My Glass is Full

I am a pessimist; a glass is half empty kind of girl. I seem to see a conspiracy around ever corner too. My sweet man on the other hand, is a true optimist; he sees the good in everything.  When we are in the midst of our everyday life, I have a tendency to be a Whiner. If things don't go the way I think they should, my heart's eyes only see the negative. It's at times like these that my honey will remind me of a story about a boy and a pony.
One Christmas time, a boy asked his parents for a pony; but when this little guy awoke on Christmas morning, all that was under the tree was a pile of manure, and a shovel.  The boy stood for a moment and contemplated the situation under the tree, he then grabbed the shovel and began to dig. His parents were astounded at this, and when they asked him what he was doing, and why he wasn't upset that there was no pony, the boy replied, "With this big a pile of manure, there has to be a pony in there somewhere."
The little boy in this story is what I am trying to be like! I want so much to have a thankful heart, to be grateful for all that the Lord has given, and even allowed. After all, all that I go through is for my benefit, my character growth, the ultimate good for me and for those around me.  When I view my life and it's situations, through the lens of the scriptures, I will see the good in all of it. I find that the more I train my thoughts towards thinking the good, it's much easier to see the good. It will take the power of the Spirit of God, working in my life, to bring about any lasting change in my thinking or behavior. So He, is what I am grateful for today. I'm thankful for His comfort in the sad times, for His teaching, for His love. I am so very grateful that He never gives up on me, that His sweet mercies are new each day.  I am thankful that God has changed my view of life over these past 30 years; and I am grateful for the chance to learn to look at the piles of manure of this life and to discover, with a bit of digging, that there is a pony in there......somewhere.

Help!!! I Don't Want to Fall Down!

We have a tree house in our yard. We didn't build it, the previous owner did. I really like the treehouse, but it needs to come down. It was built too close to the cottonwood trees and the roofline is cutting into their trunks. The sweet little house was placed on stilts, which are anchored on cement blocks. For some reason, the stilts aren't screwed into the metal supports that are on the blocks; and the little house is starting to lean to the side. It's very crooked now and not very sturdy. I don't want the grand kids, or any kids got that matter, to be in the treehouse, I'm afraid it will fall with them inside.
I was reading in Acts this morning, Peter's sermon to the people of Jerusalem. It's a good sermon, full of Old Testament scripture and encouragements. Towards the end of the sermon, Peter tells them (and us) to; "Repent......and to be saved from this perverse generation." The word perverse literally means, Crooked.
This generation, my generation of people; without Jesus, is truly crooked. We trust in 'houses' that are teetering, on the brink of collapse. These 'houses' are not built on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ, and the truth of the word of God. We, as a people, have built our 'houses' on shifting and unstable sand. So often people trust in the philosophies of humankind, the status quo; we set our hearts on things that will never satisfy. We put great expectations on our human relationships to make us happy and complete. We rely on self, and the strength of self.  When the hard times come, and they do come, we wonder why our 'houses' fall down. We will even blame God for their destruction; while all along, we've never involved Him at all in the building or in the maintaining of, our little 'houses.'
I pray for myself today. May I not trust in crooked things, may my 'house' be built on the foundation of Jesus Christ, and may its rooms be filled with every good thing.

Faith Remembers

I'm not one to daily write in a journal. I will however do so when I'm going through a difficult time. I have found that writing helps me to see my progress in the midst of trials and testings.  As I pray and seek the Lord for His comfort and wisdom, writing things down, helps me to remember.
I was reading in John 21 this morning. The portion that I was reading was the account of Jesus appearing to Peter, John, and the other disciples while they were out fishing one morning. John tells us that they saw a Man, standing on the shore; but they didn't recognize that He was the Lord. This Man asked them if they had caught any fish; and they answered, No. Then this Man instructed them to throw their nets on the right side of the boat; the disciples did as instructed and they caught a net full of fish.  It wasn't until they were trying to bring the heavy net into the boat, that John realized that the Man on the shore was Jesus. The lesson here is not about fishing, or the proper way to cast a net out of a boat, or the best time of day to fish, etc. No, it's a lesson of faith. When they tried to draw the net into the boat, and couldn't, it was in that moment, that John remembered.
I find it odd that the disciples didn't recognize Jesus' voice as He called out to them from the shore. Had they not been with Him night and day for 3 or more years? We know from the scriptures that Jesus spoke to the disciples, how He taught them with words, both in private and in public settings. So why didn't they recognize His voice? I can't fully understand this, for I wasn't there. But I saw in this portion of scripture how there are times that I might not recognize the voice of my Lord either,  but I will recognize His work/miracle in my life. So often I want to hear something. I want to get something from the scriptures that will help me to trust and be at peace. Yes, I've heard the Lord's voice and I've been "given" many portions of scripture while going through a hard time. Yet, what about the times of testing where I don't hear a word, or get a portion of scripture; when the skies seem to be hard as iron and it feels like my prayers don't make their way to heaven? I will go to the drawer of my bedside table that holds my journals, and I can pick one up, and go back over them and see the work/miracle of the Lord in my life.  As I read, I am reminded of God's goodness and love, I am reminded that He knows what is going on, and that He is listening to my prayers. As I look back on the record of the many miracles that the Lord has performed in my life, I see His hand of mercy and love; and this causes my faith to grow stronger. And as I continue to flip the pages of my journals, Faith Remembers; and I can say what John said to the other disciples, "It's the Lord!

