A Vacuumed Carpet!

It has been a couple of weeks since I have had the chance to vacuum the carpet, downstairs, in our home. The last few days every time I walked into the house it just felt so dirty and cluttered. This afternoon I finally had a few minutes to straighten up and vacuum. Now the house seems so much cleaner. It is amazing how just a simple act like that can change the feeling of messiness in our home, to freshness.


It seems to me, that this is the same with our hearts. We get so busy, life beats up on us and we get to feeling dirty, cluttered and overwhelmed. We have troubles feeling good about ourselves and doubt our worth here on this earth.

We just need to find a place of refuge, a place of wholeness. This is when this passage in Psalms comes to me....


Psalm 57:1-2

New International Version (NIV)


1 Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me,
for in you I take refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the disaster has passed.

2 I cry out to God Most High,
to God, who vindicates me.



I get so mad at myself, sometimes, because I forget to turn to the one who will always be there for me when things are going well but most certainly when times are tough. I need this reminder.....

Ephesians 6:18

The Message (MSG)

13-18 Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long.

There really is no reason that any of us have to get to feeling being beat up and filthy before we ask God for help and peace. If we would keep in mind we have the scriptures and the gift of prayer everyday, all day, in every day of our lives, we would never feel unprotected and unsafe.


He wants to be there for all of us, always! Hold tight to the promise of this verse.....



Psalm 144:2

New International Version (NIV)

2 He is my loving God and my fortress,

my stronghold and my deliverer,

my shield, in whom I take refuge,


My hope for all of you is that you feel the cleansing, loving, safe, protecting, power of our God, there is nothing better.

Blessings!

First Snow!

Our very first snow of the season fell early this morning. Not tons, but enough to remind us that winter is almost here.

The snow reminded me of how lucky my family is. For one thing we are lucky to be able to live here in the parsonage. You ask how snow and this goes together? I will tell you. 

There is a wonderful gentleman who always takes care of the snow removal for us. It is his way of giving back to the church. He never lets us down on this. It is like magic, we wake up and the side walks are clean. 

Now this reminds me of the Israelite nation and the time of their travels through the desert. Moses was leading them to the promised land and as they went they began to get hungry. So God took care of them with manna. Every morning they would wake up and it would be on the ground to be picked up, like magic.  

The book of Numbers tell us what this was all about.....

Numbers 11:7

The Message (MSG)

7-9 Manna was a seed like substance with a shiny appearance like resin. The people went around collecting it and ground it between stones or pounded it fine in a mortar. Then they boiled it in a pot and shaped it into cakes. It tasted like a delicacy cooked in olive oil. When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna was right there with it.

God did not let them down on this. There were many times when they let Him down but He fed them like this and with birds for meat, as well, clear until the Israelite people got into the promised land and ate from their first harvest. 

Our God is so faithful. Even when we let Him down, He is always there for us. Supplying all of our needs.

I love how Philippians puts it....

Philippians 4:19

Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

19 My God will use his glorious riches to give you everything you need. He will do this through Christ Jesus.

Not only does He make sure our physical needs are met, He has made sure that our spiritual needs are met as well. He sent us Jesus, as a sacrifice for our wrong deeds and then the Holy Spirit to keep us from feeling alone. He has also given us the Scriptures to help us find answers as we question our life here on this earth. What a comfort our God is. He never fails, no matter what.

So, yes, the snow was a great reminder today of how lucky we all truly are.

My hope for you is that you feel lucky too!

Blessings!! 

Where have you been?

I was asked this question the other day. It has been quite a few days since I have gotten to sit down and write a blog. Life has been a little crazy just lately.  Rodney was in Guatemala and I had a Craft Show that I had some things in. Then, of course there were things to do at the church. 

Of course I allowed some of the crazy schedule to happen to me. I sometimes have trouble saying no. Hey, sometimes I just don't want to say no. I enjoy doing some of the things I do and am willing to be busy. But is it for my gratification or the Lord's?  

