Life In Christ Archives - Seeking God with Jaime Wiebel

Family Fun Friday

Jaime Wiebel — Tue, 26 May 2015 16:54:00 +0000

I had the amazing opportunity to go to my son’s classroom for Family Fun Friday. I was actually going to have my sister go and talk about her job as an ecologist but it turned out that she was sick and I had to go in her place.

I love how God changes our plans in unexpected ways. Since last minute is my specialty, I decided to go and talk about my current pursuits in serving God in my life.

I had a great afternoon talking to the students about writing, blogging and loving my Lord. What an amazing opportunity to mix things that I love most. My children, my opportunities to spread the Good News of the Gospel through writing, and talking to the students about how much God impacts my whole life.

I extended to the students an opportunity to guest blog on my page. This was voluntary (and meant extra homework), so I am glad to have received an entry.

This entry is from Olivia. I asked the students to draw a picture and write about how God affects their lives and gave them several writing ideas.

Thank you Olivia for your entry. Great Job and thank you for sharing your beautiful heart.

Olivia wrote “When God Helps me!” Inside with her picture her quote says, “God help me, now I am not scared.”

Thank you Olivia for sharing a simple yet profound truth. How many times do we try to do things in our lives through our own strength? We sometimes even let our fears get in the way of God doing His work through us. Read Am I In the Way? for more on getting out of God’s way so He can do His work in us.

Once we submit our fears to the Lord and rely on Him, He is free to release our fears.

Olivia, remember this amazing promise that Moses gave to Joshua before entering the land God had promised to His people, from Deuteronomy 31:8. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you. (NLT)

We are told time and time again, DO NOT BE AFRAID! I love this promise. We are told that the LORD will personally go before us. How awesome He is! With that amazing promise we don’t have to be afraid. We can embrace our fears and in His presence we can be Fearless.

Enjoy this beautiful new song called Fearless by Mia Fieldes.

Friends, Please Comment below to encourage Olivia in her walk with Christ. Thank you!

Please SHARE Seeking God In All I Do blog.

The post Family Fun Friday appeared first on Seeking God with Jaime Wiebel.

He Can Move Mountains!

Jaime Wiebel — Wed, 13 May 2015 17:05:00 +0000

Being a parent, often times, things are out of my control. I can do
my best to teach my kids right from wrong but then the decisions they make are
up to them.

Being the mom of small kids, out of control seems to be
sometimes more regular than not. Kids have a mind of their own and when their
minds start flowing, rerouting is not always an option.

When I first became a mom, I had ideas about how the whole
thing would go. When things didn’t go my way, trust me no one was happy.

You know the saying, when momma’s not happy; no one is
happy. That was me in my family.

What an unrealistic way to live because no mom or dad can control things
all the time.

I don’t know about you, but I like to be in control. I like
things to go my way. I’m selfish. Anyone with me on that? I know you are not
raising your hands on that comment. Who wants to admit their own selfishness?

In fact, when my husband and I had our first son, my husband
could do nothing right. He couldn’t correct our son properly, or calm him just
the right way, or talk to him the way I could. Ridiculous, I know. The ridiculous
part is I thought things could only be done my way.

What a miserable environment I created. But in my head I
thought it was my environment and I had to be in control.

How did God move me from that way of thinking? God has a way
of drawing us near to him. Although I am going to give you this story briefly (I
will write more about this another time), this was my turning point.

When our oldest son was about 15 or 16 months old, we found out
that we were having another child. Perfect. Our planning was just right. My
kids would be about two years apart, just the way I always planned it.

Doctors appointments went as normal. Child number two was on the way. In the middle week 21 we went for our
ultra sound, and got quite a surprise. We were not having child number two but
child two and three.

WOW! We were not expecting that. But what we were not
expecting was the words that came out of the technician’s mouth next, “I
can’t find heart beats.”

The only thing I could cry over and over was, “What? I don’t
understand?” I was so confused. Just a couple of weeks prior there was a heartbeat.

Life? I had it figured out and now it was out of my control.
My heart was broken into a million pieces and there was nothing I could do to
fix it.

I had to carry the twins for a week before they were able to
take them. In that week Christ changed my life in ways I would have never imagined.

I had been saved when I was younger but had never really
surrendered my whole life over to God. I lived under the false impression that
giving my life to Christ didn’t really mean giving “MY” life to Christ.

I would lay on my bed
with my Bible open just searching for some hope. The verse that I came across was: Philippians
4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God
which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ
Jesus.

For the first time in
my life, I got down on my knees and surrendered “my life and my control” to
Christ. I not only surrendered my life but I surrendered my unborn children. It
may sound kind of strange, you may be thinking they were not living, but I knew
that God could do a miracle.

I knew that God could move mountains and I believed that He
could move them in me.

On bended knee I said to Him, “No matter what you decide for
my life and the lives of my babies, I will love you and I will trust you. I cannot
do this on my own. I ask for only one thing, a peace that surpasses my
understanding.”

At that time, I didn’t understand how and why this happened.
Now I know, MY GOD IS IN CONTROL, and He wanted me to know it. He can move mountains and He moved them in me. I praise Him for
revealing Himself to me in such a powerful way.

You see, my life is not my own. My children’s life is not
mine. We belong to Him. I praise Him for
being a God bigger than all my situations.I praise God for not only being a God that could move mountains but for being a sovereign God who knows better than I in matters of my life.

