachel, Leslie & Mia

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

I'm so excited to once again join in the SheReadsTruth community for this weeks SheSharesTruth. This is our final post in the SheSharesTruth series. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have. I'd love to hear your feedback on the last few weeks...if you've enjoyed it, would like it to continue (maybe bi-weekly or monthly), or if you'd prefer to skip it altogether. Let me know! This week we studied 1 Corinthians 2:1-5.

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I love this passage, especially in the NLT version. If you haven't already, I'd encourage you to go read it, then come back and let's chat a little about the passage. 

Have you ever felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to share the gospel with somebody, but were too afraid to take a step and start that conversation? Maybe it was a complete stranger you started a conversation with at Target, the dentist office, the airport. Or, a neighbor you have seen a few times, but don't know too terribly well. Or a close friend or family member. Somebody the Lord has clearly laid upon your heart to talk with about Him.

But, you're too scared you won't know the answers to their questions. Or you won't speak eloquently. Or, you'll be rejected and possibly lose a relationship over broaching the subject of Jesus. 

I get it. I really, really get it! But, their {potential} relationship with Jesus is far more important than our fears. We don't have to worry about having the right words to say or all the answers to their questions. All we have to do is share the truth of Jesus, that He died on the cross for their sins, rose 3 days later and wants nothing more than an intimate personal relationship with Him. 

And if your fear of rejection becomes a reality, just remember that they are not rejecting you, but rather rejecting Jesus. He sees, he knows. He will bless you for obeying Him, even when you've lost a relationship.

Several years ago, November 2011 to be exact, I felt this prompting by the Lord to share Jesus with my, then, neighbor. And I fought it. I represented all the fears I previously mentioned. I could come up with countless reasons why I couldn't talk with her or how I had misheard the Lord. But, deep down, I knew I had heard Him correctly and that I needed to share Jesus with her. 

So, I took that step of obedience and I shared Jesus with her. I was a nervous wreck, fumbled over my speech, but I knew that nothing I shared with her would come back void. {Isaiah 55:11} So I prayed that He would speak through me and He would work in her.

And He did!! Since that time, I have been able to grow an incredible relationship with my dear friend, Mia. She has become one of my very best friends. I have watched her relationship with Jesus grow, and, as a result, watched our relationship grow deeper faster and deeper than I would have ever thought because it's rooted in Him.

So, I encourage you today to take that step of faith. Share Jesus with whomever He's wanting you to share Him with. I pray you have tremendously positive results. But, I'm confident that even if your situation doesn't turn out how mine did, that He will bless you for your obedience to Him. 

One struggle

Do you have a particular struggle or weakness that Satan attacks you with? You might be going along just fine, not struggling too much with the lie(s) he's feeding you, and then, one day, you begin to believe that lie(s) as truth. 

I do. It's that I am not enough. I talked about it a few months ago as my #onebigtruth I'm constantly learning. You should check it out, maybe it'll encourage you!

I've been struggling with this lie a lot over the last few days. And I'm done giving him the victory. I'm committing to live in the freedom that only He provides. I choose this day, right now, and probably many times throughout the day, that because of Him I am enough!

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Do you have one struggle, one lie you're believing today? I encourage you to find the Truth in Him!

Joshua 1:8-9

I'm excited to link up again with the SheReadsTruth community for SheSharesTruth. This week we studied Joshua 1:8-9. 

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 I don't know about you, but, sometimes, the more I talk, the more I muddle things up. Say the wrong thing, talk myself in circles. This verse, though, this verse tells me to talk {much} less and meditate {much} more. Sitting quietly and really meditating on Scripture doesn't always come naturally. Many times, it is something I have to force myself to do.

The second part of this verse explains why I must meditate on His word. I think it's safe to assume that if you're a follower of Christ, you most likely want to follow His will and go where He leads. But, how can we know that unless we are meditating on His word, letting His truth sink deep within our hearts and lead us accordingly throughout life?

As a child of God, it doesn't take long to know that sometimes what He asks us to do {or not do} can take us way outside our comfort zone. And in those moments we must put out trust and faith in Him, knowing it's all for His glory.
 
As we walk with Him, moving where He says move and staying where He says stay, we're going to face opposition. There will be people who try to bring us down, discourage us. BUT, we have the promise that He is with us wherever we go!

In those moments when we understand nothing more than that we are obeying His call on our lives, we can cling to the truth that He is with us, right then and there! We can have that strength and courage because He gives us that strength and courage.

