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.
In order to experience spiritual revival, one must be willing to commit to a life of prayer. Leonard Ravenhill wrote, “No man is greater than his prayer life.” Additionally, he expounds, “The ministry of preaching is open to few; the ministry of prayer – the highest ministry of all human offices – is open to all.” Those who are immature in their faith tend to brush off prayer for other activities that give more recognition. Today there is an unspoken message in American Christendom, suggesting that the strong or mature in faith are those who lead or participate in churches or parachurch ministries. Though the outcome of one’s faith maybe his or her works directly involved with such endeavors, it is certainly not the plumb line in the determination of one’s measure of faith or his or her level of spiritual maturity. This is solely accomplished through one’s personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He will judge our work activities based upon our faith in Him. However, to ignite an atmosphere of spiritual revival, prayer, armed in humility and strength, is essential, not just in the context of communication or praise, but in the discovery of intimacy and purpose.
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
July 7, 2007
07/07/07…A day that requires acknowledgment of the perfection and wholeness of God. In a word, for man to experience the meaning of life, he has to become wholly and entirely alive. He has to be converted from the old things of sin to the new, whole man that God intended. The fullness of this abundant life cannot be measured by anything that happens only to the fleshly body. The conversion from having a broken-down body to having a completely healthy body inadequately defines the abundant life. I am simply trying to say that man has to be all life, in his body, soul and spirit. And this process of perfection and wholeness can only be accomplished in terms of salvation through the life-giving, love and grace of Jesus Christ. I pray…“May the Lord bring light to the mind of the unsaved man who seeks complete wholeness in life.”
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
July 8, 2007
Once man experiences the conversion of Christ, he must expand and extend his power to love others through the model of Christ, dedicating himself to the good of his fellow man. For it is in this act of love towards others that man truly finds his own fulfillment and his connection to an infinite, yet close and eternal God.
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
July 14, 2007
Once per week, I have dedicated myself to prayer at our church, Springs Calvary. One of our pastors has graciously made the church available for my time of prayer. I usually spend three to fours at a time in prayer, seeking God’s wisdom and interceding for my church, family, ministry partners, business and friends. It has been a time in which I can actually see God at work in answering my prayers. Cherise was astonished when she read over my prayer list and witnessed the activity of God in our lives. As God faithfully proves that He is the Deliver in all of our circumstances, I have benefited even more so by getting to know the Deliver even more intimately. The other things, the circumstances, the difficulties, all of these do not seem to be so paramount in the scheme of living abundantly. Our goal must be God alone.
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
July 18, 2007
After having some conversations with Pastor Pete Blum, he shared some profound ideas that directed me to some contemplative thought. Regarding the Holy Spirit, one cannot catch Him, bottle Him, label Him and claim sole ownership over Him. This simply leads to Christian consumerism. Ravenhill stated, “Why does revival tarry? The answer is simple enough – because evangelism is so highly commercialized.” We have cheapened the Gospel by trying to mass produce and sell the message of the Good News about Jesus Christ. The man of God must learn how to detect the Holy Spirit, rather than how to capture Him. By detecting the Holy Spirit, man can develop his spiritual senses of sight and hearing to follow the eternal voice of God. We are asked to follow, not asked to sell…
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
July 20, 2007
Oh yes, the meaning of life? Can man and man alone solve such a puzzling question? Does he require religion in the hunt for an adequate answer? When man, referencing those who have higher intellect and superior philosophical insight, try to find the answer to this spell-bounding question, his or her journey becomes worthless the moment he or she begins to probe if God is not somehow apart of the discovery. For life is not something that can be figured out exactly on the merits of finite thinking. We see this plainly between the evolutionists and the creationists. Instead of fossil records and molecular biology proving what evolutionists sternly predict as the absolute answers to existence and life, further technological and cellular evidence concludes something entirely different. The debate between the two about the origins and meaning of life could last forever without any resolve. Thomas Merton states, “To find meaning we must die to meaning as we know it.” We must die to the predictability of our own minds. Man on his own effort, regardless of his intellectual arrogance, cannot fully grasp or predict every timeless and unsearchable question about the universe or of life in itself. In essence, the true meaning of life has to be revealed to us somehow. And it is given to us through God. Man lacks this ability to create life and to sustain it or to answer one of its most baffling questions, “What is the meaning of life.” These areas must be addressed by the One who creates and gives, and ultimately answers. “It is He (God) who reveals the profound and hidden things…” (Daniel 2:22a, NASB). I think that you will discover the meaning of life when you look outside yourself or beyond the greatest minds in human history, and instead, direct your curiosity into the infinite thoughts of God. As I have learned, the meaning of life is a journey into the wondrous mysteries of God through the knowledge and salvation of His Son, Jesus Christ.
