Submit!

Oh boy do I understand the horse who must be controlled by a bit and bridle...we (DAD) have one (Misun which is Little Brother in Lakota Sioux) right now that he insists on "breaking" to be able to be ridden.  The only problem is I dislike the horse because it is mean because it enjoys being mean. It would rather FIGHT against you than submit and enjoy the rewards.

How many times are we like that. We fight against what we know is actually good for us because we think we know better and that our way will ensure that positive outcome. Only it never happens the way we saw it happening. That is because God saw that "car coming out of no where" that "wrecked" our plans.

I love that I can hide in God's arms and rest from troubles. Some people may think or even say aloud that I am being weak and running away but if it keeps me safe, then it is better for me.

I pray that your day finds you delivered from troubles and strife that are clouding your judgement. I pray you find God's counsel and submit to His plans.

Love you all!

I know you hear me

How many of you have heard this new song by Hillary Scott - Thy Will...

The lyrics have been running through my head this morning (at least part of them)

I know you hear me

I know you see me, Lord

Your plans are for me

Good news you have in store

Read more: Hillary Scott - Thy Will Lyrics | MetroLyrics

That is what my heart has been singing all morning.

I pray that you know God hears and sees you. That HIS plans are for you - He is not out to harm you or make you sick. That HIS news is GOOD!

Love you all!

I will seek you!

So you get a "2 for" today....I know our international sisters are looking at that and shaking their heads...2 for the price of 1...even though I am not "selling" these bible verse, you are spending your time reading them...so it is a "2 for"

Yesterday was difficult for me. Libby didn't sleep well the night before and I was getting cranky. I miss my virtual coffee with my bestie. (This is an invitation to anyone who want to - I love video chatting...It is a good way to really get to know those internet friends.) ON top of that, I wasn't able to get to Mom and Dad's meds until I was able to get Libby somewhat under control. Then I had to go take care of Brother and SIL's dog and cat...Needless to say everytime I THINK I had it worked out...something happened to jump my train off its tracks. That just increased my crankiness which in turn caused me to not HEAR God's voice for what to write yesterday.

This morning it all struck me.

I am weak but Thou art STRONG

Jesus, keep me from all wrong

Daily walking CLOSE to thee

Let it be, Dear LORD, let it be!

That was where I failed yesterday...I tried to do it on my own...and it took me farther from God than I needed to be. I let friends and family down. I was frustrated and ready to give up.

It only takes one little thing sometimes to cause a canyon to spring up (or down).

I pray your day is found walking close to God, leaning on His comforting arms, finding Peace in Him!

Love you all!

Our God is an Awesome God!

I love it when God sends me the exact words I need to hear or I know someone else needs to hear! He is amazing and constantly caring for us daily! I don't know about you but that causes me to rejoice!

I pray you find a thankful heart in all you do today! Holdfast to HIS words!

Love you all!

Hair on my head

To know that God knows the number of hairs on my head is mind blowing. He knows the hairs on EVERY HEAD! It is amazing that HE cares for even the sparrows. 

Praying that your day is amazing and that you have a blessed day!  

Mondays are always a blessed chaos. I am laying in bed, typing with my left hand because my right arm is trapped by a napping 18 month old. Mom has gone down hill in her health again but not as bad as she was. Dad is just Dad....

I didn't realize I hadn't posted the daily bible reading until I noticed that I wasn't reading it..That's what happens when your schedule gets thrown upside down! OH WELL!

I am thankful that God sent Jesus to die for me and set me apart! I pray that I am worthy of the stripes He bore for me! AMEN!

Troubled Hearts

A question that has been popping up lately - Name something that holds you back. But in naming it are you speaking life into that problem and allowing it to become a crutch or does naming it give you power to pray and ask God to work in all things?  

In the past, it would have become a crutch, an excuse, something that grew into chains. Recently (as I have grown in Christ) it has given me prayer to say God, yes I worry about things but I am no longer going to let them hold me back. I want to be a warrior! I want to let my light shine. I am still working through finding my way. 