These next few weeks as we make our way through part 3 of the Lent series, we're focusing on meditation and confession. Studying these two verses has challenged me to really spend some time meditating on His word.

Do you find it difficult to sit quietly, meditating Scripture? How do you discipline yourself in meditation?

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Jonah 3-4

I'm joining the lovely ladies of SheReadsTruth as we finish out Jonah this week.

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People are beautiful.

Through different means lately, the Lord has been opening my eyes to the beauty and uniqueness of people. And that all people are made in His image.

Living in such a sin sick world, filled with great evil and atrocities, it has become easy for me to see the negative and ugliness in (some) people. Even become callused to them. Callused to their need for Jesus.

After studying Jonah 3-4, it's pretty safe to say that Jonah was callused to the Ninevites. They were some of the most awful people in the world and why on earth would God show mercy and grace to them?! It just didn't make sense!

It doesn't appear that Jonah's heart ever changed toward the people of Ninevah, either. Sure, he obeyed God and gave the message God wanted him to give to the Ninevites. But then he camped outside the city, waiting, in pride and anger, for God to cast down His judgement on the people of Ninevah.

How often do we do we mimick the mindset Jonah had toward the Ninevites?! We see the evil of others, the sin in their life, and see no reason God should ever bestow His grace and mercy to them. Living life as a Christian, it can be easy to fall into complacency, legalism & a judgmental attitude. But that is NOT what Jesus brings to the world!

Jesus brings love, hope, freedom! And as His child, it is my job (just like it was Jonah's job) to point people to Jesus, not point out their faults. Because let's face it, I have a mess of imperfections I need to work on long before I call anybody else out.
So, who can I love like Jesus today? Who can you love like Jesus today?

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Jonah 1 & 2

Happy Friday! I'm joining the wonderful SheReadsTruth community again this week to discuss Jonah 1-2

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Jonah 1 opens and gets right to the point. Jonah ran from God. God specifically commanded Jonah to do something, but Jonah didn't want to do it, so He literally ran as far away from God as possible. {We do that, too, don't we? If we don't like something God tells us, we brush it off as something He didn't really say or something we misinterpretted. But, deep in our hearts, we know that isn't true.}

As I studied Jonah 1: 3, 6, I saw Jonah on a ship, in the midst of a horrible storm, running from God. And yet, the sailors came to him, hoping His God would have some kind of answer to their problem. They were looking for a savior to save them from the storm. What they didn't realize was that Jonah could point them to the Savior of their lives.

Seeing the interaction between Jonah and the captain of the ship reminded me that people, believers and non-believers, are always watching us, weighing our actions to see if we are living what we say we believe. As children of God, 2 Corinthians 5:17 says "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come."

This made me stop and ask myself do others see Jesus in me? In my actions? Even when life doesn't make sense and/or I do not want to obey God's command. Am I giving Him control over my life and allowing Him to make me new? 

Sometimes, like Jonah, I don't obey God. And just like God did to Jonah{Jonah 2:3}, He disciplines me.  But, as children of God, when we are disciplined by God, it is because He loves us so very much. Similar to the love a parent has for their child when they have to discipline them for a particular action.

Maybe, like Jonah, you are running from God. Or you have run from God, but you don't want to run anymore. Yet, you feel so far from Him. Jonah 2:7 reminds us that although we may forget Him, He never forgets us. Psalm 139:17,18 says "How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you." He wants nothing more than for us to be reconciled to Him. Let's stop running from Him and instead run to Him. He's ready and waiting with open arms!

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Monday ramblings

It's been a weekend filled with computer frustrations, so I don't have my normal Monday post ready to go. (Actually, my weekend was really good, there were just computer frustrations, too) But come back next week for an incredible dish I made recently that the whole family scarfed down. Robert even told me it was better than a very popular restaurant! (Have I intrigued you yet?!)

You'll want to stop by tomorrow, too, to find out how you can enter a Lilly Pulitzer giveaway I'm co-hosting with some other fabulous ladies!

Do y'all watch Dancing with the Stars? It premiers tonight & I'm so excited!! I'm definitely cheering for DJ (Candace Cameron Bure), followed closely by Winnie Cooper (Danica McKellar). Remember when I won a trip to see Dancing with the Stars in LA?! Read about it here, here, here, here & here!

