Star-fish

     If you haven't read the journey of Paul in Acts recently, I would highly recommend it, especially chapters 21-28. It's an adventure and full of fatal moments for Paul and yet he faithfully yields to Christ each time. It's so amazing how God intervenes and accomplishes what Paul never could have done on his own. Now that's not to say he didn't suffer during this journey and others, but he was willing to lay down his own will and due to this, got to testify about Christ to kings and Jews that never would have had an opportunity to hear the Good News.      I wonder how many times I've gotten caught up in my own stuff during the day and missed the chance to be a vessel for God's use in the world? May I be more about the salvation of others and the glory of God, rather than my needs, wants, and comfort in 2013. May this year be the year our Lord returns. May the souls of all men and women worldwide by saved. Amen. Acts 28:  30  For two whole ye...

     A friend and I spent much of the day running around looking for after-Christmas deals and stopping to have lunch at a local bakery. We talked about pride and that it seemed for us, much of our sin came out of, or as a result of, pride. We thought about others and the situations they were in and thought some of the circumstances probably had a foothold in pride.       We talked about how Jesus is the epitome of humility and that He had every reason to be prideful, but He was not. But that makes sense, since He was sinless, so He couldn't have been prideful, as the two do not dwell together.       My friend, Helen, wrote the following script today which really spoke to me:  It is better to finish something than to start it and to be patient than to be prideful. Ecc. 7:8. God is faithful and patient, promising to complete what he has started in us. We are His "work-in-progress" as He changes us. We will be better in the end...

     I've been on the hunt for just the right basket to hold all the pillows from my couch. Most of the time we don't use the pillows, they are merely decorative. Instead of tossing them willy-nilly onto the floor, I wanted a basket to put behind the couch to hold them.      Tonight, we found the basket and the clerk said it looked like it could hold a baby or kittens. My thought was several cute cocker spaniel puppies, my husband told the clerk and I that there would be no more dogs in the house; one was enough.      I thought about it, and at this time of year, one baby was enough, enough to save the world. Jesus, son of God, came to man as a baby and those that put their faith in him as their Savior and Lord will have enough...forever. Luke 2:6   While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,   7  and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because ther...

      This morning when I let the dog outside, the moon was shining and beautiful against the dark sky. I was reminded that the moon doesn't actually shine, but instead reflects the light of the sun. Then I asked God to help me reflect the light of His Son in this dark world.     John 12:46   I have come into the world as a light,  so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

     I'm craving the sound of silence. It seems like the television, telephone, stereo, dishwasher, or dog is making some kind of noise most of my waking hours. I've been blessed at work this week, as there are few people on my floor, most are on vacation. Tonight, I was trying to find something on TV to watch, but finally gave up and shut it off. AHHHH, the sound of silence. Once I turned off the TV, I got a lot done around the house too.      Sometimes silence is golden. Most of the time it is necessary in order to listen to God and hear His "still, small voice." It reminds me of when I was a new Christian and the singles' pastor asked me if I ever just "turned everything off." Actually I never did, I always had something making noise around me. When I did turn off all the noise, I started developing a relationship with the Lord that was the foundation of my Christian walk.  Psalm 62:5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is fro...

     My husband bought me a new camera for Christmas. I'm excited about using it, but I'm not crazy about reading the directions. I began by just playing with a few buttons and trying things out. Some of my experimenting was successful, some was not. Now I have screens showing in double that I can't make go away. So out came the directions to find out how to fix what I had messed up (which I wouldn't have caused had I read the directions in the first place).      My camera experience is much like my life experience. I didn't commit my life to Christ until the age of twenty-five. Prior to that, I played around with life, pushing a lot of buttons, mine and others! I made many mistakes. Some of the mistakes couldn't be fixed, the consequences of those choices have lasted a lifetime. Finally, a coworker introduced me to Jesus Christ, the baby of today's Christmas celebration. She answered my questions and helped me to ask Christ into my life.     ...

     The news noted that people were out in droves buying up gifts. But after spending a day resting on the couch watching Christmas movies, the overall theme of Christmas seemed to be relationships with people. None of the shows were about finding and purchasing the best gift ever. One movie after another was about men meeting women and falling in love, children renewing relationships with estranged parents, and families sharing memories and miracles.       Pas. Charles Stanley preached about relationships today as well. http://www.intouch.org  He asked his congregation how many of them loved the Bible and do they then show it by spending time daily in the Word. In other words, as Christians we may talk about loving God and yet spend little, if no time, getting to know Him through His word and building a relationship with Him.       Dr. Stanley's sermon was called Jesus: The Prince of Peace. He made the point that once w...

     Have you thanked the Lord today? This morning, I was feeling grumpy so I started thanking the Lord for all my many blessings. Soon I felt physically lighter and mentally brighter. He is the "bright morning star" and the "Prince of Peace." Call on Him to come into your heart, mind, body, and spirit to lift your soul and secure your salvation.   “I, Jesus,   have sent my angel   to give you   this testimony for the churches.   I am the Root   and the Offspring of David,   and the bright Morning Star.” ( Revelation 22:16) Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

     I went to make a copy tonight of a receipt I needed, but the printer was out of paper. It occurred to me that no matter how much I want that receipt, without paper there would be no copy made. I thought about myself and how I can have all kinds of knowledge about the Lord, but if I never produce a "copy" of that information and share it with others, no proof of my receipt of salvation in Jesus Christ would be made.      During this season of sharing, may I be one that shares the true gift of life, eternal life for those that believe and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. I pray to imprint the image of hope onto others lives by living my life in line with who Jesus was, who Jesus Christ is today, and who He will be when He returns in the clouds and calls His believers home. Thank you Lord for your grace and mercy as I have no way of earning a ticket to heaven, but through You, I have a receipt with my name on it, paid for by Your blood on th...