The Lord is My Shepherd

I read this beloved Psalm this morning and the Lord drew my attention to the word, my. So often in the living of my life, I forget that God belongs to me, He is mine.  He is my God, my Savior, my Father, and my Shepherd. I can trust Him to lead me, I can trust Him to save me, and I can trust Him to provide for all of my needs. Today I can trust that Creator God, in His grace and mercy, is watching over me, protecting me, and leading me; for The Lord will sweetly love me all the day long........and continue to love me forever.

Incorruptible Beauty #4

After I have moisturized my skin, I then begin to apply make-up; I call it, "putting on my face."  The first cosmetic that I apply is foundation. In the winter time, I use a liquid one and in the summer months, a mineral-powder one.  Using a good foundation helps to even out skin tone, and it is great for keeping my skin looking younger; some foundations claim to prevent wrinkles from even forming!  I wish........but for the sake of my little post, let's choose to say that they do!
If I may, I'd like to digress a bit.  I promise it will all make sense!  I am a seamstress.  If ever I needed to do so, I could make my own clothes.  In fact, I made most of my clothes in high school even my pants. I was very proud of the fact that I could make my own clothes and I enjoyed every aspect of the process; from choosing the pattern to choosing the fabrics and accessories, like buttons and zippers.  I used to buy corduroy for my pants and denim too, these fabrics have what is called a "nap."  These types of fabrics have texture to them, and depending on the light or the direction the fabric is turned, will make it look like it is a different color. I have also bought many pieces of patterned fabrics for skirts and blouses.  When I would shop for fabric, it was necessary to choose the correct one for the article of clothing I planned to make. If I were to use a patterned or floral or striped fabric, I needed more yardage, so that I could match the nap/design to each piece of my pattern. After all, you wouldn't want the stripe to be horizontal on the back of your blouse, while the front was vertical!  There were times that I would spy a bolt of fabric on a shelf, but only see a small portion of the fabric's design.  I would need to remove the bolt from the shelf, and let it "unroll" a bit, so that I could see the full picture of the design.  There were times that I would need to flatten out the fabric with my hands, because it had large folds or wrinkles in it too.  These folds and wrinkles would distort the pattern on the fabric.
Now, back to the topic at hand.  Wrinkles and folds on my skin can "distort" how I desire to look!  I know, these are apart of growing older, but don't we all try so hard to not let them show?  I know that I do!!
Cosmetic companies spend millions of dollars on advertising telling women that a good foundation will "fill-in" those little wrinkles (some of mine aren't so little anymore!) around our eyes and mouth; making them appear smaller than they truly are.  They will even go so far as to say that if you use their products, you won't even get wrinkles.
The Lord tells us, in the word, that trials and tests will come; and even if they didn't, just daily living can be a trial sometimes!  We have families to care for, homes to manage, maybe even a job outside of our homes.  We have ministries to do, a husband to serve, and a God who desires our ALL!!
I have learned that if I don't take my every thought captive, I will at some point, see my problem or trial in an ungodly light.  If I am not careful to apply the words of God to my situation, my view/perception of it will become distorted. 
Lately, during my quiet time, I have been reading the book of Numbers.  I just finished reading something today that was the prompt to write this post.

Numbers 8:1–4 The Lord said to Moses,  “Speak to Aaron and say to him, ‘When you set up the seven lamps, they are to light the area in front of the lampstand.’ ”  Aaron did so; he set up the lamps so that they faced forward on the lampstand, just as the Lord commanded Moses.  This is how the lampstand was made: It was made of hammered gold—from its base to its blossoms. The lampstand was made exactly like the pattern the Lord had shown Moses.

The Tabernacle lampstands are a picture of the Holy Spirit.  They were a "visual" given to the priests of Israel, to guide them into understanding the importance of not doing their priestly duties "in the dark."  Notice how the lampstands lights were to be facing forward!  These lights were given to light the way to the Most Holy Place.  It was to show the priests, the children of Israel, and us, that one of  the Holy Spirit's works in our lives is to light the way!  The way to where?  The most Holy Place, where the ark of the covenant was.  And on this ark was the Mercy Seat.  So often when I am going through a difficulty or a trial, or I'm just living my life, I find that I can see things in such a distorted way.  I find myself attributing to God characteristics that are not true about Him.  I can think that He doesn't care, that He doesn't see what is happening.  I find that I forget about MERCY and GRACE and TRUTH!! I find that as I "look" at God through my distorted view, the way becomes unclear and dark.  I also do this to people.  I find that if I don't turn to the Lord in every encounter with people, I will wind up seeing them in a "wrinkled" way.  Just like the bolts of fabric, it takes removing them from the shelf and allowing them to unroll, smoothing out the wrinkles and folds with my hands, to see the "true" pattern of the fabric, and not the one that was distorted by those folds and wrinkles.  I must apply this same principal in my dealings with others.  I need to ask the Holy Spirit to give me a clear view of the person's heart and motives, for He alone knows this.  I need to ask Him to show me portions of the word that might apply to the situation.  For if I continue to look at people or my trials, with all their "folds and wrinkles," I can be assured that my view of them will be wrong, and ungodly. 