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
July 27, 2007
When living in chronic pain, it is very easy to focus on the darker things of life instead of on the gift of living out each day with an attitude of abundance. To glean the most, I propose the following: Maximize the “good.” Starve the “bad.” To complain in the midst of any long, drawn-out trial is simply making “less” of who Christ is within us. It is during these times of spiritual blindness that I must decrease so that He can increase. He who is within me is greater that he who is in the world. We must fully believe in the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome periods of spiritual discouragement. Think of it this way. The Holy Spirit purifies the image of God in our souls by faith. In essence, this same Spirit can cure our periods of doubt and discouragement. It is vital to contemplate about the true nature of God. Regardless of our circumstances, the nature of God is entirely “good,” even when things do not go as planned or pre-ordained in man’s concepts of what successful, righteous living looks like. To cure spiritual blindness is to begin to see things as Christ sees them.
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
August 2, 2007
Today my son Jake turns nineteen years of age. Within the next two weeks he will be attending Baylor University as a freshman. Although I am excited for his bright future, I am also deeply saddened about him leaving our home. Our family dynamic is permanently changed. I cannot express thoroughly in this diary just how much I love him. “Thank you Lord for the privilege to raise Jake in love and in godliness. I know that Jake is yours, not mine. Lord Jesus, comfort my heart and develop the friendship between Jake and me as father and son and in accordance with Your will. I pray that the transforming action of the Holy Spirit will grow us in union and in deeper knowledge of Jesus Christ. May Jake experience the increasing depth ness of the love of God the Father. Amen.”
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
August 8, 2007
How often does the enormity of need knock us off from the path of commitment to God? I am struggling with this dilemma presently. When I observe the many hours that Cherise works at real estate, I am often preoccupied with sensitivity toward her needs; meanwhile, being side-tracked from the calling of God on my own life. The moment I claim the right to commit to Cherise over God is the moment when I desecrate the sovereign name of the Lord of the harvest. As Major Ian Thomas wrote, “You are not called upon to commit yourself to a need or to a task or to a field. You are called upon to commit yourself to God! It is He then who takes care of the consequences and commits you where He wants you.” Please pray for strength for me to have a complete obedience to the call of God upon my life. May I not be distracted with the ongoing practical needs of this life over the commitment to Christ and His purpose…
POSTED BY GORDON SELLEY
Date:
August 13, 2007
This morning I am on a journey from Colorado through the panhandle of Texas to Baylor University, where I must drop off my son, Jake, for his freshman year at college. As a dad, I want more than anything for Jake to be free, especially free to love. I believe that is what God the Father intends for our lives once we are free from sin as a result of the sacrificial death and resurrection life of Jesus Christ. Sometimes this freedom includes the possibility of our children leaving home, going to a distant location, and losing everything in terms of parental security and comfort. As parents, our hearts know too well all the pain and adversity that lurks for our children in this world. Yet, it is the love of God that makes us powerless to prevent it. In the meantime, we are positioned with authority to live a life of faith, ultimately trusting God for His sovereign protection for our closest ones. I pray that Jake will see the light in times of darkness. It has been here for me when I have learned to trust the light that shines in darkness more than the easiness of darkness itself. This is where the flashes of light have revealed the hidden but real presence of God. As a dad, I desire for my son to experience more dimensions of the love of God and His power of forgiveness, His spirit of community, and His celebration of life. It is with equal desire that Jake understands the importance of giving his entire life for the glory of God…