      A friend shared recently that she was telling her husband how as a woman, she's always on guard. I have that same feeling that at any given time someone might try to harm me. When I mentioned this to my husband he noted that as a man he didn't have that constant thought about his protection, but he understood why a woman might. I have to remember to not let fear take over my life as God is ultimately in control over all that happens.      The following comes from the November 2012 Our Daily Bread magazine for the 25th by Jennifer Benson Schuldt: Fear is powerful; it can override logical thinking and produce irrational behavior. Thankfully, Christians don't have to let fear of anything--people, situations, or even spiders--rule our actions. We can declare, "Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in [God]" (Ps. 56:3)...The next time fear creeps into your life, don't panic. God can be trusted in the darkness. Romans 8:28  And we know that in all thin...

     I don't know what to say in light of the recent shootings in Connecticut of innocent children and adults. I remember as a school principal thinking, "If I am ever confronted by a gunman how will I react?" The principal in Newtown apparently tried to stop the shooter and was killed. The police in this situation are overcome by the loss of little lives, even the coroner was overwhelmed by the inhumanity of the crime scene.      We ask, "Why?" But it's not for us to know. Things like this cannot be "figured out." We can't guess what is going on in the mind of someone that would do such a thing as this, nor should we want to know the thoughts of someone so disturbed. What we can ask is, "When?" When Lord Jesus are You coming to take us from this place called earth? When can we go home to heaven and live with You Lord? "When?" Rev. 22:20   He who testifies to these things  says,  “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lor...

     I watched the movie, Fireproof , again tonight and was struck by some of the messages I had forgotten. One, "don't leave a partner behind." Another, "don't trust your heart, lead your heart." It occurred to me that most of what I do is the opposite of what I should do. I want to trust my feelings, but God tells us not to, that our hearts are deceptive. I want to go my own way when things start getting hard, but God tells us He does not approve of divorce.      Thank you God that you are the opposite of the world. Your ways are not our ways. Thank you for refining us with your fire so we can be like gold, pure gold. Amen. Isaiah 48:10  See, I have refined  you, though not as silver;      I have tested  you in the furnace  of affliction.

     After a frustrating morning, I headed out to lunch by myself. I sat outside, next to a large water feature, where a bird stopped by to get a drink. The sun was on my back and the air was cool and refreshing on my face. I talked (in my head, of course) to the Lord and prayed for patience to go back to work with a different attitude and much more patience than I'd left with moments before.      My shoulders started to relax the more I prayed and as my lunch arrived, I was feeling better. I ate in peace, enjoying the birds, grass, fresh air and most of all my time with the Lord. It helped me remember that I'm never alone. I felt as though I was having lunch with the Lord as I looked across to the empty metal chair facing me. Who better to spend my lunchtime talking over the morning? He not only had the answers to my frustration, He brought peace and clarity back into my day.      Thank you Lord for being such a personal God that You will ...

      Sometimes I feel like a hopeless cause. I want to do and say the right thing, but then someone will say something I perceive as rude or condescending and I lose my "godliness" and either respond in kind or leave so as not to offend, rather than not take an offense and move on. Fight or flight are fleshly responses to worldly situations, but as our pastor reminded us this morning, "This is not our home." We, that have asked Jesus Christ to come into our hearts, forgive us of our sins, and be our Lord and Savior, are heaven bound.      So how do we remain heavenly focused while being pulled daily this way and that by an ungodly world? We need to be in the Word, in prayer, and giving thanks daily to God for His many blessings. The rest of this month, I will be writing my thanks to God for my daily blessings. I so often take for granted God's gift of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ in my pursuit of happiness through attaining more worldly stuff th...

     Remember when you were little and people would tell you to, "Say you are sorry," even when you weren't sorry? I never liked that and as a teacher and later a school principal, I never required a child to apologize even if they should as we both knew it wasn't sincere. God is good about that too, He'll let you wait, but the Holy Spirit won't let you rest! It's always in the back of your mind that you should apologize and make things right even when you weren't necessarily in the wrong, but your behaviors didn't line up with God's way of doing things.      So I apologized, but it took me days and lots of self-talk. I kept wanting to justify my behaviors. But what the Holy Spirit reminded me of gently but continually was that, I'm not called to be responsible for any one's actions except my own. When I get to heaven God won't ask, "How did other people treat you?" Rather He'll ask me, "How did you treat others?...

     I received a notice that I'm over my limit on photos for my blog and now they will need to charge me for additional photos. So I'll be removing some of my old blogs and photos in the weeks to come.      Today was a hard day for me, I was just "out of sorts" all day and for no good reason. Yes, there's some family drama and continuing technology problems at work, but compared to many other people's lives God has blessed me beyond belief. But belief is all that God asks of me and when I believe in His Son as my Savior and Lord, God takes my bad days and turns them into all sorts of good! Praise You Lord and thank you for loving me in and through my cloudy days.