"A Child, Our Symbol Of Hope"

Hope, an expectation of things to come. Hope, something we can't live without. We are all hoping for something. Maybe it is a new job, a cure, a new day, a brighter tomorrow. What are you hoping for? The best symbol of hope I can think of is a child. In Biblical times, you were considered cursed if you did not have a child and blessed if you did. No child, no hope, but when a child was conceived, it brought hope. Hope that the curse would be removed and you would be given new life. Children are signs of a bright future, one filled with joy. Look back with me at some stories of hope brought on by the birth of a child. Sarah and Abraham were given hope for the fulfillment of God's promise for a great nation through the birth of Isaac. Hannah was given hope when she conceived Samuel, the child she had yearned and soaked the altar in prayer for. Elizabeth was barren for many years before her baby John was brought into the world. Can you feel the joy and excitement a long awaited baby brought to these women? There were other times when the loss of a child brought great sorrow. Jacob grieved greatly at the loss of his favorite son Joseph at the hands of his brothers. David lost his child and mourned for him deeply. The Shunammite women was promised a son by the prophet Elisha and was given one. He later became sick and died. What great joy, after intense sorrow, was in that house when the child was risen from the dead by Elisha? But the greatest story of hope, was the birth of Jesus. His birth is one that can be celebrated with joy by all. His birth brings hope to my soul. It is personal. This baby brings into our sinful world, the hope for a cure for our wickedness. This child is our symbol of hope, a symbol of things to come, a brighter tomorrow and a heavenly future. This week worship the child that gives us hope.

Ephesians 2:12-13 "that at that time you were without Christ, ... having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ."
Titus 2: 13-14 "looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed...."
Hebrews 6:11-12 "And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises."

Who are you searching for?

My three year old son sleeps in his own bed most of the time, but when he gets woke up in the middle of the night he comes into our room. There is no room for him in the bed so he just lies on the floor and goes back to sleep. Just knowing we are near gives him comfort. One morning this week, I got up early and found him on the floor next to the bed. I left him there and quietly took his sisters to school. A little later, he woke up and looked around and found out I was missing from the bed. He went to his sleeping dad and put a finger on his cheek and turned his head to look at my side of the bed. He then told his dad someone was missing. He went looking. He finally found me in the living room reading. When he found me, he said,"Mommy, I found you! You were missing and now I found you!" He ran to me and wrapped his arms around my neck and gave me a kiss. This is a love relationship. He loves me and I love him. He notices when I am not there and I notice when he is not there. If we truly love others we know when they are missing. We go looking for them till we find them. My thinking took me one step further to my relationship with my heavenly Father. Do I notice when He is missing in my life? Do I go searching for Him or hope He will eventually return? If you are like me, my attitudes and actions sometimes are the best indicator of how much time I have spent with my Father getting His perspective. I challenge you this Christmas season take time to make sure God is not missing in your life, in your celebrations, and in your attitude. If He is missing, go looking for Him. He wants for you to find Him. He will be overjoyed at your return and wrap you in arms of love.

Psalm 63:1-"O God, You are my God, Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water."
Proverbs 8:17-"I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me."

Traditions...What are we passing on?

Christmas Lights, gingerbread houses, Christmas trees and cookies left for Santa, all traditions passed down through time from one generation to another. Traditions make us feel at home, like something remembered, something familiar. We all love memories of years past. A tradition is the act of handing over a long established action or behavior. Sometimes it is good to have the familiar surrounding us, perhaps that is why we love the Christmas season so much because of all the things we do year after year. One of the great things about traditions is that you can begin a new one anytime you want. As a mom, I can generate the lesson of thankfulness, love, joy or maybe forgiveness for years to come just by incorporating a new family custom. Thinking of all these things made we wonder where or when these activities started. When was the first nativity put out? Candy canes, when did a child first lick this treat with delight? Stockings, were they always hung by the chimney with care? How many of these traditions had spiritual meaning when they began? Have we somehow missed the real reason for these traditions? Do we engage in Christmas shopping and sending cards because it is just what our parents always did or what society expects of us? Thanks to the Internet we can research traditions and find the real reasons in order to again pass down the stories and significance of why we do what we do. Everywhere we look this Christmas season are wonderful things we can use to pass on the story of Christ to others. The Christmas colors green and red stand for eternal life and Christ's redemptive blood. The candy cane has a lot of spiritual representation and can be a great witnessing tool if we just knew the story of how they were created. I challenge you this Christmas season find out why you do what you do. It just might spark a spiritual conversation with someone around you that can be passed on to the next generation. Don't just do it because it is routine. It will mean so much more when you discover the true origin and reason. Don't just sing the carols, think of the words and truly worship the King. The baby in the manger is not a symbol for Christmas, it is our most precious gift. It is the true reason for the season.

