Star-fish

     Last night I awoke suddenly with my heart pounding and full of fear. I don't know if I heard something or it was a dream or what caused it. I began praying right away for the protection through the Blood of Jesus and I pictured just one drop of His blood from His brow dropping onto me. As soon as that image occurred I began to relax and was soon back to sleep after praying over our home and each of us in it.      Zephaniah 3:17 says, "The LORD your God is with you. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love." I really felt quieted last night by the love of Jesus Christ and am thankful that in my fear He is with me.      I'm taking a break from my blog until April 1, 2012. (No, it's not an April Fool's joke:) I pray you will all get into the Word of God and spend time in prayer listening for the direction of the Holy Spirit for your life. Check out Bible Gateway for scripture and daily devotionals. http://www.bib...

      My friend, Helen, sent her daily script today and it was on not letting Satan tempt us and obeying God. She used a phrase that I really liked, "Don't let the devil lead and deceive you into thinking you have nothing to lose." Isn't that powerful! God has blessed me with so much and yet I can get caught up on gaining a few extra pounds and I begin thinking I'm hopeless in the weight loss department. That is not godly thinking, that is defeated thinking.      The Bible talks about our tongue being the rudder for our body. One of the smallest parts of our body and yet the tongue by what it takes in (food/drink/drugs/etc.) and what it puts out (words foolish/wise) guides our ships, directs our paths, even shapes our futures. If we are Christians that have put our lives into the hands of Christ, the Holy Spirit should be our rudder, but often we cave to the flesh, the world and Satan and allow our tongue to guide our walk and our talk. Tiny tugboats guid...

     I really enjoyed the following devotional on contentment from author, Ann Kiemel Anderson in the book, God's Words of Life . Since I am not an expert in this area, but want to be one that learns this sooner than later, I'll share Ann's story today and not my own.       For most of life, I think we fight God. We keep trying to show him what we were made for. We keep giving him better ideas. We keep working for something bigger and greater than anything he seems to have in mind for many of us. By the time we are in mid-life, we feel we somehow have missed out on some of the great things we were born for. We fight with God over this.       I come to you, however, knowing God made me not to impress you. Not to be perfect or a genius. Not to make a million dollars!      God made me to be uncomplicated in my faith. To watch children and kites and sunsets and rainbows and enjoy them. To take your hand regardless of who you ...

     I'm blessed to belong to a community that has numerous clubs that I can get involved in. Two groups are gathering today to wish me a happy birthday. The event was orchestrated by a dear friend that has the touch when it comes to hosting a party. She's gone through many difficulties lately and yet as much as I tried to convince her it wasn't necessary to put on a party for me, she insisted it was her way of keeping her sanity in her time of chaos.      I get a bit embarrassed at events that are "all about me" and yet I love to throw parties for my friends and family and make it "all about them." I'm reminded that living in a community requires give and take in balance. If I do all the giving, it doesn't allow others the opportunity to give as well. There is a great feeling in blessing others with their needs and also a few of their wants:) We all want to be loved, appreciated and noticed.      We can give to others without spending a d...

     Our pastor this morning spoke on Ephesians and the need for us to be maturing in our walk with Christ Jesus. He noted that if we were born again and new in Christ we should not be daily walking in our old ways. He said that maturity should be changing us into the likeness of Christ. Old habits should be passing away and our new habits should be growing, maturing and changing us for the glory of God's kingdom.      His question was essentially, are we different due to our walk with God? If not, why not? KT Things we did as a child might have been cute then, but if we're still doing these same actions as adults, it may be considered strange or immature.     Ephesians 4:    22  You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;  23  to be made new in the attitude of your minds;  24  and to put on the new self, created to be li...

     Today I spent much of the day scrapbooking with a group of friends. It reminded me of what "quilting bees" must have been like years ago. Women getting together with a common interest and sharing stories and ideas. These days can be so enjoyable and uplifting, laughing with others and gleaning information. Yet there's a downside to when women get together, gossip. Sharing information that is harmful, hurtful, crude, slanderous, as entertainment or supposedly to inform others about another person's situation or condition is a sin.      It is a sin that I struggle with and pray about, but clearly not enough as I found myself falling into old habits today. First by listening to things about others I had no business knowing about and secondly sharing what other's had said about me that had hurt my feelings. This type of "sharing" has no purpose except to generate sympathy and cast a bad light on the other person so I can immaturely feel better about my...

     I was struck by the simple truth in today's "Acts of Gratitude" article in the March addition of Our Daily Bread . The author, Randy Kilgore, noted that he had a mentor when he was a boy that led him to Jesus Christ. This same mentor gently redirected Randy when he noted that the author was trying, "to 'buy' approval by working harder than expected and doing more than people asked. 'These are good traits to give as gifts to others, ' he would tell me, 'but you should never use them to buy acceptance and love from people--or from God.'"      His mentor had him read from Matthew 11:30 and Micah 6:6-8 and then said, "Now read this and ask yourself if there are any gifts you can give God that He doesn't already have." The author wrote in reply, "The answer, of course, is no." Then his mentor went on to explain "that God cannot be bought--the gift of grace is free." Randy ended by writing, "that gra...

