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“What!, it Seized Up?”

 

Have you ever seized up?

I am sure you have had this experience.  Maybe you have been at work and one of your machines seized up and stopped production.  Or maybe you have been at home preparing a meal quickly and the blender decides to seize up.  What about you?  Have you ever seized up?  Maybe you had a lecture to give and when you got up to speak you “seized” up.

I experienced this most recently.  At work, we have a UV machine.  If you are not in the printing business or have never ordered cards or postcards you may not know what a UV machine does.  Let me explain a little.  If you have ever seen a postcard come in your mail that is nice and shiny it has probably been through a UV machine.  It is really a protective coating.  You may have even noticed that when you have gotten a little water on the front of the postcard it didn’t seem to affect it.  That is what the UV coating machine does.  It makes it look nice as well as protects the product from being smeared or destroyed by a little moisture.

So how does a UV coating machine work?

We have a 5-gallon bucket of the liquid coating.  Once the machine is on, a tube up to three different rollers carries the liquid.  It coats two of those rollers.  The bottom roller pressures the paper between the top rollers laying out a nice coat of UV.  As the liquid flows over the rollers it collects into a trough on either end of the roller and from the trough flows through another hose back into the bucket.

Clean the machine!

Every day when we shut the machine down we separate the rollers and clean them thoroughly. If we left them connected and not cleaned it would ruin the rollers.  Doing this cleaning is a required everyday maintenance to keep everything running well.

What we have now discovered is that there is a more thorough maintenance cleaning that should take place every month or two.  The little troughs that transfer the UV from the rollers to the buckets had become caked with UV so that the liquid was going over the edges of the trough and going places it shouldn’t go.  We had noticed this happening but did not realize the significance of the problem.  The results of ignoring the problem were, it seized up the machine.

What about me?

It made me start to think about my Christian walk.  I think of Jesus as the UV.  When we allow Him to flood over our lives we become beautiful and protected.  It is Christ that makes us become a beautiful, loving Christian.  But we do need to allow Him to do it.

The question is, what about Christian “maintenance”?  Do we need cleaning?  What happens when we don’t get cleaned?

These are all great questions to ask ourselves.  I just want to share a few thoughts.  I do believe that we need to be thoroughly cleaned daily.  Do we do the cleaning? No, but we do have to allow God to come in and do it.  We have to surrender self.  Each day we need to start by giving our day to God.  And at the end of each day, we need to evaluate our day with God and make right with Him anything that He brings to our minds.

I believe that having a monthly or one day, whatever you decide is best for you, of fasting and focusing on a thorough evaluation and cleaning would be appropriate also.  Now, when I say fasting that does not necessarily mean no food.  It could be just less food or smoothies.  Some people can go completely without food others cannot.  We need to get our minds clear to hear God’s still small voice speak to us.

Stitches

One of my co-workers, that was dissembling the machine so that we could replace the bearing that had gone bad due to not having a monthly cleaning, got cut.  There is a sharp blade that while he was working accidentally brushed up against it.  He had to go and get 3 stitches.

Does Jesus ever get wounded as He is working within our lives to cleanse us from all unrighteousness?  Yes, he does.  What wounds Him?  When He brushes up against sin that we do not want to let go of. “If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame.”  Hebrews 6:6.  When we want to hang on to a sin in our lives it is painful for Christ, it is like an open wound.  As we let Him remove the sin it is like stitches to His wound.

Cleaning

The repairs and cleaning on the UV machine have taken time.  It is the same in the Christian life.  When we come to God with a repentant heart He forgives us which is call Justification.  Then Sanctification takes place and it is the work of a lifetime.  Just like I said above, each day we need to be going to the Lord and asking Him to show us what areas in our lives need to change.  The Lord does not show us all the damage and filth that needs to be fixed and cleaned all at once, for which I am grateful.

As we are in His Word and praying He will reveal to us the changes that need to transpire.  And as long as we surrender with each revelation He will continue to do “maintenance” work on our hearts.  He does the work but we have to allow Him to do it.  We want to say with Paul, “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved, me, and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20.  As long as self is crucified with Christ we will be willing to allow Him full access to our lives.  We need to die daily.

Dear Father,

Forgive me for the wounds that I have caused You.  I want to surrender my full life to You and let You have full access.  Keep everything clean for me each day.  Prompt my heart to seek You.  Thank You for Your patience and love.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Let Jesus have full access today.  Surrender all and let Him come in and clean you and maintain you.  Spend time in God’s Word each day and be much in prayer and He will see you through every difficulty.

Love you all.

Have you ever felt seized up (hopeless)?  As you sought God, what did He do for you?  I would love to hear your story.

 

 

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“The Love/Hate Relationship With Technology!!”

How are your technology skills?

Is it something you love to do?  Do you find that you love the results, once it is figured out, but getting there is a pain?  I love the results but many times getting there is so hard.

I have had trouble most recently.  It actually has to do with posting my blogs.  I have been posting them for a while; it may have been a year now.  But trouble erupted.  I have been trying on my own to figure it out.  I have contacted my hosting service and they can’t help me.  They say it is a Facebook problem.  They gave me the idea of debugging with Facebook, which I did, but all I got was some “Greek” and I have no idea how to fix it.  I am not a programmer.  I haven’t wanted to call WordPress because even though I have a free version it cost to ask questions.  And then there is the question, will they really know the answer or will they just tell me it is a Facebook problem.  How do you contact Facebook anyway?  That seems like an impossible option.