Deuteronomy 6:5-9"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when thou sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house, and on your gates." (NKJV)

Is Your Life Precious?

Yesterday, I spent the day by the bedside of my dear sweet grandmother as her life is drawing to a close. My grandmother led a life that followed the two greatest commandments, to love God and others with your whole heart. She loved out loud and lavishly. Come and take a glimpse inside this room with me. As we look around we can see family and friends holding hands in prayer. We see songs like "How Great Thou Art", "Amazing Grace", and "What A Day That Will Be" being sung as we all await her home going. We are blessed to be here. We hear stories of the night before of her singing with lifted hands and saying she just wants to be with her Jesus. If we step back a little father we can see the most awesome thing of all, look around, there is a room, a hallway, a cafe, and living area (about 40 in all) full of family and close friends who dropped everything in their lives to be here for as much time as possible. She is genuinely loved because she loved genuinely. The stories have poured forth of her love and care for others even from her hospital bed. One of her last hopes and concerns is that all of her family and friends be saved so we can all be together again in heaven. Looking at this scene, I realized, as I hope you do too, that this is love in action. This is what being Jesus to others is. It is a simple card or phone call when there is a need. It is inviting those who have no place to go, to share in your families holiday celebrations. It is caring about others when they talk and being able to share wisdom with kindness. It is following the Holy Spirit's leading when He tells you to do something no matter how small you think it is. A scripture comes to me today, Psalm 116:15 says "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." Precious meaning valuable, honorable, rare or prized. All good words to describe my grandmother's life. I want this is to be said of me. Can this be said of you? Do something small for someone today, you never know what a BIG difference it can make.
Proverbs 31:25,26,28,30 "Strength and honor are her clothing and she shall rejoice in time to come. She opened her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. Her children arise and call her blessed. A woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised."

Being Delightful

To know my six-year old daughter is to love her. She is such a delight to be around. She is always happy, giggly, and dances to anything that has a beat. Lately, she has been learning Bible verses to recite in her Awana club at Church. A couple of weeks ago she was able to recite seven verses to her leader for a contest they were doing. She walks around saying her verses to anyone that will listen.
As a Mom, who is committed to Christ, it does my heart good when she desires to know God through His Word. I am so proud of her. God says in His Word that we are to delight in His Word. Delight means to take pleasure in and enjoyment from. To rejoice, to love, to consider His Word a luxury, something valuable.
We should long after Him as a deer desires water. Sometimes we see serving God as a chore, but this only occurs when we have gone a few days, months, years without communicating with Him through prayer and Bible study. When a close friend asks me to do something, it is not something I have to do but something I want to do. It is a different story when someone asks me to do something who often does not even act like I exist.
I long to hear from God through His Word. The more I am seeking this the more joy I get from it. Do you desire God's Word? Do you long for Him to speak to you? Get in the Word. He delights in us when we choose to be in a relationship with Him. Just as I delight in my daughter as a Mom, God delights in us. Daughter of the the Most High God, spend some time with your Father and be delightful today.

Psalm 1:2- "But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night."
Psalm 119:24- "Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors."
Psalm 37:4- "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart."

Having it my way...

"Have it your way!" This is a great slogan for hamburgers, but not so much a motto to be adopted for a way of life. Some of us learn this concept the hard way. Ever lived with or been around someone with this slogan? It can be hard to be thankful in this situation. With three kids, my daily life is a struggle of the wills, everyone
trying to get their own way, including my own. Sometimes the unhappiness is verbal and sometimes it is displayed through actions. To have a happy, Godly home no one can truly have their own way all the time, that is why we must all seek God's direction individually. Satan has deceived our generation into becoming self-centered with materialism and greed. Even when we get our own way, it contains only temporary satisfaction. It is not long before we find something else to strive for. It reminds me of King Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon says he had gained every material possession available. He had houses, vineyards, trees, gardens, orchards, pools, servants, silver and gold. He says in chapter two "Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them, I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure." Having all this, He came to the conclusion that it was all empty. In chapter four, he is so unhappy he wishes he was dead. When you look at yourself only, you miss so much and it is never truly satisfying. We can have our own way, but only God knows how much hurt to others we leave in our wake. True joy and happiness comes from a life surrendered to Jesus. What are you striving for? Money, possessions, approval of others, having your own way, or are you aiming to have complete joy and contentment in Christ. Take it from King Solomon, selfish desires are empty and lead us no where. Focus on Christ, He is the source of joy, happiness and contentment.