Praying today that you become a WARRIOR! You are amazing and wonderfully made! Created to Create!

Love you all!

Put back the sugar

Hold the milk, put back the sugar
They are powerless to console
We've gathered here to sprinkle ashes
From our late friend's cereal bowl

Read more at http://www.songlyrics.com/newsboys/breakfast-lyrics/#llbL4GsILYkDw3uj.99

Think about those lyrics for a moment - Hold the milk, Put back the sugar.  Do you worry what you say or do will OFFEND your neighbor? As a Christian, we are called to be Christ - LIKE not Christ - COATED (see image below from Trumpet Call). We worry about what we do or say offending SINNERS than worrying about where their soul is really going.

I am stepping out in FAITH and putting on my GRACE hat...Just because we are aware of more violence, hate, negativity, but we put a label on it...CALL IT WHAT IT IS - SIN.

If we are just suppose to sugar coat life and spin the positive...then we are not being Christ - LIKE.

I think we need to really read what God's word is saying...not what WE have been told it says. We read verses like today's bible reading and see it for the warm fuzzies of God providing our needs. OUR NEEDS do not include a brand new car when the one we are driving has reached 50000 miles and is still working. They don't include a Coach bag or Chanel earrings (Yes I have a Master's degree in Fashion Design. Clothing is important...it is the BRAND that DOESN'T MATTER when it comes to saving your soul.)

These verses are telling us NOT TO WORRY about EVERYTHING because WE are NOT in control. God's plan was set in motion the day HE divided the Heavens and the Earth. I am not going to re-write HISTORY and upset HIS plan unless I choose not to FOLLOW HIS PLAN!

My prayer today is that you put back the sugar and become the SALT! 

Love you all!

Unpacking...

This morning is riddled with regret, guilt, but overcome by PRAYER, PRAISES, thoughts of THANKS and SACRIFICE.

I don't know a HUMAN alive that doesn't experience regret or guilt on some level. Some of us may push it to an extreme and hold on to it like Linus does his blanket while others of us can push it to the far reaches of the Earth and ACT as though the situation didn't affect us.  While we may act that way, it does still affect us. Maybe not in a big way but over time, each incident in which we push our regrets and guilts to the abyss to "forget" they happened, they grow and feed off of each other.  And sooner or later (usually sooner...) they explode out other HUMANS to see.  That's when we panic...we don't want someone to think we are weak because of our "pack" mentality, we fear being shame, and shunned. Pushed away and "unloved" by those around us. GUILTY of this...for many of years...

BUT there is a way out...there is SOMEONE who came and took on those iniquities - SINS - and wiped us clean. Allowing us a new FREEDOM to be LOVED, to be a LIGHT for others.

Today I pray that you become RICH in God's LOVE and walk in HIS light.  I pray for forgiveness of my sins and ask for forgiveness of anyone I have done wrong. I pray for strength to see with an open heart and be LOVE.

Love you all!

Hope

Hope according to Webster - to cherish a desire with anticipation,to desire with expectation of obtainment, to expect with confidence...

Love the last part of Verse 24 - "Who hopes for what they already have?"

That's because we don't hope for what we already have - we seek and desire things, feelings, relationships we don't have.

I hope you get to feeling better...I hope to find true love...I hope I get that promotion...

We have something we want or expect or desire but what happens if these things could actually harm us instead of being helpful?

That is why we should look to God and the Holy Spirit to guide us.

I pray that you find your sonship and seek God in all your decisions.

Love you much!

Time

The time is coming when God will do this...strip us away of our Earthly riches...

There are times that this happens prior to His coming...when a natural disaster, a fire, or an illness come and take things from you or your family. Many times it is not viewed through the eyes of GRACE. 

I know that I have cried for many a lost trinkets as well as lost loved ones (by lost I am referring to Death as I have not always known the condition of their soul) but I have not been the diligent steward that I should be. 

Thank you Lord for forgiving me of my shortcomings. I pray that your day is blessed and that God blesses you!

Love you all!

