Married to a doctor - mother of one son - stepmother to another - we live in a beautiful home nestled at the foothills - The "boys" enjoy golf - my athletic sport is shopping and we can't forget walking our dog, Polo - however, our most precious times are around the kitchen table having a Bible study.
What is this site about? Well, here is what it is not... It is not to influence you to buy real estate. It is not to pressure you into becoming a Christian. It is not a way to manipulate God within the business industry. Simply, it is about sharing. One overlooked facet about real estate involves the personal stresses that people assume when moving from one home to another, and for many, from relocating from one state to another. That is why our family shares personally with those who are trying to connect with this new community. Purely as an option, you are welcome to comb through my husband's journal entries about faith, and hopefully, his personal insights may provide you with some encouragement.
Poor in Spirit…The member of the kingdom is an absolutely free man because he is absolutely obedient to God’s will. The deeper we grow in the Spirit of Jesus, the poorer we become – the more we realize that everything is a gift of awareness of our poverty and ineptitude – causing us to rejoice in being called out of darkness into His light.
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
October 2, 2005
Mourn…Without the experience of suffering a man’s nature remains shallow. Pain that has been lived through gives to character a depth that seldom comes from the experience of happiness.
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
October 3, 2005
Meek…It is the complete absence of self-assertion in one for whom the common welfare of men has become identified with his own. Think of meekness as strength controlled.
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
October 4, 2005
Hunger and thirst for righteousness…When the soul shares the purpose of God, not coldly, but with eager desire, then there is a new fact in the spiritual world. A new way is opened whereby the Lord can enter into the hearts of men.
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
October 5, 2005
Merciful…The quality of mercy is not strained, it drops from heaven like rain, upon the place beneath, it is twice blessed; it blesses him that gives and him that takes. Though justice be thy plea, consider this, that in the course of justice, none of us deserves to see salvation.
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
October 6, 2005
Pure in Heart…It is one of the most remarkable features of Christ’s teaching that does not command us to regulate or control our unlawful desires, but pronounces it unlawful to have such desires at all.
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
October 8, 2005
Peacemakers…The peace of which Jesus speaks is not a negative thinking. It is an achievement of creative minds, the triumph of the human spirit over discord, confusion, and strife.
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
October 10, 2005
Persecuted…It is the greatness of danger that reveals the knight, or rather that creates him.
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
October 17, 2005
God does not give partial grace. I believe that God does not fill us up during times of refreshing since we are already filled. We must consecrate our hearts and empty ourselves first, so that He can increase in us. To me, this is a fresh expression of love, in which God becomes glorified within us. Applicably, this seems to be closer to the fullness of grace that He so promised as a result of His death on the cross and His eventual resurrection.
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
October 24, 2005
Even with Hurricane Wilma bombarding the southwest of Florida, “The Lord your God is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior! He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest [in silent satisfaction] and in His love He will be silent and make no mention [of past sins, or even recall them]: He will exult over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17, AMP). As with Judah in the denunciation for mixing idolatry with the worship of God, it seems to me that our nation is undergoing the same type of judgment. The good news is that once we all begin to repent of having a complacent faith and religious indifference, then God promises to render restoration for all who call upon His name…”Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit” (Psalm 32:1-2, NIV). Collectively, does our nation truly desire the one and only triune God to mercifully pardon our sins?
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
October 25, 2005
Lord, this is my prayer for our nation today, “Behold, God, my (our) salvation! I (We) will trust and not be afraid, for the Lord God is my (our) strength and song; yes, He will become my (our) salvation” (Isaiah 12:2, AMP).
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
October 26, 2005
Today’s entry is very personal…I hesitate to extract it from my personal writings, but I sense that I am led to share the inner content of my soul. Presently, there are rumblings within me that frequently wage war against my consciousness. I had these same type of pangs just prior to the events of September 11, 2001…The craving to walk in steadfast faith and to conduct my life more holy exists, yet on the other hand, I realize the nature of sin within me. The apostle Paul discusses this inner conflict most eloquently in the book of Romans. Although I already know that the battle has been won through Jesus Christ and the events of the cross, there is a part of me that truly desires to walk in the power of God’s peace, regardless of the impending trials that confront me. In Zephaniah, he writes about the uncompromisingly righteous of God, stating that the Lord will not do iniquity. In fact, every morning the Lord brings justice to light. So, at times, why do I struggle to walk out my faith toward the light of God? Why has our nation abandoned the only beacon of hope and restoration?...Because I live in chronic pain, which at times feels like a world of darkness and despair, I sense that the Lord wants me to step out of the darkened pit of suffering into the light of His healing touch. Not just a partial relief of symptoms, but a complete amelioration of pain. How many of you can relate to this? But frankly, even after twelve years of struggling with pain and discomfort and looking towards Him in belief, I do not know how to do this practically. I do not want to pretend to be religious or to gain favor for my will if it usurps that of God’s. I tremble to ask again for this new transformation. I reverently fear you Lord God Almighty. I thank you for being in our midst today. I humbly ask for grace and mercy in light of the times I have directly sinned against You. Please rid the mistakes and sin from my own life. For those readers along with me who desire to cling to the dependence upon God’s mighty hand in a deeper way, we collectively call upon the name of Jesus and presently ask for this new transformation from fear, entanglement, sin, confusion and pain…Thank you Lord Jesus. We love You and confidently know that You are our beacon of hope…
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
November 2, 2005
“And this I pray: that your love may abound yet more and more and extend to its fullest development in knowledge and all keen insight [that your love may display itself in greater depth of acquaintance and more comprehensive discernment]” (Philippians 1:9, AMP).
