Did you know that when you believe a lie to be true that you are empowering the father of lies, Satan?   Satan tries to counterfeit everything God has. 

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 2 Corinthians 3:17 (ESV)

That same Spirit lives in us.  Unfortunately, when we believe a lie, we open an area up for the enemy to build a stronghold in an area of our life. 

I {Toi} feel some of you are holding back from the Lord because you have fallen for a lie.  

Some of you want to say "Yes, Lord, I will follow you with reckless abandon."   You're holding back because the enemy has made you believe that saying yes, automatically means you have to sell all your possessions, move to the jungle, live in a mud hut and be uncomfortable for the rest of your life.   The enemy has made you believe that to serve the Lord faithfully one must be extremely uncomfortable for no reason other than the Lord wants you to be miserable.   THAT. IS. A. LIE. 

The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy.  He wants to steal and kill the destiny the Lord has for you. That Fear is from the enemy.

Remember, God loves you and is a perfect Father.  A  loving father would not place their 6 year old behind the wheel of a car and expect them to drive to school. Some of you are like a 6 year old in Christ. What father would send his 6 year old to the jungle? The Lord will not throw you into a situation that He has not provided the grace for you to handle.  Whatever the Lord is calling you to do, He is providing the grace to do it. His grace and mercies are new every day. (Lamentations 3:23)  
 
One of the ways the Lord prepares us is by having us be obedient in the little things. The little acts of obedience prepare us for the bigger, harder things.  

"I love the Lord, but I'm afraid He's going to have me stop buying my daily lattes and give the money to the poor."   He might be, or maybe He wants you to occasionally pay for the car behind you and have the barista give them an encouraging note. 

"I'm afraid if I say 'Use me Lord,' He will make me sell me new dream house and move across town."   He may or He may be dealing with you about being nice to "Mrs. Kravitz" across the street. He may be nudging you to invite her to the your ladies Bible study.  (Moving may not seem so bad now, right? haha)

The key is being sensitive to the Holy Spirit at all times so you may be able to discern what He is leading you to do in any situation. 

"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. "  John 14:26 NASB

Don't let the enemy scare you away from serving the Lord. The Lord's plan and intentions for us, His children, are always good.  His love is perfect. Let His perfect love wrap around you.  

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love." 1 John 4:18 NASB

If you are just joining us, you can begin at Chapter 1 by clicking HERE. 

Natalie Chambers Snapp set out to find a book about friendship. When she couldn't find one, on the advice of several of her friends, she decided to write one. What came of that is Heart Sisters: Be the Friend You Want to Have. 

Over the past several weeks, we've walked through each chapter of Natalie's book and learned how to be a better friend, how to have better friends, and how to maintain those friendships once we have them. It's been an amazing journey and we're so thankful that you've joined us!

Today is the concluding post in the Heart Sisters Book Club. We are VERY excited to also offer a giveaway for Natalie's book to ONE lucky winner! {Entry is at the end of this post} 

Chapter 10: What Does a Heart Sister Not Do? 

1. A Heart Sister does not gossip.
2. A Heart Sister Does Not Use Words Irresponsibly.
3. A Heart Sister is Not Honest.
4. A Heart Sister Does Not Stir Up Conflict
5. A Heart Sister Doesn't Give Her Opinion Without Being Asked For It.
6. A Heart Sister Doresn't Criticize Your Family--Particularly Your Significant Other.
7. A Heart Sister Listens More Than She Talks.
8. A Heart Sister Doesn't Always Turn the Conversation Back to Her.
9. A Heart Sister Doesn't Boast.
10. A Heart Sister Doesn't Make You Feel Horrible When You Spend Time With Her.
11. A Heart Sister Doesn't Play Emotional Games.
12. A Heart Sister Doesn't Withhold Forgiveness or Lack Humility.
13. A Heart Sister Does Not Betray  a Confidence.
14. A Heart Sister Does Not Abuse Boundaries.

Natalie asks some questions to get us all thinking more about these things that heart Sisters "Don't":

1. Is having grace for yourself easy or difficult for you? Why or why not?
2. How do you feel when you are in the presence of someone who is speaking negatively about someone else? What does this tell you about the state of her heart?
3. Discuss the difference between honesty and being candid. 
4. Brainstorm how to handle people who stir up dissension. Is there a way to safely encourage them so they don't feel the need to stir the pot?
5. Assess your own commitments. Is there enough margin in your life? If not, are there commitments you can remove so margin can exist?

Chapter 11: What Does a Heart Sister Do?

