Taken from "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan

"For years I gave God leftovers and felt no shame. I simply took my eyes off Scripture and instead compared myself to others. The bones I threw at God has more meat on them than the bones others threw, so I figured I was doing fine.
It is easy to fill overselves up with other things (even ministry) and then give God whatever is left. Hosea 13:6 says, "When I fed them, they were satisfied: when they were satisfied they became proud; then they forgot me." God gets a scrap or two only because we feel guilty for giving Him nothing, a mumbled three-minute prayer at the end of the day, when we are already half asleep. Two crumpled-up dollar bills thrown as an afterthought in to the church's fun for the poor. Fetch God!
"But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it no evil? And when you present the lam and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would be be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly" says the Lord-Malachi 1:8.
The priests of Malachi's day thought their sacrifices were sufficient. They had spotless animals but chose to keep those for themsleves and give their less desirable animals to God. They assumed God was pleased because they had sacrificed something.
God described this practice as evil.
Leftovers are not merely inadequate from God's point of view (and least we forget, His is the only one who matters), they are evil. Let's stop calling it "a busy schedule" or "bills" or "forgetfulness." It's called evil.
God is holy. In heaven exists a Being who decides whether or not I take another breath. This holy God deserves excellence, the very best I have."

Psalm 119:77

"Surround me with your tender mercies so I may live, for your instructions are my delight."

Breaking Free Day by Day - Beth Moore

May 11th
"Then they may come to their senses and escape the Devil's trap, having been captured by him to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:26

We can think of Satan's subtleties as his camouflage. Generational yokes often go undetected because they blend in so well with our personalities. We excuse some of these yokes as simply being the way we are. We might even say, "My mother was like this, and so was hers!" Or, "My grandfather raised my father not to take a handout from anyone."
Maybe you are beginning to see a well-camouflaged chain you've inherited. You don't have to decide, "Well, I'm stuck with it, so I may as well be proud of it." In Christ we are not stuck with anything but Him. Praise His name!

May 12th
"Please forgive your brothers' transgression and their sin-the wrong they caused you." Genesis 50:17

The enemy specializes in taking advantage of any refusal to forgive. I'll describe an all-too-common scenario. A family has a feud over the family business. The grown siblings cease speaking to one another and do not allow their children to associate. They harbor bad feelings so long that those who refused to forgive become unforgiving people. They have little in common except that most of them are mad at someone all the time.
Perhaps alienation like this has been your family's way of life for so long that it doesn't even seem strange! Let's be brave enough to see if we are perpetuating division and unforgiveness in the family line.

Week Five Viewer Guide - God's Voice Reveals His Plan

"We are His creation-created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10

Our God doesn't just sit on high and look down low.

Five Principles about God's Plan for Your Life

1. God's plan is often uncovered while you are in the desert season of your life.

2. You are equipped for God's plan while you are in the desert:
Moses was:
A. equipped with dedication
B. equipped with direction
C. equipped with destination

3. Supernatural markers will point you to God's plan.

4. Intimate Fellowship is the purpose of God's plan.

5. God's plan changes the course of your life.

To all you Mother's on your Special Day

Dear Lord, it's such a hectic day
with little time to stop and pray.
For life's been anything but calm
since you called on my to be a mom.
Running errands, matching socks,
building dreams with building blocks.
Cooking, cleaning, and finding shoes
and other stuff that children lose.
Fitting lids on bottled bugs,
wiping tears and giving hugs.
A stack of last weeks mail to read,
so where's the quiet time I need?
Yet when I steal a minute, Lord
just a the sink or ironing board,
to ask the blessings of Your grace
I see then, in my small one's face
that you have blessed me
all the while
and I stop to kiss
that precious smile.

Happy Mother's Day, daughters of Christ. May you feel His love and support as you walk through this blessed thing called Motherhood. Love to all, The Women's Ministry Team

Breaking Free Day by Day - Beth Moore

May 6th
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you." 2 Corinthians 13:13

I used to struggle with God's love for me because I knew my own sins and weaknesses-all the reasons He shouldn't love me. Surely everyone else wasn't the mess deep inside that I was! (Of course, some people can be so full of self-righteousness, they seem convinced God loves them best of all.) But why do we have such difficulty believing God could love with the same unfailing love those we perceive as good and those we perceive as bad? It's because we relentlessly insist on trying to humanize God. We tend to love people according to how they act, and we keep trying to create God in our image.

Week Four Viewer Guide

God's Voice Reveals His Character
"With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. Psalm 119:10, 18

We get to know God through His written word to us.

The better you know God, the more clearly you can hear God.

Focus on God-not merely on hearing God.

You can distinguish God's voice by pressing into Him.

2 Chronicles 16:9-For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His.

Don't go voice hunting instead of God hunting.

Correct communion with God in our ears can only emanate from intimate communion with Him in our hearts.

Search the Scripture to get to know God, not just to get from God.

It is God's responsibility to cause you to hear and to recognize His voice.

God leads perfectly because He is love and He is good.