And the Winner Is...

     Tonight a large majority of the television viewing audience will be watching the Academy Awards as golden "Oscar" trophies are handed out to the best and brightest of the film making industry. Excitement over the nomination alone has been a much garnered moment in the lives of the nominated.  Being in this prestigious few is already recognition of their talents and hard labor. But to win! Surely that will be the pinnacle of many a man and woman's career as they hold their coveted award, giving accolades to those who have help them reach this moment in time... the lists are long.  Usually mentioned are mom and dad, my wife, my husband, and sometimes even God.

     From there the rest of the night will be a whirlwind of interviews, parties, and congratulations.  Surely it feels like floating on air. Over the next several weeks there will be interviews on morning shows, late night shows and magazines. Then, finally things will slow down a bit and return to some semblance of order. The initial excitement will have past.  Then something may catch them off guard and resurface. And what might that be?  An awareness of the emptiness that had been momentarily filled by hearing their name called out above the other candidates, by the applause, and the attention showered  upon them. A void that was temporarily filled by the golden statute on the mantel.  For those who do not know Jesus Christ, a void that has never successfully been filled by anything for any length of time for only He can do that.  

     By no means take from this that I think all associated with the film industry are lost and have no relationship with Christ.  I am not here to judge but to make a correlation with this example.  They are humans just like us and we share much likeness to them.  We all have or have had our own "Oscar moments"  when we have allowed something that seemed more fulfilling, noteworthy and exciting to bump God off the throne of our hearts and become heir to that throne.  And the reign of whatever we have attempted to replaced God with may endure for a while, but it will always come to an end.  That is because of the temporary nature of our false idol and the fact that God made us to find our completeness in Him alone. Is anything popping into your head that may fit this bill? What does your golden image look like? I have had more than a few in my lifetime and fight reaching for them still.

     How exhausting, expensive, and disappointing all our rivals for God's throne have been, and not a one of them has left us with the peace and abundant filling that only He can supply. Give this some thought and inspect God's throne in your life. Is God seated there or on the sidelines patiently waiting for you to give the reigns back to Him along with the love, applause of thanks and gratefulness of which He is worthy? Why not proceed with setting things right with the Lord in this moment. He is only a prayer away, and I can without a doubt assure you that whatever it is you need to" boot off the throne" will not be missed as you fear. God has exponentially more waiting to offer than anything we can conjure up. Bright lights and standing ovations for you, Jesus!  And the winner is... us on every level.  To God Be the Glory!

      

Relationship Readiness

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,  

 though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,

though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the LORD, 

I will be joyful in God my Savior.

The Sovereign LORD is my strength;

he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,

he enables me to go on to the heights.

(Habakkuk 3:17)

     This is the passage of scripture that I read in my devotional time today.  It stopped me in my tracks, challenged my personal depth of faith. How easily today could this passage read something like this: 

Though hurricanes such as Katrina and Sandy destroy everything that I have,

though tornadoes claim property and the lives of beloved family members,

though fires sweep through and devastate the landscape I call home, 

yet I will rejoice in the LORD,

I will be joyful in God my Savior.

As much as we think we would like to know what tomorrow might bring, God spares us that knowledge.  He knows that we only need focus on the demands and energy needed for one twenty-four hour period at a time. However, in each twenty-four hour day in which we exist, there is a dire need and indescribable joy to be experienced in spending time alone with our Heavenly Father. How else Could we possibly be prepared for what today holds, much less what tomorrow has in store.

What if we are faced with the worst of circumstances, things we never could have imagined would happen to us?  Have we prepared ourselves beyond storm shelters, extra rations and flashlight batteries for the impact that our lives could sustain.  Have we developed the most vital necessity of all to weather these storms of life?  Would we be able to reach for a relationship with our Lord that would sustain us beyond the loss and devastation?  How I desire to ascend to that level of communion with Him that would make joy and rejoicing achievable no matter what transpires. To be so readily able to draw on the strength that only He can give, strength that would enable me to go on to the heights.  

There is no way I can say in this moment as I sit comfortably in my home exactly how I would respond to the worst of circumstances that may come.  All I am sure of is that I am dedicated to having a relationship so strong with Jesus that I am prepared to depend on His presence, provision, and strength no matter what transpires. Won't you accompany me and train your vision to see God present for you in whatever the circumstance you may face. Secure the ability to rejoice in Him at all times and in all things, because of who He is and the promises He has given us. To God Be the Glory! 