Can you think of any other advertising slogans that promote a selfish way of thinking? Post them here or on Facebook at the Reflections of His Heart women's ministry group page. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

I Samuel 12:20-21- "Then Samuel said to the people, 'Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. And do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing.'"
Ecclesiastes 2:11- "Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labor in which I had toiled, and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun."

God's Presence

My soon to be four year old son is all boy. He runs from place to place usually away from me. He runs round and round the table, the car, or anything else he can get between us. I do not desire to chase him around in circles and, believe me he gets his fair punishment when I finally catch him, but it is of great frustration to me in the moment when I can not relay the seriousness of disobedience. Usually, the easiest way for me to end this cat and mouse game is for me to simply walk away and say "Okay, I am leaving you" and start to go forward, get in the car or go in the house, leaving him behind. He immediately stops his running, looks around to see if I am serious, then runs after me saying, "No, wait Mom don't leave me." He is genuinely scared that I just may do that one day.
The first part of Exodus 33 describes this vary situation. The prior chapter ends with God sending a plague to the Israelites as punishment for the sin of making and worshipping the golden calf. God is still angry with them for their disobedience. He tells Moses I will still give them the land I have promised them but you go on without me. He feared in his righteous anger He just may consume them all together. He was saying I am tired of chasing you. You go in the way of your choice, but I am not going with you. The Israelites, faced with the knowledge of God leaving them behind immediately began to mourn and repent. Moses pleaded with God that His presence not leave them and God granted Moses' request. Is God getting tired of chasing you? Are you tired of running? He wants a personal relationship with you. One based on love. He will not force it on us. He wants willing hearts to follow Him. I pray His presence never leaves me because of my disobedience. I can't imagine my life without Him. How about you?
Exodus 33:3-4- "Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people. And when the people heard this bad news, they mourned....."
Exodus 33:15- "Then he said to Him, "If your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here."

Grumbling and Complaining

A couple of years ago, my two-year old son was in the kitchen with me while I was cutting an apple into smaller pieces for him to eat. He was standing there saying, "Apple, Apple, Apple" so I finally got a piece cut and gave it to him. He replied, "Thank you" and starts eating it, but it's not long before he is begging for another piece. I proceed to cut up half of the apple into small pieces, gave it to him and set the other half aside so I can take a couple of bites of cereal for myself. My son then begins to kick his feet and throw his hands in true two-year-old fashion yelling, "Mine, Mine" as he points to the half of apple that I put to the side. I then tell him to eat the pieces he already has and assure him that when he is finished with that, I will give him more. This reminded me of a group of people in the Old Testament that could never be happy or thankful for a long period of time. I often wonder how the Israelites could doubt God when they saw so many miracles like the parting of the red sea, water from a rock, among others under Moses' hands. Then I move just a chapter or two forward and you find them grumbling and complaining all over again about God's lack of provisions. We as Christians tend to act like that with God. We beg and beg or pray and pray for something and God chooses to give us a little of His great wealth of blessings. Instead of taking what He gives, which is always sufficient for what we need, we complain because He is still holding the other half of the apple. What do you have to be thankful about? What has God given you? Enjoy today by just being thankful for the provisions He has poured out and the miracles He has already done. I am pretty sure He has another piece of apple to give you as soon as you have enjoyed the ones you already have.

Hebrews 13:5 -"Let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as ye have, for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
Psalm 84:11 -"For the Lord God is a sun and shield, the Lord will give grace and glory, no good thing will be withhold from them that walk uprightly."
I Thessalonians 5:16-18 -"Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
See also; Philipians 2: 13-15 and 4:6.

