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Articles by Janice Miller

Five Years of Truth: 2011 “Tricks of The Trade”

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I committed my life to Jesus five and one half years ago. Each year He has given me new and wonderful things to learn, to feel, and to do.

Join me in reminiscing.

 

“Tricks of The Trade”

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 
2 Corinthians 9:12

wednesdayThis is the year I began to learn about serving. I was asked to be on the leading team of  a women’s fellowship meeting at my church. It was called “Life Happens” and we met once a month. Boy, was I excited! Helping to organize this group function and working with the other leaders was a great learning experience.

I went to meetings, presented ideas, listened to the ideas of others. I helped make plans. I sent emails, kept records. At our fellowship meetings I welcomed our guests and made sure they were comfortable. Sometimes I would lead a small group. I even gave my testimony for the first time.

The fun part was meeting and getting to know more of the ladies I went to church with. We shared food, stories, and studied God’s Word together. It was wonderful!

So, what was God teaching me? I began to see in me a collection of skills and talents I had not noticed before. The same skills and talents I’ve been using most of my adult life at work, at home, at the grocery store. Gifts given to me by God. He gives them to all of us. Not for our glory but for His.

All we have to do is choose. Choose to use our gifts to serve Him. To serve others. When we do God will be honored.

God does not send us out into the world unequipped, but He does send us.

I love that about God!

j

Five Years of Truth: 2010 God Speaks

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I committed my life to Jesus five and one half years ago. Each year He has given me new and wonderful things to learn, to feel, and to do.

Join me in reminiscing.

 

2010 God Speaks

The Mighty One, God, the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to where it sets.
Psalm 50:1 

This is the year I learned God speaks to us in very specific ways to let us know He is alive and always with us. I want to tell you a story of one way He spoke to me in 2010.

In the office where I work my desk is on the front of the building right next to an all glass wall. I can watch people as they drive along and as they walk by on the sidewalk.

tuesday blue housecoatIn February of that year I noticed a women walking by I had not seen before. She caught my attention right away. She was very small but had a brisk energetic stride. What stood out the most though was what she wore. It was a blue housecoat. I have seen many people walk by with their best-fitting workout gear, but there she was, this little lady with her blue housecoat, head high and striding along.

I began to watch for her each day. I told my friend about her and he would watch for her, too. I said to him, “I would love to meet and walk with that lady. She strikes me as someone extremely interesting.”

March came. It was time for our Ladies Retreat. My first ever. I signed up alone so the retreat leader, Tami, had to assign me a roommate. She called to let me know she had found someone, but the lady was from another country and there might be a slight language barrier. Well, that was fine with me. I was heading out on a new adventure with the Lord and meeting someone from another country sounded pretty cool.

I got to the lodge and headed straight to my room. No one was there. “That’s good. I can pick which bed I want and hang my clothes.” What happened next is something I will never forget as long as I live. I turned my attention to the open closet and hanging there was a single item. A BLUE HOUSECOAT!! I recognized it tuesday me:Cimmediately. I had watched that housecoat stride down the street numerous times. My heart swelled as I began to realize what God had done.

That night I met Comfort. She was as delightful and interesting as I had imagined her to be as I watched her walk. We became fast friends, true sisters in Christ. She taught me many things. Mostly about loving the Lord and loving the people around us.

Please believe me, when you accept Jesus into your heart, God will speak to you. He will speak to you in a way that is so direct you totally know it is Him. I know from experience there is no denying our God is real and alive.

I love that about God!

j

Five Years of Truth: 2009 The Love of God

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I committed my life to Jesus five and one half years ago. Each year He has given me new and wonderful things to learn, to feel, and to do.

Join me in reminiscing.

 

2009 The Love of God

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

2 Corinthians 13:14

MondayThis is the year I discovered the presence of the Holy Spirit working in my life. God spoke to me through a friend who asked me to go to church. Normally, I would pass it off but this time I sensed that I should go.

What I experienced that Sunday was the awesome love of God reaching out to me as if I were the only person in the room. Every song sung, every word spoken reached into the deepest place in my heart. It was as though the whole worship service was put together with me in mind.

The Lord spoke to me that day. He said, “It is time.” I said, “I am ready.” My life was changed in a moment.

That year I began a journey of discovery. I discovered the undeniable truth of Jesus as the Son of God and our Savior. Not because they said so in church but because He unveiled my eyes and opened my heart so that I could know Him and have a real and true relationship with Him.

I discovered others who knew Him as well, and I began to know them and learn from them. I began to read the Bible. The words stood out and became alive. It was the most amazing thing. A new world had been opened to me. A world seen through the eyes of God.

If God is seeking you out, and He does, open your heart to Him. Accept Jesus, the Son of God, as your Savior. He will fill your heart with new desires. He will show you the world as you have never seen it before, and you will be amazed!

I love that about God!

j