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“Who Are Your True Friends?”

Have you ever really wondered who your true friends are?

Maybe you even question whether you have a true friend?  True friends seem to be hard to come by these days.  Then the question would be, what is a true friend?

I remember, as a kid having what I thought was a true friend.  Then one day someone came to visit our home.  And then we went to the home of my best friend and her family.  After this person visiting had said something to my best friend, which to this day I don’t know what was said, our friendship was over.  It was like it never existed.  I am sure each of us has gone through similar situations.

I was reminded this past weekend how important friendships are.  Our family spent Thanksgiving with some great friends.  Friendships are a blessing and we don’t want to lose them.

A Friend

Friendships are either like a two-way street or they can be like a one-way.  I think friendships can start out as a two-way street.  Your both going opposite directions, one is following Christ and the other the world.  We have these friends all around us.  They may not be our best friends but we still call them our friends.

Two-way street

The question is, what brought the two of you together as friends?  I mean your goals are obviously not the same.  Hopefully, they see something in you that they are attracted to, Jesus. And hopefully, you have a love for people and want them to know about the love of Jesus.  I would caution you here to be careful.  We need to build a friendship with people to reach them for Christ but we need to be careful that we don’t let their friendship drag us in the opposite direction that we want to be going.  We need to love them where they are at and join them in activities that are not displeasing to God.  But we need to stay away from the things that we know will get us on a one-way street going the wrong direction.

One-way street

One thing about one-way streets is that there is more than one lane.  And the other thing about one-way streets is that you can be going in the wrong direction.  Spiritually speaking one way goes toward God and His ways and the other way goes against God and His ways.  The best kind of friend to have is one that is traveling the same direction you are, toward God.  Now there is still more than one lane.  We are all on a different journey.  The Lord is working with each one of us differently so we are not all going to be in the same lane (growth level) but our goals are the same, to reach heaven.

When we have a best friend going in the same direction we need to accept them where they are and love them and we always hope they do the same for us.  This doesn’t mean at times out of love we don’t go to them and share something that we see in them that may need improvement.  But when we do we need to make sure our motives are right and God is leading us.  I would hope that my best friends would do the same for me.  We need to pray for one another as well.  We can be so close as best friends when our goals are the same.

The Best Friend

There is One Friend that is the best.  He will always love us no matter what we do.  He longs for that mutual love.  No matter what direction we go He will always be there prompting us to a better way of life but He does not force.  He wants to spend time with us but He will not join in anything contrary to His Father’s will, He will not join us in our sin.  But he is still there waiting when we come back.  He is a friend that will always lead us in the right direction.  But we have to choose it.

Our earthly friends may disappoint us but Jesus will never disappoint us.  We may be disappointed in the direction that He leads us. At this point, we need to examine our hearts.  Do we really love and trust Him?  Trust is a part of friendship and our earthly friends may not always be trustworthy but Jesus always is.  He knows everything about us. And He knows us so well he knows what is best for us.

Dear Father,

Thank You for giving Your Son.  Thank You that He is the best friend that we can have. He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.  Continue to prompt our hearts to be on the one-way street toward You.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Make a commitment to be on that one-way road toward heaven.  The way is narrow but there is room for everyone that wants to go there.  Praise God!

Love you all.

Do you have a best friend?  What makes them so special to you?

 

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“Do I Have to be Thankful?!”

Thanksgiving

This is the week that most people focus on thankfulness.  There is so much planning that goes into that one “special” day that we “try” to focus on being thankful.  I think that mostly it has become a commercialized, have fun day.  A lot of work goes into fixing a big meal, most people overeat and go away feeling less than thankful.

What does the word Thanksgiving really mean?

1) The act of giving thanks; grateful acknowledgment of benefits or favor, especially to God.  2) An expression of thanks, especially to God.  3) A public celebration in acknowledgment of divine favor or kindness.  4) A day set apart for giving thanks to God.

I wonder how many of us really think about what this day is all about.

Looking back.

When the pilgrims set out from England they wanted to live somewhere they would be free to worship how they wanted.  They landed on the shores of America where they worked on building homes and finding food.  But then winter came and it was very hard.  There were many people who died.  Much more would have died but one particular Indian stepped in and helped them.  They were shown how to plant corn and other plants.  He also showed them how to identify plants that they could eat and also use as medicine.  At the end of that summer, they had enough food to make it through the winter.  They decided to celebrate.  A day of prayer and Thanksgiving was declared.  They invited their Indian friends and they feasted, played games, and celebrated.  The hardships were difficult but the blessings of God were abounding.