*The above pictures were taken in an old college used as a makeshift high school after a tornado had devastated the local high school and much of the surrounding community. What a testimony!  

    

  

Safe Haven

     A huge chunk of my favorite childhood memories is centered around weekend visits and summer vacations spent in the country with my grandparents. The rambling pre-Civil War built home with the original tin roof, gas heaters, fireplaces and oscillating fans to cool down by in the summer was my safest haven.  Life there was simple and love was unconditional.
     During the winters, I still recall warming up as much as I could by the gas heater before jumping into the feather bed, piled high with comforters for the long, cold night ahead. Once I had heated up a snugly spot, I dare not move lest the cold invade my space. The weight of the comforters, frequently drifting off to sleep to the sound of rain pecking against the gray tin roofing, reflecting on a day spent with my grandparents...that was joy, that was peace not known in any other area of in my life.
     Our Yorkie, Max, inspired my recollection of those days gone by. His favorite place to be in the winter is in our dryer after it has finished drying a load of clothes.  He loves the dark, warm, quiet moments spent inside until the sheets or towels cool down. He looks as though he has found heaven as he settles in for a cozy nap!  He jumps to the ready every time he hears the dryer door open. That is his safe haven.
     Years of my life have transpired since those days with my grandparents. They have gone on to be the with Lord where they are truly experiencing the ultimate in peace and love. Life has come hard and fast at me on many fronts, just as I am sure it has for you. I assumed that once you were a "grown-up" you no longer had the luxury of experiencing that degree of peace and safety again. That was reserved for heaven, or so I thought despite the many Sunday School lessons and sermons I have been privy to. I never fought to find the truth. I chose to live life in the driver's seat.
     The past several years as I have invested time in building my relationship with the Lord and studying His word. Those many verses of "peace and joy no matter what the situation" have finally come alive to me. I always knew they were there, but I never let go and focused on the availability of that "weight of the comforters" love, safety, and peace that Christ died to give me. Have you? If not don't waste another day carrying your burdens and feeling alone. Choose peace, choose unconditional love, choose joy! Choose Jesus! Spend time with Him and allow His promises to come alive in your heart and life. Oh, what you have been missing! I am here to testify. "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27)
     May your day be blessed! To God Be the Glory!
   
     
   

Slippery Slope

     Music is one of my passions.  Since I was in preschool music growing up in church I have loved to sing, listen to, and watch others lift their voices in song.  If God had allowed me to ask for any talent in particular, it would have been that of a voice that was the combination of Karen Carpenter, Julie Andrews, and Sandi Patti. How awesome would that have been? That, however, was not God's plan for me, thus I sing with the voice He gave me, breaking out in song at the faintest sound of a familiar tune, enjoying every minute of it all!
     That love was what first drew me to a new television program called "Glee."  In its beginning season, I was enamored with the collection of voices chosen to participate in the portrayed small town, high school show choir. The songs were familiar, performed to perfection, and I, usually to my daughter's dismay, found myself singing along. Accompanying the singing and quest for competition victories, there was, of course, the story line, mostly teen related.  As the relationships and story lines have developed through the seasons, the music has been hard for me to hear midst the focus on sexual relationships from loss of virginity to homosexuality to transgender cross dressing.  And the music could have stood on its own in my opinion.
     The episode that aired last week will be my last. I will miss this talented group of young people singing with such enthusiasm and promise.  However, I can no longer support the story lines of promiscuity and modeling of that behavior to the teens who watch weekly, who see these actions and relationships as normal and quite the 21st century standard of acceptable behavior. My continued viewing was in itself approval of the  behavior I observed. My decent on the slippery slope of societal and Godly decline was well in progress and God had procured my attention on this matter. It only saddens me that I had waited so long thinking I could overlook the parts I didn't agree with- that I had delayed action until conditions were so extremely polar opposite to everything I believe.
     With that decision, I made a conscious effort to reach out and grab the hand of Jesus so that He could interrupt my "slippery slope slide" and pull me back onto the narrow path to walk with Him. Can I challenge you to do the same, to hold up your beliefs, your actions, your words, your thoughts, your relationships, even your television viewing up against the word of God?  Times have definitely changed, but God and His word have not. The world so distracts us that we often fail to know and sometimes choose to ignore the truth of His words and how they should be lived out in our lives.  
     And what of our Christian witness to those we daily come in contact with. "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?  It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.  You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden." (Matthew 5: 13-14) How can we be salt and light if we do not separate ourselves from the ways of this world, refusing to morph into the culture of acceptance and tolerance, creating our own morals as we see fit. Bring flavor, bring light, bring God to this 21st century world, and remember that though things may get a bit lonely, you are never alone. Let the light of God shine through you as you walk through this world with Him by your side. May He give you the grace and the strength you need. To God Be the Glory!
     