Finally, you know how much I love the SheReadsTruth community, so I'll leave you with the verse of the week to simmer on & mull over. I've loved connecting with you & digging into the Word each Friday! Thank you for all the support, love & kind words y'all have given me on that each week!

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Psalm 38

I'm so excited to be linking up with the wonderful SheReadsTruth community for this week's SheSharesTruth. We're focusing on Psalm 38, so lets dig right in.

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As I studied this passage, I came across 7 truths I thought might challenge us and encourage us.

{one} Sin isolates us from God (v 1,2,3)  God is perfect. That is a word we use lightly in today's culture. The 'perfect haircut'. The 'perfect job'. The 'perfect house'. The 'perfect spouse'. But if you consider the meaning of the word perfect, being entirely without fault or defect, we quickly understand that only God can completely embrace that truth. Because He is perfect, He can have no part of sin. When we sin, we isolate ourselves from God.

{two} Sin weighs us down (v 4-8) The burden of sin is heavy! It weighs down our minds and even weighs down our bodies. We may be able to hide our sins from others, but in the quiet of the night, our sin screams at us and weigh us down.

{three} Sin isolates us from others (v 11) There is a misconception in the world that our sin only affects us. But any of us who have watched loved ones walk down the wrong path, or if we ourselves have walked down the wrong path, we know for certain our sin and our choices greatly affect others. Often leading to isolation.

{four} The world hates us (v 12, 16, 19, 20) As followers of Christ, we are enemies with the world. Not in the sense that we shouldn't love, share the gospel with and disciple those in the world who turn to Christ. But for this time, Satan rules the world and we are at war with him, thus making us hated by those in the world who are not following Christ.

{five} He never leaves us (v 9,15,21) Even when we turn away from God, sin against Him, He never leaves us. If He feels far away, He's not the one who has moved.

{six} Confession restores our relationship with Him (v 18) God desires relationship with us, intimate personal relationship with us. And He is faithful to forgive our sins when we confess them and turn to Him. He welcomes us with open arms back into relationship with Him.

{seven} He will fight our battles (v 13,14, 22) Because Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave three days later, He has victory over all!! And the battles we face each day, as children of God, are His to fight and claim victory over.

What are your thoughts on the passage?

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Women's Study Bible

I recently had the chance to check out a new Study Bible for women (thank you B&H Publishing!)...and give two of my girlfriends their own copy!

I love that there are Bible apps available that enable us to carry the Bible with us anywhere, but there is something so intimate about sitting down with the Word of God actually in your hands, with pages to turn. I will never, ever give up my Bible in lieu of an app. (That being said, I do frequently use my Bible app. I'm not anti Bible apps.:))

A good study Bible is crucial for me when I sit down to study His Word. I enjoy digging deeper into the Word and love the ability to cross reference Scripture. I wanted to share with you some of the things I really enjoyed about the new Study Bible for Women, in case you're wanting to purchase a study Bible.

The Bible itself was beautiful, with a rich sky blue & burgundy leather on the outside.

Once you open the pages, you find it full of great study tools, written by women, for women!

One thing I love to learn about is the context of when a book was written, who wrote the book, the time period it was written in, etc. I love the way this Bible displays a timeline at the introduction of each book. It also provides answers to great introduction questions and an outline of the book.

While you don't have to have a study Bible to dig deeper into the Word, I have found it to be incredibly beneficial in my walk with the Lord. If you are on the hunt for a good study Bible, I think this could be the perfect fit for you!

Thank you B&H Publishing for allowing me to bless two of my girlfriends with their own copy of The Study Bible for Women!

*I was given two copies of the new Study Bible for Women to review and giveaway. However, my opinions of the Bible are my own.

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Psalm 130-Wait for Him

I am so excited to join the She Reads Truth community every Friday during Lent as we gather together, study specific Scriptures each week and share what the Lord is teaching us! I hope you'll join in too!!

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Wait. Waiting. It's not something we're too accustomed to in our culture. We want the biggest, the best and we want it right now

But there is tremendous value in waiting. It teaches us patience. It teaches us self-control and self-discipline. It teaches us to live in the moment.

 
Psalm 130: 5-6 says "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning."
 
Often times, we find ourselves waiting in His presence when life is hard, when things don't make sense, when we're ‘watching for the morning’. The nights, dry spells, wearisome seasons can be so very long. We may be struggling financially, relationally, to have children, to have a spouse, to have friends. Our long nights and trying seasons can look very different from each other’s. But, we have the same promise.   Morning always comes. The Lord always comes.