1. Heart Sisters can become narrow path friends. 
2. Heart Sisters Provide Wise Counsel.
3. Heart Sisters Help One Another Grow. 
4. A Heart Sister Stays By Our Side in Times of Adversity.
5. A Heart Sister Will Work Through Conflict With Humility.
6. A Heat Sister Forgives and Allows For Human Weakness.
7. A Heart Sister Loves Your Children Almost as Much as You Do.
8. A Heart Sister is Candid and Not Honest.
9. A Heart Sister Always Points Us Back to What's Real and True.
10. A Heart Sister Recognizes the Importance of Marriage and Encourages You to Grow as a Wife. She Respects Your Family and Understands They Are Your First Commitment.
11. A Heart Sister Laughs With You.
12. A Heart Sister Will Do Something For You Without Expecting Anything in Return.
13. A Heart Sister is a Prayer Warrior Who's On Your Side of the Battle. 

Answer these questions yourself or in your small group:

1. What qualities do you admifre the most in a friend?
2. Do you have a covenant friendhsip? Is there someone you know who might be a good covenant friend? If so, pray it over and if you feel led, talk to her about the possibility of meeting regularly (or even just checking in by phone) to share prayer concerns and encouragement. 
3. Have you ever had a friend betray  a confidence? How did you feel? What did the experience teach you?
4. How can our friends encourage us in our marriages?
5. Have you ever advised a friend to do something you now regret? What did you learn from this?

“DEATH COMES UNEXPECTEDLY!” Have you ever seen the movie, Pollyanna? (1960) Pollyanna, a precocious, fun-loving young girl is sent to live with her aunt where she turns the town upside down. In one scene, they are sitting in church, and the pastor begins his sermon by loudly and dramatically proclaiming, “DEATH COMES UNEXPECTEDLY.” I can’t hear a comment about an “unexpected death” without hearing this line from the movie in my head. In the last month or so, Tim and I have learned of several unexpected deaths.  My co-worker lost her husband of over 30 years; he just didn’t wake up one morning. A friend from church recently passed away, unexpectedly, in his apartment. These tragic situations have caused me to think a lot about death and the grief that it brings to those who lost the loved one. So I turned to God’s word to see what God says about unexpected death and the grief that ensues.

What does the Bible have to say about “unexpected death”?

1. No death is unexpected to God. He knows all, and He plans all. We are often shocked when someone passes away because our finite minds find it difficult to comprehend how God can work on a different time frame than we do. 2 Peter 3:8 attempts to explain to us that, “with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.”

2. Death is inevitable for each one of us, and our life--however long God gives us-- is flying by. Job knew this truth when he said, “Now my days are swifter than a runner; they flee away...” In 1 Samuel 20:3, David writes, “There is hardly a step between me and death.”

3. Our lifetime is so minuscule in the timeline God operates. Psalms 78:39 says, “A wind that passes and does not return.” And James 4:14, “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” We need to realize that our loss of human life is not surprising to God, and the end of that earthly life was perfectly stationed on God’s timeline.

What does the Bible have to say about our death and how can we prepare for it?

No one wants to think about his own death, but if we truly have a heavenly perspective, we will welcome death if we are a believer because “we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). Paul writes in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Romans 14:8 instructs us, “for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.”

1. Realize that our time on earth is limited. I believe that death is almost always unexpected, so we should be living our life as if today is our last day. “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom” (Psalms 90:12).

2. Prepare by living a life that daily honors and glorifies our Lord. Matthew 24:44 says, "For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.” We get so focused on living in the world that we forget this is not our final destination!

3. Anticipate with great joy the day you are in the presence of your Savior! Luke 12:35 tells us to, "Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit.” This paints a “too excited to sleep” picture to me.

What does the Bible say about grief and sorrow when we do lose someone we loved dearly here on earth?

1. Know that God is with you and He sees your tears. He hasn’t forgotten you in your time of sorrow. “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit" (Psalms 34:18).

2. There is a day coming where death will be no more, “and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

3. Your heart can heal. Psalms 147:3, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” We are reminded in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 that we have a hope that unbelievers cannot comprehend. And that is solely due to the promises of our Savior that we can see our loved ones again.  God’s Word tells us clearly where our loved ones are if they were believers. Our grief may be overwhelming, but remember, “…You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away” (James 4:14). Sooner than you realize, you will be reunited with your loved one! What comfort His promises bring!

If you have lost a loved one, I hope you find comfort in our Savior today. Know that He hasn’t forgotten you! I’m living so close to the grieving process right now with my coworker, and it is a heart-breaking time, but Jesus is with you, and He truly can heal your heart. I also hope that our desire to prepare and live a life that glorifies God is renewed through the truths of God’s word. Our time is so short, let’s live every day for his glory!