      
         

Fleeting Moments

     This morning found me wide awake before the crack of dawn.  After tossing and turning for about fifteen minutes, I paused and began an early morning conversation with God. The house was quiet, and the opportunity golden to pray for needs the Lord had brought before me this week.  When my list was exhausted, I availed myself to some listening time to see if God had a word for me.  At the first sign of light outside my bedroom window, I sensed the Lord encouraging me to rise to begin my day.

     Upon leaving my practically dark bedroom where the windows are covered with draperies, I stepped into the kitchen area.  My attention was immediately directed to a bright shade of pink being cast into the room from a reflection off the lake. The water was aglow in a way that I had never seen it before.  My camera lives one grasp away from my back patio door, always on the ready for whatever work of art God has waiting for me outside. Today His masterpiece was that of a sunrise so pink that it was practically unbelievable!
     Immediately, I began snapping pictures.  There is one thing I have learned the hard way about beauty such as this whether it is a sunrise or a sunset or a bluebird perched on a fence.  The moments are fleeting and must be captured quickly. As you see below, by the time I had made my third picture, the sky had completely changed and there was no evidence of the breathtaking moment I had just witnessed.
     How similar is life?  Not a moment that passes can be recaptured, not an opportunity regained. How many of these moments and opportunities are scattered in our path by God to be seized for His glory, to lift up someone who is hurting, to share the love of God with one who is lost. And, if not acted upon, the moment is often gone just as the temporary beauty on the horizon this morning.
     Friends, be on the ready, ever observant of the people and situations you encounter each day. As quickly as I reached for my camera this morning, you reach for God's guidance and wisdom so that you can be used mightily by Him and for His kingdom.  God bless! To God Be the Glory.  

The Cheese Stands Alone

     Today there is one lone goose on the bank of our small lake.  He holds his head so very high and stately, a beautiful graceful creation of God. He is quite the vociferous one, honking loudly enough to wake up the neighborhood when he has an opinion on things. The duck regulars don't quite know what to think of this invasion of their turf.  Mostly afraid, they keep their distance and permit the goose access to the cracked corn instead of defending it.  At times it appears as though the goose in his lonesome state is trying to interact with the ducks, swimming close by, splashing them playfully with no response.
     Quite possibly the goose has nothing of the sort that I have mentioned on his mind. Perhaps he is enjoying some peace and quiet away from all  his loudly honking brothers, but he kept catching my eye. Eventually, I was reminded of a childhood singing game from years past, maybe too many years for some of you to remember. The song was The Farmer In the Dell. The object of the game was not to be the last one standing alone in the circle, left behind. Remember this part,"The cheese stands alone?" Then, of course, there was Red Rover, Red Rover! Always despairing to be the last one called over in that game as well. Childhood games can be a bit brutal when you think back.  Speaking for myself, those games had the potential to contribute to your assessment of where you stood in the oh so early popularity scale.  Can anyone relate?
     The feeling that these situations evoked in my life were those of being very alone and even too different to be accepted. Couple this with my parents very nasty small town divorce in the 1960's, and you can see why this wasn't a stretch for me. Loneliness is an emotion we all experience. You can probably think up your own list of causative factors for loneliness in your life with very little effort.  But what I think this goose came to remind me is that I am never unaccompanied.  Because of my relationship with Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in me, I am escorted by that presence each day I live, every step I take.
     I would be remiss if I omitted the fact that this same relationship that I so cherish can likewise leave me in that "cheese stands alone" position. We live in a world where people now make their own rules, fabricate, their own morals, and have little concern for those around them.  Godly lives, Godly actions and Godly direction is way off their grid. A relationship with God and living for Him often leaves you in the minority, and you stand out as being different, feeling alone.
     Let me reinforce that as Christians we are never alone, just as Jesus testified to the Pharisees in John 8:16,29.  "...I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases Him." When Jesus endured forty days in the desert tempted by Satan, He was not alone. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was not alone. On the cross at Calvary, He was not alone.  Not one day of His ministry was He alone.  Despised and rejected by man? Yes, But not alone!