Learning to Love

Sometimes I just hate when a song gets stuck in my head, especially if it is a song I did not care for in the first place, but lately, the words to the song "Follow You" by the Christian band Leeland keep going through my head. "I'll follow you into the homes that are broken, Follow you into the world." As I continue to ponder on the words, I began to turn them into a cry to God. My hearts desire is for God to use me to minister to others leading me into places where I can see his power transform broken lives.
God has also brought me to think on the verse in I Timothy, "Give me charity out of a pure heart". I struggle, as I am sure you do as well, with loving others without wrong motives. I prejudge others as worthy or unworthy without even totally knowing what I am doing. Why can't I love others like my three year old does? When he sees someone he does not know, he instantly says "Hey", a greeting filled with acceptance. I long to have this pure attitude towards others but at the end of the day, I feel more like Paul when he says the things I want to do, I don't and the things I don't want to do, I do.
It is when these two thoughts collided that God said to me, How can you go into the homes of the broken to minister change if your heart is not full of pure love and acceptance? Jesus is our example, he did not condemn the women at the well or the women that was about to be stoned for her sexual sins. He looked on them with love and acceptance, knowing fully all of their sins. O Father, fill me with your spirit's power to love as you love, to see others as you see, to approach people with acceptance like a child. Help me see others' pain. Help me have courage to grab a hold of them and lead them to you. I challenge you this Sunday look around you and find someone who is hurting and lead them to the alter to pray with a spirit of love and acceptance.
I Peter 1:22 -"Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned (genuine) love of the brethren, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently."
I Timothy 1:5 -"Now the end (goal) of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned."
See also John 4 and John 8.

Holding Everything

As my son grows up, he insists on doing more and more things himself. When I try to help, he looks up at me with pleading in his eyes and says "But Mom I am a big boy now." At times his stubborn independence emerges to my parental frustration. He does not understand that there are some things little boys three years of age are not allowed to do. He just can not handle the responsibility, but I can if he would just let me help. I must admit there are some days(who am I kidding?) most days that being a Mother, wife, daughter, sister, church member turns me into a juggling clown at the circus, just trying to catch and release in time to get to the next thing. All of this running, trying to be everything to everybody, must frustrate my heavenly Father. He is aware of my needs. He cares. He wants to help guide me when I make choices of what to fill my day with. I must keep my priorities in line, and say no to some of the rest. I must seek him and let him carry me when necessary. What is on your to do list today? Are the tasks overwhelming? Are you emotionally drained? Spend time with your Father, He can carry it. He can hold it all together. With Him in control, how can we go wrong? He wants to lighten your load. Will you let Him?

Psalm 55:22 - "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee:"
Matthew 11:28-29 - "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you 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.

Isn't God good?

"Isn't God good?" We ask this question all the time in Christian circles. Possibly, just to remind ourselves and others that He is. But if we look at God's character through the lens of scripture we know He can not be anything but good. Goodness is His very nature. So why do we doubt it? We start to lose faith when circumstances right in front of us, cause us to loose perspective of Him and His goodness. It is much easier to notice Him when He moves in a way we can see. When we notice a miracle in our own lives or in the life of someone close to us. We fall on our knees and say "God is good. He sure came through this time." Is there a time He doesn't come through? Granted there are times He does not answer our request as we ask, but is that the same thing as not being good? If my children got everything they asked for, "O my! We would surely get ice cream for dinner, be able to stay up all night and not learn a thing!" To them a blessing, to parents, a nightmare. Who wants to be around a child that has too many sweets and is long overdue for a nap. That is how our heavenly Father is with us. The no's are for our own good, even though we may not be able to see the picture clearly now in our present circumstances. My God is good and He is good all the time. I will CHOOSE to bless his name in the sunshine and the rain, when He giveth and when He takes away. He promises that he will remove the reproach from His faithful people. He will turn our manna to corn. He will give us realization of the promise. We must ask for His perspective. When our time of testing is over, we must give Him the glory for knowing what is best. Rejoice in Him today, for He knows what He is doing in you and He will be faithful to complete it.

Exodus 34:5- "And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed. "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,..."
Psalm 27:13- "I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living."
See also Psalm 34; Heb. 11:6,13

Harvest Time

Happy fall y'all! Being in Florida after a hot, hot, hot summer,I love the first day I walk out of the house and feel the gentle breeze of autumn. Something about it makes me just take a big breath and savor it. Relief is finally here! I love this time of year. I love fall leaves, hayrides, festivals and pumpkin pies. Maybe it is just the expectancy in the air that family time at Thanksgiving and Christmas is just around the corner.
It is harvest time. Time to consider the blessings and bounty God has brought forth in our lives. The work has been done and we can simply bask in the goodness of our Lord. Harvest and plenty seem to go together. It is a time of thanksgiving for what He has accomplished on our behalf. I just want to encourage you as you sit on the porch or stand next to the kids bouncing in an inflatable and feel the refreshing breeze on your face to remember to thank God for the harvest in your life. One of the definitions of thanksgiving is choir. This took me by surprise but how fitting is that? Let a song of praise erupt out of the faithfulness of your Savior. To all my friends struggling to see the harvest right now, believe him for it. Plowing and sowing is hard work. It leaves you sore, tired, and hurting, but the purpose of it is to be able to have a life worth harvesting when the time comes. Be strong....He will be faithful. As the old hymn says, "We will come rejoicing bringing in the sheaves". Thank God, harvest time is coming!
Isaiah 9:3- "You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy. They rejoice before you according to the joy of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil."
Psalm 126:6- "He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."

