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“Ruth, You Were a Hero to Many!!”

Hero?

What is a hero?  Is it someone famous, wealthy, known by millions, etc.?  The dictionary’s definition is, “a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.”  Probably your definition of a hero may be different than mine or even the dictionary.  We all have our own thought of what a hero is to us.  But most people if you were to ask them who their hero was they would have someone.  My definition of a hero is someone that is close to God.  And when you are around them you feel the love of God shining through them.  It doesn’t mean they are perfect but that they are striving for being the best person they can be with the help of God.

Life changes…

Life changes so quickly!!  We have lost another friend.  In one weekend we lost two friends.  This friend has lived a long life and was a very special lady.  She was an encouragement to all.  It would be hard to even put down on paper what she meant to all of us.  She was so kind and loving and accepting of all.  Thankfully she went peacefully and in a position she was very familiar with, prayer.

She was at our church for many a year.  But then moved away a few years ago so she could be near her family.  She came for a visit recently and it was so nice to see her.  As I ponder how she looked she didn’t really look any different, she looked great.  I am so thankful we all got to see her one last time and that we got to see her how we remember her, full of life.

Homeschooling

I remember years ago as I was struggling to homeschool my children.  It seemed that there was so much work that was given, especially in math.  There were so many problems to accomplish in a day that it would take up most of the morning.  It was tough and discouraging.

So as a homeschooling mom and Ruth being a retired teacher she was helpful.  I remember when she told me that as a teacher they never finished books.  She shared with me that they never did every math problem in each lesson.  That took such a stress off of me.  I would push my kids way beyond what was necessary so that we could finish the book.  And I guess mostly we still finished the book but we would skip some parts, especially in math.  What this special lady said to me helped my children and me.

My children

She so much cared for each one in our family as well as everyone around her.  When she was here for the visit recently she told me how she still had Valentine’s card that my son, Michael, gave to her.  She treasured it.  She got to tell my son as well, which was a blessing to him as he heard the news of her death.  Many years ago Michael remembers getting a letter from her that was in the shape of a fish he has fond memories of her.  She was so caring.

Jeffrey, Aaron, and Caleb also remember getting letters from her.  When I asked each one of my young people what they remembered about Ruth, the letters she wrote was their first response.  The other thing that stuck out in their minds was when she would preach.  She always gave out a paper to each one of the children with 3 or 4 words on it.  They were to keep track of how many times she said those words.  Then after the service, she would count them and see if they got all the times that she said them.  During the week they would get a little card from her with compliments on how they did.  It was special to them.

She loved children and helped out at many Vacation Bible Schools.  She told the Bible stories and the kids just loved it.  One of the things that Jeffrey and Aaron remember is that before she would tell her story she would tell all the children to look at her and stay looking at her.  She would point to the bridge of her nose and tell them to keep their eyes there.  When someone would quit looking at her she would stop talking until everyone’s full attention was on her.

She also headed up a family class at our church when there were not enough kids to have a division.  All the families with children gathered together and she taught them all. She was able to reach from the youngest to the oldest.  There was a presence about her that drew everyone’s attention without her saying a word.

My daughter does not remember as much about her as she was younger but one thing I remember is how she opened her home for a baby shower for my daughter.  She opened her home many times for many people.

Elderly

When we first got to know Ruth she was elderly, in her 70’s.  But she had a burden for the elderly.  She faithfully planned a service once a month at the local care center besides visiting there other times during the week.  It seemed to me that even though she had a heart for all people that the elderly had a special place in her heart.  I don’t think she really considered herself elderly.  She kept her mind until the end and even was still driving, not many can say that.

The other thing that she did was memorize scripture.  She could quote whole chapters from the Bible.  When she would go to a care center she would often quote from memory large portions Scripture.  I can’t remember what it was now but I do remember her quoting a lengthy portion from Scripture for a sermon once.  It was so amazing to watch.

Music

Ruth loved music.  She never wanted music to be left out.  And she loved to sing.  There was just one problem.  She could not carry a tune and she had no problem admitting to the fact.  Although she could not carry a tune I can say it still was not that difficult to sing next to her because she did not sing all over the board like some that can’t carry a tune.  She pretty much stuck to one note or maybe two.  But it did not stop her from praising the Lord.  I, along with many others, are looking forward to the day when we are before the throne of grace and we get to hear the most melodious voice of Ruth.  She will be singing with such gratitude to God for His love and mercy.

Being that Ruth was a teacher she was a planner.  She even had a plan for her memorial service.  Planned out was the songs she wanted, the speaker, the players, the singers, and some of what she wanted said.  My son, Caleb and I had the honor of being on her list to sing.  We added in my daughter, who Ruth never got a chance to hear sing.  When I was asked if we would be willing to sing, I told them how can I say no?  It was a great honor.

Praying

She was a praying woman, a person of great faith, and she prayed for many!!  I can’t imagine how much time she must have spent in prayer.  But it had to be a lot because she prayed for so many people.  I believe that is one reason she lived to be almost 96 years old.  She trusted God implicitly; at least that is how it seemed to me.  I’m sure she must have had her time of worry but she sure didn’t show it.

Prayer is the key that opens the storehouse of heaven where God is waiting and willing to pour out His blessings into our lives and Ruth knew that.  Even at the end of her life, she was found kneeling by her bed.  There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the last thing that she was doing before she died was praying.  And I believe all her prayers will ascend before the Father continually even though she is resting until He comes.

Hero

To me, Ruth was a true hero.  She never looked at herself as a hero or even considered herself anyone special.  But what made her a hero to me was her connection with Jesus.  She reflected the character of Jesus to those around her.  Was she perfect?  No, she made her mistakes.  But she would also humble herself when the Lord spoke to her heart. Humans are not perfect and we should never put people on a pedestal.  But sometimes the only Jesus people meet is the Jesus that is reflecting through us.  And Ruth was one of those people.  She reflected the love of Jesus to all.  People felt her love and felt accepted of her.  She is resting awaiting the voice of Jesus to call her name.  And I know that there are many of us that want to be there when her name is called.

Are you…

So the question is are you ready?  Are you reflecting the love of Jesus to others?  The connection that we have with our Heavenly Father is the most important connection that we can have.  I know that Ruth wants to see all those she loved in heaven with her.  But she also wants to see all those she has never even met.  That is just who Ruth was, she loved all.  What is our legacy going to be?  I pray that I can have a legacy of love.

Dear Father,

Comfort those who are hurting.  We all miss Ruth but I know her family is hurting the most because of this loss so give them extra special comfort.  Thank you for giving Ruth such a long life to share Your love with others.  May she rest in peace until You come.

In Jesus Name,

Amen.

Draw close to Jesus so that you can reflect His love to others.

Love you all.

Did you know Ruth?  How did she bless your life?

 

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“What happened to the House?!!”

Things…

This seems to be a topic I keep coming back to but I think it is so important.  We take so many things for granted every day.  We live as if life will always be the same.  You never know when life can change forever.  We need to be grateful to God each day for what we do have.