As I have been going through this process I discovered something very significant.  I can’t do it myself.  Oh, I can keep busy trying, which I did for hours, but I just kept failing.  I discovered the only way I could succeed was to go to the experts.  In order to go to the experts, WordPress, it cost me money.  Because it would cost money I kept trying and trying myself but when I realized I am just failing over and over again I finally gave up and made the call.

It made me think of my Christian walk.

I find many times trying to fix myself.  But then I discover that the harder I try to figure out the “technology” of my heart all I have is a heart deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked and I don’t even know my heart.

When I get desperate enough I go to the “Expert Technical Support” (Jesus).  He is the only one that knows the technology of my heart.  Why do I keep trying on my own instead of going to the Expert? For the same reason, I didn’t want to go to WordPress.  It costs!  You might be saying,  “What do you mean it cost?”  It is a free gift!”  Yes and no.  Forgiveness is a free gift but I have to ask for it.  Salvation is a free gift but there are conditions, so technically it is not free, it cost.  What does it cost me?  Everything!   It cost me full surrender.  It cost me all my rights. I have to allow the Technician access to my heart.

Look at Calvary and tell me that there is no cost.

It cost Christ suffering, indescribable beyond words.  The physical pain was not the most difficult, it was the mental anguish, the separation from His Father that was brought on by all our sins.  It cost the life of the Son of God.

Everything that we do needs to be done through the eyes of seeing Jesus dying on the cross for us.  Are the next words I’m going to say going to be Christlike?  Is the next thing I am going to watch, listen to, or do going to reflect Christlikeness or is it reflecting the things of this world?

My link to my WordPress Blog was not speaking to Facebook because there were some pathways that were not right.  There was some programming that had to be fixed and I was unable to do it.  Reality is that as humans we have some “programming” that needs fixing.  “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.  Isaiah 55:8, 9.

We can try to reprogram our ways and our thoughts to God’s ways but we will fail over and over.

The truth is, we are not capable of reprogramming ourselves.  We need the expert Technician to do the reprogramming for us.  Salvation is free, just like my free version of WordPress but the reprogramming is not.  Just like WordPress did all the work after I paid the price, Jesus, the Technician will do all the work after I have paid the price.  What is the price? The price is a full surrender of my life.  Allowing Him to come in and for me to submit all to Jesus.

The WordPress technician could not go into my program until I “surrendered” my blog to him and allowed him full access to go in and do the fixing.  If I had kept trying to go in and change or take back what he was trying to do it would have never gotten fixed.  So with Christ, He wants full access to our lives.  And we have to keep allowing full access to our lives and continue to follow His instructions or we will not be prepared for Him when He comes to take us home.

Dear Father,

We want to be ready when You come.  The hardest thing to do is to let You have full control.  We feel out of control when we give up.  Help us realize the freedom and peace that comes when we give it all to You. “Lord, take our hearts; for we cannot give it.  It is Thy property.  Keep it pure, for we cannot keep it for Thee.  Save us in spite of ourselves, our weak, unchristlike self.  Mold us, fashion us, raise us into a pure and holy atmosphere, where the rich current of Thy love can flow through our souls.”

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Give your whole life to Jesus today and let Him have full control.  It will cost the death of self but it is worth every cent.  And when it is all said and done He will have the technology of our hearts programmed so that we will be ready to go home with Him.

Love you all.

Have you had a technology issue?  What spiritual application can you apply to it? Please share your ideas

 

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“I Made a Commitment, Now What?!!!”

Have you ever made a commitment to do something?  Maybe you committed to meet with a friend.  Or maybe you committed to doing something with your son or daughter.  Or maybe you have committed to giving money to someone or even God.  How well do you keep your commitments?

We need to be cautious about making commitments.  I think it is important to really think through the commitments that we plan to make because what we commit to we should follow through with.  The other thing is that when we make a commitment we need to leave self out of it.  Are we committing to this for us or for them, or for some advantage or maybe even a blessing?

It makes me think about tithe paying.  I have a conviction to pay tithe and offerings through my local church.  It helps to pay my pastor, help missionaries, pay for Christian teachers, etc.  But why do I do it?  Do I do it because I want the Lord to bless me?  Or do I do it because I love the Lord and I want to support His cause to save souls?  The motive is so important.  I want to be motivated by love for God.

The reason I do pay is that God has asked me to.  Yes, I want to be blessed as well but I realize that His blessing may not be monetary, which I am perfectly happy with.  I also realize that obeying the Lord does not always bring “peace”.  I want to clarify.  We can have peace in obeying God but we may not have “peace”.  When we obey God, Satan does not like it and he is going to bring trials and storms our way.  But the blessing is that, as we trust God we can have peace knowing that we are in harmony with God and His Word as we go through the storms.

We have been struggling financially for quite a few years.  During that time we got ourselves into a lot of credit card debt.  Last year we went to a Dave Ramsey Seminar for the second time.  This time my husband really got on board.  We have been doing the Snowball Method for our debt, which has been working very slowly.  There are also those bills that end up “falling below the line”; if you have been through Dave Ramsey’s Seminar you know what I am talking about.

We also owed a lot of taxes this year.  When you get into a lot of credit card debt the government doesn’t take that into account.  So you work hard to make more money in order to pay off the credit cards and the government considers you making more so they charge you more taxes and the vicious cycle goes on.  So this year we owed more taxes and had to put in an extension.  We finally filed Oct. 15 and paid what we could toward the taxes.  We had to step out in faith because we really did not have the money to pay and still pay our bills.