My Comforter

As I am again packing bedding for the family to move, I am reflecting on comforters. Cozy comforters, I have one on my bed I first got at college which is getting worn out and needs to be thrown away, but I just can't move on. We have another one that we got in the mountains one year on vacation that looks more like a patchwork quilt. Of course, we have the pretty ones that make the room look good, but get tossed to the floor at night because they have not been used enough to be broken in.
I started to think about Psalm 23 when it says "thy rod and thy staff they comfort me". I do not really picture a rod and staff being that comforting, so I looked up some word meanings to grasp a better hold on the statement. A rod is defined as a measure of length, club, stick, family or tribe(group of people under one chief), rod of correction, support of life, used for throwing or walking. A staff is a stick or rod used for support, a walking stick, crutch, used to support one's self,to lean, rely or rest on. Comfort means to support, to spread a bed, to refresh, feel encouraged, have courage, take heart. These words make the meaning of this verse come alive to me. When I think of God as my comforter, He is the support I lean on, He is the head of my family, He corrects, He is reliable and I can rest in Him. Just like the worn out comforter I prefer on my bed, we have been through some rough nights together, me and my God. He has always been there to wrap me in his arms and cover me. A quilt is a bed cover stitched in layers. Like a patchwork quilt, my God has been stitching my heart of trust together so that I know when life is hard and I need a good place to rest I can go to him and be safe and refreshed. Now as the fall and winter approach and you find yourself wrapped up in your favorite quilt remember God and what he has done to comfort you. A quilt or comforter can make you nice and warm on a winters night. The storm may rage put God is there beside to comfort you. Take him up on his offer and wrap yourself up in Him today.
Psalm 23:4- "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me.

Got Joy?

Can you picture joy? What comes to mind? No, really stop and think of a mental picture of joy. Here are a couple of my ideas: a fountain, spring, something overflowing or bubbling up. I have always heard the acronym for J-O-Y is Jesus, Others and You. I would like to suggest a different one as being Jesus Overflowing in You. It is when you are so full of Jesus that you can not help but pour out joy on others. The old song says "Peace like a river, Joy like a fountain". It is something that springs forth not just a slow leak. Joy comes from the inside out, not from circumstances but often in spite of circumstances. Jesus is the source of real joy. Sitting in His presence daily through Bible study and prayer is the only thing that can produce this joy. God wants us to be fountains of pure joy bubbling over onto others, not a trickle of dirty water from a life filled with gunk. When we let other non-holy things start to fill up our spout we eventually begin to spue forth anger or frustration, often on the ones that have nothing to do with the problem. We become like a recreational vehicles' waste valve, when enough pressure is applied, nothing but bad stuff comes out. Nicole Johnson has stated that "Joy catches us off guard. It is a response that wells up in our hearts from love." Any mom or grandma knows what this statement is all about. Are you in love with Jesus? The more in love you become with Him and His Word, the more unexpected joy will overflow in your life. Want pure joy? Spend time with Jesus.
Psalm 16:11- "You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy...."
John 15:9-11- "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you: abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full."

Walking with purpose

Lately, I have found myself using a particular phrase that started to make me think about the spiritual aspects of the words. It is the phrase: "Do it with purpose". I would find myself driving behind someone who, lets just say drives slower than I might want them to. I tend to get aggravated and I will say to no one in particular, "Come on, drive with purpose". What I am really saying is drive like you have someplace to go. When I have a destination or goal I want to get there.
I then found the phrase coming up again while walking through the grocery store with my kids yesterday. When we stop in an aisle for a while they tend to all gather in front of the cart and when I ask them to move they tend to not know where to go and slowly walk forward or barely move to the side uncertain of their next step. "Come on guys, walk with purpose" I tell them, but how can they when they do not know where they are going? They do not know what the next item on the list is or what aisle it is on. They have no purpose, no plan of action. Do you know your God-given purpose, something you are setting forth to be or become? Which way are you going? What is your expectant end or hope? If you do have a purpose, do you wrestle with impatience to get to it? Our true purpose in life comes from God. Not having a Godly destination can lead us into some wrong turns and devastating detours that leave us feeling empty, worthless or depressed. If you do not know what your God given life purpose is yet, He is preparing you for it. Ask Him. Seek Him with all your heart.
If you do know God's desire for your life, no more leisure Sunday drives, pursue it. Run after it, act like your going somewhere. Strive towards it everyday,that's what makes life worth living.