Beginning…

Many years ago when my husband and I got married we had our dreams.  We started by buying the property.  We could not afford much so we placed an old mobile home on the property and lived hauling water for 2 years.  Our dream was to live in a mobile home for a small amount of time and then build a house.

As the years passed and the children were coming, we did not have the room we needed.  We only had a single wide 2-bedroom mobile home and the one-bedroom we have always referred to as the postage stamp room.

I remember having two kids in a bunk bed in the postage stamp room.  We had a baby in our room and a toddler bed in the living room under the overhanging counter from the kitchen.

Addition…

We finally built on an addition so we had more room.  We designed it in such a way that we could pull away the mobile home and build our house.  The design included an area for taking care of my parents when needed.  This has been the master bedroom, office, music room, etc. But we are coming up to our 30th year of marriage and we do not foresee a house coming into the picture any time soon.

There have been many changes over the years.  In 1995 we put a new kitchen in our old mobile home.  Since my husband is a cabinetmaker and we have our own business it seemed logical.

I don’t even remember the year but we qualified for assistance in making the mobile home better insulated.  They came and replaced all our mobile home windows to really nice windows.  And they sealed up the bottom of the mobile home with more insulation.  It made such a difference in the winter.  One year we remodeled the bathroom, which made such a difference.  We even had a solid surface countertop, leftovers from a cabinet job we did.

Then we remodeled the back bedroom furred out the walls a little and put in more insulation.  I am not kidding when I say, when we pulled the paneling away there were areas that were just paneling space and outside metal, no insulation.  This mobile home was built in the ’60s and they saved money on insulation, Lol!  And another year we remodeled the postage stamp room and made it just a little smaller so it could get better insulation.

Difficulties!

I remember when we first moved the mobile home up to our 10 acres.  We had no clue the amount of snow we would get.  It was a mild winter and we actually moved it on the property in the winter.  And into the snow belt non-the less.

We discovered very quickly the next year that mobile homes, especially old ones, do not hold up to the snow load.  So needless to say our roof was damaged.  Our ceiling started sagging with the water load and we would put holes in the ceiling so the water could drain out.  It also did damage to the roof’s structure.  So we had to build a roof over the top.

But then…

Even though we have had difficulties it has been a roof over us and kept us warm.  It has not been our dream and we still dream of having a house someday but at least we have a place to call our own to live in.  Too many times we are not grateful for what we have and we are always looking on the other side of the fence because we think it is greener.

But then a few weeks ago the reality really hit me how much I appreciate my home even though it isn’t my dream.  We almost lost our house.

We were all gone except one of my sons.  He was working in our cabinet shop and came into the house for something.  He smelt electrical and was going around the house to see where it was coming from but he could not figure it out.  As he was standing in the kitchen, suddenly flames started coming up from behind the gas range.  Thankfully he was able to grab the extinguisher and put the fire out.  But if he hadn’t been in the house it would have been gone.

Grateful

We tend to go through life taking everything for granted.  The thought of gratefulness each day that we have a house to come home to doesn’t really cross our minds.  We don’t think about the fact that we made it to and from work, school, shopping, etc., safely.  It just seems that most of the time we take it all for granted.

A lot of us may even pray before we leave our home asking for safety but do we send up a prayer of thanksgiving when we arrive home safely.  Maybe I am the only one that forgets to be grateful but I have a feeling that is not the case.  We get so caught up in everyday life we take life for granted.

Christians

As Christians, we should always be grateful.  We should understand the sovereignty of God and the life that He sustains us with every day.  I think we often use Him as a puppet.  We expect Him to provide and do in our lives what we expect and how we think our lives should go.

Then when things come along in life that is unexpected it is harder to keep our faith.  But the reality is we need to be so close to God that when those things come it makes our faith in Him stronger.  Because we trust Him so implicitly we can go on with joy in our hearts even in sorrow.

Jesus is our example!  “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.

Christ

I believe the Father’s presence surrounded Christ when He was here on earth and that nothing was allowed but that infinite love permitted for the blessing of the world.  This was actually Christ’s source of strength. And it can be the same for us.  When we are imbued with the Spirit of Christ we abide in Christ.  So every blow that is aimed at us falls on our wonderful Savior, who surrounds us with His presence.  Everything that comes to us comes from Christ.  The most wonderful thing is that Christ is our defense.  And even greater NOTHING can touch us except by our Lord and Savior’s permission.  We have this wonderful promise that He has given us, “All things” that are permitted “work together for good to them that love God” Romans 8:28.

We can be so grateful for the promises that God has given us to cling to.  And also for His Word that we have available to us at this time.  We need to treasure it.  We never know when we may not have the privilege of having the Word.  But we can hide it in our hearts and minds so we will always have it with us, no one can take that away from us.

Dear Father,

Your love abounds and is beyond our comprehension.  Thank You for Your unfailing love.  You are always there for us for which I am grateful.  Remind me each day, Lord, that without You sustaining my life and I would not be here.  I need You to remind me that You care even when the sparrow falls.  So how much more You care for me when I fail or have any difficulties.

Remind me of the lilies of the field and the birds of the air and how You take care of them and they don’t worry as I do.  I can claim the promises You have given me that You will take care of me.  You will give me a way of escape in time of temptation.  In the time of crisis, You will work all things together for my good and the good of those around me.  I am forgetful, Lord, so I am asking You to do whatever it takes to help me remember.  Prompt me and guide me with Your presence.  Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer for not only myself but for each one of us.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Don’t take life for granted!  Be grateful each day!  And give all your worries and trials to Him.

Love you all!

What evidence has God given you that He cares?  It doesn’t matter how big or small I would love to hear your story.

 

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“How Dark is Dark?”

Darkness!

How dark is dark?  I mean really what makes darkness?  How much light does it take to see through the darkness?  Are there different kinds of darkness or different levels of darkness?  The reality is there are different kinds and levels of darkness.  Is darkness good or bad?  I believe the answer is that it can be good or bad.  Someone who lives in a city doesn’t even really know what true darkness is because there are always lights somewhere.  They can put blackout curtains on which helps.  But there is another kind of darkness that is more visible in the city.

Darkness is relative

I wear a Fitbit.  For those who may not know, a Fitbit is a kind of watch.  It not only tells the time but also keeps track of your heart rate and sleep patterns along with a few other things.  You can’t see the time without the light coming on.  So if you need to know what time it is in the night you just turn your arm toward you and most of the time it automatically comes on.  Or if I need to see in the pitch black I push a little button on the side to turn on the light.

At night our eyes get used to the darkness.  If you live in the country where it gets really dark you know what I am talking about.  You get up in the night to use the bathroom surprisingly you can see fairly well.

When I know…

Sometimes when I know some object, like the vacuum cleaner, has been left out in my room I will want a little light to make sure I don’t run into it.  My Fitbit doesn’t have a really bright light.  But when you are in a really dark place if I push the button the little light makes my path plainer.  I am astonished how much that little bit of light actually helps.  It appears to be so bright.