Are you in a situation right now? Do you need to know there is a God who is bigger than all you are facing right now?

He sees you. He knows
what you are going through. He has been through all your pains.

Do you trust Him? Have you surrendered “your life” to Him?
Are you living under the impression that you are in control? Do you want to
release that control to Him?

If you have given your
life to Christ, you can have this assurance from Philippians
3:20-21, But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from
there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring
everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will
be like His glorious body.

Paul tells us in his letter, written from prison, everything is under HIS control. Amen! Are you thankful for that assurance? Being a follower of Christ is not about me. It is not about my own control. It is surely not about my own selfishness. Daily, I have to put myself aside and chose Him.

Praise God! My life is always being transformed; I pray that God will make me more like Him.

Please SHARE with friends and comment below about a time or
something you want to give to Christ.

Don’t carry it with you another moment. Give it to Him today. Feel free to even post anonymously
something that you want to surrender to Him today so your friends here can pray with you.

The post He Can Move Mountains! appeared first on Seeking God with Jaime Wiebel.

Change? ME!?!

Jaime Wiebel — Thu, 07 May 2015 22:22:00 +0000

As I look back at my wedding photos that we have hanging on
the walls of our house, I often times look at my husband and I and wonder, who
are those two love birds?

My husband has a few less hairs (I had to add few) and I had
fewer gray hairs. We practically look like babies. Where did the time go? Where
did we go? We used to be fun and wild, crazy, and free. Did he change? Did I
change?

We are going to be celebrating our tenth anniversary this
year and as I reflect on the past years, I see how our lives constantly transform.

Quite honestly, I am glad I am not that girl anymore in some
ways and in some ways I miss her a bit.

Do you ever wish you could go back and tell your younger
self a thing or two or three or are you glad you had to figure it out the hard
way?

Often times you hear couples say, especially in times of
struggle, “You’re not the guy or girl that I married.”

Some of you may be
thinking Hallelujah, and others may be holding onto resentment or bitterness
toward the fact that your spouse is not the same person.

When Scott and I first got married, we struggled, as many
couples do, in our first years of really settling in together. Things become
quite different; kids come along, the daily grind grinds in, and life becomes well,
life. But that man I fell in love with is now my best friend.

What Happens? Those two people that often got married and were head-over-heels in love,
start to change.

Some of us are open to the changing relationships in our
lives but some people are saying, Change? Me!?!

We quickly respond, “I am the
same person or I am not the one that changed.”

Let’s be real, we all change. We were not the same in first grade as we were
when we were seniors in high school. We were not the same when we began college
or our careers as we are five or ten years later.

People have to change, they have to adapt to the changing
environment and life around them. It can be amazing, you can become a better
person, or it can be detrimental and you can go in the opposite direction.

I don’t stress over our changing marriage. In fact, I look
forward to new things and new phases, and praise God for renewed mercies every
morning.

I feel our marriage
is better now than when it began. My husband and I have grown together and
created a bond grounded in faith. With the grace and mercy of our Heavenly Father,
we are not only surviving but we absolutely enjoy each other.

I am not saying that we never struggle, but we have an ingredient
that is, what I believe, key to any marriage. It is grounded in faith and held
together by a foundation in a God that is bigger than all our issues, all our
changes, and all our finicky ways we bring to our relationship.

If you are in a marriage or any
relationship, where you won’t change or the other person won’t change, you will
come into struggles. Change is essential. Just as you get up and change your
clothes everyday (hopefully), you have to change you attitudes and behaviors to
work together and that is okay.

Don’t be afraid to change.

Embrace the change.

Embrace the opportunity for new beginnings and being able to sing a new
song.

The key or the essential element to any strong relationship
is the reliance on a GOD that doesn’t change. He is eternally constant. He is
eternally consistent.

So as we change, as we grow, as we mature, we have a
constant that we can rely on to never change. His promises are the same. His
expectations of us are the same, day to day.

The awesome thing about serving an eternal God is He sees
the big picture, in fact He sees the whole picture. When we see only our day to
day or our past, He knows our future. He knows what He has in store for us, for
our families, for our marriages, and for our friendships.

Personally, I have had to grow up a lot in the past ten
years. Every time I have a struggle it comes down to this, Asking God to change
ME.

No matter whom the relationship has involved: family,
friends, spouse, children, acquaintances, and people I met in my everyday life,
God has required my submission.

He has left me in my, sometimes miserable, state until I
have realized, I cannot change people, but He can. What I can do is ask a God
who is bigger than any situation I have ever faced to

Change Me!

I have asked a God that is bigger than all my struggles
to make me more like Him. It is not always easy, but often times, a
necessary change.

Psalm 102 is a prayer of one overwhelmed with trouble,
pouring our problems before the Lord.

Do you ever feel like the overwhelmed person pouring out
you problems before the Lord?

Here is some constant reassurance for you, Psalm
102:27-28 says: But YOU are always the
same; YOU will live forever. The children of your people will live in security.
Their children’s children will thrive in your presence.”

We can’t say that about the people in our lives but we can say that about an AWESOME GOD!
So you can put your hope and faith and trust in Him.

So as you face your next struggle or next encounter that
may not be a pleasant one, challenge yourself in this way, ask God, to make a
real change, but ask Him to make it in you.

Please leave comments below and read from others about their journeys.

The post Change? ME!?! appeared first on Seeking God with Jaime Wiebel.