Romans 8:28- "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
Jeremiah 29:11, 13- "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. And you will seek me and find me, when you search for me with all your heart." NKJV

Stuck in a Holding Pattern

Just before I got married, I had the awesome opportunity to go on a missions trip to the country of Albania. We boarded a plane that had a connection that would eventually get us to the JFK airport in New York City, then on to Rome. Needless to say, that is not how our flight schedule ended up. For some reason, I think maybe weather, we ended up circling the Pittsburgh airport with dozens of other planes waiting to land. Our plane was put into a holding pattern for so long we were running low on fuel and were redirected to land at a little airstrip somewhere in the mountains of West Virgina. I am not sure a plane of our size had ever landed or taken off from here before. When we took off, it seemed like we ran out of air strip before the wheels left the ground, right off the side of a mountain. We now had more fuel and were ready to take our place back in the holding pattern, circling the sky above. Life sometimes gives us holding patterns, places where we seem to be stuck or just for the life of us we can not figure out how to move forward. We may find a period of relief when we stop for gas, but we know it is just temporary. It will not be long before we get tossed back out into the "going no where" place again. I feel like my life has been like this lately. Like a CD player that gets stuck playing the same song. I go to the Lord daily with the same pleas for stability and usefulness. I am waiting for my break in the clouds, for my promise of worth. Friend, if you are in this place with me, stay strong. We must wait on the Lord. He is my life sustainer, my rock, my fortress, my hope and my provider. Draw strength from the children of Israel. They may have wondered forty years in the desert, but God provided for them. They were fed manna (food from heaven) and the Bible says that their clothes and shoes did not get old or worn out during this time. (What!?! No new shoes or clothes for forty years? Now those were hard times!!) I am so thankful for what God has provided for us during our wilderness journey.

Deuteronomy 8:4 "Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years."
Psalm 27:13,14 "I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord, Be of good courage; and He shall strengthen your heart: wait I say, on the Lord!"

Back in the Father's Arms

Several years ago, when my middle child was two years old, she fell and cut her eyelid on the bottom of a glider rocker. We immediately took her to the emergency room where they put 6 stitches in her eyelid. Because of her being so little, the nurse took her arms placed them by her sides and wrapped her whole body in a sheet where she could not move. My husband and I had to stand there and listen to her scream for us over and over again. We could see her face pleading with us to pick her up, to release her from this horrible situation. It was very hard to stand there and watch this when everything in me wanted to run to her and hold her. This story comes to mind as a picture of how God is with us. When we are going through difficult times, he sees us, he hears us. He is standing there saying, "just a little while longer, child, you can do it." He wants to run to us and lift the burden, but he also sees the big picture. He knows these "stitches" are needed in our lives to help us grow into the person he has purposed for us to be. He will not let us stay there a minute more than we have to. When it is over, he will run to us. He will pick us up and hold us, whispering in our ear, "it is over, child." There is no greater picture of this than when Jesus was dying on the cross and God watched his only, pure and righteous son, take on all of our sin and die for us. God the Father watched waiting for the moment when Jesus, the son, arrived in heaven so he could run to him.
Please know today that God is there. He is watching. He loves you. He is preparing a future for you beyond your wildest dreams. Trust Him. This difficult time in your life God will use for your good if you let him.

I Peter 1:6-7- "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it be tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ."
Deuteronomy 8:2- "And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what is in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.

Mom, I just want to smell the candy

All three of my children were given candy bags to take home with them from Bible school, you know the ones where they can not possibly eat all the goodies in a week let alone a day. My three year old, Trenton wakes up each morning asking if he can have something out of that bag for breakfast. Of course like every good mom, I tell him not for breakfast, maybe later. It was on one of these days shortly after this conversation that I came back into the kitchen and found him standing on a chair, with the bag of candy in his hands. Realizing he had been caught, he turned to me and said, "Mommy, I am not going to eat any candy, I just want to smell it." He then puts the bag to his nose and sniffs. He then says, "Oh, Mommy this candy smells good." I just had to laugh at this point.
I started to think about our Christian walk and how many times I get into further trouble because my first thought was only to get close enough to "smell the candy".
I get close enough to my temptation to smell it and then find it in my hands unable to resist indulging myself further. The Bible says to flee temptation, in other words, to run away (as fast as you can, no looking back). The Bible also says to make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its desires or longings. I do not believe that Trent's sole intention of holding that bag was to smell the candy. Do you? Maybe our intentions are not pure either, even if we try to convince ourselves that they are. It is sort of like going to look at the dessert table, but having no real intentions to fill a plate. Ask God to show you today the temptations that are in your life that lead you into further wanting of something and ask him to help you run away from them, no looking back.