At times I have had to go from my darkroom to go check on something in the other room.  At that point, I had to have a bigger light so I have turned on a lamp.  Once I turn the lamp off and head back into the other room where it is really dark I noticed something.  When I have had more light the darkness seems even darker and the little light from my Fitbit seems so dim.  The light from my Fitbit no longer can help me through the darkness.

Darkness is good?

So Darkness is good isn’t it?  When it comes to your room at night yes darkness is good.  We can’t get proper rest if we don’t have a dark room.  God made darkness for a reason.  And when we put light into the darkness that He has created it messes with our bodies.  It affects our melatonin, serotonin, and our circadian rhythm and many other areas.

We have been bombarded with light everywhere to mess up our bodies.  We need to take control and make changes if we are going to help our bodies stay well.  Good sleep is foundational when it comes to being healthy.  Figure out a way to keep your room and the rooms of your family dark.

Darkness is bad?

How can darkness be good and bad?  Darkness is good for sleeping well to improve our health.  But evil often happens in the cover of darkness.  Why do you think there are so many lights in a city?  I don’t know what all the reasons are for having all the lights in the city.  But my guess would be that partly it has to do with trying to keep down the crime.  Most criminals want to do their mischief in the cover of darkness.  And those in authority want to be able to see if there is any mischief going on around town.  Darkness in and of itself is not bad.  It is the things that darkness can breed that are bad, right?

I believe that there is another kind of darkness that is bad and that is the darkness of sin.  I think of sin as darkness in the life.  And the more sin that controls us the more darkness we experience.  There are many that have felt the darkness so deep within their lives that they have finally ended their lives.  This kind of darkness is very dark.

More light needed…

When we get used to the darkness of sin that is in this world we find that our “eyes” have adjusted and things don’t seem so dark.  But when you flood your life with the Word of God and prayer you realize how dark the world really is around you.  You can’t see without the light.  The darkness seems even darker than before.  As we draw closer to Christ the darkness (sin) will become distasteful to us.

But the devil does not give up on us.  He wants us in full darkness.  So he makes us busy or throws some curveball into our lives.  And unconsciously we think a little light, that seemed to work in the darkness when we first started out, will work now that we have been flooded with light.  When you added a little amount of light from God’s Word or a little prayer you seemed to have seen a little better in the darkness of sin and didn’t stumble over the obvious.

Less time…

But as you spend less time with God you are going to notice that the little light is not as bright as it was when you first started.  After being flood with God’s Word and prayer, sporadic or less time does not clearly light the path.  And we start to stumble over what we use to see as the obvious when we first started with a little light.

When we first give our hearts to God he gives us just a little light.  If He flooded us with everything it would be overwhelming.  We have all experienced being in a dark room and then having someone turn on a bright light.  It actually blinds us at first.  That is why God does not give us all the light at one time.  It would be so overwhelming that it would blind us to more truth.  As we accept the little light He gives we will be given more light until we are so flooded with His light that sin will be distasteful to us.

This world…

The things in this world have become so much darker.  Sin has gone way beyond what my imagination could have imagined.  Atrocities that I would have never thought could possibly happen have happened.  But the reality is without God’s Word flooding my soul I can do things that I would have never thought I would do.

The devil likes to bring us into a creeping compromise.  He does things gradually so that we don’t detect what is happening, especially if we are not staying flooded with His Word.  As we gradually compromise different sins seem less and less offensive to us until we are doing things that we thought we would never choose to do.

The devil…

The devil works in reverse to God.  He gives us a little darkness.  We still seem to be seeing okay with the light that we have so we don’t notice when we finally accept that little bit of compromise.  He keeps doing this so gradually that before we know it the little light from the “Fitbit” seems to be bright but it really is not.  We are going to stumble and fall.  Discouragement will come and we will wonder what has happened.  Sin will not seem as bad.

Serious condition…

This is a very serious condition to be in.  We need to be constantly flooding our souls with God’s Word and being in much prayer.  With the technology that we have today, we have no excuses.  We can be flooding our minds with God’s Word constantly.  Besides reading it every day we can be listening to it as well.  As you drive to and from work, instead of turning on the radio listen to God’s Word.  Or spend that time praying.  To keep focused, if you are driving alone, you can pray out loud.  If you are a stay at home mom, listen while you are working in the kitchen.  Use your imagination and figure out ways to flood your soul.  As I write these words I am feeling the conviction in my own heart and I want to make changes.

Dear Father,

Thank You for the light that You have for us to lead us through this dark world.  Thank You for not blinding us with overwhelming light.  But giving it to us gradually as we surrender each area.  Help us to keep growing.  Continue to guide us as we struggle through this dark world of sin.  Protect us from the power of the evil one and his sly ways.  Open our eyes and let us see.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Make a commitment today with me to spend more time flooding your life with God’s Word and prayer.

Love you all!

Do you have an experience where you have had the light of God’s Word shine forth so vividly that you could see the obstacles clearly?  I would love to have you share.

 

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“Shocked!!!”

Shocked!

Have you ever been shocked?  I am not talking about the shock you might receive after walking across the carpet and then touching something.  I am talking about something that has happened that was unexpected.  It is news that you never thought would come and you’re so unprepared.

This happened to me at the beginning of the week.  I arrived at work on a Monday morning.  When I walked into the shop foreman told me to come to the lunchroom where everyone was gathered.  This is the place where we meet for a meeting.  My thought was I wonder what job went wrong.  When I arrived I was given a seat.  Then the news came, one of our coworkers had passed away over the weekend.  Shock ran through my body.  At that point, everything shuts down.  You can’t imagine, think, or even comprehend.

We thought…

He has been sick a couple of different times in the last few months.  We thought he had the flu or a cold.  But because it seemed to hang around some of us encouraged him to go to the doctor, which as far as we know he never did.  Last week was no exception.  On Friday he was doing so poorly he sat in his chair a lot and would roll to where he needed to go and only stand up and walk when necessary.  Other people were secured to help him with some of his work.  All of us were using hand sanitizer because we did not want to get sick.  Little did we know that what he had going on was not contagious.

As each of us worked on Monday it was hard to stay focused.  You just think that you must be in a dream and that you are going to wake up.  My coworker was always there early.  If I got to work and I didn’t see his car I figured something must be wrong.  And that is exactly what I thought on Monday.  I was thinking that maybe he finally stayed home to get well.  But I never dreamed of the reality.

It was sudden…

He was so young, only 55.  It was sudden for us but it wasn’t really sudden.  He was someone who did not take care of his health.  He did things in his life that contributed to these results.  I lost my grandma at 56 for some of the same reasons.  If you feel there is something not right in your body you should get it checked out.

But even if we do take care of our health we never know when it will be our last day.  We live in a sin-sick world and things can happen to the best of us.  Our bodies are so intricate we can’t know all that is going on.  And we could also walk out the door, get in our car, and never arrive to work because of a car accident that takes our lives.  Life is fragile and we should not take it for granted.  We just go on in life thinking that it is going to last forever.  Don’t get me wrong we don’t say it but that is how we live.

What would you change?