What about us?

When you think about your everyday life how thankful are you?  When I was thinking about the coming Thanksgiving I wonder if our focus is where it should be.  We spend a lot of time making a nice meal.  Some people spend time watching sports, others are spending time doing things with their families and/or friends, and still, others may be alone.  But where are our thoughts?  Is it just another holiday?  What can we do to make it different for us this year?  Let’s try to really make it a day of Thankfulness.

Thankfulness

I know having a thankful/grateful journal would be a good start for all of us because we need to be thankful every day, not just Thanksgiving.  Here are some things that we can be thankful for.

  1. We can be thankful to God and His Son. When I think about what They were willing to do for me it gives me a sense of thankfulness.  I like how one author puts it; “It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ…especially the closing ones.”  If we could just really realize what Jesus did for us how can we not be thankful.
  2. Be thankful for the trials. This can be very difficult.  What I have found is that I need to realize everything that comes to me passes through the hands of Jesus.  He has a plan for each one of us.  He knows what areas of our lives that need refining.  It is through trials that our lives are refined for heaven.  As we grow through those trials it gives us the opportunity to uplift others when they go through things that are similar to what we have already experienced.
  3. Be thankful that you woke up today. We often take for granite that we can get out of bed in the morning.  If it were not for God keeping our heart beating we would not be here.  He continues to keep us alive.
  4. Be thankful for your safety. We are often protected each day and don’t even give recognition to God for it.  I am looking forward to heaven so that I can see all the times the Lord has protected me and I was unaware.
  5. Be thankful for family. A lot of times we take for granite our family as well.  We just expect them to always be there and that they will do certain things to make our lives a little easier.  We expect it but often don’t thank them.  We need to be more thankful for the things our families do for us and that the Lord has given them to us.

These are just a few things that we should consider; there are many more things that could be added as well.  We need to go through life with more thankfulness.  Seeing the good in every situation will help us stay focused on thankfulness and in the end, we will feel way happier.

Dear Father,

As we focus this week on being thankful, help us to see You and what You have done for us.  Thank You for Your everlasting love.  I am so grateful for Your forgiveness.  You have given me life for which I am also grateful.  Thank You for my family and the work that You are doing within my family.  Keep me focused on You.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Start a thanksgiving list today to share it on Thanksgiving.  Let’s not forget the meaning of Thanksgiving.  And remember it throughout the year.

Love you all.

What are you especially thankful for this year?

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“Another Shooting! What Next?!!”

What next?

It seems, not a day goes by that we don’t hear of another killing or disaster. It seems impossible not to live in fear.  Do we really need to live in fear?  Is there something to be fearful of?  Do we really need to be afraid of all the things that are happening around the world?

Over the years I have read several stories about WWII.  It is one of the worst disasters in our recent history.  The amazing part of the stories that I have read is the courage and strength that these individuals had through their experiences.  Some of these stories covered people who were in concentration camps and how the Lord sustained them, as they trusted in Him.  And also of how they were a witness to those around them of the love of God.

I have read other stories that talk about German families that lived through the war and even served in the German army.  Yet, they trusted God and obeyed His leading.  They trusted God in the midst of one of the most heinous wars.  Any Christian living in that time must have thought that the world was coming to an end.  How much worse could it get?

A big thing that has changed between now and then is technology.

Yes some of them did have access to radios, going against authorities that did not want them to know what was going on.  But how did knowing what was going on change the way that they lived and what they did?  It didn’t.  They were just hoping to hear good news about an end to the war.  There was a lot of propaganda so the reality is they still did not know what the truth was.  What they learned, for the most part, did not help them through the war.  My observation was that it only made them struggle more with hating those that were doing wrong.

What about today?

We have technology at our fingertips.  We may think we know what is going on because we watch or listen to the news, we see things on Facebook or read something in a news magazine and we think we know what is going on.  And of course, Google must have the answer so we may even Google something about a rumor we heard to see what the truth is.  How can we know what the truth is?  It doesn’t matter where you look there is a bent to everything.  Everyone is sharing what they believe is happening with whatever political or religious bent they may have.  And people suck up whatever direction they want to bend.

How much do we need to know?