Romans 13:14 - "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provisions for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts."
Galatians 5:16 - " I say then: Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."

Hey everyone, sorry it has been a while. The family is finally moved to Florida. Kids are enrolled in school, and life is settling down to as normal as we are going to get for now. Please pray God leads us to a Church to minister to soon. He is an awesome God and we are believing him for BIG things to come. Thanks

Crazy Mornings and My Unbridled Tongue

Another day, another morning, my job is to get everyone out the door and myself to work on time. Why does this period of time have to be such a struggle for me? This morning was no exception. My son, the youngest refused to get dressed. I am only half-dressed when my oldest daughter tries to take her 1-year old puppy outside to do his business. He of course, weighs more than her and takes off chasing after another neighborhood dog. I then implore my middle child to take a handful of dog food outside and help her sister get the dog inside,she proceeds to take her sweet time in doing this. By then the dog has run up the street and out of sight. Mind you, I am still half-dressed and trying to blow dry my hair, when I have to throw clothes on to make sure the kids do not disappear also. I decide we will let the dog be for now and hope he returns before we must leave. So I rally everyone inside and begin to do my hair again, when my oldest comes into the bathroom to enquire whether we are going after the dog or not. By now I am totally frustrated, so I reply "No! We are going to move from here soon and we can not take him with us so I hope he gets lost!" She turned around with a look of defeat and left the room. That is when God got me, with the thought: What if I reacted like this in anger to you over something out of your control? My words need to speak love and life to others. We did find the dog and apologies were offered, but I still wish I would have responded to her in a different way.

I Corinthians 13: 4,5 "Charity suffereth long, and is kind, charity envieth not, charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil."

Romans 5:5 "...because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."

To know Him is to Love Him

Remember the story in Matthew that Jesus told about the master who gave his servants the talents. He gave the first servant five talents, the second two talents and the third servant one talent. The master went away for awhile and then returned. When he called the servants back to him, the servant who began with five had gained five more, the servant with two added two more, but the servant who received the one talent went and hid it in the ground. He had no gain to speak of.
This last servant used the excuse that his master was a harsh man and proceeded to bury his money in fear. I look at these verses and wonder how much this servant actually knew the master or perhaps he just did not truly understand what was being asked of him. I also think about how many times we do not do anything for God out of fear that it might not be good enough or we may possibly fail.
The good news is we can know our God intimately. We do not have to wonder what he wants us to do. He does not want us to serve him out of fear, but of love. If we are approaching our God on a regular basis to get to know him, this fear of him being a harsh God, who is just waiting for us to fail so he can punish us, will go away. To know him is to love him. Our God loves a broken and willing heart, one that desires to be obedient in using our talents to please him.
Is there something God is leading you to do but you have been afraid to step out?
Get to know him more and the desire to please him will out weigh your spirit of fear.
Matt. 25:14-30: The parable of the Talents
II Timothy 1:6,7- "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear: but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

Words of Encouragement

This week God has been showing me how important it is to use my words wisely. Have you ever noticed when God wants to get your attention about something in your life, that particular topic shows up everywhere? So this week, I have heard a devotional on the radio, read an email devotional and been exposed to this topic of how powerful our words can be (good or bad) in my daily Bible study. "Okay, Lord, I get the picture, somethings got to change!" Our words can be a great encouragement to others. Meditate on these verses with me and ask God to show you some ways to put them in practice today.

Proverbs 25:11- "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver."
Proverbs 15:23- "A man hath joy by the answers of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season: how good it is."
Isaiah 50:4- "The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary."

God has placed beautiful words of encouragement in you, don't miss his blessing, give them away today!