We have recently started another business.  It is a water loss business.  The basics are, you get a leak that floods your house or business, we come in and extract and dry it out.  Right after we stepped out in faith to pay the majority of our taxes we got a big water job call.  Praise the Lord!  We are still praying in Faith that we will get paid right away for the job.  These insurance jobs can take up to 4 months to be paid but we know God can make it quicker.  We have seen Him do it.

There is another thing that I stepped out in faith and did a couple of weeks ago.  I received my check from where I work.  I work part-time and I have mostly been using that money for anything you would buy at a store, food and such, whatever the household needs are.  As I shared above I have a commitment to paying tithe and offering.  I also decided to commit the same percentage that I give to the Lord to put toward my smallest credit card to get it paid off, the Snowball Method.  So I figured it all out and submitted the payment to my church for the Lord and paid an extra amount toward my lowest credit card.  A few days later my boss called me in to talk to me and let me know he was giving me a dollar raise.  Wow!  The blessings of the Lord are so wonderful.

It can be hard to step out in faith not knowing the outcome.  And we still don’t know how we will make it for the next day, week, or month.  Is it scary? Yes!  But as I continue to give it to the Lord and let Him work out the details, is so much better than trying to make it happen myself.  As long as we are doing our part we have to let God do the rest or it will destroy us physically, emotionally, spiritually, and maybe even financially.

Dear Father,

Thank You for Your blessings.   To be honest it is really a struggle to trust You.  Thank You for Your patience with us.  Continue to guide and lead us.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Do your part today and give the rest to God.  He will see you through.

Do you have a story to share?  How has God blessed you when you stepped out in faith?  I would love to hear your story.  It is always encouraging to hear others faith stories.

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“Dog Attack!!!”

Have you ever experienced a dog attack?  I don’t know about you but I love dogs.  I am an animal lover in general but dogs are probably my favorite.  But dogs, like any creature, including the human creature, become how they are treated.  There are dogs that are great family dogs for their gentleness but when placed in a home where they are treated mean they become mean.  They are yelled at all the time.  They can’t do anything right.  They are tied up all the time or shoved in a small place to exist.  Puppies can be so cute but how they are raised and treated can make them either mean or loving.

I remember one time when I was in town, pulling up to a store, and parking.  I got out of my car and headed for the store not thinking any danger was at hand.  As I walked passed this truck a dog fiercely poked his head out of the truck and came within a short distance of biting me in the head.  I could feel his breath.  I was afraid to even go by to get back into my vehicle; I was parked right next to it.  I stayed in the store a while waiting for the truck to leave.  I also wanted to talk to the person of the truck.  I don’t really remember the end of the story.  If I am remembering correctly I didn’t end up talking to the person I just crawled in from the other side of the vehicle and left.  The part I will never forget is almost being bit.

How animals are treated has a lot to do with how they turn out, loving or mean.  The same is true with children.  Children always have the freedom to choose what direction they will go.  But a child that is raised in an environment that is full of unconditional love has a way better chance of becoming a loving person.  Than a person who is raised in an environment where they can never do anything right, in the eye of the parent, no matter what they do.  They are demeaned, yelled at, hit, etc., how can they survive.

The question is if you have been an unloving parent is there hope?  There is always hope in love.  But it can be a very difficult road.  It takes time to heal.  Have you ever seen a dog that has been abused change after being in a loving home?  Absolutely!  But it takes time.  And there are dogs where they have not been able to rehabilitate; they have been through so much abuse.  The same holds true with children as well.  It all depends on how long it has been going on and how severe the abuse.  But I do believe there is hope.  If you are willing to make changes in your choices and you allow God to be a part of helping you, He can bring healing.

We live in a generation where a lot of us did not learn to love growing up.  Some of us have no idea what love is.  You may have grown up in a home where, basically, no love was shown to you.  With each generation that goes by where no one demonstrates love because they never saw love demonstrated, it gets worse.  In this generation what love is, seems very messed up. Everything that is watched listened to, or demonstrated is full of so much self that true love is not revealed.  How can we learn to truly love?  God will help us when we ask Him to give us His love.  Reality is we can not truly have an unselfish love without God-loving through us.  But what can we do to change mistakes we have made with our children or anyone and show them, love?  Here are a few tips that I would encourage you to look at.  I have been reading “The Five Love Languages of Teenagers” by Gary Chapman so some of what I will be sharing will be from this book.