Being a pastor's wife entails living under the scrutiny of others, we live in a "glass house" so to speak.  Sometimes people will want us to meet their needs, to be their all in all.  In place of turning to the Lord, they will want us to be there for them whenever they need us. There is no way to get around this, I believe that it will always be so.  I have found that there are times when this doesn't bother me much; but then, there are times when it bothers me a great deal!  

I have a "people-pleaser" type of personality.  This type of personality can be a blessing, but it can also be a curse! The blessing side of it brings a heart that wants to help, and it brings an ability to "see" on peoples' faces their need for a hug or a good word.  The cursed side of it is that if I am not careful, I will take to heart what people think of me or say of me, instead of the listening to the Holy Spirit.  As I have said in previous posts, the "words" or the "person," can become an idol to me. If I don't allow the Holy Spirit to "light the way," I find that people's words or actions will motivate me; and only the Holy Spirit of God is to be obeyed.

Another way that it can be a "curse" is when someone has a real need.  If I am not careful,  I can step in rashly before speaking to the Lord about it, and that is not good for anyone!  I must remember that God loves that person more than I do and He alone can meet their deepest needs.  Yes, sometimes He will use me, but I need to stop and ask Him first!  I don't ever want to take the place of God in someones' life.  

Each day as I am applying the foundation to my face, I ask the Lord to help me to see the world and the people around me through the light of His Holy Spirit.  I truly want to have eyes that have a clear view of life.  I want a mind that will meditate on the word's of God, and not on my circumstances or the words of another.  Unlike the cosmetic manufacturers, God can promise and deliver a view of life that is "wrinkle-free!" 

Psalm 26:3 For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, And I have walked in Your truth.

(This is the fourth  post of a series titled, Incorruptible Beauty.  Please ask permission before you copy or use any portion of this series.  Thank you) 

 

 

Incorruptible Beauty #3

After I've cleansed my face, the next step in my beauty routine.......is to moisturize.  A good face moisturizer is necessary for a smooth application of my foundation; and a moisturizer helps to keep my skin soft and supple.
As I am applying lotion to my face, I am reminded to pray that my heart would be soft towards the Lord. I want my heart to be ready to receive whatever the Lord has for me........today.
I ask the Lord to help me keep my heart and my ears open to hear His voice.  I ask Him to keep my heart soft and full of compassion for my fellow men.  I want this day to be filled with His love, peace, and grace; for myself, and for others.  A soft heat is crucial to a gracious life.
Also, I want to have a heart that is open to God's instructions; to His rebukes, and to His whispered words of love...for me.  I want to have a heart that is obedient to God's plan for my life.......today.

Isaiah 30:21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.

For quite a few years now, I have been practicing praying about.......everything!  And I mean.......everything.  As a pastor's wife, I get asked to do many things; I call them, 'Works of Love.'  I'm very blessed to be invited to baby showers and birthday parties, to bridal showers and to weddings.  But, if I'm not careful, my heart can begin to be 'hardened' with a busy life, and with a calendar filled with too many activities. My personality is such, that I will say, "Yes" to everything that is asked of me; teaching Sunday School, helping out at a church event, coffee/counsel dates, parties, and even babysitting.  I get so busy serving God, that I find myself not worshipping God!  And one aspect of worship is: obedience.  I learned long ago, that IF I have not asked God first; anything that I may say "Yes" to do (or "No" to do), this very 'work of love,' can become sin for me!  How can a 'work of love,' such as serving in the Sunday School, be sinful for me?  Because if God didn't ask me to do it, then I should not be doing it!  If He didn't say, "Yes", then I should be saying, "No!"  I belong to Jesus!  He bought me with His blood.  Therefore, He is the One to instruct me, not the world or my friends or my calendar. He gets to lead and guide me, and He gets to decide what my day looks like. God is the One who decides if I am to teach Sunday School, or go to a baby shower, or give of my finances, etc.  There will be times when a spur-of-the-moment decision must be made, and hopefully I will help out; but any commitment must be prayed about first.  

I ask the Lord to keep my heart soft to hear His prompting to pray about........everything!  I want my day to be filled with serving the Lord in such a way that what I do brings glory to Him.  I want any 'work of love' to last into eternity.  I want God to be pleased with my worship of Him, and I want my service to others be something that causes them to see Jesus.

Proverbs 3:5–7 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil.