If you knew you were dying tomorrow or even today what would you change, anything?  What would you do differently?  How would you spend your time?  We waste so much time each day with things that are not important.  We think they are but when you look at it in the face of death the importance fades away.

You suddenly start to realize that your spouse, children, parents, brothers, sisters, etc. are more important than things.  When was the last time you spent quality time with a person that you love?  What were the last words you said to them when you saw them last?  You just expect that you are going to see them tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year.  But you may not.

Fear

So you may be wondering if I am trying to create a fear in you.  And I would say yes and no.  We need to have enough fear that it makes us think.  But we don’t have to live a life of fear just a life where we are intentional about the most important things in life.  Suddenly time has more meaning when you lose someone unexpectedly.

I have had my share of losses in less than a year.  And do I have a little fear in my heart about what might be next?  Yes, I do.  But in this sin-sick world, we can’t get away from death.  It is what we do with the knowledge of death that makes the difference.

What makes us fear the future is when we forget how God has been with us in the past.  I can look back and see God’s presence through every difficulty.  And I know He will help me through all the sorrow and pain ahead because He is faithful.  He has promised that He will never leave us or forsake us.  And I not only have the promise I have the history behind it.  I can think back and see how He has been there for me.

After loss…

After loss comes it makes you think.  What am I going to change?  I am reevaluating my life.  When my time comes I don’t want anything to be between me and my relationship with God.  The things of this world are not worth it.  I want to have a solid connection with God each day, each moment.  I want to be ready when life is over for me.  And because I don’t know when that is I need to stay connected.

When I go to bed at night I want my last thoughts to be connected to God through prayer or Scripture.  I want my thoughts to turn to Him when I get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.  When morning comes I want my first thoughts to be surrounded around Him.  And throughout the day I want my thoughts to keep turning to Him through all the trials and temptations.  So that if I go to bed at night and I don’t wake up again I will be ready.  Or if I leave home never to come back again I want to be ready.  I want to be ready when Jesus allows this day to be my last.

Dear Father,

It overwhelms my soul to think about what You have done for me.  Please forgive me for taking advantage of Your love and care without much thought.  I breathe and am alive today because You sustain me.  And I have been so ungrateful, I am not my own I belong to You.  I am asking You to take my heart for I cannot give it.  It is Your property.  Keep it pure, for I cannot keep it for You.  Save me in spite of my weak, unchristlike self.  Mold me fashion me, raise me into a pure and holy atmosphere, where the rich current of Your love can flow through my soul.  Surround me with Your presence and make me wholly Yours.

Lord, I pray that Your melting love will warm and soften my icebound nature.  And I pray that the mighty energies of Your Holy Spirit with all their quickening, recuperative, and transforming power, will fall like an electric shock on my palsy-stricken soul, causing every nerve to thrill with new life. Restore me from my dead, earthly, sensual state to spiritual soundness.

Thank You for Your power and what You are going to accomplish in my life.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Stay connected with God as if your life depended on it because it does.

Love you all.

Have you had something that has happened and been shocking to you?  What was it and what did you learn through the experience?  Please share below.

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“Can You be Toxic Spiritually?” Part 10

Toxic?

The truth of the matter is we are bombarded every day with so many things that are toxic to our spiritual lives.  Even if we are striving to live a clean non-toxic life we are bombarded with ungodly music, advertising, food, people, emotional stress, etc.  You might be saying, “Food, what do you mean.  How can food be toxic to my spiritual life?”  I will get to that question in a few minutes.

There are so many spiritual toxins that we may not be able to control.  Every time we go shopping we cannot control what we hear, music is everywhere.  We may even have music to contend with at work and it may not be the kind of music that brings health to our spiritual lives.  And then there are people.  Can people be toxic?  Yes, they can!!  But we can’t always control what people we are around.  It could be someone at work or it may be someone right in your own home.

What can we do?

“Breathing” (prayer) is a key component.  For more details on this component read part 6.  Just like we need to have fresh air breathed into our lungs to deal with toxins in the body we need “fresh” prayer to deal with our spiritual toxins.  We can’t expect to do a quick prayer in the morning and maybe a short prayer at night and expect that to deal with the problem.  We should naturally be “breathing” (prayer) throughout the day.  What would happen physically if you stopped breathing?  I will take a big breath in the morning and I will be fine throughout the day.  Breathing once a day doesn’t work and neither does praying once a day.  Prayer is just as important as breathing.

What we “eat” spiritually can also affect the toxicity within our spiritual lives. Read part 2 for more details on this subject.   We need to be careful about what we take in.  We know that we can be safe with God’s Word.  But even then we need to be sure that we are being “washed” with “soap” (Holy Spirit).  Just like we need to wash the wonderful foods that God has given us to get rid of any toxins that may be present, we need to be “washed” by the Holy Spirit to get rid of any “toxins” that may be present.

You may be asking, “Are you saying the Bible has the wrong things in it?”  My answer is no.  But without the Holy Spirit, we can get toxic ideas that are really not good food.  So the good food of God’s Word can become toxic without the direction of the Holy Spirit.  We also need discernment about any other books that we read, other than the Bible.  There are a lot of spiritual books we can read but we need to make sure they are not toxic to our spiritual growth.  They need to be in line with God’s principles laid out in His Word.

The rest we get…

The rest we get physically is very important.  But the rest spiritually is just as valuable and important.  They are really both intertwined.  Lack of physical rest affects our spiritual rest and lack of spiritual rest affects our physical rest.  How many times have you stayed awake at night because you are not spiritually resting?  If we are not resting in Christ our spiritual lives will become very toxic.  We have to be doing all the foundational things that I have talked about above in order for us to have that spiritual rest.

Exercise is another aspect that helps in eliminating our physical toxic load.  The same is true in our spiritual lives.  As we exercise our spiritual muscles with memorizing God’s Word it will help reduce our toxic load.  It will also help us rest in Christ.  We will have the help we need for us to rest physically as well as spiritually.  I have been awake at night struggling with worry.  I have found that as I pray and dwell upon Scriptures that I have memorized I go to sleep and have a peaceful rest.  It can also help you resist temptations that will bring more toxins into your life.

Emotional stress…

Emotional stress seems to be more powerful than anything.  Because it doesn’t matter what you are going through it affects you emotionally.  Emotional stress can be the biggest toxic load to our spiritual lives.  I believe that our moral character is made up of two things, thoughts, and feelings.  Our thoughts affect our feelings and our feelings dictate how we respond.  So one of the big things we need to control is our thoughts because that is where things begin.  “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:…” Proverbs 7:7.

We need to control our thoughts.  Now, this is way easier said than done.  And that is where memorizing scriptures and prayer come in handy.  It is like anything in life.  If you want to do something you learn how to do it and then you do it.  Take any career.  You go to school or someone trains you into a position.  If you don’t work in the area that you have been trained you start to lose the ability to do it.

I know that prayer and memorizing God’s Word are keys to keeping my thoughts where they should be.  But knowing it does not accomplish it.  Doing is what brings about success.  It will be a challenge at first just like it is in any career.  But when you do it every day it suddenly becomes a habit and you tend to do it without even thinking about it.