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
November 4, 2005
Cherise and I met with a team of custom builders yesterday (one gentleman is a functioning quadriplegic) to discuss the future about our relationship in the context of Builder/Realtor®. The gist of our meeting involved the mission, vision and marketing of the business. This particular team builds wonderful high-scale homes, as evidenced by skilled craftsmanship and a propensity for luxury and exquisite design. But more importantly, we all share something in common which is more valuable than anything else. We share the same faith in Jesus Christ. We are excited to represent these gentlemen in Christ. They represent integrity in their work and in the way they conduct their lives. Their foundation for building custom homes is anchored on wisdom of the Word. “So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts upon them [obeying them] will be like a sensible (prudent, practical, wise) man who built his house upon the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock” (Matthew 7: 24-25, AMP)…Happy Birthday to our son, Kris, who turned fourteen years of age today…
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
November 8, 2005
Obedience: “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other…Disobedience: But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and stopped up their ears. They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry” (Zechariah 7:11-12, NIV). Each one of us must be very careful to unstop our own ears and pay attention to what the Spirit of God is telling each of us. For when one walks in obedience, he or she experiences the emancipation of the soul, the life-giving light of Jesus Christ. But when we remain stubbornly set in our own ways, those of unrighteous delicacies, then God has a strong message for us. “When I called they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen, says the Lord Almighty. I scattered them with a whirlwind…” (Zechariah 7:13, NIV).
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
November 9, 2005
The apostle Paul bore the marks of Jesus on his body for the sake of those who would be redeemed by the blood of Christ – past, present and future. Can you imagine the pain and suffering that Paul actually endured? And he was and is considered to be “blessed.” To me, the scars of his persecution speak more eloquently about the love of Christ than the self-promotion and rhetoric about blessing that is so prominent in the church today. I concur with Paul, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14, NIV). Paul held tightly to the wisdom of God, being continually separated from the world so that he could be separated to Christ.
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
November 17, 2005
Many days, in which I attempt to draw closer to the Lord, it feels like I take two steps backwards. Sometimes the days are filled with palpable levels of spiritual warfare. If not properly addressed through a renewal of my mind via the Word and prayer, then these darkened forces of opposition begin to play havoc on something very important to me – my marriage…This is not imaginary. And I know it happens too many of you, especially those claim Jesus Christ as their Savior. I believe that there are many more trials against the Christian marriage versus the committed relationships of nonbelievers. For we know that, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10, NIV). May we abide in His love, counting on His grace to protect all of our marriages from the sin-filled realities of the Fall of Man.
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
November 19, 2005
When I feel the unpleasant tensions in my marriage with Cherise, I get as frustrated as the next couple who tries to deal with real problems who may also struggle to persevere at times. It feels like no matter what you do there is a habitual loop that occurs; trying to convince you that being married is not worth the struggles. Simultaneously, temptation knocks on the door. A lack of communication, difficult family upbringings, and the reality that men and women are different creatures are usually some of the causes to many marital problems. We cannot just simply intellectualize or ignore some of these conflicts in our marriages. I have to come to the conclusion that I cannot change Cherise regardless of my view about right and wrong and how certain matters should be handled correctly. God reminds me that Cherise is a gift from Him. When we argue, disagree, or even wage war against each other, is it any different than how the people of Judah felt and behaved while in exile? The prophet Isaiah mentions that when Judah was in exile, it was viewed as a wife separated from her husband, waiting to be restored. More specifically, the hearts of the people were waiting to be reconciled and transformed. When our marriages are in disarray, perhaps there is a problem with our hearts and if one participates in honest inward reflection, perhaps there is an inconsistent intimacy with God the Father. I sense that many are failing to persevere through the Desert experiences of life. Regardless, I have good news for you…God loves each of us and strongly desires for our marriages to prosper in every facet possible. “For your Maker is your husband—the Lord Almighty is His name – the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth. The Lord will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit…” (Isaiah 54:5,6, NIV).
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
November 30, 2005
“Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour. Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset – rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined], knowing that the same (identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians) throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace [Who imparts all blessing and favor], Who has called you to His [own] eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself complete and make you what you ought to be, establish and ground you securely, and strengthen, and settle you” (1 Peter 5:7-10, AMP).
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
December 2, 2005
God has a vision for each one of us! I personally believe that His purpose for our lives is much bigger than we can actually project. When I experience bouts of chronic pain it feels like I am looking at life very narrowly. This causes great struggle and turmoil within my soul. My thinking becomes more reactive, seemingly focused upon the basic needs that each of us warrants. Yet, God has a different message for us. We are not to worry, or fear, or become discouraged. Our authority in Jesus Christ and our dominion and power over deception marks out a different course from what may seem more logical or socially acceptable. Although God does care for the needs of each of us, I do not believe that He is moved by them. Rather, I realize that God is moved by our faith instead…Sometimes the vision that God has for us is not clear cut or specifically shown on a blueprint. He does not tell us in advance every plan and strategy and trial that waits. On the contrary, it takes a courageous faith to trust in His purpose in our lives, which always separates us from the societal norm unto Him…