  1. Ask your child to forgive you. Start by going to your child or whoever it may be and ask for their forgiveness.  Now it may be hard for them to readily forgive you because of their past experiences with you.  You may have said, “I am sorry” off the cuff many times but your behavior continued.  Gaining their trust will take time and healing will take a long time.  Ask God for His blessing.
  2. Figure out what their love language is. You need to love them in a way that they can accept the love.  Gary Chapman shares 5 love languages.
    1. Words of Affirmation. This is something that is really good for everyone.  In a world that is so negative, these words can change a person’s life.  But there are ones where this is their primary love language and they just thrive when they hear words that affirm them.  You may think there is nothing good in your child to affirm.  But if you look closely you will find it.  We can be so negative as parents that we tend to look over the good things our kids do because we just expect the good.  Listen to what others say about your kids, a lot of times that can give you a clue.  And as you affirm them in the good you will actually start seeing more good.  You will see more good for two reasons, one they will start doing more good things because they are getting positive reinforcement and two you will change your attitude so you can see more good.  And if this is your child’s primary love language he/she will thrive.
    2. Physical Touch. I would start by saying appropriate physical touch.  I am not going to get into the right and wrongs here, read Gary’s book for that.  But for some children, this is very important.  With my own children, I can see who it is important to and who it is not.  If your teen is willing to put his/her arm around you in public, to me, that is one big sign that physical touch is important to them.    There are many statistics that show how babies thrive or die depending on physical touch.  Physical touch no matter what age can make a difference.  But for some, it is their primary love language and they will thrive if they are receiving that physical touch.
    3. Quality Time. Quality time with our children is very important no matter what their primary love language is.  But I think defining what quality time is, is important.  In the society in which we live there seems to be less and less time spent in actually sitting around the table and having a meal together.  Everyone is going in all different directions.  Some may be watching something, others are looking at their smartphone, it may be work and school schedules that don’t match or some may be just plain zoned out.  Having at least one meal together a day if possible is important for communication time.  Planning is important.  If plans are not made and scheduled in, it won’t happen.  Those that have this as their primary love language will find someone to spend quality time with if it is not you, as a parent.  So make this a priority.  Really take a look at what quality time is.  It requires communication.  Some may say, “I watch something with my child at least 2 to 3 times a week.”  I don’t want to burst your bubble but that is not quality time.  It may be the easy way out but it is not quality time.  If you want to see your child where quality time is their love language thrive, spend time with them.
    4. Acts of Service. We should be teaching our children to serve others and how we do that is by the way that we live.  We should start by doing acts of service for our children.  You may find it easy to do acts of service for others outside of your home but doing it for your children may be more difficult.  It is easier outside our home because we get a pat on the back from others.  The truth is that if we can’t do it for our children but do it for others self is in control.  You may be saying, “I will make my child selfish if I do things for them.”  I am not talking about doing everything for them.  And it doesn’t need to be the same thing all the time.  Be creative.  Maybe you know that your child has a big test coming up you could say, “I know you have a big test tomorrow, I will wash the dishes tonight for you so you can get right to it.”  You aren’t washing the dishes for them every night but once in a while.  Maybe they have been back late from school because of some sports event and you fed the pets already for them.  Make a list and be creative.  If this is your Child’s love language they will beam with joy.  Most likely if this is their primary love language they already do the same for others.
    5. There are children that just are overjoyed and feel very loved if they receive gifts.  It doesn’t have to be big.  It could just be a little note on their pillow at night that says your thinking of them and love them.  It could be an extra treat that you give them wrap as a gift.  Be creative and I know that you can come up with some great ideas.  And their need for feeling loved will be met.
  3. In all these things prayer is the key to help you in knowing which love language your child has and how to connect with them through it.  Pray for your children daily and for yourself that you won’t blow it again.  We all have made mistakes as parents and we need to go forward asking God and our children to forgive us.  And then rely on God, surrendering each day to Him.

Even if your children are older reconnect with them by following these steps as well.  God is amazing at bringing healing if we surrender and allow Him to work.

Dear Father,

Forgive us for not always being the parents we should be.  Help us as we surrender all to You and move forward in a better direction.  Give us wisdom and creative ideas on how to love our children.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Surrender all to God today and reconnect with your children.

Love you all.

Have any of you used the 5 Love Language rules with your children & teen?  What were the results?  I would love to hear your success stories.

 

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“Are You Complaining Again?!!!”

Do you ever find yourself complaining?  It seems that your natural nature just wants to complain no matter what.  When blessings come you seem to act like this is the way things are supposed to be so you don’t even really acknowledge them.  Then when bad things happen you start complaining and totally miss the blessings you could have.

Don’t worry you are not alone.  I am right there along with you.  It is so easy to look at others and wonder why they are complaining but then we turn around and do the same thing.

Recently I have been “trying” for the umpteenth time to read my Bible through.  I have tried many times and have always got bogged down somewhere around Deuteronomy.  In the last year, I heard of this idea of reading four chapters a day, one chapter in the Old Testament starting with Genesis, one chapter from Psalms, one chapter from Proverbs, and one chapter in the New Testament.  I have appreciated the idea because it helps break up some of those harder to read areas.  I was already in Numbers when I started the idea.  So I have been reading a lot about the Children of Israel.

As I have been reading I keep thinking how stupid can they be.  I mean God just brought them out of the land of Egypt, where they had been slaves for many a year.  The miracles that God performed for them were amazing.  But then the next trial came and all they could do is complain.  “Why did you bring us out of slavery, to just kill us off?”  What?!  You have got to be kidding me.  If God could bring them out of slavery couldn’t He feed them or provide water for them?  I shake my head as I read but then I realize I am not any different.  What is wrong with us?  We keep going back to default, our natural sinful nature.

There was the time where some of the Children of Israel were complaining about the leadership.  They felt they could do better.  God had the earth open up and swallow up the rebellious group and the Children of Israel fled.  But then the next day they came complaining that Moses had killed the people of the Lord.  What?!  As if Moses could open up the earth.  What were they thinking?!  God sent a plague and a big number died.

Then a few chapters later they are complaining again to Moses for bringing them out of Egypt because of lack of water and bread.  The Lord sent fiery serpents among the people.  When someone was bit they would die.  A lot of people died.  Then the people confessed that they had sinned and were begging to have the snakes taken away.  God instructed Moses to make a fiery serpent and place it on a pole and if a person was bitten and they would look they would live.  They had confessed their wrongs now they needed to look and live.  It was simple but not all of them even looked to live.  Did their complaining end there, no.