The Smelly Cattle Truck

One day this past week my girls and I were traveling down the interstate in our car, when we all began to smell this horrid smell. My oldest immediately brought her hand to her mouth and nose and said, "Yuck! What is that smell?" I began to look around for the source because by this time I am trying not to gag myself. It did not take me long to identify the cause of this bad odor. It was a cattle trailer, you know the ones that have holes down the side that transport live animals from here to there. I quickly moved to the other lane in hopes of passing the truck and putting this whole smelly situation behind us. Ironically (God ordained), later on this week in my Bible study I read 2 Corinthians 2:14, which states that through us the fragrance of our knowledge of Christ is diffused in every place. My mind went directly to that livestock truck where a fragrance was definitely being diffused in every place. It made me stop and think about my relationships with others on a day to day basis. Am I leaving a pleasant "smell" behind? One that directs them to my knowledge of Christ or do I leave everyone in my wake wishing they would never have to deal with me again? The only way to change how we react to circumstances and people is to be exposed to God's Word, which can remove our old stinky, smelly sinful nature and cleanse us from the inside out. It is in this daily transformation of dying to self that I can become a diffuser to others of the intimate knowledge I have of Christ. My friend, open up His Word today and decide to spread around a sweet smell to others so they can see Christ more fully through you. Oh, and one last thing avoid the cattle trucks!!!
2 Corinthians 2:14,15 - "Now thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?

Fiery Furnace

Have you ever had one of those days? Weeks? Years? Unfortunately, I am afraid if you are breathing you know what I am talking about. A time when God has put you through a period of testing in order to help you grow more like Him. Recently, I have been living one of these maturing times in my own life. To be real honest, there are days that I just do not know how much more I can take, but I am finding comfort and strength in the Old Testament story of the three friends of Daniel: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They were thrown into the fiery furance because of their stand for God. Their faith led them to tell the King that if this was their punishment that God could still deliver them if he choose. This statement enraged the King enough so that he set the furnace seven times hotter than ever before. They refused to bow down and were thrown into the furnace completely clothed with hats, coats and socks. Jesus showed up in the furnace with them and when they were taken out, they were victorious. They had been through the fire. The heat was hot and intense but they did survive. God did not get them through by the skin of their teeth. When they came out not only did their clothes not get burned, they did not even smell burnt, not one hair was singed. Glory to God!! When I am exposed to this fire of worldly troubles, and I feel like God is silent, I must choose to believe his promise that He is there with me. I may feel as though when God is through, I will be a mess and have black soot all over me. My hair may be singed to the roots. When I am tired and weary, it is then, I must remember that God promises that when he has accomplished what He needs to, He will run to me, pick me up and say that is enough dear child. He will then polish me off and present me as pure gold with no hint of the fire that has refined me. So if you are stuck in one of those days, weeks, or years, this is His promise to you and me, Cling to it today.

Daniel 3:27 "And the princes, governers, and captains, and the kings counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them."
I Peter 1:7 "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ."

Our Dirty Sheets

My husband and I have tried for a while to help our middle child stop wetting the bed at night, but to no avail. We have tried not giving her liquids after six (which is almost impossible since we both work till six each night!). I have tried waking her up a couple of times a night to have her go, yet somehow she is still wet in the morning and this just leaves me exhausted. We let her wear pullups for a while, but have stopped doing that in hopes that if she feels wet in her bed she will get up and go. This has not worked either, since she is a very sound sleeper she sleeps through it all. Do you know that the chore of changing sheets and washing them everday gets really old, really quick??? Can anyone relate?? Anyone in charge of laundry or dishes surely can. I am really lucky however that she has a set of bunk beds, so she has a double set of all bedding so the top bunk remains unmade while the bottom bunk gets changed everyday. It was one of these mornings, when I called her to the laundry room once again to trade her dirty sheets and comforter for the clean ones that I had just removed from the dryer that God spoke to me. In my Christian walk how many times do I do this to Him? I go to his throne of grace and mercy and ask to trade my dirty sheets for clean ones. Sheets that are only cleanesed through His precious sons' own blood. His response to me is "I love you and here is your clean slate of forgiveness, your new sheets, to start over. Could he possibly be thinking as I do about my daughter? "You are getting old enough to know better. When are you going to quit doing this? Surely you have matured beyond this point, yet here you are again, asking the same things as yesterday." I am truly greatful that he has provided me with the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to help to convict and guide me. The more time I spend in his Word and under his Spirit the more mature I become in my Christian walk. My actions become more and more like him and less like my sinful nature.
Lamentations 3.22-23-"It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not, They are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness."
I Corinthians 3:2- "I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able."
Thank goodness for his daily dose of mercy and grace or I would be sleeping in one stinky bed.?