2010 March :: Putting God First Place

Do Not Worry

By Ashley Wells, on March 31st, 2010

While reading in my Bible, I came across a verse that made me literally pause in my steps and think about God and His greatness and me and my weaknesses….

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

While we have been preparing for moving, I have experienced worry about finding an apartment close to the campus, worrying if I am going to like my job when I go back to work, worrying about finding a new church, etc…

God definitely spoke to me through these verses. I do myself no benefit from worrying. God will take care of me and provide for our needs. I need to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (I’m kicking my feet slightly on the ground and have my head lowered…this is the verse that sums up my whole goal of this blog).

God sure did humble me through His word today…

God, Who Are You? Week 8

By Ashley Wells, on March 29th, 2010

This is the 8th week of the bible study from At the Well, called God, Who Are You?. If you haven’t joined this bible study, we are missing you! But, no worries, you can join anytime and do the study at your leisure from this page. I actually have joined in several weeks, but I am glad to be back!!!

I am amazed at how God is using Jenifer to host this study and draw all of us closer to Him. Here is this week’s post, which includes a great video from Jenifer, the wonderful lady leading this study.

Now, this week’s discussion topic is to finish the following statements,

My life before Christ…
How I came to know Christ as my Redeemer…
My life since coming to know Christ as my Redeemer…

This is going to be a great exercise to get to know each other. Here is how I would complete the phrases….

My life before Christ was dead. I was living for no purpose. I was very lonely, even though I was surrounded with people. I loved to do good works, but not to please God…only to please myself and feel good.

I have no idea where I would be now if I would have continued down the path I was headed.

How I came to know Christ as my Redeemer was a journey. I went to church for the first seven or so years of my life regularly. However, then I didn’t really go at all and my family wasn’t really focused on God.

I first realized that I was a sinner in middle school, soon after going to church regularly for the first time since I was a young child. However, I did not fully commit myself to Christ at that time.

During high school I began going to church again and this time became redeemed by the blood of Christ! Amen!!! I was headed no where, very fast, up until this moment. My life changed!

My life since coming to know Christ as my Redeemer has been joyous! I have a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). I have an eternal Father who loves me dearly. I am constantly learning more about Christ and growing closer to Him. I have a desire to glorify God in all I do!

I still fall short, and sin (Romans 3:23). However, I have been redeemed and now I have something to live for, thanks to Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection!

Praise God!

Visit here to see what other women said.

Where is My Treasure?

By Ashley Wells, on March 25th, 2010

As we are preparing to move and looking for an apartment to rent in Louisville I have been pondering these words that Jesus spoke:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21, emphasis mine)

When we were first married, we lived in a two-bedroom town home with a basement. It was well over 1,000 square feet. It was a very nice size for newlyweds. We had lots of room for storage and enough living space for entertaining many people and also accommodating over night guests.

When we moved last year, we downsized into a two-bedroom garden apartment, with just over 900 square feet and barely any storage. This caused us to go through our entire apartment and truly decide what was important to us, what we treasured. We literally only had 1 very small storage closet in the whole apartment.

Therefore, we went through everything that we owned and sold a lot of stuff (This helped with moving expenses!!) that had no value in our eyes. Thankfully, everything we wanted to keep did in fact fit in our new apartment, with some creative storage methods. But, it definitely caused us to pause and think about our belongings and what really mattered to us.

Now, we are moving again and have decided to downsize even further. We are looking at renting a one bedroom apartment. Most of the apartments we are looking at range from 600-750 square feet. So, here we are again, thinking and pondering what is really important to us and what we want to keep.

While reading my bible, I came across the words above from Jesus. They really made me p a u s e and think….

Am I storing up my treasures on earth, or in heaven?

Are all these things that I own, what I consider my treasure to be?

Or am a willing to give it all up?

Is my real treasure in heaven waiting for me or am I holding on to the things of this world?

What would happen if we truly lived our lives by faith?

By Ashley Wells, on March 24th, 2010

Would we…

share the gospel more?

reach out to the poor in our community?

feed the hungry families across our nation and the world?

have our neighbors over for dinner?

talk to the pregnant woman who doesn’t know what to do?

sponsor a child across the globe?

adopt a child?

fight human trafficking?

truly respect our husband, every day?

give more money?

What would our lives look like?

*This is a blog repeat, plus some additions, from August 2009.

What’s On Your Nightstand?

By Ashley Wells, on March 23rd, 2010

What’s On Your Nightstand? is a monthly meme on the fourth Tuesday of every month from 5 Minutes for Books.

There are several different ways to participate (Click here to learn more about that). I am going to participate each month by sharing what books I have read and written a review for in the last month and what books I would like to read in the next month.

In addition to the following list, I also have a master list of books I have read in 2010. I challenged myself to read 60 books! I update my 2010 master list regularly with reviews of the books I have read and also what books I am currently reading (You can also find my currently reading books at the bottom of my blog), you can check that out here.

If I finish reading the 2 books I am in the middle of, then I will be right on track to complete my goal for the year (AWESOME!!!!).

Books I Have Read since February 23rd:

Family Feasts for $75 A Week

I loved reading through this book and very much took my time to soak in all the information that this mom of 10 has to share! I really think that even the seasoned money saving women will find at least one new way to save money. I personally, found many, many tips.