Do you need a doctor?

How many times do you go to the doctor when you are "healthy"? For most people that answer may be once a year for their "wellness" check because of their insurance. Nowadays if you can afford insurance, you still may not go even when sick. I find that even though I have a chronic invisible illness and insurance I don't go because of other responsibilities but if I get sick, who takes care of them? I still have to plug away unless it is 20 on the 1 to 10 scale of pain.

Jesus came and ate with the sinners - why? Not because of the uproar it caused with the Pharisees but because the sinners were who HE came to save. He showed them that by meeting them IN THEIR PLACE that HE cared about them and their LIVES. Do we step up to that plate or do we run and hide?

Not long ago there was a story traveling around Facebook about group of Christian women including a Pastor's wife who visited a strip club and ministered to the dancers. Having dinner with the sinners!  

I pray that you invite sinners to join you at your table! Bring them to dine with Jesus!

Much love to you all!

Confident vs. Arrogant

What is the difference between being confident or just being arrogant? Confidence is having the humility and compassion (hey wasn't that something in yesterday's bible reading about how God is compassionate...interesting) to know that your answer to SOME questions can be wrong. Arrogance is believing you are never wrong - no matter what the question.

The questions regarding Christ and being redeemed/saved from an eternity of hell we should be CONFIDENT in our answer, knowing the truth in God's Word. But we shouldn't be ARROGANT because that will push those who need to see HIS light to close their eyes.

I pray that you are confident in your walk with Christ, sharing His compassion with those who seek it.

"It is hard to wait and press and pray, and hear no voice, but stay till God answers." - E. M. Bounds

Much love to you all!

Return

Have you noticed this week has been about the R's...Rest, Respect, now Return. NO I am wasn't doing it on purpose. God just works that way!

Return to God.  He doesn't ask why you have been away or where you have been? He does sometimes give us the "Gibbs" bump on the head and say "What took you so LONG?" My general answer and usually my answer everytime - I am stubborn...

Do you seriously know anyone who is gracious enough not to bring up your past? Compassionate enough to give you time and space even though He knows your life depends on Him? Slow to anger  - no matter what "ugly" thing is said about Him or his children. Doesn't seek revenge..Abounding in Love...

Who do you know can do that 24/7/365?  You might have one friend who doesn't show you their anger but behind closed doors they plot their revenge upon EVERYONE no matter the action that hurt them.

"If there be anything I do, if there be anything I leave undone, let me be perfect in prayer. After all, whatever God may appoint, prayer is the great thing. Oh that I may be a man of prayer!" - H. Martyn

My prayer is that today you return to God with all your heart.

Much love to you all!

Respect

Respect for each other. Love for each other. Obedience to our Parents. Protect your children but do not cause anger in them. 

Humans read these rules with the "knowledge" that we "know" what is good and what is evil.  How about if we looked at things through LIFE - Christ's life?

Verse 18 doesn't say become a door mat. It says submit .... as is fitting IN THE LORD. You as a Christian submit to Christ, so how is HE different than your husband.

Verse 19 doesn't say become weak. It says do not be harsh which means "unpleasantly rough or jarring to the senses or cruel or severe." You love Christ, so how is HE different than your wife.

Verse 20 says Children Obey your Father...Which Father do you choose to obey? How is Christ different from your parents?

Verse 21 say Fathers do not anger your Children to the point of their hatred. Does Christ treat his Children this way?

If we look at this through Christ's life that he gave for us, then we see that Christ is only asking us to treat each other as He has treated us.

Praying for health, comfort and strength! Praying for rest and healing! Praying for financial wisdom and assistance!

"My praying friend, continue to make known your desires to God in all things. It is when we can speak with one another about anything and everything that conversation really AFFORDS us freedom and relief. Let HIM decide whether you are to receive what you ask for or not." - O Hallesby.

Resting

I hate invisible illnesses. The slightest thing pushes them over the edge and you are left feeling like a bug that was run over by a bulldozer or steamroller. Praying for healing, comfort and strength as those are my needs for today in particular.