(This is the third post of a series titled, Incorruptible Beauty.  Please ask permission before you copy or use any portion of this series.  Thank you) 

 

Incorruptable Beauty #2

Being clean, such a wonderful feeling!  Just as I need a clean face before I put my makeup on, so I need a clean heart to be able to serve my God.  If I want what I do to stand the test of time and eternity, than I must always remember to be living my life the way that God wants me to live. 
The way to being spiritually clean with God is repentance.  Repentance is one of those words that we don't hear too often anymore.  It seems that we make a lot of excuses for our sins and failings.  We seem to not want to admit that we are wrong.  It is pride that keeps us from repenting; but I think that it goes a bit deeper.  We, as women, have been trained from our babyhood that we need to be strong, beautiful, kind, pleasing, great housekeepers and cooks, awesome mothers, and sexy wives.  So often, we try so hard to be all of these things.  We try so hard that we begin to believe that it is only in doing/being perfect at them, that we are truly loved and wanted, and clean of sin.  We try so hard, that we can't imagine that we might be wrong, or in sin, or failing.  I don't know about you, but I can think this way; and I can believe that God wants me to be this way.......trying hard!  This is where the lie comes in.  To repent of something means that you are in agreement with God that what you have done, or failed to do, is wrong....according to God!  Not according to man, woman, society, friends, magazines, books, or myself!   God never, ever stops wanting us or loving us.  And, God never expects me to try hard! I am just supposed to obey from a heart of love. If I am looking at repentance from any other point of view than God's, I am wrong. 
I have discovered that if I want to live a life that is pleasing to God, than I must involve God in ALL of my decisions and in ALL that I do or don't do.  I must realize that my mind needs to change, what I think about myself needs to change!  For if my mind is changed my actions will follow.
I have come to realize that I put so much pressure on myself to be the 'Perfect Woman;' and I allow myself to be persuaded by this world or my friends as to what that 'perfection' looks like.

 

1 Corinthians 6:20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

I belong to God. I was bought with a price and I do not belong to myself any longer.  If I believe this to be true, than my actions should follow.  Therefore, God is the One who gets to decide how I look, how I act, what kind of wife and mother I am to be, what find of friend I am to be.  He alone is to decide what kind of woman I am to be.  It is when I go outside of this truth that I find myself feeling discouraged, feeling guilty, and like a failure.

 

1 Corinthians 7:23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.

As I begin my day my prayer should be one that seeks to please God and not self or others.  If I am pleasing to God than I'll be a woman who is godly; not perfect, but godly.
As I cleanse my face, in preparation for my make-up, I pray that my mind is cleansed as well.  I ask the Lord to remove any thoughts that are contrary to His word and to His will for my life.
As I wrote in my first post about this, dirt and oils clog our skin's pores and that produces blemishes.  If my heart is clogged with sin and selfishness, than sinful action occur.  The same holds true of my mind.  If I allow impure thoughts, ideas, desires, and needs to clutter up my mind, than I will not be allowing God to guide my day and it's decisions.   Don't get me wrong.  There is nothing wrong with wanting to be pretty, wanting to be a good wife and mom, to be a godly servant friend.  But, it is wrong if we allow anything or anyone other than God to dictate to us how-to be this kind of woman. 

Romans 12:1–2  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

(This is the second post of a series titled, Incorruptible Beauty.  Please ask permission before you copy or use any portion of this series.  Thank you) 

"The Proof"

As a pastor's wife, one of my most challenging areas of service is the area of loving those who are disloyal.  You know, those persons who love you and respect you, as long as you don't cross them, or you don't have to tell them the truth.  Or the ones that you thought had it "all together," but really, they didn't.  Even those who taught the word with boldness and yet, they find it easy to disregard God's word so that they can feel justified in what they are doing! 
I have once again been reminded that true love is an action and not a feeling.  Jesus took our griefs and our sorrows upon Himself.  He took our sins and our failings, our self-righteousness and hate; and He bore those horrible things on His body as He died on a tree....for me.  Jesus, I'm sure, did not feel like going to the cross; in fact, He prayed that the Father would "Take this cup from Me......."  Feelings don't have much to do with true love.  Feelings are a part of love and feelings can come as we love, but true love gives despite feelings!  True love says, "Not My will, but Yours be done."  Jesus' death was the proof of His love for me!!  It was by this very action that I now live this "abundant life."
God has given to me life, abundant life.  How I choose to spend the minutes, hours, and days of this life, prove/show my love for the Farther; but in the living, I must die.

"Time For Lunch!"

The miracle of the Loaves and Fish has been on my heart lately.  Here in this story, Jesus and the disciples were on their way to having a time of rest, a bit of a vacation.  But the multitudes followed them.  The Bible tells us that the day was turning to night, and that Jesus had compassion on the crowd of people, for He knew that they were hungry. As Jesus looks at the crowd, He sees an opportunity to serve them, but also our Lord takes the time to teach the disciples another lesson.....a lesson about our God's love and care of people.  Jesus could have just let the people return home for their supper.  He could have let the disciples have a bit of a rest; in fact,wasn't that was what was supposed to be happening?  But our Lord never passes up on an opportunity to love on people. And, He wants us to do the same. 
As Jesus asks the disciples to "feed the crowd" the disciples are taken aback by this request. And I can understand why!!  I can almost see their faces.  Their mouths' drop open, eyes widen, and then the spoken words of, "Where are we going to get that much food?"  Jesus asks, "How much food do you have?"  "Only this boys' lunch," they answer back.  So Jesus tells the disciples to tell the crowd to sit down!  What??  Just, "Sit down?"  No, "Tell them to go home," or "Tell them to go and get themselves some dinner and come back tomorrow?"  Nope, just sit down.  Then Jesus takes the few loaves and the fish and makes into them.....a great feast!  There was enough for all!  And not only that, there were 12 baskets of leftovers too! 
The Lord was showing that He had power over creation, but I believe more importantly, He was showing the disciples (and me) that He will give to me all that I need so that I may give to others!!  There will be no lack!  We have heard it said, "Where God guides, He provides," and this story proves that fact.
God wants it ALL.......everything!!  There can be no holding back. When He calls, there can be no, "But I need my rest," or "I need time to myself."  Now rest and relaxing aren't bad or wrong.  But, I need to be willing to give of these to my Jesus when He asks for them!! What if the young boy had wanted to keep his little lunch to himself?  He could have, for it belonged to him. I too, can keep my "little bit," but that is all I will have, a "little bit." 
Jesus asks us to bring what we have.....and to bring all that we have.  It may be a lot or it may be a little. The choice is ours.  I can keep my "meager loaves and fish," and feed myself.....and maybe a few others.  Or I can give my "little lunch" to the Lord and let Him bless it, break it, and feed many.....myself included!!