We need to flood our bodies…

Just like we need to flood our physical bodies with water to help get the toxins flushed out we need to flush out our spiritual lives with God’s Word.  “…Christ…loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” Ephesians 5:25-27.”

God’s Word is like water washing out the toxins in our lives.  Drink from it daily and not just in the morning.  If you were to drink only a glass of water in the morning and not drink anymore the rest of the day you would become dehydrated.  It would affect your body in so many ways.  The toxins would buildup, your brain would not function as it should, and you would be all together sluggish.  You might be able to get by for a little while but your health would fail.  The same is true with our spiritual lives.  This is one of the reasons why it is so important to memorize God’s Word so you can drink it in several times a day.

What about…

What about the cleaners in our homes?  Now in my last writing, I talked about ridding our homes of the toxic things that we use physically, like cleaners.  How does this apply spiritual speaking?  If the washing of God’s Word cleanses are there other things that we use in its place to “cleanse” us, maybe to get our thoughts on something else besides our problem we may be facing.

We want to cleanse our minds of the toxic thoughts that we are having.  But do you use God’s Word or are we browsing Facebook, watching YouTube clips, movies, music, religious DVD’s, etc?  In and of themselves these may not be bad but can they become toxic in our lives along with many other things.  If they are robbing our time from doing those things God would have us to do, spend time with Him, family, homeless, widowed, helping others, etc., then they are getting in the way.  There are some things that we need to totally eliminate and others refine how we use them so that they don’t control our lives.

I am grateful for all the options for us to keep spiritually healthy.  God has given us His Word as our guide.  Another guide that has so many lessons for us is nature.  The health that we can gain spiritually as well as physically is profound.  It doesn’t matter what time of year it is there are lessons for us to learn through nature.

Dear Father,

Thank You for Your Word.  I give You thanks for the nature You have provided for our enjoyment as well as for great lessons that can empty us of the spiritual toxins within our lives.  Lord, show us those things that are toxic to our spiritual lives and help us to eliminate them.  Prompt our hearts to fill stay in Your Word and allow Your word to wash us clean from all the toxins of this world.  The worldly toxins are all around us Lord and we need Your help to guide us.  Convict our hearts and keep us in Your will as we surrender to You.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Cleanse your life of all those things that are toxic to your spiritual life.

Love you all.

Is there a blessing you can share of something you eliminated from your life that helped you spiritually.  Please share below.  If you feel uncomfortable sharing publicly feel free to email me.  I would love to hear your story.

This is part 10 in a several part series “Maintaining Healthy Immune Function”.  There are many things I have shared with you on how to support your immune system, both physically and spiritually.  Although what I have shared has not been exhaustive, I have been sharing just a taste from my own experience.  In part 9 I talked about the toxic products that we use in our home every day and things that we can eliminate to maintain healthy immune function.  This concludes this series on how to maintain healthy immune function both physically and spiritually.  I pray that you have gained a blessing.  And as you make changes in both your physical and spiritual lives I pray that you will be drawn closer to Jesus and be ready for His soon coming.

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“The Rest That Can Bring Complete Rest!!” Part 8

Rest?

Yes, rest!  There is a rest that can give you the most out of each day and out of each night sleep.  And this rest goes beyond just relaxing.  The fact is we can do all the right things for our bodies to be healthy, eat right, exercise, get plenty of sleep, etc, but if we do not learn how to deal with the stresses of everyday life it will affect our immune systems and ultimately our health.

The question is how can we get rid of our stresses.  We are bombarded with different stresses every day.  But I believe there are some stresses that we can eliminate.  I don’t know what those might be for you.  Maybe you have a very stressful job that you need to eliminate.  How about the news, maybe you need to eliminate it.  There are always some things that we can control.  We are bombarded with so many negative things that bring stress and we don’t need to fill our minds with those things.

But the question is what about the things we can’t eliminate.  At that point, it boils down to trust. And I am talking about trust in Whom, not what.  I am not talking about trusting in you, that is the worst kind of stress you can bring on yourself.  “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give your REST.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find REST unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” Matthew 11:28-30.  Now there is some serious rest.  We need to be yoked up with Christ.  As we lay our burdens on Him, He will carry them for us.   And we need to trust Him with our burdens and quit taking them back.

While Resting

There is a difference between physical sleep and the rest that Jesus wants to give us.  We should sleep a certain amount of hours every 24 hours.  But resting in Christ should be 24/7.  There are so many things that take place when we are resting in Christ.

The growth that takes place in our spiritual life is best accomplished when we are resting.  As we rest in Christ in all circumstances healing begins to take place in our spiritual life.  The toxins of our past begin to evaporate and repairs take place.

Now we can’t just rest in Jesus.  We need to be doing all the foundational things that I have already talked about in previous writings.  We need to be feeding ourselves wholesome spiritual food, reading God’s Word being the best option.  Exercising our spiritual muscles by memorizing God’s Word helps us in time of temptation, especially when we are struggling with resting in Christ.  And most of all, we need to make sure that we are “breathing deeply” (praying).  These are foundational for getting the rest we need in Christ.

Our spiritual immune systems can’t even begin to keep up with the toxins of this world.  And the repairs, if we are bombarding our spiritual life with things that our poisons to us, will never be accomplished.  We can’t avoid or control everything we are subjected to every day in this world but we need to control what we can.  Evaluate your life and make sure that you are not poisoning your spiritual life with the choices that you are making.  We can’t get proper spiritual rest when we are filled with toxins and poisons.

Preparing for proper rest

It is so important what we put into our spiritual life.  And we are not going to be able to rest properly if we are putting in the wrong things.  Just like it is good to eliminate bad foods for our physical health, we need to eliminate bad reading material.  We should not be filling our minds with things that do not uplift us spiritually or draw us away from God.  Most of us know deep within our hearts that we cannot have proper spiritual rest if we filling our minds with ungodly things.

There is another factor that can affect our spiritual health and whether we can rest properly.  How much time do you spend in God’s Word compared to other material?  There are many wonderful foods that we can eat for our physical body.  But when we eat too much at night too close to going to bed it affects whether we get proper rest.  I believe it works the same for our spiritual life.

There are many writings out there that are good and wholesome.  But as we are approaching “night” (Christ coming) we need to make sure that we are “eating” less of the good wholesome writings and more of God’s Word if we are going to be able to have proper rest through the darkness of night.  We need to know God’s Word so well that when we no longer have it to read it will be hidden in our hearts to bring us through the night in restful peace.

More Factors

For proper physical sleep, we need to have a room that is void of all artificial light so that we have total darkness.  But for proper spiritual rest, we need something a little different.  We do need to have our lives void of any “artificial light”.  But we do not want any darkness in our spiritual lives.  Proper rest for our spiritual lives we need to be void of all “artificial light” and filled with the light that comes from God.  God’s light will shine in all the corners of our lives and sees all the dark corners that need to be eliminated with His truth.  And when we are filled with His light we get the proper spiritual rest we need.