But are we really any different?  Where has God brought us from?  What slavery has He brought us out of?  He has brought us “out of the house of bondage”(sin) but we complain.  We want to go back to the place of “bondage” because we can do what we want.  We have all the music, movies, games, clothes, entertainment, food, etc., that we want.  There are no “restrictions”.  But is that really true?  We can do whatever we want but we are slaves to alcohol, drugs (legal or non-legal), depression, anger, overweight, etc.  It does not really sound like happiness.

What we forget is what God has done for us.  He brought us out of the bondage of sin but we keep looking back at the “fun” of sin.  We keep forgetting about the “food” He has provided, His Word, to sustain us through the difficult times.  We forget about the “water” that He has given so that we will not thirst again.  We forget what the slavery was really like.

And the most amazing thing is that He came to this earth and was lifted up on a “pole”, the cross so that we can look and live.  He took on the sins of the whole world and died so that we may live if we so choose.  Why is it so hard to choose life over death?  There is a devil that shows us “all the glories of this world” and we think we need to have them.  But the reality is the things of this world only bring misery.  I can speak from experience.  Many may think that they are happy in their life of sin but in reality, they are not.

When I look at the Children of Israel I ask myself why did they keep going down this road?  Why did they want to go back to slavery?  Here are some ideas for us to look at and learn from.

  1. They forgot their past history. If we forget our past history and what the Lord has done for us we tend to want to go back to that life of “slavery”.
  2. They focused their eyes on the problem rather than the problem solver. They took their eyes off of God.  We do that all the time as well.  When problems arise instead of focusing on it we need to go to God with it.  He can handle anything.  He can take care of all problems.  And He will do it in such a way that we will grow spiritually.
  3. They complained. They spent so much time complaining and we can do the same thing.  We are supposed to be thankful in all things.  It is hard to be thankful but if we really have faith and trust in God we can be thankful.

Yet despite all that they did God still loved them.  It is beyond comprehension.  He still wanted to save them.  And He still wants to save us.  What can we do to stay focused on the right things?

  1. Get a grateful journal. We need to write down all the things the Lord does for us.  Every time He does something for us no matter how small we should be writing them down.  When things get tough and we are having a hard time remembering, we need to get out our grateful journal and read it.
  2. Read God’s Word. We need to be reading God’s Word so that we can see how He worked in the lives of those in the Bible.  We will find encouragement and comfort there.
  3. We need to focus our eyes on the Problem Solver. We need to go to God with our problems.  Prayer is the key to open heaven’s floodgates.  I love how one author puts it,  “Keep your wants, your joys, your sorrows, your cares, and your fears before God. You cannot burden Him; you cannot weary Him. He who numbers the hairs of your head is not indifferent to the wants of His children. “The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.” James 5:11. His heart of love is touched by our sorrows and even by our utterances of them. Take to Him everything that perplexes the mind. Nothing is too great for Him to bear, for He holds up worlds, He rules over all the affairs of the universe. Nothing that in any way concerns our peace is too small for Him to notice. There is no chapter in our experience too dark for Him to read; there is no perplexity too difficult for Him to unravel. No calamity can befall the least of His children, no anxiety harass the soul, no joy cheer, no sincere prayer escape the lips, of which our heavenly Father is unobservant, or in which He takes no immediate interest. “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3. The relations between God and each soul are as distinct and full as though there were not another soul upon the earth to share His watchcare, not another soul for whom He gave His beloved Son.” SC 101.
  4. When we are tempted to complain let’s be positive. We need to focus on the positive.  This can be hard at times but we can re-train ourselves.  We need to look at the cross and what Christ has done for us and we need to be grateful.  He suffered greatly to bring us out of the slavery of sin.  And no matter what we are going through we can look and live.

Dear Father,

We live in troublesome times.  We need You more than ever.  Thank You for the stories of the Bible that can help us keep all things in perspective.  You are the One that can bring us through every difficulty.  Continue to prompt our hearts to turn to You as easily as the flower turns to the sun.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

I am so grateful that each day can be a new day with a new start.  Start new today.  Make a commitment to stay fully connect to Jesus and keep your eyes on Him.

Love you all.

What story in the Bible has been an inspiration to you?  What have you learned from the story?

 

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“Are You Aligned Or Do You Need To Adjust?”

Have you ever planned your day?  You have everything lined up exactly in a way that should make everything go smoothly.  But then things start happening and your day is falling apart.  It can be so frustrating.  It may be so disastrous that you don’t even want to start another day.

I work at a print shop and run the digital.  We often have a two-sided card, flyer, postcard, etc. to print.  Most of the paper I run is too heavy to duplex.  Besides, it takes longer to print when you duplex.  So I run one side at a time.  Now when you are setting up for printing it is very important that you have a gutter and crop marks.  This makes it a lot easier for the guys that have to cut things out.  We may be printing a sheet of business cards 20 up on a sheet and they need to have the marks to know where to cut.

Once I am done printing the first side I take the paper and replace it back in the drawer for printing the second side.  You start by printing one so you can check to make sure you put the paper incorrectly.  You don’t want the picture on the second side to be upside down.  On the most part I know, now, how to put the paper in so it is rarely put in the wrong.  There are exceptions when designs are out of the ordinary.

The other thing that I am looking for is to see if my gutter and crop marks are aligned.  I take a utility knife and cut the crop mark on the front and look at the back and see if it came through at the crop mark on the back.  If not there is a problem.  If I sent it back for the guys to cut without it being aligned right there would be things cut off the back side that should not be cut off.  It may cut off words, pictures, logos, etc and it would not be acceptable to the client.