 

The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.  Psalm 34:10

Unless the Lord.......

A while back, one of my grand kids asked me if I had a photo of the house that I grew up in. At that time, I didn't.  I don't know why I never took a photo of it.  I guess I always thought that I would go back home, and see it with my own eyes.  Recently a friend from home was able to take a few snapshots of my childhood house for me.  Now I have something to show my grand children.  The house doesn't look as it did when I was a child, in fact it looks quite sad and run down. While I was growing up, my dad was good at keeping up with home repairs.  He made sure that the paint was freshened every five years or so.  He made sure that the trees were trimmed, and that the fence did what a fence should do.....keep the kids in the yard and keep strangers out.
As I was looking at the photos it struck me that everything in life can fall to disrepair if we are not constantly maintaining it.  And this holds true with my life......with all areas of my life.  My marriage, my friendships, my work, my physical health, and the most important, my relationship with God.  As I looked at that run down house and yard, I was reminded again of how easy it is to let "things go." I get so busy with life, with doing my own thing, that I forget to maintain those things that are so very important.  If I leave a hole in the roof of my house, then the roof will leak and after a while, it will fall down.  If I don't sand and repaint the peeling paint around my home's window frames then moisture and bugs can get into the wood, and they will rot away to nothing.  If we don't expend the effort to trim our trees, and mow our yard.....well, you get the point.  The same holds true for my spiritual life and for my relationships.  I need to expend the energy, and take the time, to maintain them!  This means that I need to be aware of "peeling paint and rotten roofs."  I need to be asking the Lord if all is well with us, if all is well with my marriage and with my other relationships. I have learned that it takes more work to rebuild, than to repair and maintain.  So, I am asking for Him to show me the "leaks and the peeling paint," so that I can be a good steward of the good things that He has entrusted to me.
"Unless the Lord builds the house, it's builders labor in vain....."
Psalm 127:1

Words to Live By

God spoke........
It was so.......
And, it was good!
Got it?

I Will See God!

I know that I am not the only one who is dealing with heartache over the news from Connecticut.  I know that I am not the only one who was praying for the destruction and loss of life that occurred when hurricane Sandy hit the east coast. I know that I am not the only Christian who has prayed and struggled to find answers to why our nation voted in a president who does not care about the lives of the unborn.  I know that I am not the only resident of Washington state that is disgusted over the new laws that allows people to openly use drugs, and to "marry" a person of the same sex.  I know that I am not the only one to have been praying of late, "Come quickly Lord Jesus!!" 
As I was reading in Job this morning, I was in a way comforted to remember that sin and suffering have always been around...well, as long as humans have been around that is!  When God created man and woman He expected them to follow and obey.  He expected them to love one another, to have children, and to live a care-free life in the beautiful garden that He had created just for them.  But they did not obey...they did not follow.  Adam and Eve thought they knew a better way, they thought that it was no big deal to disobey God's command.....But it was and it is a big deal to disobey God's command.
I find it strange that we, as a nation, have taken God out of every nuance of public life, but then the people of this nation who wanted Him gone, blame God when horrible things happen!!

Proverbs 19:3 A person’s own folly leads to their ruin, yet their heart rages against the Lord.

As we can see from this verse it has always been so.  Man blames God for the choices that man makes!! 

I know that people do not choose hurricane force winds, and I know that the children in Connecticut didn't choose to die in such a horrible way, but God gives ALL men a choice!!  And (I hate that it is so) we ALL bear the consequences of anothers' CHOICE!!  That is why it is so important to make GODLY choices and to teach our children to make GODLY choices. For if we take God out of our day to day lives, then all we have left is......HUMANS!!  And humans, without God are evil!  They are selfish, mean, cruel to one another, back biters, haters, adulterers, murderers, sexually immoral, drunkards, liars, disrespectful of authority, war mongers, and they say that good is evil and evil is good!

 Lord Jesus, help us all!