This is a great question.  And I believe we don’t need to know as much about what is going on through the avenues that are common today.  Why?  Because how do we know what the truth is?  Every time something happens there are people who take it by the horns and start predicting what it means, whether political or religious.  We are dealing with the mastermind of evil, not with people; we are dealing with the one that they listen to, the devil.  And a lot of them don’t even know it.  And some of them may even claim to be Christians but their focus is in the wrong camp.

What should we focus on?

Let’s focus on the Genuine, Jesus Christ.  We need to get off the negative of this world and focus on Jesus.  When we hear of things that may be happening politically and/or religiously it should send us to our knees.  We should be crying and sighing for the abominations on our knees rather than getting caught up in talking about the negative.  Everyone is a soul for the Lord and we need to pray for him or her.  We need to love them.  It is impossible to love those we despise. We need to work as Jesus worked.  He focused on the ones that had their hearts open, the ones that felt their need.  And He drew them to a connection with Him.

How do we keep the right focus?

Read & study the God’s Word.

Get into the word.  Don’t just spend time reading it but study it.  Knowing what is happening in the world is not going to get me ready spiritually.  A lot of times people talk and focus more on the evils that are happening than on God’s Word.

Make this verse the focus.

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Philippians 4:8.

When I really contemplate this verse it really makes me reevaluate what I am doing in my life.  Just because it might be true, of course, how do we really know, is it of good report and praiseworthy.  This is a powerful verse.  Everything that we do and say in life should filter through this verse and not just one aspect of the verse.  Everything we do should be able to fall under every word of this verse, not just one or two words.  One saying that I heard that really is thought-provoking, “Evaluate your activities with these questions.  Will this count in 10 years?  Will it matter in eternity?”

Spend time in prayer.

When we happen to hear about things that are happening that are not pleasant, prayer should be our response.  First, we should be sure that we are fully surrendered to God and don’t have anything in our own lives that will keep our prayers from ascending to God.  We cannot solve what is happening in our world today but we can pray.  Neither can we solve what may be happening within our families but we can pray.  We may need to ask God for His love in our hearts because we may be struggling with loving those that are doing wickedly.  Our goal should be to love all and want their salvation and work toward that end.

Let Jesus shine through us.

We need to trust in Jesus through all things.  People need to see in us the love of Jesus.  If we are caught up in the things of this world we are only going to show discouragements.  And we probably will have a downcast countenance.  We need to keep our focus in the Joy of the Lord.

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2. What do we have set before us?  We have a cross to bear.  And what is the joy set before us?  The things of this world are fleeting and our joy should be in the Lord.  The joy of the Lord should be our strength as we surrender to Him.  And through all the trials our countenance will show the joy of the Lord and someday soon we will sit down with our Lord in His kingdom.  What a joy that will be!

As we stay focused on Christ we can love the unlovely.

We always need to remember where the Lord has led us from when we look at others.  We need to see what God can do in their lives.  And as we look at them, see them through the eyes of Christ, who went to Calvary for them.  He died for all.  We can only love the unlovely as we stay surrendered to Christ.  He will love them through us.  We need to remember that we may be the only “Jesus” they ever meet.  Let’s plant the seed of Christ love.

In a world that is so corrupt at every turn, we need to keep our focus on the Lord.

We need to focus on being in right relationship with Jesus.  We need to focus on being like Christ to our families.  And as we are reflecting Christ others will want what we have.  Then we can bring others to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus.  We don’t need to worry about being ready if our focus is in the right place.  Remember focusing on the counterfeit does not help us identify the counterfeit.  Focusing on the Genuine, Jesus that will help us recognize the counterfeit.  And as we keep ourselves focused on Christ, surrendering to Him each day, we will be ready when He comes.

Dear Father,

The devil does not care what rabbit trail he gets us going down.  All he cares about is distracting us from You.  Forgive us for not always staying on the straight and narrow.  Protect us and direct us.  Help us, as we see others in this world or within our churches that do wickedly, to pray for them.  Give us your power as we see them to see You as You hung bleeding upon the cross for them.  Help us to be earnest, broken, and humble as our petitions ascend to You for wisdom that we may have success in saving not only our own souls but the souls of others as well.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Surrender all to God today.  Stay focused on Him and being in line with Him so that you will be ready when He comes.  Today may be your last.  Always be ready.

Love you all.

What do you do in order to keep your focus on the Genuine, Jesus Christ, and your mind away from the counterfeit, the things of this world?

 

 

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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?