Now some people may think I am crazy on this next point but I have seen the results in my own life.  There are studies that show that we have to be off our electronics 1-2 hours before going to bed to get proper rest.  It is best if you are going to read before going to bed to read an actual book.  I believe this it is true spiritually as well.  Now don’t get me wrong I think electronics have helped us in many ways when it comes to studying God’s Word, in one sense.  But I also believe it has been a hindrance.

I thought it was really great when I got a smartphone.  I could carry my Bible with me everywhere.  But I started to use it all the time instead of opening up my Bible.  What I found started to happen is that when I did pick up my Bible I couldn’t remember where to find the books of the Bible.  As “night” is drawing near, I think we need to be more in the Word in its natural state.  There is something about picking up that sacred Book and holding it in our hands and actually reading from its pages.  I believe we can rest better.  What screens do to our brain compared to just picking up a book is profound.  We can rest better physically as well as spiritually if we pick up the actual books and read them.

Helpers

God has given us things in nature that we can do that can help calm us or relax us so that we can get good physical rest but what about spiritual rest.  What are the helpers that we can use?

Believe it or not when our bodies are in the physical condition that God would have us to be in it actually helps us with our spiritual rest as well.  So it is very important for us to be following God’s health plan.  And even if we are eating all the things that God has made for us to eat but there is one of those food items that our body can’t handle we need to eliminate it.  We live in a degenerate world.  And because of that some of us may have sensitivities to some foods that we need to eliminate.  When we feel good physically it is amazing how much that affects our spiritual life.  And the same is true when our spiritual life is where it should be it affects our physical life.

Resting in Christ is really a choice.  No one can force us.  And it takes faith in the One Who created us, trusting that He knows what is best for us.  “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” 1Peter 5:7.

Reading the promises that God has for us can be a helper in resting in Him.  A really good book in the Bible to use for this is Proverbs.  The great thing about Proverbs is that it has 31 chapters.  Now take that book and read one chapter each day of the month, matching up the day of the month with the chapter.  Some months you will just read through 30 chapters and other months 31 chapters.  You can either read it just before going to bed or in the morning.  Better yet read the chapter twice in the day, once in the morning and once before going to bed.  After a while, you will have the book of Proverbs memorized.  Proverbs is full of wisdom, instruction, and comfort.

Getting out in God’s nature can help us rest in Him.  When we see the birds of the air and how they are filled with joy we see God at work.  Look at the flowers and how beautiful God has made them and how they still give off their beauty even in a storm.  Nature is God’s remedy for our physical as well as our spiritual lives.

Dear Father,

Thank You for being there for us.  And for being Someone we can rely on in every situation.  Thank You that we can rest in You if we so choose.  You are the only One that can give us rest.

Thank You for Your patience with us.  Continue to guide us through our lives.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

No matter what your circumstances give all to Christ and let Him carry it.  You can find rest in Him only when you realize Your weakness without Him.

What do you do that helps you rest in Christ?  Please share below.

This is part 8 in a several part series “Maintaining Healthy Immune Function”.  There are many things I will be sharing with you on how to support your immune system, both physically and spiritually.  Although what I am sharing is not exhaustive, I am sharing just a taste from my own experience.  In part 7 I talked about how important proper physical rest is and how it helps us maintain healthy immune function.  Coming up in part 9 I will be talking about toxic load.  We are bombarded with toxins every day and our bodies can become overwhelmed.  What can we do to help reduce toxic load so that we can “Maintain Healthy Immune Function”?  Stay tuned!

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“How do You Exercise Spiritually?” Part 4

Sitting!

So how do you exercise spiritually speaking?  We talked last week how that when we have a sedentary lifestyle how detrimental it is to our physical health.  But how does that apply spiritually?  The reality is that when we are taking care of our bodies in a physical way it actually has an effect on our spiritual lives.  If you don’t feel good physically it affects every area of our lives.  We just want to live for self because we don’t feel like doing anything different.

What does it feel like when you have been sick for a while and you have done nothing?  I can relate to this very much.  A little over 10 years ago I got very sick.  And I was sick for a very long time.  I was so sick I could do nothing.  For several days I was even too weak to eat.  I finally started eating out of principle, not because I was hungry.  But even when I was eating I could hardly lift the spoon to my mouth.  It took so much energy that I would sleep for a long time afterward.  I was sedentary physically as well as spiritually.  I was unable to do anything.

Moving

If we are not moving spiritually our spiritual immune system gets down and we can easily get spiritually sick.  When temptation comes along we are drawn in quickly and fail to overcome.  We get angry with those around us a lot more easily.  And we can also have a depressed feeling.

But after a while of not moving spiritually, you can start to have a false sense of ease.  The temptations seem to be less frequent and things seem to be going relatively easy.  It all depends on what our goal is.  Is our goal to win the race of life?  And if it is, what race do we want to win?  Is it the race of ease and security or the race of eternal life?  If we want to win the race of eternal life it will take courage, discipline, and moving.

Exercise

I talked in part 2 of this series about the importance of spending time in God’s Word.  And how we need to chew on it thoroughly so that we can understand it through the power of the Holy Spirit.  But I also believe there is another aspect and that is exercising the muscles that the Lord has given us.  And as we exercise this muscle it will become stronger and help keep our spiritual immune system healthy so that when “sickness” (temptations) comes around we will have such a strong immune system that we can keep from getting spiritually sick.

I believe that as we are memorizing God’s Word we are exercising our brain muscle so that we can run the race with confidence.  I am not saying memorizing is easy.  But as you do, it will become easier.

When I was ill with the sickness that I talked about above, it affected my brain.  I lost a lot of my memory.  Even today after so many years my family will remind me of things that we did as a family or incidents that happened and I no longer can remember them.  So when I do memorize it is very difficult.  I have to trust the Lord that He will bring it to my memory when I need it because I have put forth the effort.  There are times when I forget how to do something that I do every day and I have to try to bring it to my mind.  Sometimes it takes me 2-3 minutes or longer before I can think of how to do it.  I know as I age it also is a factor as well.  But when I first was sick it was way worse and happened to me quite often.  Now, due to some supplements that the Lord led me to it happens less.  It happens mostly now when I feel under pressure.  And remembering people’s names can be one of the worst.  But I keep persevering with the memorizing and as I do I see the Lord’s blessing.

Energy

When we physically exercise it can bring us more energy.  The same is true of spiritual exercise.  When we memorize and study God’s Word it brings energy into our spiritual life.  Because when our brains are being exercised they will not be sluggish and sedentary.  You will be alert and energized to fight the battles of the day.  Now you have your armor to go forth for the day and God can use that armor that you have chosen to put on to help you win the battles.

Will there be “pain” and “discomfort” with memorizing?  Absolutely!  Just like physical exercising we need to persevere.  And just like our muscles get built up when exercising physically our spiritual muscles will also and it will become easier and less painful.

Dear Father,

Thank You for Your Word and Your ways that can help us in this race of life so that we may win the race.  And the amazing part about this race is that we all can be the winners.  You have given us all the necessary provisions for us for which I am grateful.  Thank You for Your love, Your patience as we run, and for Your forgiveness when we fall.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

If you are not already memorizing God’s Word I would encourage you to do so.