When a Christian goes through a terrible time, when suffering is all around us, we need to know that God has a purpose and a plan for it.  Just as He had for Job.  Here was a man who in a matter of a few hours, lost everything that was precious to him.  He lost his home, his business, his children, and the respect of his wife.  He truly felt like he didn't deserve this kind of treatment from God.  As Job is pouring out his anguish, his pain, his heartfelt cry to God, the Bible says that he never sinned with his mouth!  This teaches me that God understands our heart's cry, He knows that we don't understand His ways, He knows that in our humanness, we feel like He is to blame for life's trials and heartache.  What I have found is that God allows me to go through times of heartache and pain so that I may bring glory to His name.  As I go through difficult and painful times with integrity and trust in my loving heavenly Father, people see that God is real, that He cares for me, that His love for me never fails.  It is in these times that I experience the peace that this life can never give to me.

I will end with these words from Job........

Job 19:25–27 I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!

 

As A Child

Mitch and I enjoyed having our four youngest grandchildren visit last weekend.  I love having the kids around, but it can be quite hectic at times!  They are a bundle of energy and they all love to play rough-house, board games, and thy really enjoy coloring or creating paper crafts.  We had dvr'd the movie, Spy Kids, and they loved watching that (and acting like spies later on...too cute!!) along with other cartoons.
To digress a moment, Mitch and I were not able to have this kind of playtime with our older grandchildren, because we lived in Colorado when they were young.  Now, we get to take them to lunch, or to the movies or shopping.  I enjoy having grown-up conversations with them, but feel a bit "cheated" for not being around when they were little.
Anyway, while the little ones were here, there was a point where they were all in the kitchen asking for a treat, yet they had just asked to play a game.  One of the littler ones, who is potty-training, said "I need to go potty Ninnie, will you help me?"  Then, one of them asked for a drink!!  I told them that I could only do one thing at a time, and needed to help the one on the toilet, before we had an accident.  The other kids patiently waited while I was in the restroom, and when I came out, I gave them their treat, and then we played a game.  I remember thinking to myself, don't they know that I can only do one thing at a time?  I even told them, "give me a sec....there is only one of me and four of you!" I can still see their sweet faces, expecting their Ninnie to grant their requests!  There was no hesitation to ask me for these things, they knew that I would give them all that I could give.
 It was in this moment that God brought to mind these verses:

Romans 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

Matthew 7:11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

God tells us to come to Him as little children. The Bible tells us that we cannot inherit the kingdom of God without being like a child.  It is an innocent child that trusts that the person they are looking to is eager to help and eager to grant their request.  This is how God wants me to see Him.

God was reminding me that He longs to hear my requests and that He wants to grant my every wish, so to speak, if it is good for me!  God loves to see my sweet face expectantly waiting on Him to do awesome things for me. 

"Fight On!"

I was contemplating our nation's last presidential election, and thinking about how we elected a man who is against quite a few of the things that are good and godly.  He is for abortion and gay marriages, he seems to be against Israel, and his ideas for our economy are totally "out-there."  I know that I need to exercise my right to vote, but more importantly, I need to pray!  For all of our country's faults and ungodliness, we still are blessed to live in a nation that allows us the freedom to worship and to serve our God.  I was reminded to be thankful to the Lord for being a US citizen, but also to remember that I am to speak the truth at all times. The battle that is being waged against godly values will continue until the day that Lord comes to take us home, But I am not to ever give up fighting for those values; therefore I must be about the Lord's work, I must be watchful in my prayers, and I must look for every opportunity to share with others how blessed I am to serve and be loved by Jesus.

Psalm 149:6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand.

A Time Like This

I was reading in chapter four of Esther this morning, the part where Mordecai is encouraging Esther to take a stand for her people.  Esther was afraid and rightly so.  If she chose to take a stand for her people, it would mean that she would need to tell the king that she was Jewish too.  Therefore, not only was she was putting her own life on the line by going to see the king uninvited, but the decree to exterminate the Jewish people would include her too!  Being the queen would not save her life!  As I read how Mordecai encouraged Esther to choose to save her people, I was reminded that I need to be this kind of help and encouragement to those around me.  Many times when a loved one is going through a difficult situation, or is faced with a life-changing decision to make, I will have a tendency to ask God for a quick and easy solution to their problem.  I forget that God is glorified as His servants go through difficult times.  It is so easy to allow myself to forget that I am to pray that they are strengthened for the trial, that God would show Himself strong to them; and not to just pray that the trial goes away.
There will be times that a loved one will need to decide if they are going to obey God or not.  So often in these times there are "extenuating circumstances" that make the correct choice hard to see, and even more difficult to make.  I can sympathize with this, for often this choice is mine to make too.  Still, God requires us to speak the truth, He asks us to be willing to make the hard choices, to be willing to obey no matter what.  God asks of us to encourage our loved ones to make the choice to choose the call that is placed on their life.
Mordecai told Esther that she alone needed to decide what she was going to do, Mordecai could not make the decision for her! Just as Mordecai encouraged Esther, I am to point others to Jesus!  He alone can give them the courage to say, "Yes, LORD."
I will close with a sentence that I have written in my Bible next to this passage in Esther.....
"Let us not weaken those whom we love by weak sympathy, but let us love them enough to detach them from ourselves and strengthen their hands in God."