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There is sweet refreshment and strengthening when we sit before the Lord, waiting. He longs for us to wait in His presence. Linger...just a little longer with Him in His word, in His presence. Patiently listen to His voice. Letting His promises and His word sink deep into our soul until we are convinced we have no other hope than Him.

Whatever your burden is today, whatever your night looks like, causing you to long for morning, lean close into Him. Wait with Him. Wait for Him. Sit in His presence and let Him speak to you today. Let Him love you. Let Him show you His faithfulness. Let Him redeem you and your cares to Him. He will not let you down!

What are your thoughts on the passage? Do you find it difficult to wait on Him?

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Power in Prayer

I believe there is tremendous power in prayer. In fact, I believe it is one the most under-utilized tools of believers today, myself included! We see in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to "pray without ceasing". And in Colossians 4:2 we are told to "devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart."





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Sometimes, though, I can feel stuck and/or overwhelmed by all I can and need to pray for. Am I alone here? Or, I'll set some time aside to pray as I'm going to bed and fall asleep while praying. I can't be alone on that one, right?! So, tools to help me grow in my prayer life are something I very much need and enjoy and I have found a couple great tools I wanted to share with you!

ValMariePaper has an awesome prayer journal that I'm excited to get it (I just ordered it) and start using.  It's a 6 month prayer journal with topics to help jog your mind of specific requests to pray for. There are also sections to record answered prayers and specific Scriptures the Lord uses to speak to you. Love it!!

Another great tool I recently found thanks to Natasha @ Hello Happiness is focused on what to pray for my kids. I really love this!!

 

 

I'm excited to utilize these tools! I hope you find them useful, too!

 

 

*You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter & Bloglovin. I'd love to connect with you!



Abide in Him: What does that look like?!

Do you worry? Are you a worrier? I am, no doubt about it. I worry about big things, little things, real things, 'what if' things. And my worrying increased tremendously when I became a mom. Not only do I have myself and Robert to worry about, but these precious children God has entrusted me(us) with! It's a lot to handle! A lot of unneeded pressure and stress I put on myself.

 

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A couple weeks ago, Pastor Alex gave an incredible message on worry, focused on Matthew 6:25-34. God was speaking to me through that message big time! The biggest thing He was (is) impressing upon my heart is to abide in Him. When I abide in Him, the things I worry about blur out of focus. My focus is on Him, not on the worries around me. My focus is on Who He is, how big He is. And my response and reaction to those worry changes because I know who's really in control. 

But when I'm not abiding in Him, my worries blur the reality of Who Jesus is. Matthew 6:32 says "These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your Heavenly Father already knows all your needs." Worrying dominates the thoughts of unbelievers, not born again believers! This really struck me. If I'm a new creation in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17), I should not be worrying, even obsessing at times, over things that I may or may not have control over. I need to be taking my thoughts captive and giving Him control over my mind!(Romans 12:2)

So what does that really look like in my daily life? Life is hard! There are unexpected tragedies and rough patches in life, so how can I not focus on those worries? How can I abide in Him?

~I have to be intentional about spending time with Him, not just 5 minutes with Him in the morning, but intentional, specific time to sit in His presence. To open His word, dig deep and read the words on the pages and let them sink deep into my heart.

~I have to sit quietly in His presence and let Him speak to me. I can be all too good at laying my requests, needs & desires at His feet and far too quick to move on about my day and not sit in His presence and let Him talk back to me.

~I have to submit to Him daily, sometime minute by minute, when the worries of life try to choke out His voice and presence. I've heard many times that if you're not already in a valley, then you've either just come out of one or you're about to enter one. That thought alone can cause me to worry. However, He has been impressing upon me that, although the valleys will come and life is guaranteed to be hard and bring heartache, I can be prepared for the battle when I'm abiding in Him, abiding in Him when the days are easy and the burdens are light. That way it's just second nature, just what I do, when those rough patches come along.

Since that message a few weeks ago, every single day in my time with Him, I have seen the words "abide in me" or "abide in Him". Is that a coincidence? No way! I'm listening, Lord, and I'm learning how to abide in You. I've been presented some opportunities within the last couple weeks to "put my money where my mouth is" and keep Him in focus and my worries out of focus. And I'm here to tell you, He's faithful to walk me through, or around, those worries!