If my crop marks are not aligned I have to go onto my computer and make some adjustments until they are perfectly aligned.

It made me start to think about our spiritual lives.  We need to be aligned with God.  I picture myself on one side of the picture and Jesus and His Word on the other side.  The gutter and crop marks need to be aligned.  If they are not then I need to do some adjusting in my life.  When I am adjusting the alignment in the print shop sometimes it takes a couple or more times to get it just right.  I think in our spiritual walk it is the same way.  We do some adjusting in our lives thinking that we are aligned but then we realize we need even more adjusting.  In our walk with God, we will be always adjusting as we learn more and more.

In the print shop if I were to send something back to the cutters to cut without those gutters and crop marks it can be disastrous.  But a lot of times they can cut things out if they realize to start with that they are not aligned.  It takes painstaking time and a lot of times the objects may end up a little smaller than planned.  In our spiritual lives if we don’t stay aligned with God He works to reach our hearts with means that may not be so pleasant.  There will be a cutting away process that is painful.  And we may come out a little “smaller” than if we would have chosen His route to start with.  There will be wounds that He wanted us to be able to avoid.  But often we go on in our stubborn ways and think we know better.

The question is, “how do I get aligned with God?”  It starts with having a relationship with Him.  We can’t get to know someone and build a relationship with him or her without spending time.  We need to spend time with God so that we can get to know Him.  We need to spend time in His Word and in prayer with Him.  Prayer is a two-way conversation.  We often pour our hearts out to God but we forget to be silent and listen.

  • Spend time in His Word with much prayer. Reading God’s Word is the way to get to know Him.  I recently ran across some information that I believe can be helpful to you on how to study your Bible.  This can make it easy and fun.  It is “How to Study the Bible With the 5RS Method”, by Alicia Michelle.
    • Read the verse. This is pretty simple you just read whatever verse you have picked out.  I think starting with the book of Proverbs may be a good place to start.  Pick a chapter and go for it, starting with one verse each day.
    • Rewrite the verse. Then you write it down.
    • Restate the verse. Here you will restate the verse using different words that still convey the same message.  You are just expressing it in a different way that may make it more meaningful to you.  You can do this by taking each of the words and finding synonyms.
    • Relate the verse. Take a moment and really think about what this verse is about and how it can apply to your life.  What are you learning in this verse that you want to put in action?
    • Respond to the verse. This area involves prayer.  Responding to the verse through prayer.  Asking God’s help with what action you want to make in changing your life.

These are some easy things we can do that can help us get aligned with God.  As we learn and follow what the Lord teaches us we will grow in Him.

Dear Father,

As we study Your Word send Your Spirit to enlighten our hearts.  Convict us on what changes we need to make so that we can be aligned with You.  Thank You for Your love and forgiveness.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Get into the Word today.  Make it a daily habit.  You will draw closer to Him and be aligned with Him as You study the light and take heed to the light.

Love you all.

What is your method of connecting with God and becoming more aligned to Him?

 

 

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“Are You Making Holes?”

Have you ever felt like you are being filled with holes?  As we go through life there are things that happen that feel like holes in our lives.  We all know the saying, “Sticks and stone may break my bones but words will never hurt me.”  But how true is this saying?  It sounds “good” but in reality, it is not true.

Reality is what people say to us can stick with us for the rest of our lives and give us the trend of our life as well.  We can also say things to ourselves as well that can destroy our effectiveness in life.  It can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Words do affect.  Not only do others words affect us we can also affect others with our words.  We tend at times to be so self-absorbed that we only focus on what others say to or about us rather than what we say to or about others.

It reminds me of a story I heard once.  There was this little boy who had a really bad temper. His dad gave him a bag of nails and a hammer. He told him that every time he lost his temper he wanted him to nail a nail into the back fence post. So the first day he nailed a lot. I can’t remember the number but it was a lot. He continued to do this every day. The boy decided that it was easier to hold his temper than to have to go and nail a nail. So after a while, he did not have to do it anymore. He told his dad and his dad told him, every day that you don’t lose your temper you can pull out a nail. Eventually, all the nails were pulled out and he went and told his dad. Then his dad took him to the post and showed him that even though the nails were gone the holes were still there. That is how it is with our words and actions. We leave holes in people and although we may apologize and they may forgive us, that can’t totally remove the wounds that it has caused, there will be scars.

We all have scars from what people have said or done throughout our lives.  And we have all caused scars in others as well.

This makes me think of the biggest scars that we have caused and it has been in our Savior.  Our sin has cost Him those scars.  The nails were put in His hands and feet because of the bad things that we have done.  And when the nails were pulled out the scars were still there and are still there.

The scars are not just still there; Jesus suffers more every time we sin.  Each time we choose to be unlike Him and sin and wound, we are also putting nails in Him. “If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.” Hebrews 6:6. Christ feels the pain every time we choose to sin.

It is so easy to say or do things without thinking. We need God’s help.  Thank the Lord that He is forgiving when we come to Him in confession.

Dear Father,

We are a people who are desperately wicked and we need You. I pray that each one of us will surrender each day to You and I am asking You to prompt us by Your Holy Spirit every time we go to do or speak so that we only do or speak that which You would have us to.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

If you have hurt others confess and God will forgive.  If you have been wounded God is the healer.  Surrender all to Him today.

Love you all.