Waiting on God

Do you ever wonder why God waits to answer you?  Are there times that a reply to a prayer seems long in coming?  Does it seem that the heavens are bronzed over, and that silence reigns?  I have found that unanswered prayers, are just that, unanswered prayers.  So, I need to keep on asking!  The Bible teaches me that God hears every word, every thought of mine.  Jesus Himself taught us that when we ask anything according to His will, we have what we ask for.  Prayer is to be something that I do without ceasing.  It is the way that God set up for us to communicate with Him.  God knows all things, and yet He asks us to talk to Him. It is for our benefit that we are to be in constant communication with our Heavenly Father.  I know, from past experiences, that I tend to try to live my life without God's help.  I was reading this morning in Job and Isaiah, and the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart about this.  I so often think that I know what is best for me, I tend to think that I can do it on my own.  But, God is faithful to use my everyday life to show me that I should not be doing so. 

Job 35:10–14 But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs in the night,Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth, And makes us wiser than the birds of heaven?’ There they cry out, but He does not answer, Because of the pride of evil men. Surely God will not listen to empty talk, Nor will the Almighty regard it. Although you say you do not see Him, Yet justice is before Him, and you must wait for Him.

Pride in my heart keeps me from going to the Lord, I think that others can help me, I think I know how too solve my problems; these things keep me from going to God.  So often the answer to my prayers tarry, because God is teaching me just that!!  Gos alone knows what I need, God alone knows what is best for me, God alone can change my world. 

Incorruptable Beauty #1

A few years back, I was invited to speak at our church's "Mom's Group."  The theme for that year was about lasting beauty.  One morning, while getting ready for work, putting my make-up on and fixing my hair, the topic of my talk became clear.  I'll speak on Incorruptable Beauty, from 1 Peter 3.  On that morning, God spoke to me about a prayer, using the metaphor of putting on make-up and fixing my hair.  It is a way for me to consciously place my mind on the truth, and not believe the lie.  Each morning as I get ready for the day, I can take these steps, I can pray these prayers to God, so that I am a woman of Incorruptable Beauty, from the INSIDE out!!
As I have written in previous posts, I am getting older......yes, the wrinkles have come, and my hair is turning gray, and my body is certainly not like it used to be.  Recently, during my quiet time one morning, I was complaining to God about it all.....He reminded of the talk that I gave on Incorruptable Beauty.  God was telling me once again, that what was important to Him was a woman who feared Him, and who loved Him with her whole heart. The Bible holds many verses on the passing "glory" of man......woman.  We are here today, and gone tomorrow......our lives are likened to a flower, a blade of grass, that withers away.......smoke that dissipates into the air.
Maybe some of you are in the same place as I am, struggling to understand all of the physical and emotional changes that come in our 50s.  Maybe some of you are in the "prime" of your life, enjoying a strong and beautiful body.  Or maybe you have a physical ailment, that keeps you from realizing your body's full potential.......a disfigurement of your face, that makes you feel not so pretty.  Whatever the case, I hope that what follows will help, and bring comfort, and a renewed sense of your worth, in the eyes of our Lord.
I hope that you will be patient with me, for I will not be able to complete this in one post. So, please keep checking back for more.
As women we are taught from our youth that physical beauty is something of great value, far greater than even our intelligence or personality, even our society places great emphasis on the human body.  But God, does not.
In 1 Samuel 16:7, when the Lord gave instruction to the prophet Samuel in regards to anointing of the next King of Israel, the Lord spoke very clearly on this subject. "But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him (speaking of David's older brother, Eliab).  For the Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
Therefore, I must choose to think purely and in a godly fashion, about my appearance, and about my physical body.  I choose to not believe the lie, the lie that tells me that my face and form must be beautiful to be of any worth, of any value.
The Incorruptable Beauty Prayer.
The first thing that I do, before I put on any make-up, is to cleanse my face.  As a woman we know that dirty skin, full of bacteria and dead skin cells, causes clogged pores and then pimples.
As I begin my day, I must ask the Lord to clean my heart, and to clean my mind of sinful thoughts and actions, and of dead works. For if my heart is clogged with sin, dead works, and self, God can not use me.  The Bible teaches us that we can do nothing without Jesus, and Jesus also taught us that every issue of life comes from the heart.

Luke 6:43–45 “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks."

 It is the work of the Holy Spirit in my day to day life, that brings about any lasting work or victory over sin, self, and dead works.
But, if my heart has become clogged, and full of sin and self, then my day will be full of sinful actions and thoughts, not full of the beautiful work of God.  Therefore, a clean and pure heart makes for a day that is joy-filled (not perfect), because we are in pure fellowship with Jesus.  It makes for a day that brings about actions that are pleasing to God, actions that will be blessings for me and for others. 

"And the Bride says, 'Come.'"