     What am I then if not alone? I am like this goose behind my house who is honking himself hoarse if geese can do that! I am here standing with my Heavenly Father "honking loudly" to share the message of Jesus Christ to a world which is so alone because they are leaving Him behind. Won't you join me! To God Be the Glory!!






FYI:  I began writing this post three days ago. My goose guest still lingers!
 

Picky Eaters

     The sun is shining today and the temperatures outside are coaxing us into believing that Spring has already sprung despite the fact that it is only February. I pause at the window for a moment to see if the warm weather has brought any new species of birds to our feeders. I was delighted to see the first yellow finch of the year, another swatch of color returning to the landscape. However, he had taken on the habits of our other feeding birds of late. He was steadily throwing food out of the feeder until he found the seed he wanted to feed on. We had noticed that this was becoming standard procedure for our birds since we had switched from a premium bird seed to one that was less costly. There was more discarded seed on the ground than there was left in the feeders. We had developed a flock of picky eaters!

     When you think about it, we are surrounded by picky eaters everyday. When we look in the mirror we most likely see one. The kind of picky eater I am talking about is in reference to God's word, His infallible, inherent Word, that today stands unchanged from the day it was written as our map of morals, choices, examples, commandments, and path to salvation in Christ. Just as Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, so are His inspired words in the Bible as relevant today as they have ever been.
     My husband, Eddy, and I were challenged to relay this concept to a group of teenagers when asked to talk to them about dating. Surely they wondered why two dinosaurs married almost thirty-two years could have anything of value to say to them. We spoke of then and they are living in the now. Things have changed! And that stark contrast is confirmed as they view television, hear the news, and watch the examples we are setting. Recently, the news has reported of those who tout that the Constitution of the United States is outdated and no longer applicable to our present society. They cry out that the religious beliefs on which our country was founded are too archaic to adhere to anymore. There it is again! That was then. This is now.
     II Timothy 2:15 (NIV) says this, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word the of truth." No need for a sermon here, just a few questions.  Are you correctly handling the "word of truth" in your life, living by it, adhering to it?  Are you as familiar with God's word as you are your Facebook or Twitter account? Do you hold The Bible up against situations in your life to seek Godly answers or avoid it because you know what it says? Do you pick and choose the parts of your God's word you will apply to your life? Are you satisfied living your life mostly identified with the standard of the world and the chaos it evokes, or will you trade for a life committed to Christ and march to the beat of a different drummer.

      Though friends may desert you and life may get tough, you are never alone.  Christ is always present , and His blessings will flow when living a life walked closely by His side. So don't waste time like the birds on my feeder, picking and choosing.  Oh, the joy and peace you will find as you feast on God's word and and dedicate yourself to its application in your life. Live a life that is the exception, not today's norm!  Bless you as your submit your life to Christ so that He may accomplish this in you through His strength and power. To God Be the Glory!  
   
   
   

I Want to Hold Your Hand

     Please allow me to share with you a passage from Jesus Calling: Seeking Peace in God's Presence written by Sarah Young.  It is with this book and a cup of coffee that I begin each day.  The author writes the devotional as if Jesus was talking directly to you and closes with a collection of scriptures from the Bible, sharing God's promises on the pertaining subject.. Here is the beginning of today's offering:

SEEK MY FACE, and you will find not only my presence but also My Peace.  To receive My Peace, you must change your grasping, controlling stance to one of openness and trust.  The only thing you can grasp without damaging your soul is My hand.  Ask my Spirit within you to order your day and control your thoughts, for the mind controlled by the Spirit is Life and Peace.