Love you all!

What ways do you use to memorize that helps you in the process?

This is part 4 in a several part series “Maintaining Healthy Immune Function”.  There are many things I will be sharing with you on how to support your immune system, both physically and spiritually.  Although what I am sharing is not exhaustive, I am sharing just a taste from my own experience.  In part 3 I talked about how physical exercise helps in maintaining a healthy immune system.  Coming up in part 5 I will be talking about how fresh air plays a role in maintaining healthy immune function.  Stay tuned!

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“Get Rid of the Clutter?!!”

It’s hard to believe…

It is hard to believe that we are already in 2019.  Time has passed so quickly and now we have to get started writing a new year.  Just about the time I am doing well at remembering the correct year to write the year it changes again.

Most people make some kind of New Years resolution or change that they hope to keep.  It seems that it is not always easy to do.  One of mine has been to exercise more regularly.  Exercise is so important and the older I get the more I realize it.  I know that when I regularly do cardiovascular and aerobic exercise, which I do by getting on my treadmill and lifting weights, I create more energy, have less pain, and get more done in a day.  You may be thinking, “How can you get more done in the day?”  It is really simple.  If you feel better and your mind is clearer you can accomplish more in less time.  It’s amazing.

Clutter

The other area that I wanted to work toward is to de-clutter my home.  With me working part to full time and homeschooling, besides doing a home business and helping my husband with his businesses, things have gotten out of hand.

One of the excuses I have made for not exercising is that I can’t even get to my treadmill because stuff is in the way.  So I took some time off of work to work on de-cluttering.  Now that my kids are older there have been lots of things that I could take to a second-hand store or just put in the trash.  So I have ended up with several boxes of second-hand items and several bags of garbage and I am not even done yet.

What I have learned through this whole process is that it would be easier if a person de-cluttered more often.  Maybe make a commitment to do a little de-cluttering every day or once a week.  It is less overwhelming when it is done a little at a time than waiting years and then doing it.

Our lives

It made me start to think about our spiritual lives.  Do our spiritual lives ever get cluttered?  I believe we do.  And it is easy to keep ignoring it.  But as we ignore it, it gets harder to actually make changes because it looks and feels too hard to do.  And we also start to get comfortable with the clutter.  But we don’t need to get discouraged or have it feel as if it is impossible.

As I have been de-cluttering areas of my house I have gotten some help here and there from my family but most of the work has been done by me.  My daughter was going to help me and she did some but she ended up getting sick.  So the main bulk of everything I de-cluttered was left to me.

God is our helper

But in our Christian walk, it is not the same, “Praise the Lord!”  Although doing stuff ourselves may be hard but it seems easier and automatic.  Humanly speaking we want to be in control so it is hard for us to let go and let God.  But He is the One that does the bulk of the work if we allow Him, and we are just His helpers.  So what is our part compared to His?

1.  Be much in prayer.

We need to be in prayer each day.  Asking God for forgiveness, cleansing, and for Him to fill our lives with His Holy Spirit.  We need to ask for the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth before picking up and studying God’s Word.

2.  Study God’s Word

We need to be in the word everyday.  As we are studying God’s Word He will show us areas in our lives that need to have a cleaning.  The great news is that He does the cleaning as we cooperate with Him.  Our job is to surrender each area of our lives to Him as He shows us.

3.  Memorize His Word

We need to hide God’s Word in our hearts.  If there is an area in our lives that we are struggling with we can find a verse that we can claim whenever we are tempted.  Believe me, the devil is not going to leave you alone.  But you can have peace in surrender.

Let God clean

When God shows you areas of your life that need cleaning surrender it to Him.  Ask Him to take away the desire, claim His promises, and let Him work.  One thing about God He is a thorough cleaner.  We don’t have to worry about any area being left no matter how deep it is buried.

It is not easy to allow God to do the cleaning because that means we have to die to self.  Self has to go.  But God can even help us get rid of self as well.

Dear Father,

I want to surrender every area of my life to You starting out this new year.  Give me the strength to allow You to work within my life.  I do want to be clean so that I can be ready for Your soon coming.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Surrender all to God today and let Him thoroughly clean up your life.

Love you all.

Do you have a testimony about how God has helped you in the cleaning process?  I would love to hear it.  Write it below.  Also, do you have a favorite promise that you cling to in time of temptation?  Please share it.

 

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“It’s Broken?!!”

Is it really broken?

Have you ever had something quit working and you wondered if it was really broken?  You looked it all over but couldn’t see any reason why it shouldn’t be working.  Or may you drop something and you pick it up and looked it over very carefully and didn’t see any cracks or any evidence of a problem.  But the next day it falls apart in your hand.

I work at a print shop and run the big digital machine.  There are so many intricate parts and pieces, along with the fact that it is digital that many things can go wrong.  Recently, I came into work and started the process of doing all the things I need to do to prepare the machine for the day, cleaning, calibrating color, etc.  It wasn’t long into the process when the machine gave me an error code.  The error let me know that I need to change a part that is called the cleaning web.  It is a web that runs through its cycle and you have to take it out and put and new one in.

The company where we bought the machine leaves some parts there that are easy for me to change out and the webbing is one of them.  I have done it before and it is very easy to do.  I swapped out the parts but there was a problem.  When I put the new part in, the machine was not detecting it as a new part so it would not let me print.  I had to call the service department to come in and fix the problem.  Now when you call service and when you actually get someone to respond to your call it can be several hours before someone comes to fix it and that means not printing for several hours.

What else could I do?

I had another cleaning web.  It wasn’t brand new but a tech had replaced the webbing part of it so that I could reuse it.  So I decided to try it to see if it would work.  But it did not work either.

When I finally got a call from a tech guy to let me know when he could make it out, he told me that when you replace just the webbing of the part you need to make sure and wind past the blue strip before it will register.  I let him know that I did not replace the webbing part myself it was a whole brand new part, done by a tech.  Then he let me know he couldn’t come out but would try to find someone that could.  I had so much printing to do that it was hard to wait.

I went to the Bindery department and started helping them out.  The Lord gave me this idea.  We actually have two places in the machine that have this same part.  I thought that maybe if I swapped out the parts it would register.  So when I went to go try that I noticed that the cleaning web that I had used that the tech had put new webbing in was not wound past the blue line.  So I did I wound it and yay it registered with the machine and I was able to get on printing.  I still had the brand new one that wouldn’t work but I wasn’t concerned because I would have the tech figure that out when he came in.  Now I was up and running and that was all that mattered.

New Webbing

I was thinking about the cleaning web and how it relates to our relationship to God.  The brand new part reminds me of how God wants to give us a brand new heart.  Where the problem starts to happen is when we try to do things on our own.  We have come to God and given Him our heart and he has come in a given us a new heart but then we start to try to do things on our own.  And at that point, our new part is not registering with the “Machine”, the One that can keep our heart clean and keep our spiritual machine running correctly.