I love this Psalms - I have been singing it since I made the image (not the cluster part - just putting the words with it). These verse are a great reminder of how I felt (and feel) when dealing with depression and sadness.

"If God sees that my spiritual life will be furthered by giving me things for which I ask, then He will give them, but that is not the end of prayer. The end of prayer is that I come to know God himself." - O. Chambers

My prayer for you today is that you find comfort and strength in God and allow yourself to rest with in His hands.  All our going going goings drain us...God didn't create us to "run" 24/7/365, etc. We always save Rest in Peace for someone who has passed from this life. Why not use it while we are living...Rest in HIS Peace daily!

Much Love to you all!

So today did not go as planned...my Mom decided she wanted to go grocery shopping instead of trying out the new Wal-Mart Pick-Up which I REALLY WANTED TO DO. Instead of the $150 that I had rung up on the Wal-Mart Pick-Up site, we spent $500...$250 was on a new vacuum but still.... (That is for groceries for the WHOLE MONTH)
That is how we are in real life - we have God's instructions, His Word and we know we should follow it but we get distracted by all the new things around us. We can still be diligent and look at our surroundings but when they distract us from GOD, that is when trouble start setting in.
"I had not understood that He was with me every day in the inner chamber, in His great love ready to keep and bless me, however sinful and guilty I felt myself to be. I had not supposed that just as He will give all other grace in answer to prayer, so, above all and before all, He will bestow the grace of a praying heart." - A. Murray.
I pray you had an amazing day. My day was blessed by spending time with my mom even though she drives me crazy when I am trying to get the shopping done and she doesn't want to "move" as quickly as I want the motorized shopping cart to move. I pray God opens our hearts before He opens our mouths (or fingers on the keyboard). Much love to you all!

Do Unto Others....

How fitting - verse 12 - "Do unto others as YOU would have do unto yourself." Simple and yet difficult. 

How can I show love to someone who has broken my heart? Ask God...as His children, haven't some of our own actions broken HIS heart?  I become a pile of guilt and shame when I think of all I have done in my PAST. (a struggle - looking at my past with out HOLDING on to my past)  But just as my Heavenly Father, He only looks FORWARD to my return, my change, me becoming REBORN!

"Prayer should be free, spontaneous, vital fellowship between the created person and the personal Creator, in which Life should touch life. The more that prayer becomes the untrammeled, free, and natural expression of the desires of our hearts, the more real it becomes." - O. Hallesby

I pray that YOU follow the first of these verses - ASK, SEEK, GIVE, FIND! Much love to all of you!

"A revival of real praying would produce a spiritual revolution." - E.M. Bounds

Greek Tragedy Chicken

So this morning I woke up prepared to make Greek Chicken in the crock pot...It turned into a Greek Tragedy Chicken...I didn't have all the right ingredients...I didn't want to roast it in the oven as My Dad had suggested the night before because that meant I had to sit and watch the clock closer than with my crock pot.  Who doesn't love setting things for 4 to 6 hours away and being able to finish chores in that time? I love it!  So I will let you know how this tragedy turns out...

This is kind of how we are in life. We don't want to WAIT on anything or anyone. We crave instant satisfactions in all areas of our lives. From our jobs/careers to our marriages/relationships to our finances/debts.  We want what the world says is "perfect". All the money, the best job, the "perfect" marriage. But aren't these all illusions? We might say we have the "perfect" marriage and in your eyes, your life, it probably is but is it perfect because of the "stuff" or because of the SPIRIT!

I pray that your life becomes a fruit of the Spirit and shines for God! Become new in His way!

"One great effect of prayer is that it enables the soul to command the body. By obedience I make my body submissive to my soul, but prayer puts my soul in command of my body." - O. Chambers

Much love to you all!

The Road Less Traveled

The road less traveled; yes there is a poem by Robert Frost - "The Road Not Taken", and then you have Dr. Seuss talking about the places you will go; but how strong in our faith are we to follow that road less traveled or taken. 