Don't get me wrong. It is OK to enjoy the activities that are in our life. I don't think that we would find ourselves in the places we find ourselves in, without some Divine intervention. I'm sure that God wants us to do our best in the legitimate and goodly places and jobs we are involved in. We are to shine Him in everything we do. But if you are like me, sometimes, I think we are doing things just to look good or to impress others around us. 


This kind of busyness just makes us exhausted and worn out. We take our eyes off of the mission we are on and turn our thoughts inward. The Bible Study from our ladies group took us, this week, to the passage in Luke 10 where Martha and Mary had Jesus come to their house. During His visit Mary sat at His feet listening to His every word, but Martha was running around like a chicken with her head cut off trying to make everything perfect. She didn't feel free to sit with Mary. This made her unhappy and distracted. She felt like she was missing something and of course she was.

Not everything in our lives has to be perfect. Things can be "good".  Sometimes we just need to sit at the feet of our creator and listen, not try to rearrange the whole world. 

Hey I am talking to me more than anyone, so today I made myself take a day of rest. I needed to refresh and to catch up on a bit of quiet. It has done a world of good on my joints and my mood. It helped me stop worrying about getting everything perfect and to refocus on what my priorities truly need to be.

This passage in Philippians really spoke to me as I read it today...

Philippians 4:6-7

The Message (MSG)

6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

So, ladies, don't forget that we are human. Perfection is a very hard thing for us to reach. So instead of trying to do it all and then fretting when you can't, make sure that whatever you are up to, it is for the glory of God and not the glory of you.

Then we can stop fretting and let God give us the peace of knowing that what we are doing is "good" and really going to make a difference without wearing and stressing us to the point of frustration, disappointment and exhaustion.

If your remember, even God rested!

Blessings!

Good With The Bad!

A couple of days ago Rodney, my husband, had a couple of vaccines. He is headed to Central America for a mission trip and needed to get them just in case. Probably he will not be in any danger of contraction of these diseases but there are some things that our bodies, here in the states, are not regularly exposed to, so they are a preventative measure.





But with every action there is a reaction and for my poor husband that certainly is the case. He woke up early this morning with a very high fever. He definitely is having a reaction to the shots and is, I'm sure, right now wondering if all of this is worth it.

In our lives, it seems, that we go along for a time with everything going great. It feels like things are always going to go our way, then BAM, we are knocked back off our feet and life looks very dismal. At these times we certainly wonder what we did to cause this and why did this have to turn out this way.

The bad with the good of these episodes in our lives is that sometimes we don't do anything to cause them. We live in an imperfect world thanks to sin being brought in. The serpent in the garden couldn't handle the perfection God had created. He wanted us knocked off our feet and He wanted us to take ours eyes off of God. That is what happened. As a result this world has spiraled into troubles more than not. Imperfection is rampant and things can't and won't go like we planned much of the time.

But don't give up! The good with the bad in our lives is that God is there in the midst of the troubles and is waiting to help us through.

This scripture is a great reminder of this truth....

Matthew 6:34

The Message (MSG)

34 “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

  
So the reaction to our troubles can and should be that we turn to God. We need to remember that He will help us through. If this is what we let happen, then the actions of this world won't be what defines us. God's reactions will!

Yes, Rodney has had an adverse reaction to the shots, but my sweet husband is not going to let this be the defining moment of his trip. I know he can hardly wait to get to Guatemala to see what God will do through him there. That will make all the discomfort of now be worth it for sure. That will be what defines him through all of this!!

How will you react the next time this world knocks you off your feet? What will define you, action or reaction? Good or bad? Here's to the God given good!!!

Blessings!

I know the plans!

We have been going through a study about blessings, at church, on Sunday evenings. I have received such a blessing, myself, getting to be the facilitator in the class. I love hearing the stories about family from the attenders. Especially from the more mature gentlemen. The sacrifices made by their parents to make sure their children had a better life than the life they led, during the depression, is so inspiring. 

In this class we have been reminded that all of us need blessings from the ones we love and the ones we love need to hear blessings from us.  These positive words of love and encouragement help make it easier as we move forward in this life. They give us courage, confidence and the knowledge that there is someone who believes in us.