     BAM! There it was-- right between the eyes! "The only thing you can grasp without damaging your soul is God's hand." Even as I read those words, I could feel God gently prying my fingers loose from something I had about strangled to death in my grasp for years. I kept thinking if I held onto "it" tightly enough, for long enough, I could help make it better.  The cause was worthy, God would be glorified, and I was determined to help Him out. Defeat and endless frustration were my only accomplishments as my fingers turned purple from a resolute grip. Though God had approached me countless times in the last decade of years about this, today I did what He asked. I let go of something that was damaging my soul and reached swiftly, determinedly for the hand of God where there is the promise of peace. Why had I settled for discontent and discouragement so very long? "It" was something I mistakenly loved too much to release.
     Sound familiar?  The crazy part is that with God's help I have experienced that precious peace when letting go of quite the list of things in my life.  How strange that in some situations the comfort of the familiar keeps us trapped in self-imposed misery. No more!
     My hand  is now grasping the nail-scarred hand of Jesus where He will lead me to more productive pursuits for His Kingdom's glory. The "it" of my former grasp is no longer my cause to champion.  "It" is in God's hands where it should have been all along. Praise the Lord! I had only served to make a mess of "it" as "it" had made a mess of me. Let go of your "it" and interlace you fingers with His in openness and trust!  Let's do this together and enjoy the life and peace promised us in His presence. Seek His Face! To God Be the Glory!


**I know this picture has nothing to do with any of the above.  Was feeling the" butterfly love" thing today! 

The Other Side of Blessings

     The morning has greeted me with three beautiful geese gracefully swimming in the lake behind our home.  The sight of them brought the first smile to my face this morning.  God knows how much I love to see Him in nature. This was a blessing!  The ducks, however, did not feel likewise. They only knew that their morning allotment of corn was being infringed upon!

     My house is quiet now because I am here by myself. Though I am quite the Type A kind of personality, I try to force myself to sit and soak up the silence of these moments alone. In that silence, the still small voice of God is audible and the clamor in my head can cease if only for a short while. What a calming, relationship building, purpose seeking time we have-- a time to reflect on God's blessings, a time to be thankful.
     Please allow me to return to the subject of blessings.  Upon hitting "enter" to post my blog of a few days ago about blessings, God reminded me of "the rest of the story" as Paul Harvey used to say.  Blessings aren't always warm and fuzzy.  They can present as heartbreaks, loss, illness, and broken dreams just to name a few.  In fact, we don't usually view them as blessings at all. How could God possibly use my parent's divorce, four miscarriages, a son with autism, and a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis as anything remotely close to a blessing. At this point, allow me to fully acknowledge that my struggles don't even begin to equate to the sorrows that have impacted many of your lives. Nor let me negate that many of you walked through the valleys and held firmly to God's hand, faith and trust intact. Praise God! However, my faith and especially my trust did waver. Satan's deception wore me down, my heart turned to stone and there were no quiet moments of seeking God and what He might have me learn in the situation. Having grown uhttp://youtu.be/SGniRk_GcLsp in a family where love was conditional,  I mistakenly defaulted to believing God's love for me must be the same. I was so very weary. Hope vacated my being.
     Had you known me casually during this time, you would never have guessed the pain I carried deep inside, pain God had never meant for me to bear alone. And because God is God, He used me in my "pity party" state of mind to actually uplift people who had visited some of my very same heartaches  God has given me the gift of encouragement, and when your gift is needed it cannot be stifled. I was absolutely sincere in my words of reassurance to those people. I could easily lead them to apply God's promises in their lives, but not so well in my own. Just had not gotten that "unconditional love" concept fully secured in my mind and heart.
     God did not give up on me. Over a period of years, God kept chipping away at my hardened heart, and in His perfect timing, which we so often question, my heart was emptied of its pain and filled with an absolute awareness of God's unconditional love, followed by a generous dose of faith and trust. What I had attempted to secure on my own, God had lovingly, miraculously completed in me. Oh, the joy, and how that joy was accomplished through the blessings I perceived as nothing but trials. You know what they say about hindsight being twenty-twenty.  Those trials are exactly as the first chapter of James describes them in the Bible.
Allow me to share The Message version of these verses:
"Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely.  Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way."
     I praise God for how He has used difficult circumstances in my life to draw me into a relationship like none other with Him, as a backdrop for ministry to others, and as a map to joy and unconditional love. Much of my day has been spent writing this post. The geese began honking on their departure at dusk.  Many of my words have been deleted as I waited on God to give me His.  May He use these words to speak to your heart in whatever way He sees fit. May you see God's blessings in the good times and the bad. Let go and let God. To God Be the Glory!

The Grammy Award winning song entitled "Blessings" by Laura Story encapsulates this post.  Please take time to follow the link and listen.

http://youtu.be/SGniRk_GcLs