I know I stumble in that area. I crave my comfort zone. But then again who doesn't.  We experience change from day one of our conception. We begin growing inside our mother. We get very comfortable inside her. We feel safe and protected. THEN we are born. CHANGE happens...some of us experience that change and prosper immediately. Others have difficulty.  God is always with us but as we began developing thoughts and feelings, we lost sight of Him during those changes. As we continue through life and changes, we end up in captivity, walking further from God. Soon we find we miss that warmth, the safety, and protection He gave us early in our lives. We begin seeking Him and He finds us. He renews those bonds. He welcomes us back as though we were never gone.

If you are currently on a road less traveled, be strong and know follow God's plan. He is there with you ALWAYS.

"God is a rich and bountiful Father, and He does not forget His children, nor withhold from them anything which is would be to their advantage to receive." - J. K. Maclean

I pray that you find your road less traveled and you seek God with all your heart. Let HIM set you free!

Much love to you all!

(Yes travelled is spelled wrong in the picture. I didn't write it on the arrow - it was already written that way. Yes there is another mistake in the spacing. I am pointing out that I am aware of these because several of my Grammar (English) Teachers and other Teachers are my friends and might think I didn't check the spelling or anything. God allows mistakes like these in those of us who wish to seek perfection in order to remind us - HE IS IN CONTROL. No matter how hard I try to be perfect, I will not until He calls me home.)

Weary

With the events that unfolded last night in Dallas, my heart is truly heavy as I looked to God for what to share.

"Why grow we weary when asked to watch with our Lord? Up, sluggish heart, Jesus calls thee! Rise and go forth to meet the Heavenly Friend in the place where He manifests himself." - E.M. Bounds

All lives matter, Peace, Equality, Love - where to really start....
Verse 14 - He will redeem them from oppression and violence for THEIR lives are precious to HIM.
If our lives matter to GOD, why do they not matter to our neighbor?
I saw someone post - Give peace a chance...
Someone else posted about Equality...
Everyone wants LOVE and someone posted the opposite of Love is not hate but Indifference...
All of these things are present when we have God in our lives with the EXCEPTION of EQUALITY...the only way everyone will and can be equal is if we were all made from a mold or a cookie cutter - EVERYONE LOOKED AND ACTED THE SAME...Since that is not the case, NO ONE IS EQUAL in the sense of what Joe has, I can have because I want it also.
WE are equal in our sufferings, our birth, our death, our loss...We all experience these events. NO they are not the SAME events at the SAME time but WE have been born, we will experience loss, pain, excitement, happiness, and then we will all die.... The difference is how we travel through these events. I may have experienced some of the same things Joe has but not at the same levels nor at the same time but that doesn't lessen Joe's experience any more than it lessens mine.
We can not continue to close our eyes and ears to the sins of the world and let our family, friends, and neighbors sink deeper into the mud. HEAR ME - I AM NOT WITHOUT SIN! BUT I have been WASHED CLEAN by Jesus' blood. And my sin isn't above or below anyone else's. I am not above or below anyone else. I am God's and He is mine.
Don't mistake this for being racist, hatred, or hypocrisy.

Strive and Wrestle

"If we desire to retain our zeal for those for whom we are praying, and if their needs and distress are to move us to intercede for them daily, we will find that this does not take place without striving and wrestling on our part." - O. Hallesby

Striving and wrestling...that was what yesterday was full of...I was striving to get the house picked back up and somewhat clean (I had been slacking - there are days of slothfulness...) I was wrestling (not physically but it might as well had been) with the internet and computer to get the daily bible reading to load. Satan was doing his best to knock me down and I almost gave up and skipped posting it. BUT I knew that I had to post it for God's words would speak to someone.  

I strive to NOT keep my MOM from doing as much as she could but I wrestle with letting her do much because of her health. I strive to smile while I wrestle with pain. I strive to continue even when I wrestle with failure.

I pray that God's commandments continue to strive in your heart and soul even when you wrestle with your daily struggles.

Much love to you all!