"Nothing is intolerable that is necessary.  Now God has bound thy trouble upon thee, with a design to try thee, and with purposes to reward and crown thee.  These cords thou canst break; and therefore lie thou down gently and suffer the hand of God to do what He pleases."  Jeremy Taylor
My grandson, Adam, had a routine appendectomy a few weeks back.  The surgery went well, he was released from the hospital that same evening.  The surgeon sent the appendix to the lab for pathology, which is protocol when a organ is removed from a person's body.  The lab discovered a pea-size tumor in the appendix, and with further testing found it to be cancerous.  The doctors are confident that the cancer is out of his body, but my daughter and her husband are having more tests done......blood and urine tests, and a PET scan.....just to be sure. 
Cancer, I hate that word!  I hate the waiting to hear if all will be ok with Adam.  I hate the thought that it might not be ok.  I hate the thought that my sweet baby girl and her man, may have to go thru the most horrible thing any parent could imagine, the sickness, or the death of their first born son. I hate the thought that my grandson may need to go thru chemo or worse. And yet, in the midst of all this HATE, I have been reminded that there is LOVE.......the love of a Father in heaven Who sees all and is intimately involved in all of this.  A God, Who promises to bring good through ALL things.  A God, Who will never, ever leave or forsake us.  God's love for us is so great that He sent His first born, His only Son to make a way for us to remain ALIVE forever.  Yes, we are not getting out of this world, "alive."  We will all either die, or we will be taken-up in the rapture.  Either way, we will go to be with our loving Father; and all of this world's sickness and sin will be done away with.  There will be no such word as "cancer" in heaven.  There will be no such word as "hate" in heaven.  Love will reign there, and great will be our peace and joy.
"Come quickly, Lord Jesus."

Something To Say

Recently, I was finishing up a study in the book of Esther.  I had just finished reading the last chapter, and my attention was captured by these verses:
King Xerxes imposed tribute throughout the empire, to its distant shores.  And all his acts of power and might, together with a full account of the greatness of Mordecai, whom the king had promoted, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Media and Persia?  Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews, and held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews.

In the OT, there are many references to the "Books of the Kings."  Yet I had not up to this point found written, a reference to a "commoner" being written about in these books.  So, I did a bit of research...

There are many "books" mentioned in the Bible.  The book of Moses, the book of Life, the book of the prophets, as well as the books of the kings.  Before the times of the printing presses, scribes were used to write history, they were used to record what went on in courts of law, and in the courts of kings and kingdoms. And all that was written, and not lost, has now become history.
As I was doing my little bit of research on the subject, I came across this verse:

You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.  2 Corinthians 3:3

People write down what they want to remember, they write down what they think is important, and just as it was in the past, records are kept of what goes on in a court of law, and in a government.  People write letters to one another, sharing their everyday lives and concerns with those that they know and love. People write books to tell a story, or to share information, or to record history.  We write because.....we have something to say!

As I read the verse in 2 Corinthians, I was convicted of how I was not living a life that reflected what has been written on my heart!

You see, God has used my heart as a piece of paper (a tablet), and He has written a letter, (a book if you will) for the world to see.  Why?  Because God has something to say!! He wants my life to be a reflection of His life, of His love, and of His grace for people.  God wants to tell the world about Himself through me!

So often though, this book, this letter of my heart looses a person's interest, because they can't get past the cover!  They can't get past me! I know, we are not to judge a book by it's cover, but we all do it.......I know I do.  Also, we have it heard it said that when we meet a person for the first time we make judgements about who they are, or what they are like, in the first 30 seconds!  We know that we should give everyone the benefit of the doubt, but so often it is hard to get past that initial reaction to them. 

What has been written on the "tablet" of my heart, needs to be read. I asked the Lord right there and then, to make my "cover" be something that doesn't push people away.  I asked that my "cover" be something that draws others in and doesn't push them away.  I want them to want to know about my Savior.

Blessed Assurance

God keeps His promises.
He is not a man that He should lie or the son of man that He should repent.  Has He said and will He not do?  Or has He spoken, and He will not make good?  (Numbers 23:19)
This passage of scripture is written on the inside cover of my Bible.  I put it there.  It is a reminder to me that my God will always keep His promises to me.
I was reminded of this earlier this month, as I was driving home from my eldest daughter's home.  She has been ill with mono, and was needing my help to move into her new home.  Her children, my grand children, were a huge help to her during this time, but I needed to be there.  Momma to the rescue. What came to mind that day, as I drove the three hour drive home, was a portion of scripture that God had spoken to my heart many years before.  While my man and I lived in Colorado, and my two beautiful daughters lived in Washington state, there was a period of time that my eldest was ill from a food intolerance.  She struggled with this for many years. I can remember many a phone conversation with her, and of how I would hang up and cry......and pray.  I so wanted to be able to help her, but I was twenty one hours away.  I knew that God was there with her......but I am her momma.
My youngest went through a difficult time during this time frame too.  She wanted a baby, but that didn't happen for her and her man for eight years. I know, neither one of these issues were life threatening, but hard for them none the less.  I just hated that I wasn't there to help them. I hated that I couldn't wrap my arms around them, cry with them, and kiss their "boo-boos" away.  It was after one of these phone conversations that God led me to a portion of  Isaiah 60.....your daughters shall be nursed at your side....I can remember reading this verse, wondering if it truly would happen, would we ever be able to live closer to each other again? I missed my girls so much. 
This is what the Lord reminded me of.....Because here I am, living three hours from my girls, able to make the drive to help out if needed.
But this is not the only promise that God has kept.  He has kept His promise of help, and guidance, and grace.  The promise of the Holy Spirit's help and teaching each and every day of my life, the promise of His mercies that are new each morning.  The promise of protection, and of my daily needs being met.
I will end this with one of my all time favorite passages of scripture, and yes, it too is a promise to me.
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32)