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Miracle for Mayberry

On September 1, 2012, Mia's brother, Christian, was involved in a terrible ATV accident. He has been in the hospital ever since, fighting for his life, and recovering. It's been a very long, difficult road, but Mia and her family have been walking it with such amazing grace and faith in the True Physician.

I come to you today and ask you to please pray with us for a miracle for Christian, a miracle for Mayberry. We are praying for complete healing and restoration of his body. We are also praying for a rehab facility to open up to him within the next two days. They have learned that, as of this coming Monday, they will be leaving the hospital and do not yet have a place to go. They need a miracle(s)!!

Will you pray, with us, for Christian's complete healing? Will you pray, with us, for the right rehab facility to miraculously open up for him? You can follow his progress here on Facebook,

 

 

"And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him." I John 5:14, 15

Be His Church

For the past several weeks months, the girls and I have been making our way through Acts, studying the first church. It has been good for me to see the church as God designed it and study what my role is within the church body today. I've certainly learned a thing or two about what the church is...and is not.

For starters, the Church is not a specific church, but rather the body of Christ (born again believers) as a whole. To me, this is an incredibly important truth as some churches have the mind set of "us 4, no more" and if you're not a member of that church, you're essentially an "outcast"...or made to feel that way. Not at all what Scripture teaches us. {Romans 12:4}

The Church is not a place of condemnation, but rather a place of grace. We are all sinners, but sometimes we have a tendency to look at others sin as worse than our own. We see in Scripture that all sin is repulsive to God, no matter how minor or major the offense. {Romans 5:20}

The Church is not a place for the elite, but rather a place for all. Sometimes we see a particular mindset within the church that if you don't look the part, you're not welcome. We see in Scripture that Jesus went not to the religious leaders, but rather to the outcast and forsaken in society and welcomed them with open arms. {Luke 19:1-10}

The Church is not a place you go once a week, but rather a lifestyle of daily worship and service to the One True King. All too often, we can get wrapped up in going through the motions and playing church, but we see that what the Church really is and does is live it out every day, getting down and dirty in the trenches of life. {Joshua 22:5}

The Church is not a place of rules, but rather a place of love. All too often, churches impose rules and expectations upon new (and old) believers, or those searching for Christ, that nobody can maintain and that are not found in Scripture. We need to love others and disciple them in the Word and then let God do the rest. Let God show others what they need to change in their lives. {Romans 5:8}

The Church is not a place of gossip, but rather a place of prayer. All throughout Acts, you see the church (body) coming together in prayer, calling upon the power of God to work and move among them. There is tremendous power in prayer that we all too often forsake for a more "hands on" approach to life and our problems. {Acts 1:14}

These are all things that I need to work on myself. This year, I want to focus more on Jesus and live how He desires that I live. I want to be the church wherever I go, whatever I do. 

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*Don't forget about our second Thankful Thursday link up this Thursday! We'd love for you to join us!



Be courageous....be obedient

Last night in our community group we had a great discussion on the life of Daniel and his encounter in the lion's den. What an incredible man he was. It's amazing that when scrutinized by men who wanted to destroy him, he was found without any fault!

But something that can be overlooked in this story is how Daniel got to the lion's den. His actions leading up to his miraculous encounter with God. (Pete Wilson gave an incredible message on this passage if you'd like to listen to it. You can find it here.) It is absolutely fascinating watching Daniel's obedience to God in the big and small things.

For example, look back at Daniel 1:8-21, you see some relatively small ways that Daniel obeyed God. He refused to eat the king's food or drink the king's wine, so he and his friends only ate grains and vegetables and only drank water. And God blessed him and his friends and they found favor with the king.

Over and over you see where Daniel continually served God and obeyed His commands. And over and over, God showed favor upon Daniel and he advanced one way or the another.

What's interesting, though, is that Daniel continually obeyed. Even when it meant that he would be in danger of losing friends, breaking a crime or even facing death. He valued what God said and thought above what man said or thought.

Through Daniel we see that courage begins with obedience. And not just in the big things, like defying the injunction that commanded him to pray to no one other than King Darius. But the little things to, like eating only the things God commanded him to eat.

We know the verse "Be strong and courageous". But have you ever thought about it this way..."Be strong and obedient". That gives it a different spin, doesn't it?

"Be strong and obedient in loving others like I love you."
"Be strong and obedient in spending time with Me daily."
"Be strong and obedient and take that small step of faith I'm asking you to take."

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Be strong and courageous. Be obedient. Take that step of faith.

What is that small step of faith God is asking you to take? Will you take it?