Tell God what you know HE knows in order that you may get to know it as HE does. - O. Chambers

The Lord is with YOU!

Could you imagine, I mean SERIOUSLY imagine, an angel appearing before you saying "The Lord is with you!"? I would be just as confused and FREAKED out (not just disturbed) as I can only think Mary was on that day.  These verses are pulled from the middle of the story and lose some context but the whole ideal is that she was trying to THINK what was meant instead of just relying on God's plan to RELAX and just walk quietly in HIS presence.  It is a very hard thing to do just that - BE STILL and QUIET...especially with all of the electronic devices buzzing around us. Computers, phones, tv's, coffee makers, refrigerators, stoves, microwaves, etc....the list continues to grow; do we shut the all down and just enjoy the quietness? I love when the electricity goes out and I can enjoy the quietness as long as I can control how long it is out...but that is the whole thing...I need to relinquish control.

"Bow before ME as one who expects everything from his Savior. Let your soul keep silence before ME, however sad you feel your state to be. Be assured of this -- I will teach you how to pray." - A. Murray

I pray you have an amazing day! Remember YOU are beautiful/amazing and a child of the KING! Love you!

I know - for some of us it is the middle of summer, temperatures are reaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit and climbing. But here is Sharon posting a random picture of SNOW....At least it got your attention! 

God has to do that to me ALOT - going along smoothly and BAM - bump in the road! But He is so gracious and forgiving, walking me through changes for a better me!

"Every time Jesus sees that there is a possibility of giving us more than we know how to ask, He does so.  And in order to do so He often has to deal with us in ways which are past our finding out." - O. Hallesby

I pray today is a glorious day full of remembrance of your FREEDOM! Not just as Independence Day for those of us in the United States but for all of us from SIN through Jesus!

A memorial of stones? Sounds like our "head stones"...because we use those to remember our loved ones. This memorial was to remember God's love for the people of Israel as they traveled with the Ark.

But what about our prayers - are they memorials to God also? Do we use them to remember God's love for us?

"There are, and there ought to be, stated seasons of communion with God when, everything else shut out, we come into His presence to talk to Him and to let Him speak to us; and out of such seasons springs that beautiful habit of prayer that weaves a golden bond between earth and heaven." - E. M. Bounds

I pray today brings you into His Presence and that His love covers you with a peace and joy never-ending!

Love you!

Yes, I am late. I should probably do these a day ahead of time but I don't. I would say I will pray about it but that is today's quote/saying/instruction - "See that you do not use the TRICK of prayer to cover up what you know you ought to do." - O. Chambers

This is not to say we shouldn't pray but sometimes, many times, we say pray about it when we know that we have been and God is a) being silent which is an answer; b) given us an answer that we didn't like; or c) we were not listening, still and silent like we should have been.

I pray that you are reverent in your prayers to God. That you open your eyes, ears, and heart to Him. I pray that your day is filled with His blessings!

Stephen J. Cole wrote:

Have you ever felt like you were on a merry-go-round of sin, but you couldn’t figure out how to get off even though you wanted to? In that sense, it isn’t a merry-go-round, but a miserable-go-round! You hate going around and around, but you don’t know how to get off the stupid thing.

That’s what Paul describes in Romans 7:14-20 about his spiritual experience: he hates what he is doing, but he can’t stop doing it. He knows that God gave us the law; it’s spiritual and good; it’s the right thing to do. The problem is, he can’t do it. He doesn’t have the power to get off the merry-go-round of sin.

This analogy explains these verse which were difficult to read (after reading the above, it was apparent that trying to figure them out was making me dizzy, like when you try to watch a merry-go-round.) Mr. Cole is correct - we don't have the power ON OUR OWN to get off this crazy ride. WE NEED GOD! 

Your prayers move God to change the world. You may not understand the mystery of prayer. You don't need to. But this much is clear: Actions in heaven begin when someone prays on earth. What an amazing thought! -Max Lucado

My prayer for you today is that you rely on God's strength to turn off the crazy switch on the "miserable"-go-round ride of your life.