Morning thoughts...

I am listening to an old hymn right now. Let me write the words for you..."Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His word. Just to rest upon His promise. Just to know thus saith the Lord. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him. How I've proved Him over and over. Jesus, Jesus, Precious Jesus. Oh, for (the) grace to trust Him more."
*(Another blog I watch daily was on the same "mindtrack" as me so I will borrow a few things of the writer to add...)
Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all. Proverbs 3:5-7 (The Message)

Now can I pray a minute with you?
Lord, thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit. Forgive me for not believing that you can clearly communicate to me through your spirit. Please teach me how to discern your voice. Help me to be quiet and still enough to allow you room to speak. Please give me wisdom to rightly hear you, and the patience to wait for you. Keep me diligently in your Word, and give me willingness to seek and learn from godly counsel. Thank you that you don’t leave me to flounder on my own, but you care intimately about every decision I make and desire to lead me into your perfect will. In Jesus name, Amen.

Are you there?

I don't know about you but, sometimes do you read the Bible or pray and feel that God is not speaking to you through what you have read, or that your prayers have bounced off the ceiling? That’s okay. During times like these think of it as though you are storing up grain for the winter or ammunition for the battle. Reading God’s Word and/or praying is never a waste of time—His Word will never return void, and He always hears His children. Here's the Truth of it, no matter our feelings...
Isaiah 55:8-11
The way you work isn't the way I work."
God's Decree.
"For as the sky soars high above earth,
so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
and the way I think is beyond the way you think.
Just as rain and snow descend from the skies
and don't go back until they've watered the earth,
Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,
producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,
So will the words that come out of my mouth
not come back empty-handed.
They'll do the work I sent them to do,
they'll complete the assignment I gave them.

"I don't think the way you think.

Ephesians 3:16-19

"I pray that he will use his glorious riches to make you strong. May his Holy Spirit give you his power deep down inside you. Then Christ will live in your hearts because you believe in him.And I pray that your love will have deep roots. I pray that it will have a strong foundation. May you have power with all God's people to understand Christ's love. May you know how wide and long and high and deep it is. And may you know his love, even though it can't be known completely. Then you will be filled with everything God has for you."

The more time we spend in God’s Word, the more in tune we will be to His voice. Whether burning bush or gentle whisper, Lord, I want to hear you. Thank you that my faith is based not on feeling, but fact.

The Ant & the Contact Lens: A TRUE STORY!

Brenda was almost halfway to the top of the tremendous granite cliff. She was standing on a ledge where she was taking a breather during this, her first rock climb. As she rested there, the safety rope snapped against her eye and knocked out her contact lens.
'Great', she thought. 'Here I am on a rock ledge, hundreds of feet from the bottom and hundreds of feet to the top of this cliff, and now my sight is blurry.' She looked and looked, hoping that somehow it had landed on the ledge. But it just wasn't there..
She felt the panic rising in her, so she began praying. She prayed for calm, and she prayed that she may find her contact lens. When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but it was not to be found. Although she was calm now that she was at the top, she was saddened because she could not clearly see across the range of mountains. She thought of the bible verse 'The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth.'
She thought, 'Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me.'
Later, when they had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff they met another party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, 'Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?'
Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across a twig on the face of the rock, carrying it!

The story doesn't end there. Brenda's father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a cartoon of an ant lugging that contact lens with the caption, 'Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it for You.'
I think it would do all of us some good to say, 'God, I don't know why You want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy. But, if You want me to carry it, I will.'
God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called. Yes, I do love GOD. He is my source of existence and my Savior. He keeps me functioning each and every day. Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him...I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13)

Truth or Consequences & Mother's Day

I have come to the conclusion that what has motivated me during my children's growing up years, has been try to keep them from doing something stupid that I've once done myself. Please understand my lack of being able to put this in any gentler terms, but I can't look back over my poor decisions and then look at the consequences (whether they be known or unknown :-), and want my kids to make those same mistakes. Do you ever wonder why you feel you know what your daughter's are thinking when they want to do something questionable. I always felt I knew what their motivations were, even though they wanted me to think all was "innocent." This is when we have to realize that our control is short-lived, at most. The thought that "what Mom & Dad don't see won't hurt them," isn't anything new, no matter what year we were born. The upside of this is that God's promises are true when He says that if we "Direct our children onto the right path, when they are older, they will not leave it."Prov. 22:6

This certainly doesn't mean that we raise them to be like us...but, we have to remember that more is caught then taught. We have to be examples in every area of our lives and always, always, put the ones that we've been given to live in front of, first. As Moms & wives, we give and give of every possible resource we have. Emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually. Sometimes without a thank you or even just a little time off. This is where God wants to fill us back up with Himself. He has completely equipped us. "By using Scripture, a (wo)man of God can be completely prepared to do every good thing." II Tim.3:17
Tomorrow is Mother's Day. Ideally, we would be pampered, loved, and appreciated. However, things still have to be picked up and straightened, dishes put in the dishwasher, we are not the only ones that have to be dressed, etc. A Servant's Heart is one of our labels, right ladies? Let's have the best Mom's Day ever and be happy with all we are blessed with. Let's keep giving and remember we are the recipients of the Greatest Gift Giver of all, who withholds no good thing from us. I think you are all SUPER-MOM'S!

Game On!

I have become very intolerant of the word tolerance. It presents a facade that we can easily fall into for what some would label quiet, loving, non-judgmental, and even politically correct. Living in a world of "tolerance" can often distract from that which we are called to do, as followers of Jesus. Whether we are being tempted to neglect our duty to forgive, gossip with a girlfriend, break our wedding vows, or take it upon ourselves to cast judgment on those around us, we are constantly being pulled to disconnect from the Holy Spirit. Temptation is an inevitable part of life. Giving in to our temptations doesn’t have to be. After all, this life is "warfare" girlfriends!

A well built support system is key to spiritual survival. Living your life with purpose and intent isn’t something that just comes naturally, and it’s not a DIY sort of thing. Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a team of effort to rise above the sin that tempts us all, after all we have to label it is for what it is, right? Not one of us is above it.

Designing your spiritual accountability team is much like building a team for any number of sports. First off, you need a coach. Someone with complete knowledge of the game and a clear cut view of the direction in which each player needs to go. Who better to design your play book than the Creator of the game?

Next you’ll want to have a rulebook that gives concise guidelines on how to play by the Creator’s rules. Good thing He wrote that autobiography, the Bible, huh?

Now, with your Coach guiding you, and the rules of engagement laid out for you, a team captain would be a great addition. You want a captain with Spirit. The Holy Spirit knows how to get the job done and how to help you do that which the Coach has called you to do.

So, what’s left? Oh, the players, of course. Assemble the best of friends, also centered in Christ, and you’re on your way!

The only thing left is the pep-talk! Here’s a perfect fit for the game of life…check out what Galations 6 says...

^1-3 Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day's out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ's law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.

^7-8Don't be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life.

Game On!

P.S. "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."

If we are wounded we see life as wounded.
If we are angry we see life angrily.
If we are ashamed we see life ashamed.
If we are cheerful we see life optimistically.
If we are hard and unmoving we will see life and hard and unmoving.

Since we are all unique in Gods eyes, don't allow yourself to be your only point of reference
when it comes to how you see life.

Whose eyes are you using when you see yourself, your relationships, your worth, your talents, your occupations?
Have you by choice tainted your journey ahead?