     This morning while I was outside playing ball with my dog, my spirit became critical about a person in my life. As I threw the ball toward our back gate an image of a white cross appeared to be shining on the gate. It reminded me of when you look at a bright light and close your eyes and the image seems to be shining on your closed eyelids. So I blinked a few times to see if it was something off the shape of the gate and I didn't see it again.      Then the Holy Spirit seemed to remind me, in my mind, that the cross was for all, even the person I was having critical thoughts about. He reminded me that He went to the cross for the sins of all, not just me and that it wasn't my place to entertain such thoughts about others. Wow! That was vivid and personal! I can still picture the white cross in my mind's eye.      But the other thought that followed later, about the cross, was a story a friend told me about sitting with her friend in an...

     I read an article lately about time management. It said that some people are prone to being late and procrastinating because they are too optimistic about how much time things take to accomplish. The author suggested logging the actual amount of time it takes to do specific activities such as getting ready in the morning, driving to work, making a meal, etc. so that you have an actual time span rather than an ideal time frame.      I think that's interesting because for me time has always eluded me. Learning to tell time was a monumental event that didn't really even start until I was about ten years old. Then as a college student all projects just weren't quite right until it was almost too late to finish them. Finally as an adult going to work, I always had one last thing to do before I left the house which created the rush to drive like a crazy woman to get to work on-time.      But one thing I have learned over the years is that th...

     As I drove to pick up a friend for Bible study this morning it struck me that God had blessed me with important and well paying jobs in the past and yet I complained about them to just about anyone who would listen. Looking back, there were difficult people and situations, but why wasn't I able to "buck it up" and do my job?      I listened as a woman poured out her complaints about her life, her husband, and her children. I wondered how many people would love to have her life, her husband and her children. Then it struck me (as I judge her so shall I be judged) that there were a lot of people that wanted my previous jobs, but rather than praising God for those positions, I zeroed in on the negatives, concentrated on the problems and poured most of my energy into self-pity.      God please forgive me for my lack of gratefulness, contentment, endurance, long-suffering, and self-control to name a few things during those periods in my lif...

     We've been studying Daniel with Beth Moore on Sunday nights. She told a gruesome story of a turn of the century outdoorsman that got caught by surprise by a pair of lions. One attacked his horse and when he was bucked off, the other chomped onto his shoulder and started dragging him away. She read the details of the story and I wondered where she was heading with this awful tale. The man remembered his knife in his sheath which usually fell out when he was jostled. He reached behind his back and the knife was there. He pictured the placement of the lion's heart and took two quick stabs behind him at the wild animal. He pierced the lion's heart and was freed from his jaws.      She made the point that we have " the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God " (Eph. 6:17) to use as our weapon in times of trouble. That Daniel's story was not just a children's bedtime story, but a miracle of God containing real danger for Daniel, but God brought him t...

     Our pastor preached on Ephesians 4 this morning and specifically our need as Christians to grow and mature in Christ. To have the goal of our lives to become more Christlike in our words, actions and deeds. He asked us whether we were more mature Christians today than we were last year or ten years ago. He asked whether what we did we did to keep the law or to show love to God and others.      It's interesting as I'm taking a study that I took six years ago with Beth Moore on the Book of Daniel. I can tell by my answers then compared to now that God has been doing a work in me. The edge and bitterness that was in my statements in the study guide before are not the same words I'm writing now in response to Beth's questions. The feeling I have in my heart now is not the same as it was six years ago. Did I make those changes myself? No, but through being humbled by God over the last six years, He's worked in me through the Holy Spirit a new heart and a n...

     Today I'm working on our taxes. Working on and, of course, paying taxes have got to be at the top of my least favorite things to do. But as I sit here, bent over piles of receipts and lists of numbers, I'm reminded of a few things:      1. How blessed we are by God to have receipts and lists of things, services, etc. that He has paid for on our behalf this year.      2. That truly all that we have is God's and He calls us to pay our taxes and do all things unto Him without grumbling. Blessings on your day, KT Hibiscus flower growing in our yard. Love God's gifts! Matthew 22:    15   Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words.   16   They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they ...

     Looking back yesterday over events in my life where I was most hurt and humbled, I prayed to God to understand those situations and why I had to go through them. I really felt the press upon my heart that the situations were not about me! How can that be, not about me? (I jest, of course, but not really:) He started showing me what happened in and around those experiences and the people that were moved on, moved in, changed, disciplined, blessed, etc. Wow! I was simply a tool God used to tweak others lives and yet I had seen it as a time of terrible decision making and struggle on my part.       When I was able to extract myself from the equation, the only thing that remained was God! Amen Lord, praise You for showing me this picture of how you work even when I just don't get what's going on! KT We're free to fly when we remain in the Hands of God.  My friend Helen sent out this script today that speaks to why it's a good thing when we are ...

     In the book of Daniel, the Babylonian King Belshazzar decided to throw a party and use the Holy Vessels, taken from the Temple of God by his forefather King Nebuchadnezzar, for wine and toasting his pagan gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood and stone. A hand came out of nowhere and wrote on the plaster wall of the king's banquet hall, Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin (Daniel 5:25-28) v. 26 "This is what these words mean: Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. v. 27 Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. v. 28 Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."  That night the king was killed and his kingdom taken over by Darius the Mede (Daniel 5:30-31).      Beth Moore in her Bible study, Daniel-Lives of Integrity, Words of Prophecy notes some of the following regarding the above section of Scripture on pages 98-101:      "Repentance of sin is one of the mos...