No matter what your circumstances with your family did you know that there is someone who is waiting to give us more than just words of love. He wants to help us find our way in this life. God wants us to know that our future is bright because He has already made some pretty wonderful plans for us ........ 



Jeremiah 29:11

Common English Bible (CEB)

11 I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the Lord; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope.

It has always amazed me how much we are loved by our God. I guess it shouldn't, because we were made so that we could spend our days with Him.

He certainly has our future as His first priority. He also is here to make sure that we have the tools we need to help us get to these wonderful plans....

Philippians 4:19-20

The Message (MSG)

You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus. Our God and Father abounds in glory that just pours out into eternity.

So we, as Christians, can know, without a doubt, that our lives and our future will be full of promise. With the thought of this I certainly feel ready to face this world and all that comes from living here, don't you?

With this confidence and the peace that comes because of it, we most certainly will want to help our loved ones feel this same confidence. God supplies the person in our lives who gives us our blessing, so maybe He is supplying their blessing through you!

Don't miss the chance to help your family and friends to feel as secure as you know you are!!


Blessings to you Dear Friends!!!

Why Am I Here?

Do you ever wonder how you got into a situation that you are in?  Sometimes I find myself like that. As a matter of fact my last few weeks have been exactly like that. I have so much on my plate with different projects I am involved in. I wonder sometimes why my mouth just can't utter the word "no". I know that I am not alone in this. Tons of people have the same problem.

But the fact of the matter is I really feel that all the things I am involved in are worthwhile and that I am in each of them for a reason. Then I catch myself thinking "Am I thinking too highly of myself or is this true"? I have prayed about this and tend to find peace at the time but then the tiredness and stress returns as the day wears on and I find myself doubting my abilities again.

I need to remind myself that if I let God, He will help me through my days. I think all of us need to remember that we are not alone. As Christians our goal is to spread the sweet presence of the Christ, who lives in us, as we go about our busy days. 

The scriptures are full of instances where God helps people through their days and the trials they are going through, but I love this reminder of what our God is truly leading us to do......

2 Corinthians 2:14

Common English Bible (CEB)

14 But thank God, who is always leading us around through Christ as if we were in a parade. He releases the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere through us.

So, our days may be busy, and we may feel that we are not adequate to the tasks and jobs we are facing. I know sometimes I wonder what God was thinking in using me, but the one sure thing we can know is that He will be there for us to lead us in this parade of life and give us the strength and wisdom we need to get the job done. 

And as we move with this God given confidence maybe others will see our peace that comes from Christ, and maybe they will want the same confidence too. Sharing our peace would be the most wonderful task we could ever be led to do!


Blessings and Peace Sweet Friends!  

Telephone Tag

I have a friend who keeps trying to call me on the phone and I keep calling her back but not getting her. I think we have done this over 5 times in the last couple of days and we still haven't gotten a hold of each other.


There is some information that I have been trying to find out and she has the answers. 

This is not an emergency but if it had of been it would have been much more frustrating than it has been.

It is a good thing that God is never unavailable. When ever we need Him he is always there. When we call on Him He always hears our cries.

Psalm 18:6

Common English Bible (CEB)

6 In my distress I cried out to the Lord;
    I called to my God for help.
God heard my voice from his temple;
    I called to him for help,
    and my call reached his ears.

Deuteronomy 26:7

Common English Bible (CEB)

7 So we cried out for help to the Lord, our ancestors’ God. The Lord heard our call. God saw our misery, our trouble, and our oppression.

This world will bring stress, more times than not. God understands this. He never wants us to feel alone in our troubles. He will always be there when we call. 
No telephone tag needed, ever!!

He also understands that there will be some wonderful things that happen, in this life, as well. He loves for us to have the joy He has. I know that God wants us to share these things with Him too!

John 15:11

The Message (MSG)

 “I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy....

Isn't it great to know we are always connected and can just call on the name of the Lord, whenever, in our sadness and in our joy! 

Good news for me, I finally got with my friend. Questions have been answered, no more voice mail, well, for now.

Shew!!!

Blessings!