Do you have a story of pain and hurt that the Lord brought you through?  Maybe you hurt someone, how did God help you accomplish His will through your experience?

 

 

 

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“Become Like A What?!!!”

Babies!  Who doesn’t like a baby?  They are so cute and innocent.  They have no worries, really.  Yes, they get hungry and want food.  Or they get a messy diaper and want a change.  I think most of us would love to have the innocent life a baby or young child.

Now most of us can’t remember back when we were really young.  I do have a vague remembrance when I was around 2 years old.  As I reflect on that time, I wasn’t worried.  Of course, all of us that have children can remember how our little ones did not seem to be afraid of anything.

As I reflect on little ones it makes me think of about how Jesus said that we need to become as little children to enter into the kingdom.  What exactly does that mean?  I may not understand all of it but I am going to share what comes to my mind.

  • A baby/child is humble. A little child recognizes that they are dependent on those that care for him/her.  So they look outside of themselves for daily provisions.  We need to become as little children realizing that we need to depend on God for our daily needs.
  • A baby/child have a healthy appetite. Wow, do they ever!  All of us as moms can remember what it was like to nurse our babies and try to keep up with their ravaging appetite.  And we know as parents that as the child is developing we need to be careful what we feed them.  We want them to develop an appetite that wants healthy foods.  In turn in our spiritual lives, we need to be developing the right kind of appetite.  We need to have an appetite for the “sincere milk of the Word, that we may grow”. (1 Peter 2:2).  We need to be sure we take in the Word that is unadulterated with the world’s philosophies.
  • A baby/child is teachable. We know how children like to learn.  They start learning movements, like crawling and then walking.  They may fall over or fall down but they don’t give up, they are very anxious to walk.  So they keep trying again and again.  Then they learn to talk.  They want so eagerly to learn that they are constantly asking questions.  We need to be teachable.  As we study God’s Word we should be asking God specific questions just as a child would.  And He will show us the answers.
  • A baby/child is very dependent on the ones caring for them. A baby or child will cling to the one that cares for them when there is any trouble.  They may be afraid of something or even if they have fallen and gotten hurt they cling to their parents or someone they trust.  They feel safe with the one they trust no matter what the problem is.  In turn, as we recognize our needs we should be motivated to abide in Christ.  We should be clinging to Him in all our difficulties.  We should cling to His promises.  This should bring us a peace that passeth all understanding.
  • A baby/child wants to be with their parents. One thing that I noticed when my children were little, it didn’t matter where I was they wanted to be with me.  They were always underfoot and that was frustrating to me at times.  But they were at peace as long as they were with me.  They also would know what was pleasing to me and what was disappointing to me.  They would always try their best to please me.  If they did do something that displeased me they were quick to say I am sorry, when they could talk, but when they couldn’t they had their way of making up, because they did not want the relationship to be broken.  To enjoy our fellowship with Christ we should not allow anything to come between us.  We should not allow our relationship with Him to be broken by unconfessed sin.  When we know we have done wrong we should immediately admit our wrongs and ask God to forgive us.

Dear Father,

Forgive me for not staying connected with You as I should.  Forgive all my wrongs.  Lord, Come and fellowship with me today.  I want that unbroken fellowship.  Convict my heart of those things that come between You and me.  Thank You for Your love and forgiveness.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

It is never too late to become as little children.  Start today.  And if you fall, just like a child learning to walk, immediately get up and keep going.

Love you all.

What are your thoughts about becoming like a child?  How has having the faith of a child been a blessing in your life?  I would love to hear your comments.

 

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“The Hurricane Is Coming, Get Out!!”

Disaster!  Have you ever been involved in a disaster?  Maybe you have had a fire near you or even had to actually evacuate and even lost your house.  Or maybe you have been in the pathway of a tornado or hurricane.  Or maybe your house has been struck by lightning, which is what happened to our neighbours.  Whatever the disaster, it can be so devastating.  Fear can take over and even anger can come into play.

I went to a continuing education convention to do with my business.  It was a very big convention with people coming in from many different locations.  Some of our group came from Florida, Montana, and Oregon.  With all the devastating fires in Montana and Oregon, there was constant watch to make sure at any point if they needed to drop everything and rush home.  And then those that were from Florida had to change flights and head home almost immediately, not knowing for sure if they could even make it to their home before the devastation from the hurricane would hit their house.

Those that are living near the fires not only have to worry about losing their houses but they also are struggling with their health due to the smoke.  And those that are not near the fires have also suffered from the smoke.  The oxygen is so polluted that it is having effects on many.

This summer has seemed such a time for disasters with all the hurricanes and fires.  And many people can be living in fear of tomorrow.  Last week a friend packed what they could in their car with them and their parents and headed out of the danger zone.  It was taking 11 plus hours to travel a 4-hour distance.  There have been whole islands that have been destroyed with still another hurricane coming.  And then there is fire sweeping across many states destroying land and homes.

If we have not been directly affected yet by a devastating disaster we wonder what might be coming our way and if we have something to fear.  It is easy to think that everyone else is having trouble, we are fine but then are we really safe.

The question is how do you prepare for such devastating disasters.  What things are the most important?  Some may think about getting their things out.  Others just worry about themselves getting out.  While still others want to help their family and friends out too.

It makes me think of the Christian walk.  The most devastating disasters are yet to come.  And as Christians how are we preparing for it.  To me the most important things are people.  We can’t save things but we can save people.  We may not be able to save the bodies but we can save the souls.  All we need to fear is that which is “able to destroy both soul and body”.