Then there is the side where we don’t really want God to replace our heart and give us a new one we just want to do a little cleaning.  So on our own, we try to replace the “webbing” but the problem, we have is that blue line and our lives are not registering with the “Great Machine” (God).  And the blue line is sins that we aren’t willing to give up and they are coming between God and us.  But the beauty is that if we confess the Lord will forgive and it will be just like winding the web forward, we will be able to connect with God.

What should we do?

Stay connected to God each day by prayer, the study of His Word, and putting His Word to memory.  Put your full trust in Him to do the work in your life.  He will lead you and when He shows you the path follow His leading.

The Lord is in no hurry.  A lot of times we begin to weave in our human threads to compose the pattern of the web.  But He waits until we lay down our own human inventions and will accept His way and will.  Then He can come in and do a marvelous work in us.

Dear Father,

Thank You that You will do the work in our lives if we allow You.  Lord, we need Your help in doing this.  We are so weak and feeble.

Lord, I give you permission to take my heart: for I cannot give it.  It is Your property.  Keep it pure, for I cannot keep it for You.  Save me in spite of myself my weak, unchristlike self.  Mold me, fashion me, raise me into a pure and holy atmosphere, where the rich current of Your love can flow through my soul.  Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Surrender all to Jesus today and allow Him to weave the web of your life.

What has been a help to you in your walk with the Lord?  I would love to have you share about your experience.

 

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“Trapped!!”

Trapped!

Have you ever felt trapped?  Maybe you feel trapped in an unhealthy marriage, friendship, family, or even your job.  What can make the difference?  We can’t always get out of situations that we are in but we can change how it feels.

I am reminded of something that just happened recently at my parents.  My mom called because a Bluebird had managed to make its way down their chimney into their stove.  Dad, who has a really bad shake, needed some help to get it out.  Mom is no help when it comes to things like this.  As a matter of fact, we told her to go outside while we did it.  She gets so freaked out.

My daughter (14) and I went over to help.  We took a plastic bag and taped it around the door and then opened the door with the bag.  We wanted to try to draw the bird into the bag.  But because the bag had to be black, in order to be big enough to go around the door, there was really no light to draw him.

So my daughter used the bag to go in and try to grab him.  The interesting part was that he did not try to fly all over to get away.  We thought that maybe he was injured or near death because he was not trying to get away.  It took a little bit because she could not see what she was doing, but she finally was able to get him.

Anticipation

We carefully closed the door and untapped the bag, closing it carefully in case the bird would get out of my daughter’s hand.  I was anticipating that we would have to maybe care for a bird that was injured or not well.

When we got outside and opened the bag and immediately he flew to the nearest tree.  As he flew out of the bag he started to sing.  Then he landed on a tree branch and sat there and sang and sang and sang.  We felt as if he was thanking us for helping him.  We realized that he had felt that we were trying to help him and that was why he cooperated with us.  And then to have him thank us with his singing was such a delight.

It made me long for heaven and the connection we will be able to have with the animals.  What it will be like to swim with the dolphins, pet and lay with the big lion, ride a horse without a saddle or reins, and even be able to have any bird sit on your finger or shoulder and sing and sing and sing.

Analogy

The trapped bird reminded me of how some of us feel trapped.  It doesn’t matter what it is.  It could be a debt hanging over your head, maybe you are trapped in yourself and can’t seem to reach out to others, but whatever, whenever, or where ever you feel trapped there is a solution.  Your situation may not change immediately but how you feel about it can.

Many times we are in the situations we are because of our own choices.  We may be in a bad marriage because we did not seek or even listen to the Lord or Godly counsel.  It also could be that we married before we gave our heart to the Lord and our spouse did not give their heart to God as we did.  Most of the time debt comes from our own bad choices and we have trapped ourselves in the “stove” of debt.  But even in our bad choices, there is a Helper.

When that bird went down the chimney she didn’t just happen to stumble in.  It has a special spark arrestor on the chimney so the bird would have had to actually go into it to fall down the chimney.  There are many times that we do the same thing.  We are walking along in life and we see a job, person, things that we feel we need or want and we don’t investigate thoroughly before we make the choice to dive in headfirst.  And then afterward, too late, we realize it was a big mistake, just like the bird realized too late.

There are other times that we are walking along and it is not something really obvious and we fall in.  But the solution for both is still the same.

I like to call it S U R R E N D E R

 

  • Start your day with God
  • Utter words in prayer
  • Read your Bible
  • Recite verses to memory
  • Encourage others
  • No criticizing words
  • Direct praise to God
  • End your day with God
  • Rest in God’s promises

 

The only way we can have success in our lives is to Start our day with God in Uttering words in prayer, Reading His Word, and Reciting His Word to memory.  When we have His Word in our hearts He can draw it to our memories in the day when we need encouragement or help with any temptation or decision.  Encouraging others always helps to get our minds off of ourselves.  And when we are speaking No words of criticism about people around us or even about ourselves, it draws us closer to God and away from that depressing feeling of being trapped.  It doesn’t help the other person or us when we criticize.  We should be Directing our praise to God each day for what He has done for us.  It may take some time for us to become grateful because we have been so negative but it can happen and what joy it brings.  Make sure to End your day with God.  Recite a verse you are memorizing and pray.  And then Rest in His promises.  If you do these things you will be able to sing a song of praise to God for His help of drawing you out of the “stove” (pit) of sin.

Excited

What I am most excited about is to be totally rescued from the “stove”.  Soon Jesus is coming to take us home, to take us out of this “stove” (world) of sin and sorrow.  When He comes and takes us to heaven that will be the ultimate joy.

I can just imagine myself singing as I ascend up to meet Him in the air, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  Wherefore comfort one another with these words” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18.

And then when I am actually in the city the joy will be so overwhelming I will burst out with singing praises to the One that has made it possible for me to be there.  I will sing my gratitude of praise to Jesus, “…. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing” Revelation 5:12.   What a glorious day that will be.  And I don’t know about you but I don’t want the things of this world to destroy that moment.  I want to surrender all my life to Jesus.

Dear Father,

“Take my life, and let it be

Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;

Take my hands, and let them move

At the impulse of Thy love;

At the impulse of Thy love;

 

Take my feet, and let them be

Swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice, and let me sing

Always, only, for my King;

Always, only, for my King;

 

Take my lips, and let them be

Filled with messages from Thee.

Take my silver and my gold:

Not a mite would I withhold;

Not a mite would I withhold.

 

Take my will, and make it Thine,

It shall be no longer mine;

Take my heart, it is Thine own,

It shall be Thy royal throne.

It shall be Thy royal throne.

 

Take my love, my Lord, I pour

At Thy feet its treasure store;

Take myself, and I will be,

Ever, only, all for Thee.

Ever, only, all for Thee.”

— Frances Ridley Havergal

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Surrender all to Jesus today.  He will help make your path straight and bring you joy and peace no matter what situation you face.

Love you all.

Do you have a nature story you can tell?  I love to hear nature stories.  Share what you learned from your experience.