So what can we do?  I believe that God is waiting for a people who perfectly reflect His character.  As we do this, His truth will go to the entire world.  Those that are seeking for something different will be drawn to us by the love of God because we are perfectly reflecting His character.

We cannot do this on our own.  I heard said, “’Taking up your cross’ involves cheerful submission to the trials and afflictions that God allows in the course of following Him.”  As we take up our cross it leads us toward reflecting Christ.  We will gain:

  • Victory over the temptation to sin.
  • Intimate fellowship with Christ.
  • Fulfilling God’s purpose for our life.

I also heard said, “Cross-bearing flows out of love for Christ and involves doing whatever is necessary to accomplish God’s will.”  We need to do this daily.  The question is, what does taking your cross up daily mean?

  • Cease to make independent, selfish decisions and begin to fully follow God’s will.
  • Go beyond short-term commitments to total surrender to God.
  • Instead of focusing on personal pleasures, live for God.
  • Evaluate every word and deed based on how they show God’s love.
  • Forsaking the distractions of worldly things and activities.

We have just a little time to escape from the “Hurricane, fire, etc.” of this world.  We need to be packing up all our “valuables” so that when the time comes we can escape.  The valuables are people’s character.  We can only take care of our own characters.  But if our characters are reflecting Christ we will influence others so that their characters will be ready.

Dear Father,

Help us keep our focus where it should be.  We know that Your coming is soon.  We ask You to surround us with Your love.  And as we stay close to You refine our characters so that we can be Your witnesses.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Love you all.

What experience have you had with hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, tornado’s etc.?  And how did the Lord see you through?  Share your story here.

 

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“There Is A Dead Mouse In The Toaster!!”

I don’t know about you but for us this year has been a year of mice.  Maybe once or twice a year we may have trouble with mice.  Maybe someone has left the door open or somehow they have found their way in.  But this year has been unbelievable.  I know I have talked to others that are having trouble as well this year.

This is when you really wish you had a cat.  We do have dogs and we have one that will hunt them out and catch them if he can.  He has caught two this year.  But cats are more natural at catching them.  Our problem is that we cannot have an inside cat due to allergies.  And if we have one outside they don’t last long before the coyotes get them.

So we have been doing our best to keep traps in place every night.  Some are very smart and are able to get the peanut butter off without getting caught.  Still, others get the peanut butter off of one or two traps but the third one gets them.  And still, others don’t make it passed the first trap.

Now in this part of the story, you may not want to be eating because it can definitely take your appetite away.  You can’t say I did not warn you.

Probably two months ago we started to smell a dead mouse.  It was in the corner of our kitchen.  We figured it was a nest of babies somewhere behind the cabinets or in the wall that had died after we trapped their mom.  Whatever the case it stunk terribly but there was nothing we could do.  We searched the area and could not find anything.

As time passed the stench got less and less.  Here a few days ago my daughter came and said, “Mom, it looks like there is a leg of a mouse under the toaster.”  As I investigated, sure enough, it looked like a leg.  I shared with my husband and he took the toast out and was trying to see if he could take it apart to see if there was a mouse in it somewhere.  As he was looking at things he could see the tail of the mouse.  It is a well-designed commercial toaster and he couldn’t figure out how to take it apart to get the mouse out.  It is going to take wisdom from the designer to know how to get it out.

Apparently what happened is this mouse found a way to get into a portion of the toaster and got electrocuted.  It was not in the area where you put the toast.  So every time we would toast some bread he was getting heated up and it stank.  We did, at one point, clean out the toaster because there was a lot of burnt rice cake in there and we were thinking that it might be the burnt rice cakes that we were smelling.  But it did not help.  So then we thought the smell was a dead mouse in the wall.  Needless to say, now that we know, no one wants to use the toaster.  And in the mean time, we are still working on how to clean it out.

This made me think of our Christian lives.  We may have a dead “mouse” in the recesses of our lives.  It is buried deep within.  We don’t want people to know about it and we try to keep it hidden.  But it is stinking.  It may be stinking by coming out in anger, critical attitudes toward others, or in many other ways.  The problem is we can’t figure out how to get into the mechanics of our “toaster”, heart.  We can see it but can’t figure out how to get to it and get it removed.  Here are some things that can help us.

  • First be honest with yourself. Too many times we don’t really want to look to see what the “smell” is all about.  If we don’t look maybe it will go away.  But what it does is destroys our lives.
  • Second, submit yourself to God.  We must first choose to place ourselves completely under God’s authority and control.  We struggle with this because we want full control.  Here is the problem, there are only two powers and if we are not allowing God to control the devil has full reign.
  • Resist the devil. There are two things the devil likes to do about those dead smelly things that we have buried in the recesses of our hearts.  He likes to tell us that we are too bad to be to come to God.  But this is a lie.  He also wants to tell us that the deadly things are not that big of a deal.  We need to resist the devil and the things that he tells us.  We can resist Satan by using the powerful sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
  • Draw nigh to God.  God wants our intimate fellowship with Him through prayer.
  • Cleanse your hands.  We must confess and forsake all known sin in our lives.
  • Purify your heart. This comes as we fill our hearts with God’s Word and allow His Holy Spirit to freely remove anything in our lives that is not of God.

Dear Father,

Give us Your grace to overcome.  Thank You for Your love, even when we stink.  Help us to look honestly at ourselves and let You have full control.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

No matter what you have done in your life God will accept you as you come to Him.  Give all to Him today.

Love you all.

Do you have a mouse story?  I would love to hear it.